13Jan 2012 by Grant Fritchey 2 Comments

Friday SQL Nugget #1

Professional Development
Gee thanks Jes (blog|twitter). Just what I wanted, a little extra work on a Friday afternoon. I used to like you. We have a tagging theme started by Ted Krueger (blog|twitter) who I also used to like. The theme is: Deciding that I need to delete and start all over Lordy I hate this one. See, I find it easy to decide that I need to delete and start all over. My challenging task is persevering. But… here’s the rub. Because my challenge is persevering, I have a tendency to try to persevere when I really should be throwing in the towel. I don’t have a technical example of this ready at hand (I did mention it was the afternoon on a Friday, right?), but I do have a presentation…
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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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14Dec 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

SQL Saturday #104: Colorado Springs

Professional Development
I’ll be presenting at the Colorado Springs SQL Saturday on January 7th of 2012. The session is called Seven Ways to Fix Bad Parameter Sniffing. Please, if you’re in the area, register and come to the event. There are going to be some truly excellent speakers there. There is also evidently skiing on Sunday, although I won’t be taking part in that.
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09Dec 2011 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

#sqlfamily

Professional Development
Microsoft is supporting an effort by PragmaticWorks targeted at supporting technical training for returning veterans. I can’t think of a single better cause to throw some support behind. Not one. They’re going to donate money based on posts about #sqlfamily. Well done to Brian Knight (blog|twitter) and all the team at PragmaticWorks. I knew you were great people, I just didn’t know how great. Thanks to Microsoft and the SQL Server Team for their support of Brian. Oh, and for all the work you guys do with SQL Server. I may bitch about you guys more than you’d like, but it’s only because I live inside your software, constantly. I wouldn’t be there all the time if you didn’t do great work. Keep it up. We can talk about this…
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05Dec 2011 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

Resolutions: Outcome

Professional Development
Earlier this year, I wrote a post about my upcoming plans for the year in response to a question asked by Jen McCown (flat out, one of my favorite people, blog|twitter). It was supposed to be about resolutions, but I just don’t make those. I make plans. Here we are, close to a year later (11 months). How did the plans work out? The first one, hinted at the time, was to start a new job. Well, that’s done and it’s going swimmingly, thank you very much. The job has turned out to be harder than I thought it was going to be. I travel more than I thought I was going to travel (although we’re keeping it within the limits we agreed to, I love my new company). Frankly,…
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30Nov 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

PASS Board Elections

Professional Development
Here is the list of suckers, uh, I mean, candidates, that actually want to subject themselves to the board. Look these people over, weigh them, and vote well. Things are running a little different this year. The elections are being held between the 6th and the 20th of December. The PASS Community is an amazing thing and these people are going to potentially improve it, maintain it, or degrade it. If you’ve attended any of the 24 Hours of PASS, the PASS Summit, SQL Rally, SQL Saturday, your local user group, and you’ve received something positive from any or all of them, then you’ve seen the benefits of the Professional Association for SQL Server. If you want to see PASS improved, or at least maintained, then it’s up to you…
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07Nov 2011 by Grant Fritchey 2 Comments

Meme Monday: SQL Family

Professional Development
Tom LaRock’s (blog|twitter) question this month: What does #sqlfamily mean to me? Wow… Geez Tom, couldn’t you ask a hard question for once? Hmmm… Just saying #sqlfamily and a whole series of images of people flashes through my head. And those images are accompanied by all sorts of fun, amazing, interesting situations. And you know what, they’re all very positive. I don’t have flashes of people I dislike or bitter acrimony or really strange relationships. In short, maybe it’s not a family. I have a huge, complex, and very extended real-life family. When I compare that to my #sqlfamily, parts of the real family don’t shine quite so bright as that #sqlfamily does (parts, of course, shine brighter, I love my family). The #sqlfamily is impressive. I get so much…
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07Nov 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Book Review: Guerilla Leader, T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt

Professional Development
As part of my commitment to read and review 12 books in an effort to be active in my own personal development, a commitment made on the SQL Cruise back in June, I’ve completed another book, Guerrilla Leader: T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt by James J. Schneider. This was not the book I was scheduled to read. I’m still reading it, but, frankly, it’s boring. This book came to my attention, a history book that is also an exploration of leadership, and I got excited. I’ve long been a student of history and I’ve had a fascination for World War I for a long time. I have over twenty books on the subject that I’ve read. So the chance to combine reading about a subject that I already…
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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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30Sep 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

SQL In The City: LA

Professional Development
Just a reminder that there are a few seats left for SQL In The City: LA on the 28th of October. It’s a free event put on by Red Gate Software. I’ll be speaking there. But much better than that, you can listen to, and interact with, Steve Jones, Brad McGehee, Ike Ellis, Aaron Nelson, and ta-da, Denny Cherry, and double-super ta-da, Kalen Delaney (line forms behind me to talk to Kalen), plus the developers and program managers from Red Gate software that will be there. Take a Friday off work and go get your learn-on. Show your boss the agenda. I guarantee they’ll let you go. Click here to register. You know what else? If you pick up a copy of MVP Deep Dives II before the event, I’ll…
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