Opportunities To Talk

Misc, PASS
It's weird being an introvert who likes to talk to people, but what can I do. I like talking to people. I have a number of upcoming trips, quite literally all over the world, that provide us with the opportunities to get together and have a chat. First, I'll be at SQL Saturday Boston (the 500th SQL Saturday event, HUZZAH!), this weekend, March 19th 2016. I'll be talking about the Query Store and I'll be doing a presentation for PASS since this is a milestone event. The first SQL Saturday event in Boston was #34, six years ago, which I helped organize. It's been quite the journey. I'm going to SQL Saturday Madison on April 9th. I'll be talking about the Query Store and how to automate your database deployments.…
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Benefits for Some, All or Only a Few

PASS, Professional Development
As a member of the PASS Board of Directors I attended the PASS Business Analytics Conference (BAC) recently. You can read more about it here and here (as well as here). Let me start with an important note: I am voicing my opinion here as an individual, not an official stance of the PASS organization. There is controversy around the BAC because of a whole bunch of things, but one question in particular bothered me. It was suggested that the people attending the BAC were just consuming the worth or value that other people who paid for the Summit generated. At first, I just dismissed this concept. It stuck in the back of my mind though. Suddenly I realized why. Yes, the BAC was partly paid for by Summit. The…
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How To Speak At SQL Saturday Events

PASS, Professional Development
The PASS SQL Saturday events are meant to be a place to grow the pool of speakers, provide a mechanism for the speakers to learn, and fulfill the PASS goals of Connect, Share and Learn. So, you've decided you want to start speaking at a SQL Saturday event. Cool. You went to the <Insert Large, Popular, SQL Saturday> event last year, so you submitted this year... and didn't get accepted. Now what? First, submit. You won't get accepted if you don't try. SQL Saturday, especially the big, popular ones, may not be the best place to present for your very first time. In fact, with the large ones, you may not get accepted because people who already have a reputation are submitting to those (we all want to talk to big…
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Victims of Success

PASS, Professional Development
I took part in the PASS Summit 2014 selection committee this year because I was really curious about seeing how the sausage gets made. I've seen how actual sausage gets made and I still eat sausage.  Despite a few hiccups and communication issues, internal and external, I think the selection process for the Summit went really well this year. But, there was still some controversy. Being a naturally pushy person, I got involved in the controversy, for good or ill, and subsequently have had conversations with many people about the selection process (which, reiterating, I think went extremely well overall). But, the one thing that kept coming up over and over was a simple question: How come I/PersonX didn't get picked? The easy answer is because you/PersonX had a horrible abstract. But you…
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Speaker of the Month, May 2014

Professional Development
Whoa! Another month gone by already? I guess I better pick a speaker of the month then. I went to several events this month, so selection was difficult, getting to see so many great speakers. But, one stood out in my mind, partly because he's the least experienced speaker I've seen in quite a while. But his inexperience didn't show. Speaker of the Month for May 2014 is Andy Yun (t) and his presentation Every Byte Counts. The session was about using the right data types. You'd think this is self-obvious, but from the way Andy packed the room along with the attention and questions from the attendees, it's clearly a topic that needed attention. I really liked how he did a presentation on the problem space before showing his goals…
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SQL Saturday: You can’t have it all.

PASS
SQL Saturday's are awesome! Let's get that clear up front. The organizers of SQL Saturday events are glorious individuals. Let's get that clear too. I want to be up front about those things because, well, I'm going to be critical. First though, I want to establish my bona fides for what I'm about to say. I helped organize two SQL Saturday events and two other local events before those. I also help Red Gate Software run half-day seminars all over the country. So, I have some idea what goes into the organizational side of these things. I've presented at eleven SQL Saturday events in just the last year. I'm on the schedule for, I think, 6 more between now and August. So, I think I have some idea what it's…
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Let’s Talk Query Tuning

Professional Development, SQL Server, T-SQL
I spend quite a bit of time writing about query tuning on this blog. I've written (re-written and am actively re-writing) books on query tuning. But what I like most is talking about query tuning. I love giving sessions at various events on different aspects of query tuning, but, what I like the most is spending a whole day, trying to do a complete brain dump to get as much information out there as possible. Sound attractive? Then I've got a great deal for you. Come to Louisville on June 20th, 2014. We will talk query tuning at length. You have a specific question? Let's get it answered. Then, the next day, we can all go to SQL Saturday 286 there in Louisville to get more learning and some serious…
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Learn Query Tuning in Dallas

SQL Server, T-SQL
I am excited to be able to tell you about an all day seminar that I'll be putting on prior to the Dallas SQL Saturday #255. The seminar will be on November 1, 2013. It's called Query Performance Tuning in SQL Server. We're going to cover the topic from an understanding of the optimizer to collecting data using extended events to reading execution plans and then on to lots of standard problems and their solutions. If you sign up before September 21st you can get a substantial early-bird discount, so I'd jump on it. Also, seats are limited, so don't wait too long. Let's get together and talk query tuning.
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SQL Saturday #187 Richmond And More

Professional Development, Redgate Software
In just a couple of weeks I'll be flying down to Richmond, VA to speak at SQL Saturday #187. I'll be presenting two topics, Backups for the Accidental DBA and Query Tuning in the Clouds. It's going to be a great event with a bunch of excellent speakers. If you're in the area, come on down and say hello. And, if you have some time on Friday before the event, Red Gate Software is hosting a special 1/2 day seminar targeting the database professional just getting started with their career. There are only a few seats left, so if you're interested, sign up quick. Steve Jones and I will be presenting on several topics from monitoring to backups, database corruption and indexing. It'll be great way to learn, network, see…
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Don’t You Know Who I Am?

PASS, Professional Development
I’m happy to say that for most of you out there, the answer to this question is “no.” That’s as it should be. I’m not anyone all that special. I present technical sessions at various events from local user group meetings to SQL Saturday’s to international events like the PASS Summit and 24 Hours of PASS. Why? Not because the attendees know my name, that’s for sure. It’s because of a combination of at least two of these three things: The organizers might know my name or may know of my books or the fact that I’m working for a vendor that sponsors their event I’ve submitted sessions that seem to be of interest to the people who might be attending the event being organized I’ve got a track record…
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