Apr 30 2010
#12 SELECT * Plain and simple this is a lazy habit that causes performance problems and possible code fail over the application lifecycle. That is all. “Explain myself” you say? Fine. Imagine you’re given a grocery list by your Significant Other that states: “Go to the Sunny Mart and buy everything. It’s exactly what we [...]
Apr 26 2010
#13 Being A Visible DBA At The Wrong Time I’ve given presentations where I state that one of the qualities of being a good DBA is being a visible one. The days of being a Database Administrator that sits in the smallest cubicle next to the noisy refrigerator and generally avoided by the rest of the [...]
Apr 23 2010
I give you exhibit A: The Last Straw: Yes, Third Party Software vendors out there are still trying to ruffie our SQL Servers. I encountered these instructions yesterday when reviewing a pending installation process. What you don’t see here though are items 1-11 in their instructions (one being a requirement for [...]
Apr 9 2010
I often rail against Third Party Vendors in my posts here and also on Twitter and on any other virtual stump I can climb onto. It is refreshing when I have conversations like I just had with a technical representative from a software developer whose product we have purchased and used for a number of [...]
Mar 15 2010
I recently received an email from a reader asking about free training for SQL Server. Without giving it a second thought I recommended SQL Saturday. These events, now going on two years strong, are single-day training sessions on all things SQL Server as well professional development sessions geared towards the database professional. The high-level of [...]
Feb 5 2010
Paul Randal (web|twitter) created another one of these chain blog memes recently when posting about the three things/events that brought him to his current circumstances on this little blue-green planet. The meme eventually made its way to Jack Corbett (web|twitter) and then onto me. As per normal processes when asked to make a list of [...]
Dec 31 2009
I’ve been tagged by Tom LaRock… …to broadcast my resolutions for the next year for all to see (or at least the 6 readers of my blog to see, and the corporate attorney for my company to read should I say anything detrimental to THE HAND THAT FEEDS.) There is only one issue [...]
Dec 17 2009
I remember my first time on stage. I was in 4th Grade. It was this time of year. I was Schroeder in our boys-only school production of A Charlie Brown Christmas and I owned the part. To this day whenever my sons and I watch A Charlie Brown Christmason ABC still doesn’t seem right since [...]
