Dear Reader,
Good friends are one of the many blessings in my life, and I am very fortunate to have two of my very best friends living right next door to me. Among my neighbors' many positive qualities is their intelligence. (Geoff and Janine both hold Ph.D.'s and rank as two of the smartest people I know.) That's what makes their "electric blanket" story so out of character and so darn funny.

Having recently celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary, Geoff and Janine have pretty much worked through every difference between them, with one exception: the number of blankets on their bed. The problem arises from very different internal thermostats; Geoff is always hot, while Janine is forever cold.  Most nights that’s not a problem, but when Janine's blankets creep onto Geoff's side or he yanks the covers off her as they sleep, the resulting conversation can become heated and almost always ends with someone getting the cold shoulder (puns intended!).

That's why Geoff was so excited the year he bought one of those king-sized dual control electric blankets for Janine's birthday. With individual controls, they would have the ability to adjust the temperature on their own side of the bed. Unfortunately, the first night did not go as planned.

Within minutes of making their initial setting, Geoff was predictably too warm, while Janine was feeling a bit chilled. No worries. Geoff simply dialed down his blanket, while Janine bumped hers up. After a quarter hour, though, both were even more uncomfortable than before. Geoff was about to burn up, but instead of mentioning anything to his wife, he just moved his controller to a colder setting. Things were no better on Janine's side of the bed. Turns out her adjustment seemed to have no effect either; she was freezing. She too made no mention of her discomfort and moved the setting higher in an attempt to warm up. This pattern continued for the remainder of the night, with neither finding any relief. In fact, their adjustments seemed to have the exact opposite effect than they expected, and both spent a miserable night under a blanket they felt sure must be broken.

I bet you've already figured out what my friends didn't over the course of a very long evening – yes, they had mixed up the controllers and were unknowingly inflicting some sort of temperature torture on each other. For whatever reason two extremely intelligent people spent the evening engaged in what Albert Einstein said was the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

When it comes to your career, we don’t want ever want you to get stuck like Geoff and Janine did that night. As SAS experts in your organization, you have skills that are in high demand, but sometimes to move ahead in your career you need to step outside your comfort zone and make some thoughtful adjustments. Whether you’re looking for the hottest new opportunities in your industry or trying to secure the coolest assignment in your current role, SAS Education has the training and certification offerings to help advance your career.

If you’re looking to keep your SAS skills up to date, consider our best value bundles for SAS programming and SAS Enterprise Guide. If you’ve started down the path to get SAS certified but lost steam along the way, we offer a "finish up" package designed to help you get back on track. And, if you need advanced training, consider our Take 3, Any 3 package, allowing you to take three classes for the price of two. Whatever your need, you can rest easy knowing SAS Education has the right tools to help you tend to your professional development.

Hoping you stay cool as the weather heats up!

Thanks for reading,
Larry LaRusso
Editor, SAS Training Report