It's easy to focus on the bad stuff. My father and sister died in January. Deepwater Horizon disaster. Utter failure of "Middle East Peace Process." Republicans capture control of U.S. House of Representatives. Ongoing financial crisis that sucks money from poor and middle class people and deposits these funds into the pockets of the ultra-rich. And so on....
Yet here's one really excellent development that I noticed in 2010:
Food product manufacturers are now promoting (some of) their products as follows:
"Contains no high fructose corn syrup!"
And I think that is an incredibly positive development. It means that there is a growing awareness among Americans about the dangers of stuffing our bodies with manufactured, intensified, addictive sweeteners.
If enough people "just say no" to HFCS, then the demand for corn for sweeteners will go down, which will leave more corn available for consumption by human beings (major deal for Mexicans, for example, who saw the cost of corn tortillas, their staple, skyrocket).
And over time it could reduce the power of the corn/ethanol lobby, which results in the distortion of our agricultural system and energy industry, while doing little or nothing to to slow down climate change.
So here's a resolution I suggest you consider for 2011:
Consume no high fructose corn syrup.
Don't buy products that contain high fructose corn syrup. Tell your grocer that you don't want products with HFCS. Better yet, don't buy food products. Buy whole food, cook it yourself.
We will, as a nation, become healthier and lighter.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Hanging out with my pal, Dylan
A couple days ago, one of my best buddies, Dylan, came over for a visit. Dylan is 2 and a half years old and one of the most delightful human beings I've ever met. Takes a real joy in life and the people around him, is intensely curious (especially about keys, locks, doors, cell phones....) and, well, he likes me a lot. What more can you ask for?
So he spent a few hours with us on Monday, 20 December. We have a big (fake) Christmas tree in the living room, full of lights and ornaments and, under the tree, wrapped presents. Dylan made a bee line for the tree and started to unwrap one of Chris's presents.
"No, Dylan, you can't unwrap that. It's not for you!"
He very politely set that box down and picked up another. "No, Dylan..."
Sadly, we had no wrapped present under the tree for Dylan. So we told him: "We'll take you to the mall, buy you a present, bring it home and wrap it. Then you can open it. OK?"
"OK," said Dylan. Big surprise!
But a moment later, he remembered how much he liked to use our big, heavy, Royal canister vacuum cleaner. So he dragged that out of the closet and spent the next twenty minutes attaching various tips to the hose, cleaning the floor, me, himself...and then off we went to the basement to pull suitcases out of the closet under the stairs.
Veva warned me that if we didn't take Dylan to the mall, he would have a fit later on when it was time to go home - and suddenly memories of present and mall would come flooding back. So I explained the situation to Dylan:
"We can take you to the mall and get a present or we can stay here and play. But if we stay, we won't be able to go to the mall later. Which do you want to do?"
"Stay." Cool.
Then a bit later, Dylan made his way back to the Christmas tree and tried once again to unwrap Chris's present. So I made a new offer: "Let's go down to the basement, and you can pick out any toy you want, and we'll wrap it up, put it under the tree, and then you can open that."
"OK."
So down we went, I opened the cabinet full of board games and other various toy-like objects. Most held no appeal for Dylan, but finally he came across an animal dominoes set that he liked.
I wrapped it, but a bow on it, wrote his name on it. I put it under the tree. Dylan tried to open Chris's present again (big box), but I pointed to the one that he could now open. He did, very excitedly. Oohs and aahs filled the air. We sat down on the floor and played with the small pieces of wood covered with ducks and ladybugs and cats and dogs and so on.
After a while, Dylan: "Wrap it!" So I wrapped it up again, stuck the bow back on, put it under the tree. After a few minutes, he pulled it out unwrapped it with oohs and aahs, and re-acquainted himself with the game.
Then it was time to go home, so I secured the various ripped edges of the paper with more tape - again, it was wrapped! And brought it to his home and his own tree. Two more times that night, with his dad (Matthew) watching, Dylan ripped open his present and showed it with pride and delight to Matthew.
What a funny boy.
So he spent a few hours with us on Monday, 20 December. We have a big (fake) Christmas tree in the living room, full of lights and ornaments and, under the tree, wrapped presents. Dylan made a bee line for the tree and started to unwrap one of Chris's presents.
"No, Dylan, you can't unwrap that. It's not for you!"
He very politely set that box down and picked up another. "No, Dylan..."
Sadly, we had no wrapped present under the tree for Dylan. So we told him: "We'll take you to the mall, buy you a present, bring it home and wrap it. Then you can open it. OK?"
"OK," said Dylan. Big surprise!
But a moment later, he remembered how much he liked to use our big, heavy, Royal canister vacuum cleaner. So he dragged that out of the closet and spent the next twenty minutes attaching various tips to the hose, cleaning the floor, me, himself...and then off we went to the basement to pull suitcases out of the closet under the stairs.
Veva warned me that if we didn't take Dylan to the mall, he would have a fit later on when it was time to go home - and suddenly memories of present and mall would come flooding back. So I explained the situation to Dylan:
"We can take you to the mall and get a present or we can stay here and play. But if we stay, we won't be able to go to the mall later. Which do you want to do?"
"Stay." Cool.
Then a bit later, Dylan made his way back to the Christmas tree and tried once again to unwrap Chris's present. So I made a new offer: "Let's go down to the basement, and you can pick out any toy you want, and we'll wrap it up, put it under the tree, and then you can open that."
"OK."
So down we went, I opened the cabinet full of board games and other various toy-like objects. Most held no appeal for Dylan, but finally he came across an animal dominoes set that he liked.
I wrapped it, but a bow on it, wrote his name on it. I put it under the tree. Dylan tried to open Chris's present again (big box), but I pointed to the one that he could now open. He did, very excitedly. Oohs and aahs filled the air. We sat down on the floor and played with the small pieces of wood covered with ducks and ladybugs and cats and dogs and so on.
After a while, Dylan: "Wrap it!" So I wrapped it up again, stuck the bow back on, put it under the tree. After a few minutes, he pulled it out unwrapped it with oohs and aahs, and re-acquainted himself with the game.
Then it was time to go home, so I secured the various ripped edges of the paper with more tape - again, it was wrapped! And brought it to his home and his own tree. Two more times that night, with his dad (Matthew) watching, Dylan ripped open his present and showed it with pride and delight to Matthew.
