Join Us for 24 Hours of SQL Server Training (with a special focus on SQL Server 2008 R2) Did I mention that your Cohorts in Crime (that be me and Brent Ozar) are presenting?!? The FREE 24 Hours of PASS event is bringing an exceptional lineup of SQL Server and BI experts to your computer starting at 12:00 GMT (UTC) on May 19. Get an in-depth look at the hottest SQL Server and BI topics, including (but not limited to!) - the new SQL Server 2008 R2, with its business intelligence and data management innovations, and much more. When does it start? 12:00 GMT … [Read more...]
April Omnibus
I freely admit it - I'm a sluggard. I should be blogging a couple times per week and tweeting in between. But, for some unknown reason, April has been a tough month to get this in gear. Hence, I'm putting out an omnibus post to cover all of the stuff I've been up to, instead of the one-off's I usually post when I've got something new to mention. Isn't it funny how life gets in the way of the stuff we want and intend to do? As they say - "The road to hell is paved with good intentions", or was that Detroit? But I digress. A New Translation! I don't like to toot my own horn. [sarcasm … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Conferences, PASS, Presentations, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: DBA, Performance, SQL Saturday, SQLPASS
New Webcast – SQL Server Internals & Architecture
Join me tomorrow for the PASS DBA Virtual Chapter meeting SQL Server Internals & Architecture. It's the most fun you'll ever have learning about the inner workings of a relational database - I promise! Click here to register. You don't have to register to attend. But if you register today, you'll be entered into the drawing to win one two copies of my bestselling reference SQL in a Nutshell, covering the ANSI standard plus Oracle 11, SQL Server 2008, MySQL 5.2, and PostgreSQL 8.3. I've put the slide deck up in my Slides area of the website. However, because it contains a lot of … [Read more...]
Filed Under: On-Line Resources, PASS, Presentations, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: DBA, Developer, Internals, SQLPASS
Collaboration Nation Call to Action! Calling All SQL Server Bloggers and Twitterers
The Suggestion The Modern Language Association hasn't made up all the new rules yet to govern how one blogger should reverence, er, reference another in their blog posts. But they should! Let's get that ball rolling for them. I'm not exactly sure who started this format, but it's my favorite. When writing a blog post in which you mention another person's blog, let's do it like this: "blogger name (blog_hyperlink | twitter_hyperlink)" So, we might read a blog post by my friend Kimberly Tripp (blog | twitter) that might look something like this: "...the Scottish Terrier was so well … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Memes, On-Line Resources, Opinion, Professional Development, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Collaboration Nation, DBA, Developer, MVP, Professional Development, Writing
Want Spy Novel Twists in a True IT Journalism Story? Read this…
Journalists are important. In my opinion, they're very important. The best journalists, like Old Testament prophets, speak truth to power and reveal the ugly dirt behind the pretty and public veneer of society. Their very presence foils corruption or, at least, helps reveal it, punish it, and make it dive for deeper waters else go extinct. It was for this reason that Thomas Jefferson famously wrote: "The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Ethics, Opinion, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Trends Tagged With: Journalism, Windows
Free Training for You, Punishing Workload for Me. Thank You for Enjoying My Misery.
Everybody enjoys a little free training now and then. I've got mountains of free training in the works. Some of it is in-person and local while some are in webcast format. Please join me as you're able! Tomorrow - Wednesday! Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 12 pm (noon) MST - PASS DBA Virtual Chapter; Top 10 Administration Mistakes on SQL Server There are a short list of mistakes that, if you know of them in advance and prepare for them, will make your life much easier. This presentation shows you these mistakes, the "low hanging fruit" of database administration. Once you apply the lessons … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Administration, Conferences, On-Line Resources, PASS, Presentations, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Transact-SQL Programming Tagged With: .NET, Best Practices, DBA, Developer, Performance, SQL Injection, SQL Server 2008 R2, Training
PASS 2009 Lifetime PASSion Award
A HAPPY RETIREMENT January 1st, 2010 marked a very special day for me. It was the first time in the past ten years in which I had no official PASS responsibility at the HQ level. (I'm still serving in the local PASS chapter here in Nashville, along with the awesomeness that is DrSQL (blog | twitter) and the whackness that is Joe Webb (blog | twitter). We also have the irreplaceable Shelton Dickson and Roberto Lopez helping us out). I also intend to stay active as a speaker for PASS. I spoke at the PASS 2009 Summit, earning a top presenter spot in the Professional Development track, and … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Opinion, PASS, Professional Development, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Goals, Humor, Professional Development, SQLSaturday
What Three Events Brought You Here?
Whiners and Whingers Get Wedgies There I was, just a couple weeks back, whining that I wasn't getting tagged by friends when a new meme comes out. Sure enough, when my friend, Paul Randal (blog | twitter), starts a new meme with me as one of the first handful of people tagged, it's taken me a full ten days to get a response out the door. Yes - I deserve a wedgie. In Paul's initial post, I saw that he'd asked for three events that were pivotal in why I'm where I am today. To be honest, I've been noodling over my response ever since Paul first tagged me. So, in a sense, I've been … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Memes, Opinion, PASS, Professional Development, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Creativity, Goals, Professional Development, Writing
New Interview and SQLMag ToolTime Blog Article on “SQLClue”
A neat new administration and configuration management tool for the SQL Server set. I especially like the Run Book features, because Run Books are the way us "oldtimers" like to run our IT infrastructure. My pal, Buck Woody, also likes Run Books (and really big explosions by the guys on MythBusters, but that's another discussion). Find all the details about the new tool, created by Bill Wunder, here. In addition, I'm honored and amazed that the team at RunAsRadio invited me to participate in interview #143. These are the same guys who also put together one of the best and longest … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Administration, On-Line Resources, Opinion, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Tool Time Tagged With: DBA, Monitoring, MVP, SQLMag, Tools & Scripts
Goals and Theme Word for 2010
NOT A WHINER I've been really intrigued by a meme making the rounds of the blogsphere concerning goals for the coming year and picking a theme word, rather than the usual New Year's resolution. As with all memes, they start with a blogger picking the topic of discussion (in this case, Tara Hunt at HPC) and was picked up by my friend, Tom LaRock ( blog | twitter) in his blog post, Why I Don't Like Kevin Kline and Never Tag Him in Memes. As in all memes, one blogger starts it off and then others are tagged, spreading the chain outward. So Tom tagged several other good friends of … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Memes, Opinion, Professional Development, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Goals, Professional Development, Theme Words
