(Originally appearing at ForITPros.com). I was recently chatting with a friend who was seeking advice about difficulties in their job. This was a job which, a year ago, she described as her dream job. It quickly became evident to her that it was actually a nightmare job. The company, her coworkers, and her boss were all dysfunctional in one or more ways and it was making her life miserable. One of her big questions was “What sort of questions could I have asked during the interview that would’ve helped me foresee what it’d actually be like to work there?” It’s Not Only About Pleasing the … [Read more...]
DBTA – Delayed Durability—The SQL Server 2014 Transaction Log Hack!
July 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Originally appearing in my monthly column at Database Trends & Applications magazine. Delayed durability was announced late in the SQL Server 2014 development cycle, but offers something that many SQL Server professionals have wanted for years—the ability to disable transaction logging. Why turn off the transaction log? It is the main guarantor of transactional consistency in SQL Server and is critical for highly recoverable applications, after all. That answer, in itself, tells you about situations where you might like to turn off the transaction log. That is, you can accelerate … [Read more...]
Professional Developement – Digging for Gold
July 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Originally appearing at ForITPros.com. Andrew Carnegie, once the wealthiest man on earth, came from humble beginnings. As a young boy, he worked a number of odd jobs. His hard work, industrious nature, and persistence eventually led him to become the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. Once, during an interview, Carnegie was asked how he had hired 43 millionaires. At that time, being a millionaire was very uncommon. It would be similar to a person having $25 to $30 million in today's dollars. Carnegie was quick to correct the reporter. He had hired 43 people who had become … [Read more...]
DBTA – For #SQLFamily, a Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
July 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Originally appearing in my monthly column at Database Trends & Applications magazine. It’s the holiday season, a time for cheer and goodwill towards men. That got me thinking about the whole “most wonderful time of the year” tune playing in the background and how that has some special implications for the SQL Server world. Here’s a bit of context: I'm writing this article for you in the midst of the biggest gathering of SQL Server professions in any given year, the PASS Summit. One of the most visible activities when attendees get together for the very first time at the registration … [Read more...]
SQLVacation Slides and Scripts
July 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
First came the in-person roadtrip. Two weeks riding the highways from Nashville, TN to Chicago, IL to St. Louis, MO and back. One thousand four hundred miles in a minivan with my wife and four daughters. Eight PASS user groups. Twelve presentations. Over three hundred attendees. Two hundred t-shirts. Eight winners of a license for Plan Explorer PRO. And through it all ... ONE TOILET. SQLVacation, Resources I've gotten lots of requests for the slide decks, the scripts, inquiries about the #SQLVacation contest running through July 31st, and other things to follow-up … [Read more...]
Professional Development – The Stradivarius of Teams
July 2, 2015 by 1 Comment
Originally appearing at ForITPros.com. A world-class violinist was on campus for an artist-in-residence program. While at lunch he was discussing what he perceived to be the similarities between management and great music. Said the violinist, “I have glorious music, a splendid instrument, and an exquisite bow. All I need to do is bring them all together and get out of the way.” I recently read this short story found in The Sower’s Seeds by Brian Cavanaugh. Of course there is a bit more to it than the modest violinist claims. But there’s also a lot a lot of truth in it. As a leader, … [Read more...]
DBTA – Russian Hackers Steal 1.2b Internet Credentials: Or, Why the Heck Does this Keep Happening?!
July 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I'm decidedly old-school in a few of my habits. My morning routine, barring anything out of the ordinary, is one such example. Typically, I'll get up between 6:30 to 7:00 am, grab my first cup of coffee, and then chat with my daughters for a few minutes before seeing them off to school. Next, I make a bowl of oatmeal (a great choice for diabetics like me), pour a second cup of coffee, and browse the local paper, The Tennessean, while I have breakfast. On the morning of August 5, I had the added pleasure of spewing said coffee and oatmeal all over my morning paper when I read the headlines: … [Read more...]
#SQLVacation Finale in the Music City – Nashville, TN
June 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment
All good things must come to an end and, after logging almost 1400 miles on the road, the #SQLVacation road trip returns to its home city - Nashville, TN, the "Music City". Eight SQL Server users groups, eight matching blog posts, two hundred t-shirts, and many hundreds of attendees later, it's time to get back home. This is how Kevin feels when getting out of the car after hours of driving with the Horde. Only there's one last catch for this Clark Griswold of an everyman. I have one last session to deliver, Top 10 Things Every SQL Developer Needs to Know, here at the … [Read more...]
#SQLVacation Postcard from Evansville, Indiana
June 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Our long #SQLVacation is nearly at an end because our stop in Evansville, IN is our last roadtrip location for the family and the penultimate (i.e., second to last) technical session of the journey. It's a bittersweet, fersher. Evansville is such a beautiful place that it was name La Belle Riviere ("The Beautiful River") by the early French trappers who were the first Europeans to explore the river valley. Today, the city is the commercial and cultural hub of the "entire tri-state area!". (I can't help but say that in the voice of Dr. Doofenshmirtz from the TV show Phineas and … [Read more...]
#SQLVacation and the Gateway to the West
June 23, 2015 by 1 Comment
The Griswolds had an experience they'll never forget in St. Louis. And we've had ours too, but in a very good way. We'd vacationed in St. Louis two years ago and had a great time. We've seen the sights, gotten the pictures, and have the t-Shirts. I still love to see the big, iconic Gateway Arch though. In fact, I'm pretty much old news in St. Louis having spoken at their SQL Server user group several times over the years. They've set a grueling pace for me at this meeting, asking for 3 out of my 4 roadtrip presentations along with a vendor presentation to talk about SQL Sentry's tools. … [Read more...]