What a funny boy.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Release 1.8 of PL/SQL Challenge in Production
We just upgraded PL/SQL Challenge to release 1.8, which includes these significant new features and changes:
* Remember Me: a long-requested enhancement, you can check the "Remember me" box before you login. We will then automatically log you in to the PL/SQL Challenge on subsequent visits to the website. If you do not visit the site for seven days, you will be prompted to login again.
* Public Profile: you can now record much more information about yourself and your career as a PL/SQL developer. This information is then made available on a public player profile page - but only if you explicitly approve the publication of that content. All player names on the site are hyperlinked to this page. We also provide you with a public URL so that this profile can be accessed from outside of the PL/SQL Challenge website (such as from your blog).
* Streamlined "Take the Quiz" process: You no longer have to scroll down through assumptions and advice. You can choose to view the information or simply press the Play Now button to get right to the quiz.
* Post-Quiz Survey and Player Notes: after you take the quiz, we now invite you to provide us with feedback on the quality of the quiz. You can also record notes regarding that quiz for future reference. The notes will appear on the Past Quiz page. You can also take the survey at any time after you take the quiz.
* Submit Your Own Quiz Idea: you can now submit your own idea for a quiz directly from the website, both from the "Submit Quiz Idea" on the home page and from several other places on the site as well. If your quiz is accepted, your name will be posted the day the quiz is taken. Get creative and share your expertise with us and players from around the world!
* Reorganization of Rules and Assumptions: the Rules page is gone, long live the Rules page! Most of the content of that page is now available in the FAQ. In addition, rules, assumptions and advice for the quiz is provided on the Take the Quiz page.
I am most excited about the ability to create and publish a player profile.Several players have already reported that their record on the PL/SQL Challenge has helped them get new jobs or get certified in PL/SQL. I hope to see lots more of that happening/ The profile provides a way for the PL/SQL Challenge to help you promote your accomplishments - so fill up your profile!
I am very pleased with how the PL/SQL Challenge website is progressing. Eli is doing a fantastic job as an APEX developer, and also picking up more and more PL/SQL skills along the way. Paul of Apex Evangelists continues to play a crucial, albeit part-time role in handling the more complex requirements for the site.
* Remember Me: a long-requested enhancement, you can check the "Remember me" box before you login. We will then automatically log you in to the PL/SQL Challenge on subsequent visits to the website. If you do not visit the site for seven days, you will be prompted to login again.
* Public Profile: you can now record much more information about yourself and your career as a PL/SQL developer. This information is then made available on a public player profile page - but only if you explicitly approve the publication of that content. All player names on the site are hyperlinked to this page. We also provide you with a public URL so that this profile can be accessed from outside of the PL/SQL Challenge website (such as from your blog).
* Streamlined "Take the Quiz" process: You no longer have to scroll down through assumptions and advice. You can choose to view the information or simply press the Play Now button to get right to the quiz.
* Post-Quiz Survey and Player Notes: after you take the quiz, we now invite you to provide us with feedback on the quality of the quiz. You can also record notes regarding that quiz for future reference. The notes will appear on the Past Quiz page. You can also take the survey at any time after you take the quiz.
* Submit Your Own Quiz Idea: you can now submit your own idea for a quiz directly from the website, both from the "Submit Quiz Idea" on the home page and from several other places on the site as well. If your quiz is accepted, your name will be posted the day the quiz is taken. Get creative and share your expertise with us and players from around the world!
* Reorganization of Rules and Assumptions: the Rules page is gone, long live the Rules page! Most of the content of that page is now available in the FAQ. In addition, rules, assumptions and advice for the quiz is provided on the Take the Quiz page.
I am most excited about the ability to create and publish a player profile.Several players have already reported that their record on the PL/SQL Challenge has helped them get new jobs or get certified in PL/SQL. I hope to see lots more of that happening/ The profile provides a way for the PL/SQL Challenge to help you promote your accomplishments - so fill up your profile!
I am very pleased with how the PL/SQL Challenge website is progressing. Eli is doing a fantastic job as an APEX developer, and also picking up more and more PL/SQL skills along the way. Paul of Apex Evangelists continues to play a crucial, albeit part-time role in handling the more complex requirements for the site.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Fanastic news! I do NOT qualify for AA Executive Platinum!
Check this out:
American Airlines just notified me that, sad to say, I will not be qualifying for the Executive Platinum status for 2011. Or is it? (sad, that is)
No, it is wonderful news!
As some of you might know, I have recently declared an end to my era of endless travel (and being away from home). Starting in 2011, I will travel only when absolutely necessary.
I also worked hard in the latter half of 2010 to slow down my travel - and it shows. No more Executive Platinum for me. No more endless free upgrades, no more first class lounge access when I fly internationally. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound very good at all. :-)
Well, I will likely still be Platinum next year and I can never get "worse" status than Gold, since I hit 1,000,000 miles. Whew. I will still feel a little bit special when I travel on American.
American Airlines just notified me that, sad to say, I will not be qualifying for the Executive Platinum status for 2011. Or is it? (sad, that is)
No, it is wonderful news!
As some of you might know, I have recently declared an end to my era of endless travel (and being away from home). Starting in 2011, I will travel only when absolutely necessary.
I also worked hard in the latter half of 2010 to slow down my travel - and it shows. No more Executive Platinum for me. No more endless free upgrades, no more first class lounge access when I fly internationally. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound very good at all. :-)
Well, I will likely still be Platinum next year and I can never get "worse" status than Gold, since I hit 1,000,000 miles. Whew. I will still feel a little bit special when I travel on American.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Winners of PL/SQL Challenge Q3 Playoff Just Announced
1st Place: Niels Hecker of Germany, wins US$1000.
2nd Place: Peter Schmidt of Germany, wins US$500.
3rd Place: Elic of Belarus, wins Complete set of O'Reilly Media Oracle eBooks.
Players ranked 4 through 10 each win their choice an O'Reilly ebook. All players will receive a certificate of participation. Full details on all player rankings here.
Yes, that's right! Just for knowing PL/SQL well, playing the quiz each day, and then performing well in the playoff, Niels wins US$1000 and Peter wins US$500! Not bad for "just" being expert at the Oracle PL/SQL language, right? In fact, Niels won second place in the Q2 playoff, so he has won US$1500 this year!
Having said that, the 1200+ developers who play each day do so mostly to deepen and test their knowledge of PL/SQL; the prizes are of secondary importance. And, even better, one player has reported getting their new consulting job at least in part because of their PL/SQL Challenge ranking!
