19Dec 2011 by Grant Fritchey 2 Comments

PASS Summit 2012 Evaluation Results

PASS, Professional Development
I say it all the time because it’s worth repeating, feedback is a gift. Good, bad or indifferent (well, not indifferent), feedback is a wonderful gift. Any time you appreciate a speaker, give them feedback. Any time you think a speaker could improve, give them feedback. Any time you hate a speaker, give them feedback. It’s really the best thing you can do. With that in mind, I have a huge stack of gifts in front of me here, the evaluations from the PASS Summit.Thank you very much to each and every one of the 160 different evaluations I received. I presented three times at the summit, once on a pre-con with Gail Shaw called “All About Execution Plans,” one time in a spotlight session called “DMOs as a Shortcut…
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17Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 4 Comments

PASS Summit 2011: Wrap-Up

PASS
Another Summit done gone by and I’m exhausted. You know you did the Summit correctly if you’re crawling onto the plane to leave because you can no longer stand. That’s where I was on Saturday. I’m going to go ahead and write down a few thoughts about the Summit, but I want to point you over to Andy Leonard’s (blog|twitter) blog for what is a truly great summary. I won’t blame you if you read that & skip this. Still here? This year the Summit was amazing. I think it’s probably the best run Summit I’ve attended. From registration on Sunday night, to the final sessions on Friday, everything was dealt with in a timely and professional fashion that made the place a joy to attend. Huge kudos to the…
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14Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 4 Comments

PASS Keynote Day #3: Dr. Dewitt

PASS
And we’re off. We opened with a video of people saying “Connect, Share, Learn” and “This, is Community” Rob Farley & Buck Woody came out with a song about long running queries. [8:20]Wayne Snyder has been working with the PASS organization since 1999. He spoke at the first PASS Summit and he’s been on the board forever. He has finally hit the point as immediate-past president where he has to leave the board. We’ve got a great little thank you for him from all sorts of people. Wayne is a magnificent guy, seriously. If you see him, thank him for his service. [8:28]We have a new executive committee, Bill Graziano as President, WHOOP, Douglas McDowell is Executive Vice-President and Thomas LaRock is VP of Marketing and finally, Rushabh Mehta is…
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13Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

PASS Summit Day 2–Key Notes

PASS
Bill Graziano has come out on stage, looking marvelous, in a traditional kilt and stockings. Thanks Bill. For those who don’t know, Day 2 at the Summit every year is Kilt Day. [8:19]Outstanding volunteers being recognized are Tim Radney and Jack Corbett. These are some outstanding people who work their bottoms off for the PASS Community. If you meet them, thank them. The 2011 PASSion Award goes to Lori Edwards. She’s simply amazing. Congratulations Lori and thank you for all the work you’ve done! [8:23]Time to eat our vegetables. We’re looking at the financials. It’s a slightly painful process, but important to understand where the money goes since this is a non-profit organization managed by volunteers. You should understand where the money comes from and where it goes. [8:25]Quentin Clark…
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13Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

PASS Summit So Far

PASS
This is Day 2 of the Summit proper. But for me, this is the fifth day of the Summit and my sixth in Seattle. Sunday was the opening of registration and it was like a high school reunion with people that you really love. Registration itself only takes about three minutes, but I was there for almost two hours talking to people, friends from previous PASS Summits, SQL Saturday’s, SQL Cruise, and SQL In The City. Monday I put on a pre-conference seminar with Gail Shaw. We had 120 attendees. Despite our worries and multiple contingency plans, we had more than enough material for the time (you try coordinating 7 hours of material with someone from South Africa who has less band width than my phone). It went off wonderfully.…
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12Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

PASS Summit 2011 Day #1 Post #1

PASS
Hello again. The PASS Organization has once more allowed me to sit at the bloggers table for the key note. I’ll be posting updates as the information unfolds. [8:06] The crowd is filling in. this looks like one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen at the summit. The organizers have done a great job so far. Thanks for all the hard work guys. [8:10] SQUEEEEE! I just met Dr. David Dewitt and got a picture with him. I’ll post it after I get home and find the cable. [8:22] Watching the videos of different people on the big screen talking about what they like about the PASS Summit is really cool. [8:26] Rushahb Mehta is introducing the board and the Partners of the PASS board. We now have a…
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03Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 7 Comments

Networking

Professional Development
No, I’m not talking about hubs and switches. I’m talking about people. Networking is a major component of an event like the PASS Summit. Whether you’re networking with individuals or with organizations, this is an opportunity to build direct, personal connections with people that can, and will, help you in your professional career. With the economy behaving as it is, having a better network gives you an edge over your peers. You’re going to be better and faster at solving the tough problems, not because you’re smarter, but because you have contacts that have already solved that problem (which, actually, means you are smarter) and you can go to them for the solution. I’ve been “that guy.” (I can’t be be “that gal” even if I tried). You know the…
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22Sep 2011 by Grant Fritchey 5 Comments

SQL Server Execution Plans

PASS, Professional Development, SQL Server
I write quite frequently about SQL Server Execution Plans. I started in that area just because that’s how you figure out what a query is doing and sooner or later, we all have to tune a query. I found I was doing it sooner and more frequently. When the opportunity came up to write a book , I jumped on it. Now I find myself presenting, rather frequently, on execution plans. One of the people I’ve learned from over the last several years is Gail Shaw (blog|twitter). I first saw Gail on stage at the PASS Summit, I think it was 2007. A co-worker of mine was picked, along with Gail, to go on stage for the Quiz Bowl. Gail was answering all the questions. If you go over to…
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06Sep 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Meme Monday: Favorite PASS Memory

PASS
Have to complete my assignment from the Rockstar this month since I’ve missed the last several (he gets all weepy, it’s not pretty). The question this time is to describe your favorite PASS moment… Wow! And this is Tom’s idea of an easy assignment. How do you choose? Lots of stuff flashes through my head, a football helmet with antlers & the song Funky Cold Medina, learning Policy Based Management from Buck Woody (blog|twitter) while simultaneously laughing my ass off, a pile of neatly folded clothes in a bush, friends old & new, speaking for the first time and running out of material 15 minutes early, sessions with great information from really smart and helpful people, Dr. Dewitt nuff said, sitting down to breakfast with people that wrote books I’d…
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03Aug 2011 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

All About Execution Plans

PASS
If you’re attending the PASS Summit this October, I’d like to make a suggestion. The Summit itself is only three days long, Wednesday to Friday. But, if you have to travel any distance to get there, you’re going to miss work on Tuesday as well. Why not take a whole week away and spend Monday with Gail Shaw (blog|twitter) and me? The reason I ask is because Gail and I are putting together 7 hours of information all about execution plans. We’re going to be presenting this information on Monday at the Summit as a pre-conference seminar. Yes, you’ll have to pay extra to attend this session. But if you register for the Summit now, there’s still a discount, which you can put towards to the seminar. And, seriously now,…
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