As the new editor of SAS Publishing’s blog, I’m a bit nervous about this first post. Besides following in the footsteps of former blog editor and new SAS Social Media Manager Kirsten Hamstra, I’m attending the Blogging Success Summit 2011 presented by some of the best bloggers in the business.

Contributed by Bruce L. Stegner, Ph.D My grandmother was from Tennessee and she came fully equipped with the accent and the ability to cook. Sadly, her fried chicken undoubtedly shortened my grandfather’s lifespan. For me, her apple pie was Nirvana on earth. One day I asked her how she learned

Contributed by Bernie Brennan and Lori Schafer Can you name a retailer that opens up its offices to the public for daily tours—and makes them entertaining, energizing, and just plain fun? We can. This same retailer prides itself on its ten core values, including creating “fun and a little weirdness.”

Contributed by Bruce L. Stegner, Ph.D One of my favorite lines from the old Laurel and Hardy movies was “Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.” This memory came to me as I was thinking about documentation today compared to pre personal computer days. This point of view

Contributed by Bruce Stegner, Ph.D, Executive Consultant I am new to this blog and to social networking via electrons. I have been to a fair number of SAS gatherings and have been reflecting on various aspects of them. I thought it might be a good idea to focus on people

Last week, I got a chance to meet up with authors and San Francisco JMP colleagues Curt Hinrichs and Chuck Boiler while they were in Cary, NC, on business. Despite their super hectic schedules, they kindly agreed to get together at 8 a.m. in the lobby of the swanky Umstead

Contributed by Lou Metzger, Manager, SAS Publishing Sales The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. In my case, truer words were never spoken. When I was first married, I won a small sum and spent some of the winnings on an excellent cookbook for our new family.

Contributed by Mike Gilliland, Product Marketing Manager Having a job in business forecasting is sort of like being in county lockup – only without the benefit of cuddly bunkmates and weekly delousing. Most of those in the job want out, and those who remain in the field possess psychological maladies

Contributed by Michele Burlew, president of Episystems Inc. and SAS Press author My SAS writing adventure this summer is a new book that will cover hash object programming. It won’t be very long, maybe 100 pages, and it will have lots of examples. As a longtime SAS programmer, I was

Contributed by Paul Allison, Professor of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania I'm happy to announce that the second edition of my book Survival Analysis Using SAS: A Practical Guide has just been published by the SAS Institute. When the first edition was published in 1995, my goal was to provide an

Contributed by Susan Slaughter, Author, The Little SAS Book series Answer: A lot. Looking at The Little SAS Book for Enterprise Guide 4.2, I am struck by how similar it looks to the previous edition. Updating this book for EG4.2 was not a matter of simply adding a few new

Contributed by Michael Harvey, Technical Writer, Publications In my previous post, I wrote that being successful as a technical writer meant being “technical” and a “writer.” I elaborated on what it meant to be “technical.” In this post, I say more about what it means to be a “writer.” As

Contributed by Michael Harvey, Technical Writer, Publications Having worked in the field of technical communication for over 20 years, I have given a lot of thought about what it takes to be a successful technical writer. It is as simple as the job title itself. You have to be “technical”

Contributed by Chuck London, SAS Publishing Sales Representative I just returned from attending the 2010 ENAR Spring Meeting hosted at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel, home of the 2010 Super Bowl Champion Saints. From the moment I got on my connecting flight in Atlanta, you could tell that the

Contributed by Warren Kuhfeld, Analytical Solutions Manager, Research & Development SAS/GRAPH software was first released when I was a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the early 1980s. I remember submitting a SAS program to make a graph and then walking to the computing

Contributed by Dave Russo, Technical Writer, SAS Publications Most of us in the Publications division spend our days capturing, refining, delivering, or promoting knowledge about SAS software. Like many of our customers, we’re in the knowledge business. As part of that business, I have the privilege of leading a small

Contributed by Michele Burlew, president of Episystems Inc. and SAS Publishing author What a great way to end 2009 by having both Combining and Modifying SAS Data Sets: Examples, Second Edition (CMDS) and Output Delivery System: The Basics and Beyond (ODS) in print! Each is a hefty stocking stuffer for

Contributed by Brenda and José Ramírez, authors of Analyzing and Interpreting Continuous Data Using JMP: A Step-by-Step Guide A few years ago an exciting and wonderful opportunity presented itself to us. The JMP team approached us with the idea to write a book for engineers and scientists. From a professional

Contributed by Jonathan Hornby, Director of Worldwide Marketing for Performance Management at SAS Radical Action for Radical Times came to life after the Lehman Bros collapse of 2008. I had just got back from vacation and couldn’t believe the depth and speed of ramifications rippling out. A few years earlier

Contributed by Dan Harrell, project leader for Documentation Development’s certification guides I’m sure you are eagerly following Christine Kjellberg and Stacey Hamilton’s journey to become certified 9.2 base SAS programmers? Tracking their adventure is more fun than reality TV. Who needs “Survivor” or “Big Brother” when we have Christine’s and

Contibuted by Brenda Kalt, Development Tester, Publications Product Testing I work in Publications, and I'm looking at “PROC CERTIFY;” from the other side of the mountain. In September I took the exam and passed it comfortably. I reviewed three nights before taking it (generally missing what I should have read

Becoming SAS Certified is no easy task. Don't you have the fondest memories of studying for the SAT or GRE? Late nights poring over practice exams, running through vocabulary flashcards with study partners, and attending prep courses. What I remember most was the absolute rush of relief upon finishing these