If you are not playing the PL/SQL Challenge (and you are an Oracle technologist), I suggest you head over to the PL/SQL Challenge website, register, and start taking that daily quiz. Who knows where it might take you?
Cheers, Steven
Celebrating a wedding anniversary at home
What a concept!
Yesterday was the 27th anniversary of my marriage to Veva Silva. Best thing that ever happened to me (well, meeting and falling in love with Veva as the best thing - the marriage was a very nice "added benefit").
For the past several years, I have found myself (gee, how did that happen?) in Birmingham UK on the date of our anniversary, since that is when the UKOUG holds its annual conference.
Of course, I didn't have to go to that conference. And, really, I shouldn't have gone away on wedding anniversary. And yet, that is what I did.
Well, no more. With the end of the traveling phase of my life, I skipped UKOUG (sorry, friends!) and stayed home. Which resulted in a really fine dinner with Veva, my sons Eli and Chris, and Chris's wife, Lauren.
We supped at Demera, an Ethiopian restaurant on the northside of Chicago. I ate too much, as I always do at Ethiopian restaurants, and I greatly enjoyed the company of my family - most of all, my wife of 27 years.
Why didn't I think of this before? :-)
Yesterday was the 27th anniversary of my marriage to Veva Silva. Best thing that ever happened to me (well, meeting and falling in love with Veva as the best thing - the marriage was a very nice "added benefit").
For the past several years, I have found myself (gee, how did that happen?) in Birmingham UK on the date of our anniversary, since that is when the UKOUG holds its annual conference.
Of course, I didn't have to go to that conference. And, really, I shouldn't have gone away on wedding anniversary. And yet, that is what I did.
Well, no more. With the end of the traveling phase of my life, I skipped UKOUG (sorry, friends!) and stayed home. Which resulted in a really fine dinner with Veva, my sons Eli and Chris, and Chris's wife, Lauren.
We supped at Demera, an Ethiopian restaurant on the northside of Chicago. I ate too much, as I always do at Ethiopian restaurants, and I greatly enjoyed the company of my family - most of all, my wife of 27 years.
Why didn't I think of this before? :-)
Friday, November 26, 2010
The End of My Traveling Era
I returned a few days ago from Nuremberg, where I presented my Coding Therapy for Software Developers keynote to several hundred Oracle technologist at DOAG's annual conference. I thought it went quite well; the audience laughed at all my jokes, save one.
The highlight of this trip, however,was the fact that it was my last trip of the year and marks the end of an era in my life, the "traveling era." For too many years, I have been traveling far too much. It's been great for my frequent flyer account and for getting free upgrades. American Airlines has also benefited.
No more.
From this moment forward, I will only travel for professional reasons if it is absolutely required. I will still present at a small number of key Oracle conferences, but other than that, my plan is to stay home. There are two main reasons for this. First, I am simply tired of being on the road - and away from my family. It takes a toll in several different ways, and I find that toll to be unacceptable these days. Second, my son, Eli, is learning how to be an APEX developer and I need to be here to support him, train him, mentor him.
There are certainly aspects of travel that I will miss. It has truly been an honor to meet with developers from around the world, hear about how you are using PL/SQL, learn from you, and be reminded of how much my writings and presentations have helped others. I have enjoyed greatly seeing so many parts of the world and the fantastic art that resides in the countless museums and galleries I have visited. And then there are the dear friends I have made in the Netherlands, Brussels, the UK, Singapore, Australia, Portugal, Germany and other places.
So am I going to just "disappear"? Not at all! While I will not be visiting in physical form, I plan to become much more visible online.
One big advantage of staying home is that I can concentrate more thoroughly on transferring my knowledge of PL/SQL into online, accessible, search-able and very entertaining formats. The PL/SQL Challenge is just the first manifestation of this Internet-delivered expertise. You will be seeing much more in 2011.
And if for some reason you have not yet started playing the daily quiz at the PL/SQL Challenge, please do so! You will learn a lot about PL/SQL, you might win some fine prizes, and - most important of all - you will help me make a success of this key project in my life.
I hope that you all have very happy and relaxing holidays.
Steven
The highlight of this trip, however,was the fact that it was my last trip of the year and marks the end of an era in my life, the "traveling era." For too many years, I have been traveling far too much. It's been great for my frequent flyer account and for getting free upgrades. American Airlines has also benefited.
No more.
From this moment forward, I will only travel for professional reasons if it is absolutely required. I will still present at a small number of key Oracle conferences, but other than that, my plan is to stay home. There are two main reasons for this. First, I am simply tired of being on the road - and away from my family. It takes a toll in several different ways, and I find that toll to be unacceptable these days. Second, my son, Eli, is learning how to be an APEX developer and I need to be here to support him, train him, mentor him.
There are certainly aspects of travel that I will miss. It has truly been an honor to meet with developers from around the world, hear about how you are using PL/SQL, learn from you, and be reminded of how much my writings and presentations have helped others. I have enjoyed greatly seeing so many parts of the world and the fantastic art that resides in the countless museums and galleries I have visited. And then there are the dear friends I have made in the Netherlands, Brussels, the UK, Singapore, Australia, Portugal, Germany and other places.
So am I going to just "disappear"? Not at all! While I will not be visiting in physical form, I plan to become much more visible online.
One big advantage of staying home is that I can concentrate more thoroughly on transferring my knowledge of PL/SQL into online, accessible, search-able and very entertaining formats. The PL/SQL Challenge is just the first manifestation of this Internet-delivered expertise. You will be seeing much more in 2011.
And if for some reason you have not yet started playing the daily quiz at the PL/SQL Challenge, please do so! You will learn a lot about PL/SQL, you might win some fine prizes, and - most important of all - you will help me make a success of this key project in my life.
I hope that you all have very happy and relaxing holidays.
Steven
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Award for Least Obvious Idea
I am in Nuremberg for the German Oracle User Group conference (DOAG). Will be presenting my keynote, Coding Therapy, in a few hours.
Read the International Herald Tribune over breakfast and came across "An upgrade or a trip in space? It's a tough call."
First paragraph reads: "In the rarified realm of airline frequent-flier perks, elite status can bring cushy upgrades, airport lounge access, priority boarding and any number of concierge and customer service benefits. But on Wednesday, the Dutch airline KLM set a new goal for road warriors to aim for: free space flight."
Wow. I must admit, this was not on the top of my mind. But as Andrew Nelson, XCOR's chief operating officer says later in the article: "It is only logical that, in the future, airlines are going to want to take advantage of services like these to enhance their frequent-flier programs."
