Obsessed with Oracle PL/SQL

So on March 17, 2014 I joined Oracle Corporation as an Architect.

Wow, do they have lots of things for me to do!

And I want to do my very best with all of it:
Publish articles, presentations, white papers that are accurate, are readable, and have no mistakes.Share my PL/SQL utility and sample code (and make sure they are readable and have no mistakes).Find - and notify developers - about useful blogs, code and anything else relating to PL/SQL. It is quickly becoming clear to me that I can't do it all, all by myself. And everyone else at Oracle is just as busy as me.
So I have decided to create "Team Feuerstein" - a group of Oracle technologists who share, with me, a delight for PL/SQL and SQL, and a desire to help build our community.
While you will not be paid in hard currency for your efforts, I will be very grateful and you will get public credit for your contribution.
I plan in the future to provide a webpage where you can submit an application to join the team and li…

You know what they say about your job: "Don't forget to have fun!"

So I figure I should waste no time in my new job at Oracle. Let's have some fun!

I certainly enjoyed writing a new set of lyrics to the tune of Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet. I hope you find it entertaining as well! And please feel entirely encouraged to offer your own version or individual stanzas!

PLSQLville

Writin' a decode,
When others then null flowed,
Into my package, nothing private to hide.
Selectin' from dual,
Gulpin' coffee for fuel.
Another all-nighter should shore up my pride.

Codin' away again in PLSQLville,
Thinkin' that this time I'll get it right.
Some people say I need to test my code,
But it compiles, so it should be fine.

Just when I had it,
The users were glad it
Worked exactly just like they want.
But hold on a second:
Those same users have reckoned
They need lots of changes, and not just the font.

Codin' away again in PLSQLville,
Hopin' that this t…

Went out to Reston VA to meet with my new boss, Mike Hichwa, and some of the members of his team. It was a fantastic few days. For one thing, there was no shortage of folks eager to help me get my new Macbook Pro set up. That was especially important since I have used a Windows machine for decades. The Macbook is a beautiful machine and the Mac OS is a joy, but still....lots of adjustments to make. So: a grateful shout out to Christina, Taj and Shakeeb in particular for their patience as I went back to them again and again with questions.

But the first thing I did on arriving at the Oracle offices was to get my badge. I gotta say I was a bit surprised at how excited I was about that. It's been a long time since I've had a new job, and I am pleased as can be to be back "on the inside" at Oracle Corporation.

We're still sorting the details of my responsibilities at Oracle, but I can tell for sure that I will be doing some new and very different things, which you wi…