I was just reading the latest MSDN Flash Newsletter and thought that some of you might be interested in signing up to the Made in Express Contest.

Where to start? Or, more correctly, how to start? That’s the challenge writing this piece. It’s a nice, sunny (by Seattle standards) day out – and my mind doesn’t want to focus on work. OK, admitting that in print is probably a stupid idea; hopefully, my boss does not read what I write.

But let’s face it: after the cold, dark winter, we all have days when spring fever gets the better of us. If you are having similar focus problems, may I suggest the Made in Express Contest? All you need to do is fire up a copy of any of the products (they’re free) and you could earn US$10,000 in cash. Sound like a good deal for doing cool and useful stuff? I thought so, too.

If you’ve got a case of spring fever but you want to do something work-related anyway, why not view some SQL Server 2005 webcasts and virtual labs? At least this way you won’t have to explain to your boss why you are coding a new video game with Express.

Another productive option is the free Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 training CD that our partner AppDev is offering. You get three hours of training from one of the leaders in developer training.

Thank goodness Word doesn’t display the amount of time that passes between paragraphs, or I would be in trouble. I went to grab a URL real quick, only to let my mind wander for a bit. What was I getting when I zoned out? The link for the March CTP of Atlas, of course. I pointed this out a few weeks ago, but it’s worth pointing out again. If you haven’t visited and checked out the CTP and Go Live license, I encourage you to do so.

I’ll end on that note, before I zone out again. Maybe I can shut the office door and put a mannequin at my desk for the afternoon. Wonder if anyone would notice? Then again, it is really quiet in here, and no one seems to be moving at their desks …

Happy coding!
Brad McCabe