Really? Is that "logical"? Enhance your frequent-flier program by offering trips in space that, today, cost roughly $95,000 for four minutes of weightlessness. Richard Branson's venture, Virgin Galactic (is this guy's ego the size of a mountain, or what?), has already reserved nearly 370 seats for its own commercial space flights - requiring a 10% deposit of $20,000 to reserve that seat.
It's the New Logic.
The logic of "I have so much money, I don't know what else to do with it."
Read the International Herald Tribune over breakfast and came across "An upgrade or a trip in space? It's a tough call."
First paragraph reads: "In the rarified realm of airline frequent-flier perks, elite status can bring cushy upgrades, airport lounge access, priority boarding and any number of concierge and customer service benefits. But on Wednesday, the Dutch airline KLM set a new goal for road warriors to aim for: free space flight."
Wow. I must admit, this was not on the top of my mind. But as Andrew Nelson, XCOR's chief operating officer says later in the article: "It is only logical that, in the future, airlines are going to want to take advantage of services like these to enhance their frequent-flier programs."
Really? Is that "logical"? Enhance your frequent-flier program by offering trips in space that, today, cost roughly $95,000 for four minutes of weightlessness. Richard Branson's venture, Virgin Galactic (is this guy's ego the size of a mountain, or what?), has already reserved nearly 370 seats for its own commercial space flights - requiring a 10% deposit of $20,000 to reserve that seat.
It's the New Logic.
The logic of "I have so much money, I don't know what else to do with it."
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Palo Suite Uses My Parse Package
Whenever I present on PL/SQL, I make sure to let everyone know they can download all of my training materials and all the supporting code from PL/SQL Obsession. I urge developers to use my code, rather than "reinvent the wheel" and point them to my demo.zip file, which contains demonstrates of PL/SQL features, performance analysis scripts and some reusable code.
I received an email from Pepijn Slappendel, who told me: "I have created a PL/SQL utility which can be used to query data from Palo-cubes. Palo is an open-source cube-based BI Solution. The utility uses your generic parse package, which makes things very easy!"
Ah, music to my ears! I so dearly love to hear that my code is being used. Thahks, Pepijn, for both using the parse package (located in the parse.pkg file) and letting me know about it.
For more information on Pepijn's project: "The Palo Suite is a SaaS enabled Open-Source BI Suite for Performance Management including Planning, Analysis, Reporting and ETL. The suite includes an in-memory OLAP Server, an Ajax-based online spreadsheet with DynaRanges and a web-based ETL-Tool."
Finally, if anyone else "out there" has used my code, please do let me know. I will be happy to feature it on my blog.
Cheers, Steven
I received an email from Pepijn Slappendel, who told me: "I have created a PL/SQL utility which can be used to query data from Palo-cubes. Palo is an open-source cube-based BI Solution. The utility uses your generic parse package, which makes things very easy!"
Ah, music to my ears! I so dearly love to hear that my code is being used. Thahks, Pepijn, for both using the parse package (located in the parse.pkg file) and letting me know about it.
For more information on Pepijn's project: "The Palo Suite is a SaaS enabled Open-Source BI Suite for Performance Management including Planning, Analysis, Reporting and ETL. The suite includes an in-memory OLAP Server, an Ajax-based online spreadsheet with DynaRanges and a web-based ETL-Tool."
Finally, if anyone else "out there" has used my code, please do let me know. I will be happy to feature it on my blog.
Cheers, Steven
Saturday, November 06, 2010
How I Managed to Feel Guilty While Recycling
I was raised a good, Jewish boy, so generally I have no trouble manufacturing a feeling of guilt and "should have" and so on.
But I was stunned this morning to realize that I actually felt guilty while recycling my acumulated mounds of plastic, metal and so on.
To achieve such an extreme, it takes....living in the great City of Chicago, led by that great mayor, Richard M. Daley.
Because in Chicago, we have a totally ridiculous recycling program, put in place by that great mayor, Richard M. Daley, in which everything (glass, metal, paper, plastic) is thrown together into a big pile, collected from all over the city into an even bigger (much bigger) pile. Then we hire people to separate out the various types of recyclables.
It doesn't take a genius to imagine the results: broken glass, mixed in with soggy, falling-apart paper, low percentage yield of recyclables from the mess....
I believe Daley has finally, officially given up on the so-called blue bag program. Who knows when this bankrupt city, located in an incredibly bankrupt state, situated in an entirely bankrupt nation, will ever get around to putting a sensible policy in place.
In the meantime, I will either feel guilty for participating in this sham of a recycling program, or seek alternatives that make more sense.
But I was stunned this morning to realize that I actually felt guilty while recycling my acumulated mounds of plastic, metal and so on.
To achieve such an extreme, it takes....living in the great City of Chicago, led by that great mayor, Richard M. Daley.
Because in Chicago, we have a totally ridiculous recycling program, put in place by that great mayor, Richard M. Daley, in which everything (glass, metal, paper, plastic) is thrown together into a big pile, collected from all over the city into an even bigger (much bigger) pile. Then we hire people to separate out the various types of recyclables.
It doesn't take a genius to imagine the results: broken glass, mixed in with soggy, falling-apart paper, low percentage yield of recyclables from the mess....
I believe Daley has finally, officially given up on the so-called blue bag program. Who knows when this bankrupt city, located in an incredibly bankrupt state, situated in an entirely bankrupt nation, will ever get around to putting a sensible policy in place.
In the meantime, I will either feel guilty for participating in this sham of a recycling program, or seek alternatives that make more sense.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
I voted yesterday and here's why
I waited until the very last moment to vote (I left yesterday for Brussels, so I will not be in Chicago on election day).
I had been thinking that I wouldn't bother voting this time around. I am quite disgusted generally with the surreal state of affairs (many people seemingly ready to vote for the greedy, corrupt Republicans who spent the eight years with "W" destroying our nation and driving millions of citizens to poverty, misery and/or death). But I am also very disappointed with Barack Obama. I realize he could not perform miracles, but the compromises he made that led to the awful health care "reform", the $708 billion "defense" budget he proposed, the ridiculous waffling on "don't ask, don't tell", the continued aggressive attack on progressive activists, "illegal" immigrants and marijuana growers, and the steadfast support for "titans of finance" leave me feeling like he sure doesn't represent my interests very well.
And then in Illinois, our current governor is a nice guy, but not very effective. The Democrat running to take Obama's seat in the Senate owned a bank (with his family) that failed and cost taxpayers millions. "My" congresswoman is progressive on everything but Israel, and on that topic she is just awful and treated me like dirt when I confronted her about her "love of Israel."
