This month the #TSQL2SDAY invitation comes from Brent Ozar (twitter). The T-SQL Tuesday is a monthly blogging event that was created by Adam Machanic (blog|twitter) and is maintained by Steve Jones (blog|twitter). Brent asked us to write about the last ticket we closed. The invitation is in this post.
Regular execution of DBCC CHECKDB is a cornerstone practice for DBAs, ensuring that databases are free from corruption. However, this routine maintenance can sometimes feel more like a Herculean task, especially when DBCC CHECKDB runs slower than a snail in molasses, or worse, gets terminated because it runs too slow.
It happened multiple times, so this is just an example that I had to tackle recently. DBCC CHECKDB was taking its sweet time, dragging on for hours. The solution: kill it at a certain point or stop running at all. Not ideal.
The DBCC was running in a single SQL Agent job (using maintenance solution). So the first idea was to…
Create a dedicated SQL Agent job for each of the top three biggest databases, and one for the remaining set (including system databases). Great! At least we’re going somewhere. Some improvement, but not much, there was more to do.
Even with this segregation, the DBCC of the three largest databases was still slow. The solution? Dissect DBCC CHECKDB into its subcommands: CHECKALLOC, CHECKTABLE, and CHECKCATALOG. Worked pretty nicely. Thanks to the metrics gathered in the CommandLog table the surprise was identified. CHECKTABLE of the third database took a fraction of the time to process compared to the full CHECKDB. What the (c)heck?
While the full CHECKDB was running we could see lots of time being spent on DBCC SSB CHECK, meaning SQL Service Broker objects are checked. This does not happen when CHECKTABLE is being executed. Mystery solved, upon confirming that the service broker is some sort of legacy in that system, the database was excluded from the full CHECKDB for good.
After investigating the second top database it was clear that a large number of snapshots between CHECKTABLE operations added up to hours quickly. Over 400 tables. The solution here - TABLOCK which would obtain a shared lock instead of an internal database snapshot. As it occurred only 15 tables were big enough to be affected, so over 375 tables below 1 GB could use TABLOCK, the others were running with snapshots. That decreased processing time dramatically.
It created another job, for that database, one with bigger tables and one with smaller tables picked up dynamically based on the size at the execution time, so they were allocated to a dedicated bucket.
After all that work and many SQL Agent jobs, a closer look at activity it was worth trying to move it a bit to avoid rush hours. That proved to be a good idea in this environment, as pushing it by one hour later further reduced DBCC time (by ~30%).
It was a great excercise and the environment got more granural SQL Agent jobs to successfully perform database integrity checks. One thing to remember, the dbi_dbccLastKnownGood value was not updated when the piecemeal DBCC was executed. Read more about that here.
Thanks,
Mikey
]]>This month the #TSQL2SDAY invitation comes from Gethyn Ellis (twitter). The T-SQL Tuesday is a monthly blogging event that was created by Adam Machanic (blog|twitter) and is maintained by Steve Jones (blog|twitter). Gethyn Ellis asks us to write about the best piece of Career Advice we ever received. The invitation is in this post.
Let’s face it - spending a significant chunk of our lives in a “shi++y” job is a recipe for misery. Who wants that? In this provocative blog, we explore the notion that life is simply too short to waste on a soul-sucking job.
Imagine being stuck in a job that drains your energy faster than a vampire at an all-you-can-eat blood buffet. I once met a person who ditched their miserable job for a lower paycheck, and you know what? They seemed happier than a pig in the mud. Sure, there were places where I ended up working longer than a geologic era, thanks to terrible planning or staff shortages. I even spent holidays secretly fixing tech glitches in a hidden corner. It was like living in a twisted version of “Home Alone.” Trust me, if you’re feeling frustrated and turning into an insufferable grouch, it’s time to seek greener pastures - as long as you can still pay the bills, of course.
Surrounding yourself with brilliant minds can be a game-changer. I mean, who doesn’t love working with people who make you feel like an intellectual muggle in comparison? In every workplace I’ve been in, I made sure to find at least two brainiacs who could teach me a thing or two. It’s like having Dumbledore and Gandalf as colleagues (minus the magical powers, sadly). But hey, if you’re struggling to find those awe-inspiring individuals, consider joining a local user group. Who knows, you might find your intellectual soulmates and finally have someone to geek out with during lunch breaks.
