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1.
Reminder

My presentation: Foundation Knowledge for Database Professionals
Mountain View, October 16, 6:30pm (open to the public and free)

More details here.

2.
Three LinkedIn Data Modeling group threads in which I participated.

One or two files
Is there a 3NF to denormalized tool
Kinds of Data Models -- And How to Name Them

3.
To new visitors: If you are wondering why the SEMINARS, PAPERS, QUOTES and LAUGH/CRY pages have not been updated, there is a bug in Blogger--the URL changes every time a page is updated--which wreaks havoc with traffic/SEO. Google has not been able to fix this for months and until they do many bloggers do not update the pages. Until a fix is provided, for previous quotes and To Laugh or Cry? posts please use the Blogger search facility at the top of every page or just scroll back to older posts.

4.
Cloud computing: here we go again

Came across this article that is consistent with my arguments about how industry operates.

Summary: The same pattern has emerged again and again in the history of IT. New ideas emerge. Vendors develop their own approaches. Camps form to support those approaches. Eventually standards emerge. The battle over cloud computing standards and approaches is only the latest repetition of the pattern.

The Achiles heel in all this is that many if not most new ideas are not new at all. The only way to ensure that the wheel--and a square wheel at that-- is not constantly reinvented is to rely on sound foundations and knowledge of the history of the field. Otherwise, we're spinning wheels in place at best, or go into reverse.

5.
A comparison

Last week during Oracle Open World I had the pleasure of meeting briefly Jonathan Lewis (with Jonathan Gennick's help) and we had a chat about the state of the industry. In that context, please watch the two videos below and see if you discern a difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g65fII0nX8g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=FvRDK2B0T_I