Category Archives: Training
T-27 Days Until My Summit Adventure Begins
The DATEDIFF script tells me it is now 27 days until I leave for the SQL PASS Summit 2012. Today I have built my tentative schedule (as shown below) and this was probably the most difficult task I will ever have to do this year. Trying to balance the sessions I need that will aid my current position in addition to what I would like to know and let’s not forget the people with whom I want to see speak. Thankfully, I purchased the DVDs to cover all of those lost sessions.
I will go over the schedule again in a few weeks as I understand it is evolving. However, I am curious, with shifting time slots if my calendar will adjust to the session or simply make me believe that I am attending a session that is no longer in that time slot. Another thing I would like to point out is that I loaded all of these sessions into my outlook calendar and then I realized ‘hey that calendar is on eastern standard time!’ So I edited these sessions in my phone to reflect a pacific time zone so that hopefully when I arrive in Seattle everything will be correct. I am making a mental note to review my schedule on Sunday when I arrive.
Stay tuned for this excellent adventure!
Let the Countdown To Summit Begin
Today is officially four weeks until I arrive at the SQL PASS Summit 2012 in Seattle, Washington. So I am sure you can figure out by the title what is coming next. That’s right, a series for the countdown onto my epicly awesome #SQLFirstTimers attendance at the most important SQL event of the year. Have you registered to go? There is still time, come and join me.
Stay tuned for my journey!
What a Great SQL Weekend
My wife and I have just returned from a wonderful weekend in Lake Mary, Florida at SQL Saturday #151. We enjoy getting away for the weekend and staying in our beloved Marriott chains. This time fortunately, we had earned two free nights from previous stays this year and being a gold member we were able to score an upgrade to a fabulous room. My wife met with some of her friends for a day of shopping while I enjoyed a great day of SQL Learning thanks to the great user groups in Orlando, OPASS and MagicPASS.
We enjoyed a great breakfast at the hotel and a couple of hours in the pool before checking out and heading home. These little weekend getaways are a great break from our every day routines. It was also great spending time with my #SQLFamily and seeing so many of them for the first time and so many of them again. Until you have experienced the #SQLFamily, you have no idea what you are missing.
I Survived!
Well my first SQL Saturday presentation has been completed. No one was injured, I didn’t respond to my flight (as in fight or flight) instincts, and no one heckled me. It didn’t go as well as I imagined but it was a learning experience. I will get better, so if you attended my session today, I apologize, but thank you for being my guinea pigs.
To be honest, I think I did better than my lightning round presentation last June. I understand that it is an evolutionary process, but I was confident that I was more evolved than I really am.
If you’ve never presented a topic, I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
PASS Summit 2012 Information
Rob Farley (blog | twitter) and LobsterPot Solutions put together a nifty HTML 5 PivotViewer to view the details for all of the sessions for the PASS Summit 2012 conference with pictures of the presenters as well as all of the necessary details. It is amazing to see this in action and to be able to compare session topics visually. Kudos to Rob.
- PASS also released yesterday the PDF format for the schedule.
- Check out all of the After Hours events and I will see you at #SQLKaraoke.
- If you are a First Timer like me then check out the First Timers Program.
Enjoy and I will see you there!
SQL Saturday #151, T minus 3 Days and Counting
It’s Wednesday and the 6th annual SQL Saturday for Orlando is around the corner. This is where it all started, it is also home to the first SQL Saturday that I went to. You know you want to get some free learning and eat some great barbecue.
There is still time for you to register and come see some of SQL Server’s greatest speakers. Then when you finish their sessions, stop in for mine so that you can fully appreciate how great they really are. There are also two excellent Pre-Cons by Kevin Kline (twitter | blog) and Stacia Misner (twitter | blog). If you have never attended a Pre-Con, then do yourself a favor and try it, it is worth the $99. Enjoy and see you there!
SQL Saturday #168, Tampa BI Edition
Yesterday I received some terrific news, I was selected to speak at the Tampa BI Edition of SQL Saturday on November 17, 2012. I will be giving my “Best Practices Are Not Just Hypothetical” presentation at 2pm. I would like to thank the Tampa Business Intelligence SQL Server User Group; I am humbled by their selection.
Register for a great day of free SQL Server learning highlighting Business Intelligence but also featuring database administration and professional development. It will be located again this year at KForce Professional Staffing in beautiful Yboy City. Check out the two excellent pre-con trainings provided as well. I cannot wait to see you there. Enjoy!
24 Hours of PASS, Free Training Today!
Today is the semi-annual 24 Hours of PASS free training day. Sessions started at just a little while ago, so you still have time to sign up here. There is something here for everyone from business intelligence to professional development to hard core database administration. I personally am signed up to watch eight different sessions throughout the day, work permitting; it would be more but there is some stuff that I just do not work with. So get out on out there and get your SQL Learning on. Enjoy!
SQL PASS Summit is Less Than Seven Weeks Away!
This morning I came across a stark reality: SQL PASS Summit 2012 is less than seven weeks away! I cannot fully describe the emotions of my first trip to Summit; some anxiety, mostly excitement, fear of the unknown, anticipation of meeting so many online friends and a thirst for new knowledge. I am so ready for the networking, the learning, the socializing with #SQLKaraoke, the after parties, but mostly just hanging out with my #SQLFamily.
On a personal note, I have been to Seattle once in my life, in high school. Five friends, my math teacher and I went on a field trip before my junior year where we participated in the Mu Alpha Theta National Mathematics competition after winning the State competition for Algebra II. Mathletes Rock! What a beautiful city! It will be great to see Mt. Ranier, the sky needle, the monorail, Puget Sound, and the fish market. I am sure a lot has changed in the last 25 years, I know the King Dome is no longer there, but we took a tour as the Mariners where out-of-town on a road trip and sat in the dugout and the locker room. Good times!
I when I return home I will have some new Seattle memories that I will cherish for many years to come. Enjoy!
Getting to Know sp_helpuser
The stored procedure, sp_helpuser, is useful in showing various information about the users such as login name, default database, default schema and the SID. You can also see if a user name is aliased. I hope you find this useful. Enjoy!
SQL Swampland 