Do you want recognition? Do you want to be revered like the god(dess) of data? Well, here’s a secret: share your knowledge with the world! Whether it’s through a witty blog post, an entertaining video, or a conference talk that leaves people rolling in the aisles, spreading your wisdom will come back to you like a boomerang of appreciation. Teach others, and you’ll find yourself learning more than you ever imagined. It’s like being a superhero, but instead of saving lives, you save people from boring, uninformed existence. Plus, who knows, you might even become the Beyoncé of the data community. #DataQueen (Note: crown not included.)
Life’s too short to spend it trapped in a soul-crushing job that makes you question your sanity. Seek happiness in your career, surround yourself with brilliant minds, and share your knowledge with the world. Good luck!
Mikey
]]>Ah, SQLBits, my old friend! I recently attended the 2023 event, and boy was it a doozy. Just like last year, I found myself wearing many different hats at the conference. In fact, I wore so many hats that I started to feel like a hat rack! This was actually my third time attending SQLBits in person, and I have to say, it just keeps getting better and better. Talk about multitasking! (sorry Linda) So, what exactly changed this year?
SQLBits 2023 had taken place in Newport, Wales and once it was announced it caused a small tsunami online. It wasn’t that big of a deal for us, as we were driving there, but due to several unpleasant circumstances (strikes, weather), it could cause some disruption or stress to the attendees. Despite the potential obstacles, I have to say that it was worth it. We got to explore a side of the country that we had never seen before, and it was simply stunning. I definitely plan on coming back to Wales, although maybe next time I’ll wait until the rainy season is over. Does the rainy season ever end in Wales? Someone please tell me it does… nervous laughter
SQLBits 2023 took me on quite the adventure with its Dungeons & Dragons theme! Even though I’m not exactly a D&D enthusiast, I have to admit that I had a blast. It was a refreshing change of pace from the usual tech conference scene.
I mean, what’s not to love? We got to roll dice, explore imaginary worlds, and battle fierce monsters (okay, maybe not actual monsters, but you get the idea). Plus, I now have a collection of dice at home that could rival any seasoned D&D player.
SQLBits really outdid themselves this year by offering a crèche for parents who needed childcare. I have to say, this was a game-changer for me and my partner Magda. It was amazing to be able to focus on our roles at the event without having to worry about our child’s wellbeing.
What was truly unique about this was that the crèche was available for the entire duration of the conference, including precon days. I’ve never encountered such a service at any other conference before, and I’m so glad that SQLBits decided to carry on with it.
Not only did it make our lives easier, but our child also had a great time. They got to enjoy rainy walks around the venue and even made a wooden dragon as a craft project! And they weren’t the only ones - there were a couple of other children in the crèche as well, so they had company and didn’t feel lonely.
Overall, I’m so grateful for the crèche service at SQLBits. It really made a huge difference and allowed us to fully enjoy the conference without any worries.
Ah, the infamous orange shirts of the SQLBits crew! This was my second year wearing one, and let me tell you, it’s quite the experience. Being a part of the crew is truly something special, even if it means starting your day extra early before everyone else arrives at the venue.
But you know what? It’s worth it. The support we received from the committee, the tools provided to us, and all the preparation that went into the event months ahead of time made the experience truly unforgettable.
It’s amazing to see the sea of orange shirts bustling around the venue, making sure everything runs smoothly.
All in all, being a part of the crew at SQLBits is an experience I’ll never forget, and I can’t wait to do it all again next year!
Wow, I still can’t believe I was selected as a speaker at SQLBits 2023! It was such an incredible honor and a pleasure to be able to share my knowledge and experiences with others in the community.
Even though I had a shorter format (only 20 minutes), I have to admit that it still raised my adrenaline levels. But hey, that’s all part of the thrill, right? I’m so grateful to everyone who attended my session and asked such thoughtful questions.
If you missed my talk, don’t worry - I believe it’s available on Canapii. And of course, a huge thank you to my partner Magda for capturing this photo of me in action.
