I attend my first SQL users group meeting on 02/26/08. This is a new users group in the Cincinnati area. I really enjoyed this meeting. So far most of my IT experience has been creating web sites but I've always considered becoming a DBA. I think I'd enjoy maintaining a database but haven't had the chance yet.

The guest speaker, Maria Stone, was also nice enough to zip up her PowerPoint presentation along with several example queries for the AdventureWorks database.

Topics covered during this meeting:

• Try – Catch
• Recursive Queries
• Temporal Data
• Ranking
• Pivot

Right now I'm just attending the meeting to get a better understanding of what SQL Server 2005 can really do. I know SQL Server 2008 has been released recently but for the company I work would not need the upgrade at this time.

There were many new things I was able to learn during the hour meeting but it also opened my mind to start to think in the direction of how to use the data versus just maintaining it.

If your using SQL and in the Cincinnati area feel free to attend these meeting on the fourth Tuesday of each month in Mason, Ohio. You can go to CincySQL for more information.

Well, I attended my first .NET user group meeting on 02/18/08. The meeting was everything I expected and more. The topic was source control. There were three panel members, Justin Kohnen, Mike Shields and Nino Benvenuti, and they discussed the various source control applications used today and the differences between them.

Overall I enjoyed the presentation and questions that were asked. I also liked the open format of the meeting. Some of the information was over my head but I learn there are different types of "checkin/checkout", the types of information to add to your source control app, and you need to backup your source control app.

The meeting itself was informative however, it allowed me to see the broader picture of the IT world. There are so many different levels, teams, environments, it was a real eye opener.

If you're into .NET programming and your near the Cincinnati area I highly recommending attending the .NET meetings once a month in Mason, Ohio. You can visit CINNUG for more information.