Doug Reilly's Weblog

Tech Ed Lost and Found...

2006-06-17T14:11:00Z

Folks, Anyone who was at Tech Ed, if you happen to find a Wedding Ring, with "6-10-78" and "...There is Love" inscribed on the inside, could you see that it gets back to me? Long story, but in recent months, I have been going through treatments that have caused me to lose lots of weight. Among the consequences of that is that my wedding ring occasionally falls off. I resisted folks telling me that I should get it resized, in the hope that I would put the weight back on and then would have to get...(read more)

Are Software Development Books Obsolete?

2006-06-07T14:06:00Z

I don't think so, as I say here.

The Internet offers any numbers of ways to learn about software development, but it is difficult to do on a Web page the sort of thing that a good book can do.

What do you think?

If you are going to Tech Ed, Do Remember My Birds of a Feather...

2006-06-05T15:31:00Z

It will be "Geeks With Cancer and Other Serious Diseases", and I will have some swag to give away from my friends at Red Gate (the folks who sponsor Simple-Talk.com, the site where my article on cancer survivorship appeared.

Geeks with Cancer and Other Serious Diseases

Day/Time: Tuesday, June 13 7:45 PM - 8:45 PM

Computer folks with cancer and any number of other serious chronic and/or life threatening diseases have some special issues that they need to be concerned about. Making time for treatment, planning for succession should the worst happen present special challenges. This Birds-of-a-Feather will let developers who are dealing with these issues get together and discuss these issues.

Session Type(s): Birds of a Feather

CNET Article...

2006-05-20T16:30:00Z

CNET has published an article on Cancer Survivorship. The article includes a very nice picture of my wife and I, along with my story.

LiveStrong Challenge!

2006-04-17T21:52:00Z

The LiveStrong Challenge is a series of rides designed to support the work of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. For those of you who do not know, the Lance Armstrong Foundation supports folks living with cancer and its after effects. They have lots of material that is useful for the newly diagnosed, and support programs for cancer survivors. If any of you recall Jim Ross, a fellow ASP Insider and Microsoft MVP, who died from cancer back in November, one of the things that allowed him to get through the last months of his life was an exercise program initially funded by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

I have signed up for the LiveStrong Challenge ride in Philidelphia on September 10th, 2005. I signed up for the 100 mile ride, though of course there is some doubt whether I will be able to do the entire 100 miles. There are shorter rides, but since I will hopefully be finishing up the current chemo on August 4th, I hope to be able to train between the end of chemo and the date of the ride.

The LiveStrong Challenge Web site has a page for you to be able to sponsor me if you wish. You can click here if you would like to sponsor me on the ride. I have set a goal of $5,000, but if you are really enthusiastic and donate $15,000, I will get an invitation to the Ride for the Roses in Austin, which would be amazingly cool.

My Birds of a Feather Session, "Geeks with Cancer and Other Serious Diseases" has been Accepted!

2006-04-14T11:10:00Z

If you are going to Tech Ed, and you are a Geek with Cancer or Other Serious Disease, or you work with one, do consider stopping by my Birds of a Feather session, at 7:45 PM on Tuesday June 13th! There are 10 million cancer survivors today in the US, most of them back in the workforce. Add in those managing other serious diseases, and you have a lot of folks, likely a number in your organization. This raises some serious issues.

We will discuss the issues, both general survivorship issues as well as specific issues for folks who work with computers. How do you handle the delicate task of talking about your disease? Who do you tell? How do you manage treatments along with working? What about succession planning?

I have an unfortunate amount of experience with dealing with such issues, being a liver cancer survivor since 1998, and currently managing Mucinous Adenocarcinoma.

I would be especially interested in discussing anyone's experience outside the US.

Glenn Johnson - Database Geek of the Week!

2006-04-05T23:54:00Z

Glenn Johnson is the author of Programming Microsoft ADO.NET Applications - Advanced Topics. He has perhaps more MS certifications than anyone else I know. From the interview:

Doug: I am in the process of writing an article on the role of technical books in the overall career development of a software developer. Do you think there is still a place for books in this world of ubiquitous Internet access, blogs and so on?

Glenn: I think that there is place for Internet, blogs, and development books. There are plenty of people who simply refuse to read large articles on their computer. For them, the book is the answer. Also, many people like the ability to take the book to places where there is either no Internet access (I'm not sure where that is these days) or no power outlets (like at the airport).