Sigh...what's a nice, bleeding heart progressive like me to do?
Well, I finally accepted that while I didn't have lots of reasons to vote FOR anyone, I had plenty of reasons to vote against others.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate is a horror on "social" issues like abortion and is completely mealy-mouthed about what he would do to solve our budget problems. The Republican running for Senate is the sort of fellow who lied about his military record in Vietnam and elsewhere. I can't bring myself to vote for a guy who tries to explain away saying he served under fire, got this award or that - when he did no such thing. Disgusting. How you can trust anyone who does that and then won't even own up to it?
So I voted Democratic for the key "big ticket" offices, and went Green on the rest (I could not in the end bring myself to vote for Jan Schakowsky. If she is defeated by a right-wing, Orthodox Jew who baited her for being "soft" on the Palestinians, well, then I say it serves her right).
I have a feeling that the closer we get to election day, the closer the races will become. It's one thing to express disgust with Obama and the Democrats. It's quite another thing to capitulate to the corporations and other super-rich who are trying to buy this election through anonymous attack ads, and let right-wing extremists, nut jobs and just plain ruthless ideologues to dig themselves in deeper.
I had been thinking that I wouldn't bother voting this time around. I am quite disgusted generally with the surreal state of affairs (many people seemingly ready to vote for the greedy, corrupt Republicans who spent the eight years with "W" destroying our nation and driving millions of citizens to poverty, misery and/or death). But I am also very disappointed with Barack Obama. I realize he could not perform miracles, but the compromises he made that led to the awful health care "reform", the $708 billion "defense" budget he proposed, the ridiculous waffling on "don't ask, don't tell", the continued aggressive attack on progressive activists, "illegal" immigrants and marijuana growers, and the steadfast support for "titans of finance" leave me feeling like he sure doesn't represent my interests very well.
And then in Illinois, our current governor is a nice guy, but not very effective. The Democrat running to take Obama's seat in the Senate owned a bank (with his family) that failed and cost taxpayers millions. "My" congresswoman is progressive on everything but Israel, and on that topic she is just awful and treated me like dirt when I confronted her about her "love of Israel."
Sigh...what's a nice, bleeding heart progressive like me to do?
Well, I finally accepted that while I didn't have lots of reasons to vote FOR anyone, I had plenty of reasons to vote against others.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate is a horror on "social" issues like abortion and is completely mealy-mouthed about what he would do to solve our budget problems. The Republican running for Senate is the sort of fellow who lied about his military record in Vietnam and elsewhere. I can't bring myself to vote for a guy who tries to explain away saying he served under fire, got this award or that - when he did no such thing. Disgusting. How you can trust anyone who does that and then won't even own up to it?
So I voted Democratic for the key "big ticket" offices, and went Green on the rest (I could not in the end bring myself to vote for Jan Schakowsky. If she is defeated by a right-wing, Orthodox Jew who baited her for being "soft" on the Palestinians, well, then I say it serves her right).
I have a feeling that the closer we get to election day, the closer the races will become. It's one thing to express disgust with Obama and the Democrats. It's quite another thing to capitulate to the corporations and other super-rich who are trying to buy this election through anonymous attack ads, and let right-wing extremists, nut jobs and just plain ruthless ideologues to dig themselves in deeper.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Check out the beta test for 1.7 of PL/SQL Challenge
PL/SQL Challenge: daily PL/SQL quiz with weekly, monthly and quarterly prizes. If you are a PL/SQL developer and you are not yet playing the quiz, well, you are missing out on a lot of fun and education!
We plan to upgrade the PL/SQL Challenge website to version 1.7 on October 23. This version has many new and wonderful features, including:
* Home page changes: we now show you a random selection of past quizzes that you can visit for a quick PL/SQL refresher, plus a display of players who deserve congratulations for winning an award, high ranking, frequent play, etc.
* Past Quizzes: you can now search through all past quizzes by topic, difficulty or date, and then drill down to see a new, more detailed description of the quiz and your results.
* Interactive Rankings: built on top of the APEX4 Interactive Reports feature, you can now see rankings by player, country, organization and company (for a given period: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, lifetime). You can build your own custom reports. We believe that many of the requests we have received from players for better rankings information will be satisfied by this feature (for example: if you want to keep track of and rank players in the same company, simply choose one of the Rankings by Player reports and then filter by company!).
* Take the Quiz page: each quiz now includes a "No choices are correct" option at the bottom of the page. You must check at least one of the choices before you can submit your answer.
Before we upgrade on the 23rd, we'd like to get feedback from you on the features, the data points in the rankings reports, etc. So we have set up http://beta.plsqlchallenge.com for beta testing from October 18 to October 22. Please visit and go exploring. Tell us what you think needs change or improvement.
For the beta test, you can log in with your regular email and password. The quizzes are from a previous week; they are not the same as those on the production site. All past quiz activity should be the same as on the production site.
We plan to upgrade the PL/SQL Challenge website to version 1.7 on October 23. This version has many new and wonderful features, including:
* Home page changes: we now show you a random selection of past quizzes that you can visit for a quick PL/SQL refresher, plus a display of players who deserve congratulations for winning an award, high ranking, frequent play, etc.
* Past Quizzes: you can now search through all past quizzes by topic, difficulty or date, and then drill down to see a new, more detailed description of the quiz and your results.
* Interactive Rankings: built on top of the APEX4 Interactive Reports feature, you can now see rankings by player, country, organization and company (for a given period: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, lifetime). You can build your own custom reports. We believe that many of the requests we have received from players for better rankings information will be satisfied by this feature (for example: if you want to keep track of and rank players in the same company, simply choose one of the Rankings by Player reports and then filter by company!).
* Take the Quiz page: each quiz now includes a "No choices are correct" option at the bottom of the page. You must check at least one of the choices before you can submit your answer.
Before we upgrade on the 23rd, we'd like to get feedback from you on the features, the data points in the rankings reports, etc. So we have set up http://beta.plsqlchallenge.com for beta testing from October 18 to October 22. Please visit and go exploring. Tell us what you think needs change or improvement.
For the beta test, you can log in with your regular email and password. The quizzes are from a previous week; they are not the same as those on the production site. All past quiz activity should be the same as on the production site.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Early bird for OPP conferences ending this week
| Just got this reminder from ODTUG regarding the two-day PL/SQL conferences for which I am the technical co-chair... |
It's Monday, and most of you are just getting into work, so we will keep this one short and sweet.