Celebrating @SQLGeordie ‘s birthday together in Wales at @SQLBits with almost the complete team! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/46eleJZfOW
— datamasterminds (@datamasterminds) March 16, 2023
Networking at events like SQLBits is truly invaluable! There’s so much you can learn just from chatting with fellow attendees and visiting the sponsor booths. You never know what new tool or technology you might discover.
But it’s not just about the new tools - it’s also a great opportunity to reconnect with old colleagues or meet potential future ones. In fact, my first SQLBits experience was with a colleague from the same company. Over the years, we went our separate ways and worked for different places, but this time we were able to reconnect as colleagues once again. It’s a small world, after all!
So, my advice to anyone attending a conference like this is to take advantage of every opportunity to connect with others and learn something new. Who knows where it might lead you in the future?
I’ve been putting my photography skills to the test and snapping shots left and right. It’s been a blast, and I can’t wait for you to check out my work on Flickr. but here I wanted to share work I did at SQLBits. Below are links to the days I attended. If you like any photos, or you find yourself or your friends there, feel free to use them on social media. I only ask for one thing - tag me, please. This way I know you liked them :-)
And that’s a wrap on SQLBits 2023! It was an unforgettable experience, and I’m already counting down the days until next year’s conference.
Having been to a few other big conferences in the past, I can honestly say that SQLBits is something special. It’s not just a place to speak, attend sessions, and party (although those are definitely perks) - it’s a place where you can feel safe, accepted, and like you truly belong.
So, a huge thank you to everyone who made SQLBits 2023 such an amazing experience. Here’s to SQLBits, the community, and all the amazing things that are yet to come!
Mikey
]]>This month the #TSQL2SDAY invitation comes from Deepthi Goguri (blog|twitter) who asks us to write about our favorite new feature in SQL Server 2022 or in Azure and New Year’s Resolutions. The T-SQL Tuesday is a monthly blogging event that was created by Adam Machanic (blog) and is maintained by Steve Jones (blog|twitter).
If you want to find out about my New Year’s Resolutions read this post.
There are many new features in SQL Server 2022, I’ve done my research, and I found quite several updates and new features that really interest me, and there were mostly features about the Language, the new/updated T-SQL functions such as:
From MS Learn:
DATETRUNC() function returns an input date truncated to a specified datepart.
On the surface the work similarly to DATEPART()
, however that function returns integer values, opposed to the dates returned by DATETRUNC()
(we will see that better in the example below).
Let’s consider a query:
declare @d datetime2 = '2023-02-14 23:02:14.2302149';
select '10 - Year' part, DATETRUNC(year, @d) dateTRUNC , DATEPART(year, @d) datePART
union
select '11 - Quarter', DATETRUNC(quarter, @d), DATEPART(quarter, @d)
union
select '12 - Month', DATETRUNC(month, @d), DATEPART(month, @d)
union
select '13 - Week', DATETRUNC(week, @d), DATEPART(week, @d) -- For a U.S. English environment, @@DATEFIRST defaults to 7 (Sunday).
union
select '14 - Iso_week', DATETRUNC(iso_week, @d), DATEPART(iso_week, @d)
union
select '15 - DayOfYear', DATETRUNC(dayofyear, @d), DATEPART(dayofyear, @d)
union
select '16 - Day', DATETRUNC(day, @d), DATEPART(day, @d)
union
select '17 - Hour', DATETRUNC(hour, @d), DATEPART(hour, @d)
union
select '18 - Minute', DATETRUNC(minute, @d), DATEPART(minute, @d)
union
select '19 - Second', DATETRUNC(second, @d), DATEPART(second, @d)
union
select '20 - Millisecond', DATETRUNC(millisecond, @d), DATEPART(millisecond, @d)
union
select '21 - Microsecond', DATETRUNC(microsecond, @d), DATEPART(microsecond, @d);
And the results are as below:
part dateTRUNC datePART
---- --------- --------
10 - Year 2023-01-01 00:00:00.0000000 2023
11 - Quarter 2023-01-01 00:00:00.0000000 1
12 - Month 2023-02-01 00:00:00.0000000 2
13 - Week 2023-02-12 00:00:00.0000000 7
14 - Iso_week 2023-02-13 00:00:00.0000000 7
15 - DayOfYear 2023-02-14 00:00:00.0000000 45
16 - Day 2023-02-14 00:00:00.0000000 14
17 - Hour 2023-02-14 23:00:00.0000000 23
18 - Minute 2023-02-14 23:02:00.0000000 2
19 - Second 2023-02-14 23:02:14.0000000 14
20 - Millisecond 2023-02-14 23:02:14.2300000 230
21 - Microsecond 2023-02-14 23:02:14.2302140 230214
So clearly we see the difference between the values returned by the two functions.
