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Blog: Robert S. Seiner« July 2008 | Main | September 2008 » August 31, 2008The Last Lecture: An As-We-Go Review Part 1Day One of Reading Not since the early days of The Data Administration Newsletter (TDAN.com) have I written a review of a book that had a lot of meaning to me. Even then, most of the books I reviewed (and most of the books reviewed in general on TDAN.com) were about the data management industry and specific disciplines therein. Never did I review a book about the bright side of life (whistle with me now). And never did I publish or blog about a book that I had not read yet. Well this is a review of both. Maybe you have heard of the book I am reading. I am reading The Last Lecture, a powerful book written by a Computer Science Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, a school where I grew up literally blocks away. In the early seventies when hippies roamed the campus and there were small kids skateboarding amongst the students, well I was the kid on the skateboard. The sad part of this review is that the author, Randy Pausch, just recently passed away at the age of 47 from pancreatic cancer. Both of my parents shared his same fate. My father was a Carnegie Tech grad (before Mellon came along) and both of my brothers received their Masters at CMU. My father stayed very active in chemical engineering programs at CMU all the way up to his death. As far as I know, my father and brothers did not know or have any association with Professor Pausch when they were active with the university. As I read the book I am being led to believe that Pausch’s death had everything but nothing to do with this book. This book is literally his last lecture but it is clear that the lecture itself is not about dying. This book and lecture has made big news this summer and presently the book sits at the top of several best seller lists. This book already has meaning to me and I want to share that with you as I read the book. You see …, When Pausch wrote the lecture, he knew that he was going to die. His immediate reaction upon learning that news was the realization that he would not be around to share with his young children all the things he had to share. He could not share his wisdom, his courage, his advice, his fatherhood, his opinions, and more. He knew that he could, but that his children would be too young to understand. Pausch wanted to leave a legacy for his small children ages 5, 2 & 1. I can understand that. My daughters are a bit older but I still have a lot of life lessons to share. Early in the book (the part I have read thus far) Pausch described his upbringing and family life. He talked about his father and his mother. I saw a lot of my mom and dad in what he wrote and how he thought about them every day and all the time. We had similar upbringings in several ways in different locations. Very similar in fact. He was 46 when he wrote the book. I am that age right now. He lectured all the time as part of his job. I do the same. Family values were very important to Pausch but work had a similar importance and was a constant demand. In the book he wrote about his struggle to spend his dying days with his wife and children while also putting together his legacy in the form of his last lecture. He wrote about using the last few months of his life to uproot his family from my hometown (and his) of Pittsburgh and moving his family to a place where extended family and friends would help his wife Jai to raise the children. Life was not easy for Pausch in those last months leading up to his book. And then it got worse. He was told he had less time on this planet. The plan became to jam six months into two. “Last Lectures” at universities, as described in the earliest part of the book, are fairly commonplace. Universities often allow their esteemed professors to provide commentary on their life, how their life has led them to that day, and the direction that their life is pointing. The last lectures typically are not lectured by a person who knows their life is coming to a close. I am just now starting into the actual lecture. I have heard from several people that the lecture itself is humorous, serious, reflective, inspirational, … all of the things that make it an absolute must read. Stay tuned … I am getting there. Please come back for more. Join In This blog/review will also appear as a Special Feature in the September 2008 issue of The Data Administration Newsletter (TDAN.com). If you have read this book, or if you are in the process of reading the book, please share your thoughts with me and with the other readers of my publication, TDAN.com, and the Business Intelligence Network. Thanks.
August 24, 2008Non-Invasive Data Governance in PittsburghHOW TO BUILD & IMPLEMENT “NON-INVASIVE DATA GOVERNANCE”™ & DATA STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS - MONDAY & TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 22 & 23, 2008 IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA USA -- http://www.kikconsulting.com SPECIAL RATES EXTENDED: REGISTER 2 PEOPLE AND A 3rd PERSON FROM THE SAME ORGANIZATION CAN ATTEND AT NO ADDITIONAL COST! EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION RATE AND DISCOUNTED ROOM RATE AVAILABLE UNTIL AUGUST 27 (EXTENDED FROM 8/25). Dear Friends of TDAN.com, KIK Consulting, and the B-Eye Network, TDAN.com and KIK Consulting & Educational Services, LLC are proud to announce our next public course on Data Governance & Data Stewardship. The course titled ‘How to Build & Implement “Non-Invasive Data Governance”™ & Data Stewardship Programs’ will be offered on September 22nd & 23rd at the Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The course always receives very positive reviews and has sold out often in the past. Students of this class will learn how to implement effective “Non-Invasive Data Governance”™ & Data Stewardship programs and how to immediately formulate a strategy & plan that will deliver measurable results with minimal investment. SPECIAL RATES EXTENDED: REGISTER 2 PEOPLE AND A 3rd PERSON FROM THE SAME ORGANIZATION CAN ATTEND AT NO ADDITIONAL COST! EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION