If you are in the Seattle/Redmond area, join me tonight while we look at CTP 5 of the Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals.

I'll be starting at 7:15 pm tonight in building 40 at Microsoft. Click here for more details.

I was recently at a client site in Phoenix, teaching a VSTS/SCM course. They have integrated an Ambient Orb Device into their automated build process. If the build passes, it glows green. If it breaks, it glows red.

The orb is inside the developer manager's office, so the devs can peek inside. My understanding is that they have about 15 minutes after seeing red to fix the build and re-run it, before the manager gets an email message.

Idaho's leading entrepreneurial group is joining forces with Idaho's leading funding groups to host a night of networking on September 26 to connect entrepreneurs with capital sources. Connect with the region's most promising new companies and the West's top investors.

WHEN:  Tuesday, September 26 (6-8pm)
WHERE: Lobby Area - Boise Centre on the Grove
WHO:   All entrepreneurs, angel investors & venture capitalists
COST:  Free

RSVP to www.kickstand.org by September 5

Peter DeBetta and I are going to have fun putting together a presentation on "worst practices", and by doing so we will be illustrating the "best practices".

Look for us to be onstage together at SQL Connections this Fall at the Mandalay Bay.

So, what are some of your "worst practices" that you'd like to share?

That's right. My friend, and fellow MVP and INETA guy, Carl Prothman has signed-on to Microsoft as a full time employee (sucker). Carl is the man when it comes to many things, especially the collecting of connection strings. I pitch his site wherever I travel.

He is going to be working in the Community group as a Software Developer Engineer (SDE). Rumor has it that he'll be working for Doug Seven (another community soul who went to the blue-side a few years ago).

It seems that Microsoft has been hiring a record number of folks over the last several weeks (as many as 150/week Carl said).

I think this is a perfect fit for Carl, as he is "Mr. Community" up in the Seattle area.

Be sure to pick this book up next month. It should be good, and was was written by some friends of mine (Wally and Scott).

Thanks to my colleague Kalen Delaney for letting us know that the BOL and Samples have been updated. Download your updates today!

The InfraGard (Boise Chapter) is pleased to invite you to a public session in which we will have an in-depth cyber security discussion with national leading experts from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Critical Infrastructure Protection Center. The event will be held on:

Date:  August 1st, 2006 (Tuesday)
Time:  1:30 – 3:00 pm
Location:  Idaho State Capitol, Gold Room (4th Floor)

The discussion will focus on cyber security issues for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and control systems, current security threat indicators, common vulnerabilities and recommended mitigations. The presenters will help us to focus on activities that can benefit multiple industries in protecting our infrastructure and businesses that support our national and state economy. Even if you do not maintain traditional SCADA systems within your organization, this discussion is definitely still relevant to you as many of the threats, vulnerabilities and countermeasures are applicable to all types of organizations that depend on information technology. 

If you are planning to attend, please RSVP to Ken Dunham.

Yes, sometimes dreams do come true. Although it's not the final match, it is a match with Germany playing Portugal.

I'll be at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium this evening watching the 3rd place game, and not thinking about Team System!

Huge thanks to my friend Jeff Temple for purchasing the tickets. He and his wife Beate will be there too.

Fawcette (FTPOnline) just published a smattering of new articles on Team System, including my new article on the forethcoming edition for Database Professionals.

Yep, these are the RDs and other MVPs that I hang out with on a regular basis.

Caution: Before clicking this link, let me warn you that you are going to see things that you can't un-see!

Hat-tip to Carl Franklin for his camera and assembly skills for this page.

A friend of mine, John Paul Cook, has tricked out SQL Server 2005 database diagrams to show more than just relationships between tables.

Read the DevX article and download the code.

Brian Harry discloses some of the expected features and fixes in TFS SP1 as well as features in the new version of the MSSCCI provider (GetLatest on Checkout being one of them).

Read more here.

Here are some of the useful resources on the Web for the Team System Edition for Database Professionals:

• MSDN Site
• PowerToys Site
• Team Blog
• Thomas Murphy's Blog
• Cameron Skinner's Blog
• Matt Nunn's Blog
• Gert Draper's Blog
• Richard Waymire's Blog
• Sachin Rekhi's Blog
• MSDN Forum

Aside from MSF, Scrum, XP, and RUP, I've been finding some other methodologies and frameworks as I travel and meet with teams. Some might make for interesting Process Templates in Team System. Here are just a few, in no particular order ...

• Prince2 - a process-based approach for project management providing an easily tailored and scaleable method for the management of all types of projects. The method is the de-facto standard for project management in the UK and is practiced worldwide.
• Six Sigma - a methodology to manage process variations that cause defects, defined as unacceptable deviation from the mean or target; and to systematically work towards managing variation to eliminate those defects
• Lean Software Development - a translation of lean manufacturing principles and practices to the software development domain.
• Zachman Framework - a framework for Enterprise Architecture which provides a formal and highly structured way of defining an enterprise's systems architecture.
• DoDAF - a framework for development of a systems architecture or enterprise architecture (EA).

Added Later ...

• Team Software Process (TSP) - helps a high-performance engineer to ensure quality software products, create secure software products, and improve process management in an organization
• Personal Software Process (PSP) - shows engineers how to manage the quality of their projects, make commitments they can meet, improve estimating and planning, reduce defects in their products

Do you know any others? If so, provide links in the comments.

If nothing else, I now know how to spell my name in Russian!

Here's a link to view the back of the book as well.

Thanks to our friends at AVICode for sending me this copy. We enjoyed co-presenting with them at Tech-Ed in Boston.

Pascal Belaud, a .NET evangelist at Microsoft France, has started a beta plan for his popular OlyMars product. Version 1.5 will support .NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005.

So what exactly is OlyMars?

It is a SQL Server Centric .Net Code Generator and is a both flexible and powerful generator based on database modeling. It allows instant generation of both T-SQL and .Net code providing a complete library of stored procedures, .NET classes and ready-to-use custom web and form controls related to the database modeling, including associated documentation. These elements are illustrated in two default Windows and Web applications and can be used in custom applications. SQL Server centric .Net code generator is fully extensible to use custom templates and extended properties and consequently can be adjusted to generate any custom code respecting a homogeneous implementation scheme.