One thing to note is that for Iso_week
the first day of the week in the ISO8601 calendar system is Monday, while Week
uses by default Sunday For a U.S. English environment.
From MS Learn:
The
LEAST()
&GREATEST()
functions return the minimum / maximum value from a list of one or more expressions.
If the data type is various then in the return I will receive the data type of the highest value before comparison. It is similar to MAX()
and MIN()
functions, however LEAST()
& GREATEST()
accept more arguments (up to 254) and they work differently on columns.
Let’s consider this example with multiple arguments:
create table tsql2sday (s1 int, s2 int, s3 int);
insert into tsql2sday values (2,1,3),(5,4,3),(4,2,3),(40.1,110.12,398.1);
select *, least(s1,s2,s3) least, greatest(s1,s2,s3) greatest from tsql2sday;
The results show that LEAST()
& GREATEST()
work horizontally:
s1 s2 s3 least greatest
-- -- -- ----- --------
2 1 3 1 3
5 4 3 3 5
4 2 3 2 4
40 110 398 40 398
From MS Learn:
A table-valued function that splits a string into rows of substrings, based on a specified separator character.
The STRING_SPLIT() is not new, but has been updated in SQL Server 2022 with enable_ordinal
argument and ordinal
output column. Again from the MS Learn:
enable_ordinal
serves as a flag to enable or disable theordinal
output column. A value of 1 enables theordinal
column. Ifenable_ordinal
is omitted,NULL
, or has a value of 0, theordinal
column is disabled.
Let’s have a look at this query:
SELECT * FROM STRING_SPLIT('This month the #TSQL2SDAY invitation comes from Deepthi Goguri',' ');
and the results would be in a single column,
value
-----
This
month
the
#TSQL2SDAY
invitation
comes
from
Deepthi
Goguri
but starting from SQL Server 2022 we can add this extra argument to enable the ordinal
column in the output:
select * from STRING_SPLIT('This month the #TSQL2SDAY invitation comes from Deepthi Goguri',' ', 1);
and now we got more information:
value ordinal
----- -------
This 1
month 2
the 3
#TSQL2SDAY 4
invitation 5
comes 6
from 7
Deepthi 8
Goguri 9
Thanks, Magda
]]>This month the #TSQL2SDAY invitation comes from Deepthi Goguri (blog|twitter) who asks us to write about our favorite new feature in SQL Server 2022 or in Azure and New Year’s Resolutions. The T-SQL Tuesday is a monthly blogging event that was created by Adam Machanic (blog) and is maintained by Steve Jones (blog|twitter).
If you want to read about my favourite new feature in SQL Server 2022 read this post.
I thought I can write another post about the second Deepthi Goguri’s topic about the New year, New Resolutions.
I usually did not have any resolutions, because when I would like to do something I just do it, spontaneously, without planning, or crossing days in the calendar. If this was a success - that’s cool if I failed, wiped tears, and have no regrets because my year has not been ruined. I found this fair for myself.
But I have a few resolutions, a few things that I would like to do in the next months.
I would like to find time to learn and pass the exam for MS certifications, I am thinking of 2 exams - but will see.
The second is quite fresh because I found this workout last week and I would like to give it a try. This would be a weekly workout about PowerBi, and this can be found here: Workout-Wednesday.com. I need to catch up on a few lessons from the beginning of the year, but I hope I will be up to date soon with all this year’s lessons, and there will be another 48 to go.
Thanks,
Magda
]]>This month the #TSQL2SDAY invitation comes from Kenneth Fisher (twitter). The T-SQL Tuesday is a monthly blogging event that was created by Adam Machanic (blog|twitter) and is maintained by Steve Jones (blog|twitter). Kenneth Fisher who asks us to write about our first technical job. The invitation is in this post.