Early Bird Registration ends on Friday, October 15 for OPP/APEXposed in both Dallas and Brussels!
In Europe? This is ODTUG's first time holding an SP conference in Brussels, October 27-28. See the agenda, check out the presenters, and sign up today.
In the US? We are headed to Dallas, November 10-11, to show you the best tips, tricks, and techniques for both PL/SQL and Application Express.
Sign up by October 15 and costs are only $550 for members and $600 for non-members.
Early Bird Registration ends on Friday, October 15 for OPP/APEXposed in both Dallas and Brussels!
In Europe? This is ODTUG's first time holding an SP conference in Brussels, October 27-28. See the agenda, check out the presenters, and sign up today.
In the US? We are headed to Dallas, November 10-11, to show you the best tips, tricks, and techniques for both PL/SQL and Application Express.
Sign up by October 15 and costs are only $550 for members and $600 for non-members.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Marketing absurdities: the Saab survives...
Learned something new today. I thought that Saab was a dead brand, that GM hadn't found anyone to buy it. Not true, and I am happy for all those who are attracted to cars that a long time ago featured the same engines as those found in jet airplanes. Or something like that.
I searched for "Saab future" and found the above link because the Sunday Chicago Tribune featured a full page ad for Saab, which included some truly fantastic marketing-speak.
Check this out:
"The status quo finds no refuge in the coils of Saab DNA...Everything is exactly where it should be, but the results are boldly unexpected...When different is your dancepartner, that's how the music plays. Then again, you already knew that."
Now, I must admit, that I know lots of stuff, but I did not know that "when different is your dancepartner, that's how the music plays."
In fact, I still don't know "that", because I have no idea what "that" is supposed to mean.
I searched for "Saab future" and found the above link because the Sunday Chicago Tribune featured a full page ad for Saab, which included some truly fantastic marketing-speak.
Check this out:
"The status quo finds no refuge in the coils of Saab DNA...Everything is exactly where it should be, but the results are boldly unexpected...When different is your dancepartner, that's how the music plays. Then again, you already knew that."
Now, I must admit, that I know lots of stuff, but I did not know that "when different is your dancepartner, that's how the music plays."
In fact, I still don't know "that", because I have no idea what "that" is supposed to mean.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
7 October: The day my dad would have been 81
This past Thursday, 7 October, is my father's birthday. Which made it a very melancholy day for my family, since Dad died in January of this year.
I miss hearing his deep, rumbling voice, almost always with the hint of a smile in it. I miss being able to tell him how everyone is doing. I miss, especially, being able to tell him about Eli is now a programmer and thriving as he learns PL/SQL, APEX and more.
My dad taught himself RPG, and long before that taught himself how to use HP programmable calculators. He would definitely have appreciated Eli's foray into the technology arena.
But I think what I miss most of all is my father's integrity and honesty.
I gaze upon the world that lurches along in his absence and am truly dismayed at the fundamental dishonesty and complete lack of shame exhibited by those who are supposed to be the leaders of our grand society.
Instead, they blackmail us to rescue them from their own greed and mistakes, leaving behind broken homes and families and, indeed, a broken nation.
Ah, but why dwell on the negative? Instead, I will follow Sheldon Feuerstein's example and concentrate my efforts and attention on my family, on those closest and dearest to me, and make sure they are well.
I miss hearing his deep, rumbling voice, almost always with the hint of a smile in it. I miss being able to tell him how everyone is doing. I miss, especially, being able to tell him about Eli is now a programmer and thriving as he learns PL/SQL, APEX and more.
My dad taught himself RPG, and long before that taught himself how to use HP programmable calculators. He would definitely have appreciated Eli's foray into the technology arena.
But I think what I miss most of all is my father's integrity and honesty.
I gaze upon the world that lurches along in his absence and am truly dismayed at the fundamental dishonesty and complete lack of shame exhibited by those who are supposed to be the leaders of our grand society.
Instead, they blackmail us to rescue them from their own greed and mistakes, leaving behind broken homes and families and, indeed, a broken nation.
Ah, but why dwell on the negative? Instead, I will follow Sheldon Feuerstein's example and concentrate my efforts and attention on my family, on those closest and dearest to me, and make sure they are well.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Say Goodbye to Hardcoding - 6 October webinar - join me!
Last week, I did a webinar, sponsored by Quest, for about 45 developers on "Programming with Collections."
On 6 October, I will present one of my all time favorite webinars: Say Goodbye to Hard-Coding in PL/SQL. Hard-coding is something everyone knows about, hates, and keeps on doing anyway. Especially because we tend to think of "hard-coding" as nothing but those literal values.
But hard-coding can appear in many different forms. The webinar explores all those forms, explains why they are hard-codings, and offers solutions to get rid of the hard-coding and be left with a "single point of definition" for values, formulas, etc.
Interested? Get more information and register here.
On 6 October, I will present one of my all time favorite webinars: Say Goodbye to Hard-Coding in PL/SQL. Hard-coding is something everyone knows about, hates, and keeps on doing anyway. Especially because we tend to think of "hard-coding" as nothing but those literal values.
But hard-coding can appear in many different forms. The webinar explores all those forms, explains why they are hard-codings, and offers solutions to get rid of the hard-coding and be left with a "single point of definition" for values, formulas, etc.
Interested? Get more information and register here.
Monday, September 27, 2010
I am a Quinquaganerian
And proud of it.
Isn't that an amazing word? It's worth playing Scrabble, just to discover words like this one (in the dictionary where I am looking up a word in vain hope that it actually is a word).
So: quinquaganerian:
adjective
50 years old, or between the ages of 50 and 60
noun
a person of this age
I am 52 years old and so I am a quinquagenarian.
Isn't that an amazing word? It's worth playing Scrabble, just to discover words like this one (in the dictionary where I am looking up a word in vain hope that it actually is a word).
So: quinquaganerian:
adjective
50 years old, or between the ages of 50 and 60
noun
a person of this age
I am 52 years old and so I am a quinquagenarian.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Announcement of Prize Winners at Oracle Develop / Oracle Open World
The three-day contest at Oracle OpenWorld and Oracle Develop on the PL/SQL Challenge has now ended!
We have analyzed the answers from everyone who played the daily quiz over the last three days and also checked the box indicating they were in San Francisco and could pick up their prizes.
Tim Lindemulder placed first with a score of 1171 answering 3 quizzes in 238 seconds and wins: an Amazon Kindle.
