2012-04-22 Sunday - SQL Server 2012 Multidimensional Modeling

This blog post is a reminder of some tutorials I want to spend time working through [when I have a bit more free time]

Tutorials for SQL Server 2012
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh231699.aspx

AdventureWorks Sample Data Warehouse
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms124623.aspx

Multidimensional Modeling (Adventure Works Tutorial)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms170208.aspx

SQL Server 2012 Product Documentation
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb418433%28v=sql.10%29.aspx

Developer Reference for SQL Server 2012
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd206988.aspx



SQL Server Data Warehouse Cribsheet (by Robert Sheldon)
http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/learn-sql-server/sql-server-data-warehouse-cribsheet/

2012-04-22 Sunday - Inspirational Reading...

I just started reading this interesting find this weekend...
http://www.makemillionsmakechange.com/the-book/introduction/

I happened to come across the online version of that book, because I was intrigued by the story of this fellow's success:
http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-mann-domain-business-2012-4

"A 45-year-old Delaware resident, Mike Mann, became a multi-millionaire by being an obsessive, compulsive, domain buyer"

Another interesting find this weekend: Zen Guitar, by Philip Sudo

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068483877X

Here are my review comments I posted on Amazon.com

When the student is ready...the teacher will appear

I found this book in a thrift store yesterday - which was offering a 50% sale on all items

It is filled with inspiration for how you should look at practice, craft, acquiring skill, innovation, collaboration, and oh so much more.

It is a refreshing reminder for the master, as well as a gentle introduction for the beginner.

If your mind is open and ready - you will see that the words are as applicable to guitar playing as they are to any endeavor.

For my own professional work, in the field of software engineering, I found many useful ideas in this book to inspire me to return to Beginner's Mind

Well done Sodu.

2012-04-19 Thursday - Free Book for Amazon Web Services

http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Web-Services/e/B007R6MVQ6

There's also quite a bit of documentation here:
AWS Architecture Center
http://aws.amazon.com/architecture/

2012-04-07 Saturday - Zillow APIs

I've spent some time today exploring the Zillow RESTful APIs:
http://www.zillow.com/howto/api/APIOverview.htm

I registered to obtain a Zillow Web Service Identifier (ZWSID), and used the latest soapUI (4.5) release to initially explore these two APIs:

http://www.zillow.com/howto/api/GetZestimate.htm

http://www.zillow.com/howto/api/GetSearchResults.htm

2012-04-05 Thursday - Java 7 New Features Cookbook

I'm very happy to have received a copy of a new book from Packt Publishing:

Java 7 New Features Cookbook, by Richard M. Reese, Jennifer L. Reese

http://www.packtpub.com/java-7-new-features-cookbook/book

• Coverage of the new features of Java 7 organized around easy-to-follow recipes
• Covers features such as the try-with-resources block, the monitoring of directory events, asynchronous IO and new GUI enhancements, and more
• A learn-by-example based approach that focuses on key concepts to provide the foundation to solve real world problems

I'll have a review posted later this weekend.

I should also have two copies of the book that Packt will provide as giveaways.  More details to follow soon.