Greetings from New Orleans: where the air is thick with edumacation inside the convention center and just plain thick outside.  I’ll confirm for you that this is the perfect place to hold a technical conference.  No one wishes to go outside in this weather. 

As is usually the case I have learned more speaking with my fellow SQL Server Professionals than I have in sessions.  Where else can you get Buck Woody, Denny Cherry, Kevin Kline, Robert Cain, Allen White, and Adam Machanic to look at your system issues and toss ideas for improvement out.  It’s a Brain Trust to end all Brain Trusts.  I also enlisted Jen McCown and her deep knowledge of armadillo anatomy to assist me in a rendering of the reclusive Ozardillo…   

However the highlight of my day was being the guy that was able to teach Itzik Ben-Gan something new.  He was having difficulty with configuring an Oracle 64-bit linked server from within SSMS 2008 R2.  I was able to step up, and with a quick review of a tip I wrote in February of 2008 for mssqltips.com give him the process to solve his problem.  I’ve had some good days in my life: birth of my children, my wedding day, my ugly mug on the cover of SQL Server Magazine, and being awarded Microsoft MVP status.  I think teaching Itzik something new comes in on that list right behind “wedding day.”  I’ve now had at least two people come up to me and go “hey, you’re the guy who taught Itzik something about SQL, right?” 

Yes.  Yes I am. 

There were some memorable times from the evening as well.  I didn’t get out of the convention center until after 9pm, making it back to the hotel only to change clothes and hit Bourbon Street.  

I remember Nadine Buying Tom His First Confio Uniform...

  

...but from there it gets hazy. Nice look SQLRockstar!

 

I had to thumb through my phone’s pictures in order to try to piece together the next 6 hours from there… if you can review these and help me I’d appreciate it.  Thanks. 

 

 

 

Now a contest 

From the pictures above, provide me with a short story piecing together my missing 6 hours.  Post here as a comment and the winner (selected by me) will win some TechEd swag.