Second Place
Rob van Wijk placed second with a score of 1154 answering 3 quizzes in 285 seconds and wins: a $100 Amazon.com gift card.
Winners of O'Reilly Media Oracle PL/SQL bundle: Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition, Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices 2nd edition, Oracle PL/SQL Pocket Reference, 4th edition
Bjoern Rost placed 3 with a score of 1110 answering 3 quizzes in 419 seconds
poelger placed 4 with a score of 1104 answering 3 quizzes in 440 seconds
Patrick Wolf placed 5 with a score of 1098 answering 3 quizzes in 459 seconds
John W. Schultz placed 6 with a score of 1095 answering 3 quizzes in 286 seconds
Justin Cave placed 7 with a score of 1084 answering 3 quizzes in 498 seconds
Winners of Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition
Ralf Koelling placed 8 with a score of 1073 answering 3 quizzes in 532 seconds
Greg Belliveau placed 9 with a score of 1061 answering 3 quizzes in 566 seconds
Iloon Ellen placed 10 with a score of 1031 answering 3 quizzes in 476 seconds
Alison placed 11 with a score of 940 answering 3 quizzes in 376 seconds
Jonathan Hart placed 12 with a score of 877 answering 2 quizzes in 368 seconds and wins
Winners of $50 Amazon.com giftcard
John Jeunnette placed 13 with a score of 797 answering 3 quizzes in 462 seconds
shra1 placed 14 with a score of 766 answering 2 quizzes in 702 seconds
Winners of your choice of O'Reilly Media Oracle PL/SQL bundle: Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition, Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices 2nd edition, Oracle PL/SQL Pocket Reference, 4th edition (some books may not be available)
Craig Robinson placed 15 with a score of 725 answering 3 quizzes in 496 seconds
Nuno Ornelas placed 16 with a score of 716 answering 3 quizzes in 520 seconds
Fuad Arshad placed 17 with a score of 714 answering 3 quizzes in 155 seconds
Roel Hartman placed 18 with a score of 607 answering 3 quizzes in 27033 seconds
steve aho placed 19 with a score of 601 answering 3 quizzes in 697 seconds
Rob Dawson placed 20 with a score of 436 answering 2 quizzes in 193 seconds
phowells placed 21 with a score of 342 answering 2 quizzes in 295 seconds
Texas placed 22 with a score of 302 answering 2 quizzes in 595 seconds
KevinZhang placed 23 with a score of 268 answering 2 quizzes in 698 seconds
TigerFan placed 24 with a score of 237 answering 2 quizzes in 1117 seconds
Coleman Leviter placed 25 with a score of 219 answering 2 quizzes in 287 seconds
Ara placed 26 with a score of 217 answering 1 quizzes in 99 seconds
Eric Tegenfeldt placed 27 with a score of 215 answering 1 quizzes in 104 seconds
John Flack placed 28 with a score of 207 answering 1 quizzes in 128 seconds
Lori Townsend placed 29 with a score of 204 answering 2 quizzes in 138 seconds
Gonzalo Segarra placed 30 with a score of 155 answering 1 quizzes in 104 seconds
PeaellSlashSeaquell placed 31 with a score of 148 answering 1 quizzes in 307 seconds
Dennis Ruane placed 32 with a score of 143 answering 1 quizzes in 142 seconds
C. Scyphers placed 33 with a score of 140 answering 2 quizzes in 1261 seconds
diggitydog placed 34 with a score of 121 answering 1 quizzes in 387 seconds
mnrbradley placed 35 with a score of 40 answering 2 quizzes in 272 seconds
We have analyzed the answers from everyone who played the daily quiz over the last three days and also checked the box indicating they were in San Francisco and could pick up their prizes.
Winners of the Oracle OpenWorld and Oracle Develop prize pool can, in fact, pick up their prizes by visiting the Mason Street Tent Thursday, September 23, anytime between 7:00 am - 4:30 pm to pick up your prizes at the Oracle Technology Network info desk. Steven Feuerstein will be present from noon to 1 PM to congratulate you, sign books, and join you in a celebratory photo - if you so desire. If you do not claim your prize Thursday, September 23 by 4:30 PM it will be forfeit. So much for the fine print. Let's get to the Big News!
Congratulations to everyone who is listed below (note: the names displayed are those chosen by the PL/SQL Challenge player). We hope that you will all continue to play the PL/SQL Challenge each day and tune up your PL/SQL skills and knowledge even further.
Warm regards,
Steven Feuerstein
Warm regards,
Steven Feuerstein
First Place
Tim Lindemulder placed first with a score of 1171 answering 3 quizzes in 238 seconds and wins: an Amazon Kindle.
Second Place
Rob van Wijk placed second with a score of 1154 answering 3 quizzes in 285 seconds and wins: a $100 Amazon.com gift card.
