I will be doing my Characteristics of a Great Relational Database, which is a session that I haven’t done since last PASS. When I was asked about doing this Summit Preview version of 24 hours of PASS, I decided that I would do this session, largely because it is kind of light and fun, but also because it is either going to be the basis of the end section of my pre-con at the summit or it is going to be the section of the pre-con we don’t get to because we are so involved in working out designs that we forget the time and the next day’s precon people start arriving and kick us out.

The session is basically a discussion about the finishing touches that make a database better than average, something you can rave about, something you can brag to your significant other about, something your company will run a Super Bowl ad just thanking you for… Well, ok, seriously, a database that won’t cause you and your coworkers to ralph each time you use it is a solid step towards the way you will want to develop your databases. 

The goal is to be reasonably like at a little bit fun, since I am doing the presentation at 11:00 PM Central Time in the US, and well, that isn’t exactly prime SQL time for most people. In Europe it will be the middle of the night, and in half of the US I will be competing with the national news and the end of the football game between the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. If the game is close, I will be happy to share your attention, and heck, if my internet connection would support streaming video and the sharing client I would probably be watching the game myself (as it is, I will probably TiVo it and watch it on my phone via SlingBox when we are done…yes, I have a little bit of a football problem.)

If you want to attend my session, click here and register. Even if database design isn’t your thing, 24 hours of PASS has (hold on to your hat) 24 different sessions in a 24 hour period to choose from. So click on over to the 24HOP Speaker/Session list and pick your sessions and register for them. I look forward to seeing you (well your name in the list) at the event.

But db design is your thing (or you want it to be!), and you want to get a full day dose on the Monday before PASS, try my pre-con on Relational Database Design. It is going to be a great day, there will be plenty of learning, lots of swag (including at least 30 copies of my book to give away,) and some practical experience doing a bit of team based design. In any case it will be better than a normal Monday at the office.