23Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey 5 Comments

PASS Summit 2010 Survey Results

PASS
As I have done in previous years, I’m going to post the results from my sessions at the PASS Summit. Feedback is a gift. I received a great many gifts this year and I’m extremely happy about all of them. There are a set of questions with ratings, the higher the rating, the better you did. One exception to this rule is the question on time for the session. I think there, somewhat lower scores are better. There were 183 technical sessions rated during the Summit. I’m very honored to have been included in that list. Identifying and Fixing Performance Problems using Execution Plans: 286 Attendees, 172 Responses, Avg Score of 4.23, Placed 136th How would you rate the usefulness of the information presented in your day-to-day environment? 1 2…
Read More
11Nov 2010 by Grant Fritchey 6 Comments

PASS Summit 2010, Day 3 Key Note

PASS
Today is Dr. Dewitt. The ballroom, where the keynotes are held, is filled with extra chairs. The Summit organizers expect extra attendance today, and well they should. Dr. Dewitt was amazing last year. I suspect this year will be more of the same. Rick Heiges is introducing the day (waiting for Dr. Dewitt). Lynda Rab is leaving the board. Sad. I started volunteering for the PASS organization working for Lynda. She's great. The new board members are Douglas McDowell, Andy Warren and Allen Kinsel. The spring SQL Rally event was announced. I'll be presenting a full day session on query performance, Query Performance Tuning, Start to Finish. Look for (a lot) more blog posts on this. The Summit next year has been moved to mid-October. WHOOP! This is great because…
Read More
10Nov 2010 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

PASS Summit: Day 2 Keynote

Misc, PASS
Today is Kilt Day at the PASS Summit. We're going to try to arrange a group photo at lunch time. The network connection is extremely slow. I suspect the tweeting about the kilts. Bill Graziano is leading the key note and he started off with having all the kilted stand. Only about 12-15 of us, but that's five times better than last year. Then it was time for the volunteers to stand up. It was excellent to see so many people. The Outstanding Volunteer of the Year was Lorie Edwards. The PASSion award went to Wendy Pastrick, who really earned it. Unfortunately the next segment was on governance... blech! But necessary. Everyone here is a member, so they should know how the money is spent. Luckily Bill is not digging…
Read More
09Nov 2010 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

PASS Summit: Day 1 Keynote, Part 3

PASS
Ted Kummert is still talking. For the cloud, of course, they're talking about SQL Azure. Microsoft really is throwing themselves into the cloud, completely. The emphasis is that they offer both a cloud and an on-premises solution. I don't mind saying, I'm still trying to get the full business proposition for an old school, fat, business like the one I work for. What should we be doing with the cloud. I just haven't seen the magic. I see where smaller businesses, or start-ups, or temporary surge capacity for businesses that may have that type of thing can use the cloud, but... traditional work, it just doesn't seem to jive yet. We're going to see some made-up scenarios for how Azure can manage Contoso Bikes. He shows how the report can…
Read More
09Nov 2010 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

PASS Summit: Day 1 Keynote, Part 2

PASS
Mark Souza from the SQL CAT Team, some of the smartest & most capable of MS consultants in SQL Server, is presenting how his team is offering a health check for people's SQL Server systems. There going to actually be using some technology to do this little event called SQL PASS It On, using Twitter. Twitter is become more and more of a major part of the event. If you're not at least monitoring Twitter, you're missing out. It's a busy day with the SQL Clinic, the Exhibit Hall, Community Learning Center, Birds of a Feather Lunch, Regional Mentors, Book Signing and Exhibitor Reception. That's not mentioning all the sessions. The key notes will be Ted Kummert today, Quentin Clark tomorrow, and David DeWitt (YAY!) on Thursday where he will…
Read More
09Nov 2010 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

PASS Summit: Day 1 Keynote, Part 1

PASS
Sitting at the big kids table at the PASS Summit, ready to rock and roll. The Summit has not officially started yet, but it's been a fantastic ride already. I'm getting to meet a bunch of great and amazing people. I made my very first trip out to the Microsoft campus yesterday. Last night was the SQL Server Central party. This is just a great organization and a great event. Right at the start, the tweeting is hot & heavy. Hmmm... OK, starting off with a Tina Turner impersonator. She's extremely good, but I have to ask, what were they thinking? Her name is Truly Tina. She was outstanding. Just a bit odd. Rushabh Mehta is introducing the PASS organization. He's showing off the Board of directors and the executive…
Read More
03Nov 2010 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Kilt Day

PASS
A week from now will be Kilt Day at the PASS Summit. It's probably way too late to order a kilt at this point. But, don't despair. You can still take part. Just a short walk from the Summit is the headquarters of Utilikilt. These are not classic tartan wraps with sporans and socks. They're the modern equivalent, come in fun fabrics & colors and are actually pretty practical. So if you still want to participate in Kilt Day, and we'd love to have you, plan a trip to Utilikilt. And no, they're not sponsoring me or anything (more's the pity). I just like them.
Read More
28Oct 2010 by Grant Fritchey 2 Comments

PASS Summit Blogging

PASS
During the PASS Summit I have again been given the opportunity to keep my laptop plugged in... as long as I blog about the Key Notes. So, I'm going to do it, power is hard to come by in that place. Once again I can regale you, near real time, what's occurring in the key note addresses at the PASS Summit. Once more I'll have the opportunity to jump on to the table while wearing a kilt. But, this year, you may not want to read me. Instead, you might want to tune into the key notes yourself. PASS is going to transmit them live. You can go to the this link to watch them. Now, I can hear you, literally, thinking to yourself, "Right, just what I need in…
Read More
26Oct 2010 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

New Book on Query Optimizer

Uncategorized
Benjamin Nevarez (blog) has been working really hard on a book on the Query Optimizer. It just got finished in time so that there will be copies available at the PASS Summit. I strongly recommend you track it down. There's a lot to learn between the covers. How do I know since the book just got finished and isn't in anyone's hands yet? Because I've been watching it get built. I put in my small efforts as the technical editor. I feel bad about that because I've always learned from my technical editors and I'm fairly sure I learned more from Benjamin than he did from me. Get a copy of the book. You won't be disappointed.
Read More
25Oct 2010 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Who You Learn From

PASS
Less than two weeks to go until the PASS Summit. I'm excited. I've managed to cram a ton of activities into this Summit, more than ever before. But, I'm still going to try to go to a few sessions. The question asked, which sessions are you going to? Who do you want to learn from. Who can you learn from? I've got a pretty simple answer. Everybody. There's not a single person that I work with on my current team that I haven't learned something from. Sure, there are those that teach you tons and tons, for example, we have a fantastic SSIS guy on our team, that has taught me quite a lot, faster than I could have picked it up on my own. So, you're going to the…
Read More