2014 T-SQL Tuesdays

T-SQL Tuesday #061 – Giving Back

Invitation and roundup from Wayne Sheffield.

In “The Spirit of Giving”, I want to know how you plan on Giving Back to the SQL Community during the coming year. Are you going to start speaking at your local user group? Speak at your local SQL Saturday? Perhaps step up and help run your local user group? Do you want to start becoming an active blogger – or increase your blogging? Do you plan on volunteering your time with larger organizations (such as PASS), so that SQL Training can occur at a larger level? However you plan on giving back to the SQL Community during the upcoming year, and whether it is something new that you’ll be doing or continuing what you are doing, I’m looking forward to reading about it in your blog post.

T-SQL Tuesday #060 – Something New Learned

Invitation and roundup from Chris Yates.

So, here it is. I put the challenge out to discuss something new learned last week. I was fortunate enough to attend the PASS Summit last week in Seattle. While this post will not be my summarization of that trip (that will be another post) I did have several take-a-ways. I sat in some stellar sessions with some renowned speakers.

However, one re-occurring theme kept coming to my mind – the people. Listen, I’ve been through a lot over my 15 years with SQL, and my 3 years actively involved in the community and this past week affirmed something for me. LISTEN to the people.

I place strong value in the sessions I attended; along with that I have to note that face time; one on one time with real people in my industry is about the best form of learning I could ever hope to obtain.

With that learning comes in issues related to both SQL and non SQL attributes. I had so many positive conversations on leadership alone that sparked a new kind of fire within me; one that was not as bright as what my technical fire had been.

Guys, listen. I could write 10 blog posts on how buffer size could help with backups, the need to have always on implemented, or how to tune indexes all day long. The people, better yet the community is where I believe the learning lies within. Out of 5k people last week I ended up meeting a guy that works two blocks from me and we got to discuss the community and what it means to us.

Have you challenged yourself lately? I mean have you really challenged yourself lately in learning something. I don’t care if you are just starting out or the most seasoned vet around; the ability to learn happens everyday and I’m learning that is what separates the exceptional data professional from the data professional.

You see, the exceptional data professional hangs around the community zone at Pass Summit to help others in the community with issue they may have. The exceptional data professional sits down next to you when you are the new kid on the block and encourages you to make the most of your career then tells you some of his/her pitfalls they had that you can avoid, and the exceptional data professional takes you under his/her wing when you ask them for help or assistance.

You don’t have to travel all the way to Seattle to learn; no you have learning opportunities all around you. From SQL Saturday’s to Virtual Chapters on the web but it starts with you. That’s right, you have to be willing to take that first step; get involved and start learning.

I can tell you from experience and the roller coaster ride I’ve been on for the past three years that you will not regret it. Strive for excellence and provide that leadership through service that the community seeks. Yeah, I may be a tad passionate about what I do; you’ll find that kind of trait with others in the community.

So, I’ve challenged myself……..will you?

T-SQL Tuesday #059 – My Hero

Invitation, no roundup.

It turns out that Tuesday, October 14th, the day your contributions are due, is also Ada Lovelace Day. As you probably know, Ada Lovelace was one of the first female computer programmers (considered by many to be the FIRST computer programmer). If you didn’t know that, here’s your chance to learn some history of our industry. Wendy suggested that we take advantage of this date and do some sort of a tribute to Ada. I agreed, and here we are.

Your Assignment

Ada Lovelace has been an inspiration to many. In keeping with my blog theme, let’s call her a hero. We all have our heroes, those people who we admire, who inspire us, who we strive to be like. Who is your hero?

Your assignment is to acknowledge, in writing, your hero (or heroes). You don’t have to mention them by name if you’re not comfortable doing so, but you do have to tell us how you met them, how they have inspired you, and what qualities or traits of theirs you have striven to adopt.

T-SQL Tuesday #058 – Passwords

Invitation and roundup from Sebastian Meine.

This time the T-SQL Tuesday topic is: Passwords. Anything that you can think of, that has to do with or is related to passwords is a welcome topic. To give you a few ideas about what you could write, I compiled a short list of possible topics:

Those topics are not really SQL Server related, so you might argue that they do not fit a T-SQL Tuesday. I think that they still would make valuable posts, but in case, you want to play it “closer to home”, here are a few more ideas:

And, if you still think that “passwords” is not a fitting topic for T-SQL Tuesday, write about why you think so.

T-SQL Tuesday #057 – SQLFamily and Community

Invitation and roundup from Jeffrey Verheul.

This month I would like to give everyone the opportunity to write about SQL Family. The first time I heard of SQL Family, was on Twitter where someone mentioned this. At first I didn’t know what to think about this. I wasn’t really active in the community, and I thought it was a little weird. They were just people you meet on the internet, and might meet in person at a conference some day. But I couldn’t be more wrong about that!

Once you start visiting events, forums, or any other involvement with the community, you’ll see I was totally wrong. I want to hear those stories. How do you feel about SQL Family? Did they help you, or did you help someone in the SQL Family? I would love to hear the stories of support, how it helped you grow and evolve, or how you would explain SQL Family to your friends and family (which I find hard). Just write about whatever topic you want, as long as it’s related to SQL Family or community.

T-SQL Tuesday #056 – Assumptions

Invitation and wrap from Dev Nambi.

It’s hard to rock the boat.
It’s hard to ask the basic questions that everybody knows.
It’s hard to slow down and ask for clarification.

So, we improvise. We guess: things that are accepted as true, without proof. We often forget our assumptions, or make them instinctively.

For this T-SQL Tuesday, the topic is assumptions.

For example:

  • The sun will come up tomorrow.
  • Firewalls and anti-virus are enough to protect my computer.
  • My backups work even if I don’t restore them.
  • I don’t need to check for that error, it’ll never happen.

Your assignment for this month is to write about a big assumption you encounter at work, one that people are uncomfortable talking about. Every team has an elephant in the room.

What happens if these big guesses aren’t true?

T-SQL Tuesday #055 – SQL Server 2014, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Invitation and wrap from Joey D’Antoni.

Since SQL Server 2014 has been out for a couple of months now, I wanted to solicit opinions. What features are you really happy about? What features should be tossed/fixed immediately/taken out back and shot? Did SQL 2014 break your application, and do you know why?

T-SQL Tuesday #054 – Interviews and Hiring

Invitation and summary from Boris Hristov.

T-SQL Tuesday #053 – Why So Serious

Invitation from Matt Velic.

Dirty Little Tricks

The Joker

The Joker

Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to come up with a piece of T-SQL that could mess with your coworkers. And if you’re committed to the fun, implement it!

Need some ideas? Maybe you could…

  • Write a lengthy script that returns a funny or annoying message
  • Implement hilarious login triggers
  • Use Resource Govenor to limit your victims developers

Honestly the sky is the limit. Just be sure to blog about the results of your trickery if you do pull it off.

Special Warning

Folks, don’t get yourself fired. This is meant to be fun. But you know your work environment better than I do. If your job has a stick up its rear-end, just write your tricks down and keep them up your sleeve for when you’re working at a more relaxed place.

And I shouldn’t have to say it, but don’t do this sh!t in Production.