17Sep 2014 by Grant Fritchey 2 Comments

I Am Running For the PASS Board of Directors: #passvotes

PASS
This year, I submitted my application to run for the PASS Board and it was accepted. This then is my announcement to all of you and the beginning of my campaign for election. My name is Grant Fritchey and I'm running for the PASS Board. It's traditional to either make all sorts of promises for the things you're going to do or to attack your opponents. I'm not going to do either. I don't have any grand promises to make. I'm not going to attack my opponents because I know and respect them. I'm voting for James Rowland-Jones myself and so should you. Let's do this instead. Let's talk about PASS, you, me, your career, mine, and how PASS can change your life. PASS changed my life for the better. Like…
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16Sep 2014 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

PASS Summit 2014 Pre-Conference Seminar

PASS, T-SQL
I'm putting on a pre-conference seminar (also known as a pre-con) at the PASS Summit this year. I'm really honored to be able to present this and I'm pretty excited about it. So, if you want to talk query tuning, let's get together at the Summit. For a few fun facts about the event, check out this Q&A over at PASS. To register for the event and my pre-con, go here now.
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15Sep 2014 by Grant Fritchey 2 Comments

Podcast on Devops and the Database

DevOps
I've been attempting to expand my reach to get back to my roots in development. I'm doing this because I really believe in the concepts behind devops, that these walls we've erected between development and dba, between dba and san admin, et, ad nauseum, cetera, need to come to an end. The great news is that there are a lot of other people who feel the same. We're changing things. Come on over to the dark side, we have wine. Any way, I had a blast talking database devops with Bryan for his podcast. Have a listen and let me know what you think.
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10Sep 2014 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Statistics in SQL Server

SQL Server
I've put together a new Curah! of links to some of the better articles on SQL Server Statistics, specifically those for SQL Server 2014. The changes in the cardinality estimator can't be ignored. If you want to talk about statistics, I'll be presenting at Live360 in November on that topic and several others. Go here to register for this event.
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09Sep 2014 by Grant Fritchey 6 Comments

It’s All Fundamentals

Professional Development
I'm learning how to speak German. Interestingly enough, you don't start off reading dissertations. Instead, you begin by learning the names of things, Teller for plate, Buch for book. The fundamentals. I'm a third degree black belt in Ken Ryu Kenpo. But you don't start that, or continue it, by learning complex kata. Instead, you start with how to make a fist, how to hold your hands up in a defensive stance. The fundamentals. I've been doing crossfit and Olympic weightlifting for a couple of years now. I've been working hard on my clean, standing up tall during the lift, getting my elbows around quick. The fundamentals. Situation after situation, skill set after skill set, you have to get the fundamentals right. And, if you don't get the fundamentals right,…
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05Sep 2014 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Speaker of the Month: September 2014

Professional Development
This month I'm very grateful because I was given the opportunity to present at DevLink in Chattanooga. I got to meet a lot of new people and see presentations by people that just don't hang around SQL Server specific events. It was great. I'm going to apply next year (depending on scheduling of course) and I'm applying for a lot more development conferences. I still get to see friends present, Louis Davidson, Kevin Boles and Kevin Kline were all there. But I get to see new people. Speaking of which, speaker of the month for September 2014 is Josh Lane (b|t) and his presentation AWS vs. Azure, Which One Is Right for You. The thing that I found the most amazing about this presentation was how even-handed it was. Josh Lane…
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03Sep 2014 by Grant Fritchey 12 Comments

Left or Right?

SQL Server, T-SQL
No, this is not about politics. It's about your WHERE clause... and your JOIN criteria... and your HAVING clause. It's about a canard that still makes the rounds occasionally. Please, help me put this statement to sleep for once and all: A function on the left side of the equals sign can lead to performance problems Well, you know, it's sort of true. But then, a function on the right side of the equals sign can also lead to performance problems. In short, it's not the placement of the function that causes issues, it's the function that causes issues. Let's take a look at a really simple example: SELECT a.AddressID, a.AddressLine1, AddressLine2 FROM Person.Address AS a WHERE a.AddressLine1 = 'Downshire Way'; This simple query results in an equally simple execution plan: Now,…
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21Aug 2014 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Silliness for an Important Cause

Professional Development
I don't mind saying that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, scares me. A degenerative disease that takes away the minds ability to control the body, leaving the mind intact... words fail me. Add to that the fact that there is no known cure, and that there are at least 30,000 people suffering from this, just in the US, something has to be done. You can give money over at the ALS Association. Please do. Oh, and Aaron Bertrand of SQL Sentry asked me to come over to his house to take part in the ice bucket challenge. Here are the results. Please donate for this important cause. If you see Kevin Kline, Steve Jones or Thomas LaRock, help them mix their ice bucket.
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20Aug 2014 by Grant Fritchey 2 Comments

The Red Gate Way…

DevOps, PASS, Professional Development, Redgate Software, SQL Server, T-SQL
As companies go, Red Gate is a little different. That is readily apparent in our tools and the philosophy behind them, ingeniously simple. But, we do a lot of other things too. There's the Simple-Talk web site where we publish serious articles on all aspects of development and database administration across platforms and programming languages. There's SQL Server Central, the single largest SQL Server community on the planet. There's Ask SQL Server where you can get direct answers to your direct questions about SQL Server. If all that's not enough, there are all the books, which we give away for free, on, again, all aspects of programming and database administration. But, we like to do more, so we also bring you training, the Red Gate way, at the SQL in…
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19Aug 2014 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

Getting the Word Out

Professional Development
A discussion that I've frequently had with organizers of SQL Saturday events, our own people here at Red Gate, authors, MVPs, pretty much anyone interested enough to listen for a few minutes, is summed up by "How do we get the word out about the opportunities that the SQL Server community offers?" The question always comes down to, how do we reach people? We tweet. There's a Facebook page. Discussions are hosted on LinkedIn. Emails are sent out to various distribution lists. Advertising is done on SQL Server Central (with over one million registrants, what else do you have to do?). And yet, at events, I'll ask, who has heard of PASS and will only get a 50% positive response. Heck, I'll never forget that at the Charlotte SQL in…
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