I think that the Internet is a place to go to for specific articles, but a book typically provides a means for more structured learning of a variety of topics.

Complete interview is here.

Tech Ed BOF: Geeks with Cancer, and Other Serious Diseases

2006-03-31T18:03:00Z

If you read my recent article on surviving cancer as a Software Developer and think the topic deserves attention at Tech Ed, vote here for the Geeks with Cancer and Other Serious Diseases Birds of a Feather for Tech Ed 2006 in Boston.

[Book Review] Fixing Access Annoyances

2006-03-24T12:41:00Z

Fixing Access Annoyances
by Phil Mitchell and Evan Callahan
ISBN 0-596-00852-x

Admit it. Even if you are a hard core SQL Server person, now and again, you find yourself dealing with Microsoft Access. It can be a maddening experience, as Access can do so much, but can be so difficult to handle from time to time.

This is a book that I wondered about getting. I have been working (and been annoyed by) Microsoft Access since the beta for Access 2, and thought I knew pretty much all I needed to know. My mistake. In the first 30 pages, I learned something (specifically, how to set default properties for controls on a form). In the balance of the book, I learned a few things, and will keep the book nearby, as I still have one fairly major client who has me supporting a large MS Access application (developed by another developer).

If you use Access (and more of you do than will admit it, I bet) this is an important book to have on your bookshelf.

Posting to Forums? Here Are Some Questions to Ask Yourself

2006-03-22T15:22:00Z

I just had an article posted on Simple-Talk.com about posting to forums. Here it is.

This is part of a continuing series on career development, and how to keep up in a fast moving software development world.

Tom Moreau - Database Geek of the Week!

2006-03-13T20:38:00Z

Tom Moreau is an interesting guy. Who else in the software business do you know who has an advanced degree in Experimental Space Science?

Doug: I notice you have a doctorate. Could I ask what your degree is in?

Tom: Officially, it's Experimental Space Science, but before you make any cracks about me being a "rocket scientist", I should tell you that my PhD supervisor wouldn't let me base my thesis on rockets, since they have a high probability of failure (although I did analyze some rocket telemetry data through my course work). Funnily enough, the fellow grad student, Steve MacLean, who showed me how to use the word processor (something more challenging than physics back then) went on to became a Canadian astronaut! Anyway, my specific field was molecular physics. I looked at the UV emission spectrum of the ClO free radical, which took part in the degradation of stratospheric ozone. Coincidentally, my cousin also has a PhD in spectroscopy, though he remains in the profession, studying polyatomics.

Read the entire article here.

I am Coming Out!

2006-03-06T16:00:00Z

No, I am not gay - not that there is anything wrong with that. I am Coming Out as a Cancer Survivor. My new article, Coming Out as a Cancer Survivor: A Guide for Software Developers is now available.

I have an unfortunate amount of experience on this particular topic. If you, or a coworker is dealing with cancer, please take a look at this article. It is one of those articles that I am very proud to have written, and hope it will help those who come after me.

New Article on Career Development

2006-02-23T14:35:00Z

An article I did on career development in general, and attending conferences in particular, has just been posted on Simple-Talk.com.

As "conference season" begins, this article can help you determine whether attending a conference is right for you, as well as talking about how to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits.

Michael Rys - Database Geek of the Week

2006-02-07T20:48:00Z

The Database Geek of the Week is back from vacation! Well, actually, 3 weeks or so in the hospital is not technically a vacation, but you know what I mean. Michael is a Program Manager at Microsoft.

Doug: Where in the SQL Server world do you think XML best fits?

Michael: I think one of the advantages and, to some extent, disadvantages of XML is that it can be used for many different things: as a transport format for data interchange, as a markup document format (for example, XHTML, WordML etc.), as a semi-structured data representation, and so on. The important thing to remember is that all this is data and therefore needs to be integrated with the data management platform – in our case, SQL Server. So XML fits as a transport format for relational data (which inside the database should be still be processed as relational data), but it also enables easier management of semi-structured data inside the database, and allows us to unlock the information inside documents beyond simple full-text search — for example, enabling context sensitive search.

The entire interview is here.