RATE AND DISCOUNTED ROOM RATE AVAILABLE UNTIL AUGUST 27. The agenda for the course is as follows: A. Day One – Morning (~3-3.5 hours) B. Day One – Afternoon (~3-3.5 hours) C. Day Two – Morning (~3-3.5 hours) D. Day Two – Afternoon (~2-2.5 hours) The instructor, Robert S. Seiner of KIK Consulting & Educational Services, LLC (yours truly) has been implementing successful data governance and data stewardship programs for more than twelve years and has been transferring “how-to” knowledge to corporate, government and education entities via consulting, consultative mentoring & education for more than a dozen years. A significant amount of the Seminar relates to Mr. Seiner’s experiences with many notable companies, government organizations and institutions of higher learning. Mr. Seiner has offered this Seminar for corporate, government and education entities on site at their locations for many years and began providing the course in a public setting a few years ago due to overwhelming interest. By providing public classes, Mr. Seiner hopes to reach a broader audience and those companies that are interested in learning about successful stewardship & governance implementations but that don’t have the numbers of interested individuals to bring the Seminar on-site. Price Seminar Location:
Best Regards,
SPECIAL RATES EXTENDED: REGISTER 2 PEOPLE AND A 3rd PERSON FROM THE SAME ORGANIZATION CAN ATTEND AT NO ADDITIONAL COST! EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION RATE AND DISCOUNTED ROOM RATE AVAILABLE UNTIL AUGUST 27. * “Non-Invasive Data Governance”™ is a registered trademark of Robert S. Seiner & KIK Consulting
August 4, 2008TDAN.com New Issue Announcement - August 200808/01/08 – THE DATA ADMINISTRATION NEWSLETTER, LLC – http://www.TDAN.com Dear TDAN.com Readers, The new issue (August 2008) of The Data Administration Newsletter (TDAN.com) is now available on-line at http://www.TDAN.com. TDAN.com is in its 12th year of publication with the reader-base and the content-base growing tremendously with your support and interest. Read on to learn about all of the new content included in the August issue. “MORE CONTENT MORE OFTEN” means more opportunity for you to get your articles published in this popular e-publication for Data Management Professionals. The August issue contains New Articles from me, Robert S. Seiner (Stewardship Approach to Data Governance: Part 9 - The Operational Data Steward), Scott Benson (The 10-Minute Data Model Review Part 2), Bill Lewis (Data Lineage) and Mike Gorman (Function Points). Four Feature Columns were added – Bob Dominko's Unwired Tap is being run a month late (sorry Bob!), DAMA's Deborah Henderson has written about the DMBOK, Ron Ross's new Feature Column on Business Rules and Adrian Miley focuses on Design and Architecture. Two Special Features have been added for August inclduing one from Larry P. English (in cooperation with the IRM UK's Data Management and Information Quality Conference Europe 2008) and one from quarterly columnist Craig S. Mullins on Database Auditing for Security and Compliance. Links to new articles on the Business Intelligence Network have been added as well. CALL FOR FEATURE COLUMNS: The rest of the publication continues to be updated regularly including new book reviews, an updated list of data-oriented conferences through 2008, updates to the book list of several top books published in late ’07 and in ’08, business resource list, companies and products list and more. The quote of the week (Winston Churchill) and 5 data oriented news stories (TDANews) continue to be updated weekly. I am always interested in your feedback regarding the new issue and the (not so) new look of TDAN.com. Please feel free to contact me with suggestions and comments. A form has been set up through the Contact tab to submit these comments. Thanks. NEW Articles Added for August 2008: -- Robert S. Seiner – The Stewardship Approach to Data Governance: Part 9 -- Scott Benson – The 10-Minute Data Model Review, Part 2 -- Bill Lewis – Data Lineage: The Next Generation -- Michael G. Gorman – Function Points: A Strategy to Determine -- Robert Dominko – Unwired Tap – Smart Phones Vs. MIDs (July’s column) -- Adrian Wiley – Architecture is Subjective, Design is Objective -- Ronald G. Ross – Business Rules: In the Know: -- Deborah Henderson – The DAMA Corner – The DAMA DMBOK Guide: NEW Special Features Added for August 2008: -- Craig S. Mullins – Database Auditing Capabilities for Compliance and Security -- Larry P. English – Grounding Your IQ Management in Sound Quality Management Systems Also on the Pages of TDAN.com this Month: -- Book Reviews -- Updated Conference List -- Updated Business Resource Section -- Updated Book List -- Special Features -- Updated Company & Product List TDAN.com Media Sponsored and Speaking Events: Please visit the web sites for these events by clicking through their banners on the TDAN.com site. TDAN.com promotes the industry leading events through the publishing of papers, banners, links and reviews of the best of the best industry events: -- The Data Warehousing Institute – Summer World Conference - TDWI -- DAMA New York – 2008 DAMA Day -- DAMA New Jersey - September DAMA Meeting -- Information & Data Quality (IDQ) Conference 2008 – IAIDQ & Wilshire Conferences -- Web 3.0 Conference & Expo – JupiterMedia Events -- 11th Annual International Business Rules Forum & Expo – Business Rules Forum -- The Data Warehousing Institute – Fall World Conference – TDWI -- Data Management & Information Quality Conference Europe 2008 – IRM UK * I will be speaking at this event. Thank you very much for your continued interest and support of The Data Administration Newsletter. The newsletter’s success is closely tied to the submissions of excellent articles by industry specialists and practitioners like yourself. If you are interested in publishing an article, please let me know as soon as possible. The deadlines typically fall monthly before new content is added. Do you have an article in you? I hope to hear from you. Comments on the new issue of TDAN.com are always welcome. Robert S. Seiner
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