Winners of O'Reilly Media Oracle PL/SQL bundle: Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition, Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices 2nd edition, Oracle PL/SQL Pocket Reference, 4th edition
Bjoern Rost placed 3 with a score of 1110 answering 3 quizzes in 419 seconds
poelger placed 4 with a score of 1104 answering 3 quizzes in 440 seconds
Patrick Wolf placed 5 with a score of 1098 answering 3 quizzes in 459 seconds
John W. Schultz placed 6 with a score of 1095 answering 3 quizzes in 286 seconds
Justin Cave placed 7 with a score of 1084 answering 3 quizzes in 498 seconds
Winners of Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition
Ralf Koelling placed 8 with a score of 1073 answering 3 quizzes in 532 seconds
Greg Belliveau placed 9 with a score of 1061 answering 3 quizzes in 566 seconds
Iloon Ellen placed 10 with a score of 1031 answering 3 quizzes in 476 seconds
Alison placed 11 with a score of 940 answering 3 quizzes in 376 seconds
Jonathan Hart placed 12 with a score of 877 answering 2 quizzes in 368 seconds and wins
Winners of $50 Amazon.com giftcard
John Jeunnette placed 13 with a score of 797 answering 3 quizzes in 462 seconds
shra1 placed 14 with a score of 766 answering 2 quizzes in 702 seconds
Winners of your choice of O'Reilly Media Oracle PL/SQL bundle: Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition, Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices 2nd edition, Oracle PL/SQL Pocket Reference, 4th edition (some books may not be available)
Craig Robinson placed 15 with a score of 725 answering 3 quizzes in 496 seconds
Nuno Ornelas placed 16 with a score of 716 answering 3 quizzes in 520 seconds
Fuad Arshad placed 17 with a score of 714 answering 3 quizzes in 155 seconds
Roel Hartman placed 18 with a score of 607 answering 3 quizzes in 27033 seconds
steve aho placed 19 with a score of 601 answering 3 quizzes in 697 seconds
Rob Dawson placed 20 with a score of 436 answering 2 quizzes in 193 seconds
phowells placed 21 with a score of 342 answering 2 quizzes in 295 seconds
Texas placed 22 with a score of 302 answering 2 quizzes in 595 seconds
KevinZhang placed 23 with a score of 268 answering 2 quizzes in 698 seconds
TigerFan placed 24 with a score of 237 answering 2 quizzes in 1117 seconds
Coleman Leviter placed 25 with a score of 219 answering 2 quizzes in 287 seconds
Ara placed 26 with a score of 217 answering 1 quizzes in 99 seconds
Eric Tegenfeldt placed 27 with a score of 215 answering 1 quizzes in 104 seconds
John Flack placed 28 with a score of 207 answering 1 quizzes in 128 seconds
Lori Townsend placed 29 with a score of 204 answering 2 quizzes in 138 seconds
Gonzalo Segarra placed 30 with a score of 155 answering 1 quizzes in 104 seconds
PeaellSlashSeaquell placed 31 with a score of 148 answering 1 quizzes in 307 seconds
Dennis Ruane placed 32 with a score of 143 answering 1 quizzes in 142 seconds
C. Scyphers placed 33 with a score of 140 answering 2 quizzes in 1261 seconds
diggitydog placed 34 with a score of 121 answering 1 quizzes in 387 seconds
mnrbradley placed 35 with a score of 40 answering 2 quizzes in 272 seconds
Sunday, September 19, 2010
PL/SQL Challenge Prizes You Can Win During Oracle Open World Week
Here's a recap of all the prizes you can win this week playing the daily quiz. The first table shows what you could win if you are attending Oracle Open World or Oracle Develop. The second table shows the fantastic prizes available to anyone playing around the world.
Good luck to everyone!
For those attending Oracle OpenWorld or Oracle Develop:
Rank | Prize |
1 | Amazon Kindle ebook reader ($260) |
2 | $100 Amazon.com giftcard |
3-7 | O'Reilly Media Oracle PL/SQL bundle: Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition, Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices 2nd edition, Oracle PL/SQL Pocket Reference, 4th edition ($120 value) |
8 - 12 | Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition ($70 value) |
13-14 | $50 Amazon.com giftcard |
Raffle | 5 Oracle PL/SQL Programming 5th edition 15 Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices 2nd edition 15 Oracle PL/SQL Pocket Reference, 4th edition |
For those not attending Oracle OpenWorld or Oracle Develop:
Rank | Prize |
1 | Complimentary registration to the ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2011 conference, a US$1775 value. |
2-3 | Complimentary registration in your choice of the Oracle PL/SQL Programming/APEXposed conferences, a US$600 value |
Raffle | Complimentary membership in the ODTUG organization, a US$175 value |
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Win Many Great Prizes at Special PL/SQL Challenge Competition during Oracle Develop 2010
PL/SQL Challenge (a daily quiz for PL/SQL developers) will be holding a special challenge during the week of Oracle OpenWorld and Oracle Develop. From September 20 through September 22 (with start and end of days determined by UTC time), you take the daily quiz through the PL/SQL Challenge website: www.plsqlchallenge.com. We will have two prize pools; one for Oracle OpenWorld and Oracle Develop attendees (with prizes provided by PL/SQL Challenge and O'Reilly Media)and another for non-attendees (playing from anywhere in the world).
If you are attending Oracle OpenWorld or Oracle Develop when you submit your answer, be sure to check the box labeled "I am at Oracle OpenWorld/Oracle Develop and can pick up my prize at the Mason Street Tent."
After the quiz ends on Wednesday, September 22nd, prizes will be awarded both for top ranking (highest scores for the three days of quizzes) and prizes will be raffled off for all those who took at least one quiz (the more you take, the greater your chance of winning).
We will announce the winners no later than midnight in San Francisco, 22nd September, with the list available on the PL/SQL Challenge blog, the Oracle Develop blog, Steven Feuerstein's blog, and on the PL/SQL Challenge website.
Winners of the Oracle OpenWorld and Oracle Develop prize pool then visit the Mason Street Tent Thursday, September 23, anytime between 7:00 am - 4:30 pm to pick up your prizes at the Oracle Technology Network info desk. I will be present from noon to 1 PM to congratulate you, sign books, and join you in a celebratory photo - if you so desire. If you do not claim your prize Thursday, September 23 by 4:30 PM it will be forfeit.
For those not attending Oracle Open World or Oracle Develop, the PL/SQL Challenge celebrates this enormous gathering of Oracle technologists by offering a set of special prizes for the week starting September 20. Instead of the usual two prizes for high rank and participation in that week, you could win any of the following:
If you are attending Oracle OpenWorld or Oracle Develop when you submit your answer, be sure to check the box labeled "I am at Oracle OpenWorld/Oracle Develop and can pick up my prize at the Mason Street Tent."
After the quiz ends on Wednesday, September 22nd, prizes will be awarded both for top ranking (highest scores for the three days of quizzes) and prizes will be raffled off for all those who took at least one quiz (the more you take, the greater your chance of winning).
We will announce the winners no later than midnight in San Francisco, 22nd September, with the list available on the PL/SQL Challenge blog, the Oracle Develop blog, Steven Feuerstein's blog, and on the PL/SQL Challenge website.
Winners of the Oracle OpenWorld and Oracle Develop prize pool then visit the Mason Street Tent Thursday, September 23, anytime between 7:00 am - 4:30 pm to pick up your prizes at the Oracle Technology Network info desk. I will be present from noon to 1 PM to congratulate you, sign books, and join you in a celebratory photo - if you so desire. If you do not claim your prize Thursday, September 23 by 4:30 PM it will be forfeit.
For those not attending Oracle Open World or Oracle Develop, the PL/SQL Challenge celebrates this enormous gathering of Oracle technologists by offering a set of special prizes for the week starting September 20. Instead of the usual two prizes for high rank and participation in that week, you could win any of the following:
- Complimentary registration to the ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2011 conference, a US$1775 value.
- Complimentary registration in your choice of the Oracle PL/SQL Programming/APEXposed conferences, a US$600 value
- Complimentary membership in the ODTUG organization, a US$175 value.
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