I used to run live online classes all year round, and I really miss it. I've had such a good time at conferences lately, and I feel like it's time to bring the live stuff back. Plus I don't know about you, but I have a heck of a hard time paying attention to recorded…
For SQLBits this year, I wanted to submit a performance tuning session about one of the most classic, timeless problems I run into: why is the same query fast in development but slow in production?
All of my regular readers - if there is such a thing - are now yelling out, "Parameter sniffing!"
A private equity (PE) company recently acquired the majority of Redgate Software, the current owners of the PASS Data Community Summit and SQLServerCentral. Everybody in tech has private equity stories, some good, some terribad. Private equity hands money to companies not out of generosity, but because they believe they can turn it into even more money…
Your developers haven't ever been to formal Microsoft database training on SQL Server or Azure SQL DB.
They're struggling with trying to tune queries and indexes. Your apps keep getting slower as the data grows, and your queries keep getting more complex.
Steve Jones recently posted an update about SQL Saturday's status, and it includes some news we need to talk about:
However, this year the number may stagnate or even decline slightly. Running events has become challenging for many communities. Organizers are busy, space is hard to find, and costs are rising.... The biggest challenge in running events is finding space at a reasonable cost. Many Microsoft offices are closing, which were strong supporters of events in the past.
Your company doesn't want to send you off to conferences or training classes in other cities.
You've looked around locally, but the local options seem to be irrelevant to your needs. It's generic stuff like how to pass certification classes, or boot camps to get your first DBA job.
If you want to get a raise or stand out from a crowd of job hunt competitors, you need something to differentiate yourself.
Whenever you finish a training class - including mine - ask if you can get a certificate of completion. For example, here's what mine look like:
Last week, I asked if y'all had been to in-person regional events before, and whether you were going back.
I wanted to know because Data Saturdays and SQL Saturdays are starting to happen again, but ... attendance seems way down from pre-COVID numbers. I wondered, are people just not going to return to conferences for another year?
This afternoon, PASS announced that their operations will cease in January: We are saddened to tell you that, due to the impact of COVID-19, PASS is ceasing all regular operations, effective January 15, 2021. We encourage you to take full advantage of any access that you have to PASS content between now and January 15,…
You've been using Microsoft SQL Server for a few years, and it's becoming increasingly important to your job.
You can write a query, but...
Lots of paid conferences are happening online these days, so some of you will be presenting an online session or pre-con for the first time. I've done a bunch of these and been burned in a bunch of ways, so lemme save you some time and heartache. Does the conference own the recordings? And if…
SQLBits just postponed their event, and I'm stepping out of SQL Saturday Iceland as well.
I've had the unusual position of being a conference attendee, speaker, and sponsor, all at different times of my life, so I wanted to do a quick brain dump explaining some of the gotchas involved behind the scenes.
You, dear reader, know a lot of SQL Server community names from their blogs, webcasts, podcasts, presentations, books, etc. It can feel pretty overwhelming - there's so many sites to keep up with, so much good technical material.
But even still, you're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. There are so many wonderful people in the SQL Server community who lead amazing lives, and they choose to share online the parts of their lives that are even more interesting than the technology stuff.
You’re a developer or a DBA, and you’re comfortable writing queries to get the data you need. You’re much less comfortable trying to design the right indexes for your database server. You've never had a formal database internals class, and you don't really have the patience to read a book on it - but you want a quick foundation.
This week , I was honored to give a session about hacking your career. Here's the abstract:
This is not yet another career session that tells you to be friendly and network. Forget that - this is about using your IT skills to reinvent the way you get paid. I'll explain how I went from DBA to MVP to MCM to business founder.
I spend most of my day tuning SQL Server to make it go faster. I'm usually called in after the fact, when the app has become intolerably slow.
One of the first things I ask is, "What's changed?"
Whether you're just getting started writing a presentation abstract, or whether you want to double-check it, or whether you want to understand why your abstract wasn't picked, it's always the right time to step back and ask some big picture questions about your conference submission. The blessing and the curse of the active database community…
When you're speaking at a conference, try to get the room schedules long before the event day. Right now, the PASS Summit conference schedule is available, and each speaker's room is listed.
Then, check out the building's floorplan - in this case, the Washington State Convention Center's floorplans page. Check out the seating capacity for your room.
If you've never been to a conference before, the PASS Summit and Dev Connections events seem like things that happen to Other People. This year, I wanna help make you one of us. You're a geek, right? Let's break this down into numbers. What It Costs to Attend a Conference People usually think conference attendees…
At big conferences like the Professional Association for SQL Server Summit in Seattle, attendees can pay extra to attend a pre-conference or post-conference session. Select speakers talk all day on just one topic, so the attendees get really deep coverage on it. Competition among speakers is tough for these slots because there's money involved -…
