Massive thanks to all the people that have been shouting about this event already. I’ve seen quite a number of blog posts about it, and rather than listing some and missing others, please assume I’ve noticed your blog and accept my thanks.

But in case this is all news to you – the next 24 Hours of PASS event is less than a fortnight away (Sep 20/21)! And there’s lots of info about it at http://www.sqlpass.org/24hours/fall2012/ 

(Don’t ask why it’s “Fall 2012”. Apparently that’s what this time of year is called in at least two countries. I would call it “Spring”, personally, but do appreciate that it’s “Autumn” in the Northern Hemisphere...)

Yes, I blogged about it on the PASS blog a few weeks ago, but haven’t got around to writing about it here yet.

As always, 24HOP is going to have some amazing content. But it’s going to be pointing at the larger event, which now less than two months away. That’s right, this 24HOP is the Summit 2012 Preview event. Most of the precon speakers are going to be represented, as are half-day session presenters, quite a few of the Spotlight presenters and some of the Microsoft speakers too. When you look down the list of sessions at http://www.sqlpass.org/24hours/fall2012/SessionsbySchedule.aspx, you’ll find yourself wondering how you can fit them all in. Luckily, that’s not my problem. For me, it’s just about making sure that you can get to hear these people present, and get a taste for the amazing time that you’ll have if you can come to the Summit.

I see this 24HOP as the kind of thing that will just drive you crazy if you can’t get to the Summit. There will be so much great content, and every one of these presenters will be delivering even more than this at the Summit itself. If you tune into Jason Strate’s 24HOP session on the Plan Cache and are impressed – well, you can get to a longer session by him on that same topic at the Summit. And the same goes for all of them.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself looking at the Summit schedule, wishing you could get to several presentations for every time slot. So get yourself registered for 24HOP and help yourself make that decision.

And if you can’t go to the Summit, tune in anyway. You’ll still learn a lot, and you might just be able to help persuade someone to send you to the Summit after all (before the price goes up after Sep 30).