Do you have a candidate for Database Geek of the week? If so, do contact me using the Contact link, or at doug@accessmicrosystems.net

[OT] Managed Care Rant

2006-02-03T18:07:00Z

Let me preface this by saying that I am sick. Not a little sick, like a cold or the flu, but really sick. Life threatening sick. Thus, my level of patience with the managed care system may well be even more limited than normal. I consider this reasonable: When you are really sick, and there are people who appear set on preventing you from trying to stay as well as you are or getting a little better, you are likely not to like them.

Further, I have had illnesses all my life that have made me averse to managed care. I have a rare disease that pre-disposes me to a number of unusual illnesses. Your average physician is not aware of the possible difficulties, there is no chance a clerk or an RN at a managed care company will understand the details of my disease. For instance, desmoids tumors are frequent complications of my disease. They are "benign," however my niece died of complications from a desmoid tumors at age 20. I pay more not to have to get any referrals. Sadly, a CT scan needs a "Pre-Certification."

On Friday, January 27^th, my doctor wanted me to get a CT the following week (week of January 30^th). My doctor is a very good doctor, Chief of the Gastric and Mixed Tumor Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a pretty good cancer center. He felt it was important for me to get a CT this week. Initially, I was only able to get an appointment only for the following week (9:30 PM on the 9^th), however, the doctor's office said they would try to do better.

On Tuesday, January 31^st (late) I got a call about a moved up CT, now scheduled for February 2^nd at 2:40 p.m., arrive at 1:40 p.m. On February 1^st in the AM, my doctor's office faxed the requested information to Care Core National (who manages imaging issues for Aetna NJ). This was the first of three times this information was sent.

On February 2^nd, I called Care Core National first thing and was told that my doctor's office had not sent the requested information. I called my doctor's office again and they assured me that they had sent the information to the correct number, and had a confirmation that it arrived the prior morning. I called a number of times trying to get Care Core National to acknowledge that they had the fax, but was eventually forwarded to a "supervisor," a Ms. Rivera. Ms. Rivera suggested that if I had the physician fax the information once more (a third time) marked as Urgent, perhaps it would be read within an hour or two. Otherwise, it might take 4-6 hours or longer for the other faxes to get read. Note that the person who forwarded me to Ms. Rivera when I requested a supervisor implicitly lied, as Ms. Rivera supervises no one.

At this point, I assured them this was not a vanity CT. I am trying to stay out of the hospital, trying to stay off of IV nutrition at home, and for all these reasons, it was critical to do the CT when my doctor felt it was important. I called back as I drove the 2 hours into Memorial Sloan Kettering, and was told that, in spite of the fact that my doctor considered my need for a CT scan Urgent, someone who was not a physician, likely an RN, at Care Core National had determined that I did not meet their criteria for Urgent, and they could not tell me what those criteria were.

I eventually got to the first level supervisor's supervisor (a Mr. Robinson) via voice mail and left a message explaining the circumstances, the degree of my illness and how his organization has made this difficult time so much more difficult. I never heard back from Mr. Robinson (he says he called twice, but never left a message). I called him, and he offered no real insight into how someone who is very sick should go about getting a CT when only a day or so in advance was possible due to hospital scheduling and patient need. I asked for information regarding lodging a formal complaint, but never got any answer. I assured him that his organization had ticked off their worst nightmare: A sick guy who can write and speak with time on his hands.

Aetna, by the way, washes their hands of all of this, saying that they contract to Care Core National, and even when they disagree with details of a case, they can do nothing.

As a postscript, I eventually did get pre-certs for both scans (less than 24 hours after I actually had them). I am now told by Mr. Robinson that these pre-certs will be applied to the scans from yesterday.

Is this the way we want desperately sick people to spend their time? As a society, is this compassionate care? A patient with a life threatening illness, doing the best he possibly can for himself to stay out of the hospital and off of other expensive therapies must waste a precious day of his life fighting for what he pays a great deal of money for. I hear you saying, "Well, you are sick, you must use your insurance a lot." Of course I do. I have no choice in the matter, I do not smoke, I do not drink. Prior to some recent surgery, I ate a normal American diet, which is to say likely too much, but otherwise lead a normal life. At the same time, I buy car insurance, and have not used it in many years. I have homeowners insurance that I am pretty certain I have not used in this century, and probably not the last decade of the last century. That is the point of insurance, you share risks. I am a terrible risk with respect to health insurance, a much better risk with respect to car and homeowners insurance. That is what Insurance should be doing.