It's Quiet... Too Quiet

It's been a LONG time since I've posted something - but that trend that will change shortly!  I've been working on a number of special projects within Moulding and Millwork - some related to data gathering, curating, and analysis, and some less so.  It's taken away some of the time I'd previously had available for working on the MSDN forums, my blog, speaking, and working on custom objects for SSIS.
The workload of those special projects has diminished a little, and now that SQL 2012 is here, I've got to get back to some professional development in my own bailiwick.  I'll also make sure to prod Scott Stauffer to make some time to share his thoughts via his blog as well.  It's not his normal outlet (you can usually find him cultivating user groups and events) but he's said he wants to do a little more, so I'll make that happen.
Presentations
First and foremost, I'll be getting ready for some speaking engagements this year:

• April 19th, I'll be speaking at the PASS Data Architecture VC.  This is a free online presentation of your options within SSIS for processing dimensions.
• At the end of May, SQLTeach returns to Vancouver!  I'll be presenting two sessions very much related to Integration Services: Common Application Patterns, and Integrating Spreadsheets with Enterprise Data.  If you're near Vancouver then, I highly recommend the conference.  It's got a great panel of speakers, and it might be your first opportunity to get some insight into SQL 2012 and what it might mean to your environment.

On top of those two, there are a couple other events this year I'll be submitting talks to - I'll keep you posted on those.
Blogging
Even though I haven't published any posts in the last few months, I have a few (42) started.  I'll find the time to polish some off and get them out the pipe.  In particular, I finally cracked the OpenXML API to get at Excel spreadsheets without using the fickle OLE API.  It's no less complex, but at least it works consistently and reliably.
I've also got a few design patterns and other thoughts to share - look for those soon.
Custom Objects
I'm primarily talking about the Dimension Merge custom component here - but this applies equally to some of the other tasks and components I've developed over the past couple years.  I've made some small changes that haven't been put up to CodePlex, and there is a short list of needed adjustments that I'll be getting to.  Top of that list is to get the code for all of them prepped for SQL 2012 and SSDT.  There are some specific enhancements that could help performance out on some of them that I'd like to take advantage of.
Q&A
Last, but definitely not least... this was actually the first thing I "got back into" as my workload returned somewhat to regular levels... trolling the MSDN forums.  If you've got a question about Integration Services, it's by far the best location on the internet to find an answer.  I agree, it may not have the best forum software, but it definitely has the critical mass of traffic to make turnaround on questions quick, and of reasonable quality.