One summer, after my third year at the uni, I was working on my personal website with “funny pictures and jokes”. It was easy to do all of these static HTML pages manually when it was a small website, but when I started adding more and more content I ran out of time. I needed something more powerful. That was PHP. I could finally re-use my code and generate pages. However, the content was still in static text files. As it grew more and more I started looking into MySQL databases but had no idea how to tackle them. I used Microsoft Access before, but SQL was quite new to me. One day I went with my parents to the shopping mall, but it was a boring place so I went straight to the bookstore. I found a magic book called “PHP and MySQL - creating websites”. That was it, the only problem was it was way to expensive for me. I left the bookstore, my dad was just waiting outside and he smiled seeing me there. He got me the book. I spent my summer holidays learning about PHP and MySQL, when I got back to uni I had an Oracle course (or curse - don’t remember exactly).
The next summer, I decided not to come home for the holidays but needed a job to survive there on my own. I found a job posting for a “SQL programmer” at a small (almost) family-run company. Applied, as that felt like something I wanted to do (that’s what I thought at least). They hired three youngsters including me who were supposed to support customers’ MS Dynamics databases. I couldn’t code in anything but PHP, so was tasked with the SQL support on SQL Server. I loved it from the first minute. My experiences with MySQL were good, but the ease of SQL Server 2000 and Query Analyzer convinced me to SQL Server. My original plan was to be there at the gig just for the summer holidays, so I could back to the uni in October, however, it occurred that a person who interviewed me was leaving in September and they needed me to stay longer.I have been there for 18 months, doing SQL stuff every day. In my eyes - a dream job.
It was a difficult decision because I loved doing things with SQL, but there was an opportunity to join a big US corporation (I lived in Poland). That was a big deal because it was a big company, the team was in the US, and they required English (which I did not use at all in the past 4-5 years). The only thing I did not like about it was the “desktop support” role - I did not like to play with hardware at that time, I wanted to deal with databases, but hey, decided, I will take one step back and see if that helps me to grow professionally. Shortly after a big world crisis happened and all the projects we were supposed to work on were paused or cancelled. In the meantime, I started chatting with the only DBA in the office (all other folks were in the US). The urge to come back to the database world was so big and I started asking people if there is any way I could join him and the team. With help of all of them it happened and I became Database Engineer. Working mainly with SQL Server and learning how to do things in Oracle. It wasn’t the “SQL programmer” kind of job, but it was infrastructure. Building servers, migrating databases and all sorts of maintenance. My dream job :)
Since then I have always been working with databases, mostly SQL Server. My role names were different in each company, but I was doing the same kind of work.
Thanks,
Mikey
]]>Ostatnio kupiłem nowy laptop i zdecydowałem, że zainstaluję na nim oprogramowanie za pomocą skryptów - wszystko po to by uniknąć zbędnego klikania i ściągania rzeczy ręcznie. Słyszałem w przeszłości o Chocolatey, jednak nie miałem okazji go przetestować. Nowy laptop to doskonały pretekst żeby pobawić się czekoladą.
Każdy kogo znam uwielbia czekoladę, więc cokolowiek ma w nazwie “czeko”/”choco-” musi zadziałać. Poniżej znajduje się kilka słów ze strony twórców usługi;
Chocolatey jest rozwiązaniem do zarządzania oprogramowaniem które daje ci wolność tworzenie prostych pakietów oprogramowania i wdrażania gdziekolwiek używasz środowiska Windows wraz ze znajomą konfiguracją czy narzędziami zarządzania systemem. Zostało zaprojektowane w taki sposób, by było łatwe w użyciu i dostarczało pakiet poteżnych funkcjonalności, które można skalować w obecnej i przyszłej infrastrukturze. Moc i elastyczność w jednym prostym produkcie - to właśnie Chocolatey.
Oficjalna instrukcja znajduje się tutaj, a także jako rozszerzony kurs instalacji. Jeśli czas Cię nagli, podążaj za poniższymi krokami:
# Uruchom Get-ExecutionPolicy.
# Jeśli zwrócony wynik to Restricted uruchom Set-ExecutionPolicy AllSigned lub Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process.
PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy
<#
Restricted
#>
# Bypass - nic nie będzie blokowane, i nie będą wyświetlane ostrzeżenia oraz monity.
PS C:\> Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
# Now run the following command:
PS C:\> [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))
<#
Getting latest version of the Chocolatey package for download.
Getting Chocolatey from https://chocolatey.org/api/v2/package/chocolatey/0.10.15.
Downloading 7-Zip commandline tool prior to extraction.
Extracting ...
Installing chocolatey on this machine
...
#>
# confirm the choco is in the house
PS C:\> choco -v
<#
0.10.15
#>
Świetnie, właśnie nabyłeś nowiutkie narzędzie. Co teraz? Jak zdobyć pozostałe aplikacje? Jednym ze sposobów jest przeszukanie zasobów biblioteki Chocolatey w celu znalezienia konkretnego pakietu. Można to zrobić także z poziomu konsoli PowerShell:
PS C:\> choco list
Gdy znajdziesz już pożądany pakiet, instalacja go jest prosta:
# To jest przyjkład z mojego skryptu
PS C:\> choco install slack -y
PS C:\> choco install docker-desktop -y
PS C:\> choco install grammarly -y
PS C:\> choco install sql-server-management-studio -y
PS C:\> choco install greenshot -y
PS C:\> choco install opera -y
PS C:\> choco install vscode -y
...
# w bibliotece znajdują się także rozszerzenia VS Code
PS C:\> choco install vscode-powershell -y
PS C:\> choco install vscode-gitlens -y
PS C:\> choco install vscode-docker -y
# aby zobaczyć zainstalowane pakiety ruchom poniższe polecenie (zwróc uwagę na przełącznik **-localonly**)
PS C:\> choco list -localonly
Z pewnością zauważyłeś przełącznik -y na końcu każdej linii. Ma on konkretną funkcję:
<#
Pakiet putty.install wymaga uruchomienia pliku 'chocolateyInstall.ps1'.
Uwage: Jeśli nie uruchomisz tego skryptu, process instalacji nie powiedzie się.
Uwaga: Aby potwierdzić instalację automatycznie na przyszłość, użyj przełącznika '-y' lub zmień ustawienie::
choco feature enable -n allowGlobalConfirmation
#>
Aktualizacja pakietów do nowej wersji, lub samego Chocolatey jest bardzo prosta.
# aktualizacja wielu pakietów jednocześnie
PS C:\> choco upgrade greenshot grammarly -y
<# One package was already on the latest version
Chocolatey upgraded 1/2 packages.
See the log for details (C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\logs\chocolatey.log).
#>
# aktualizacja Chocolatey
PS C:\> choco upgrade chocolatey -y
Aby odinstalować pakiet stosujamy podobny schemat.
# dobrze jest mieć zainstalowany pakiet, który chcemy odinstalować
PS C:\> choco uninstall putty.install
<# w przeciwnym razie...
Uninstalling the following packages:
putty.install
putty.install is not installed. Cannot uninstall a non-existent package.
...
po poprawkach (zainstalowaniu pakietu) usunięcie aplikacji wygląda następująco
...
putty.install v0.73
Running auto uninstaller...
Auto uninstaller has successfully uninstalled putty.install or detected previous uninstall.
putty.install has been successfully uninstalled.
Chocolatey uninstalled 1/1 packages.
See the log for details (C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\logs\chocolatey.log).
#>
Since it was my first time with Chocolatey I observed some issues, but so far only two were noticeable enough to make a note. The first one was a missing -y switch, which is not a typical issue but stopped me for a while.
The other thing is that Chocolatey sometimes stalls for a long time. Like a really long time. At some point, after waiting 30 minutes I had to kill the choco process and that helped.
Szukając informacji na temat Chocolatej znalazłem kilka interesujących stron i materiałów: Lista parametrów z opisami w skróconej wersji.
Post na blogu Kendry Little (blog|twitter) o instalacji narzędzi Redgate o instalacji narzędzi Redgate [en] + plus kilka intetesujacych linków oraz Chocolatey GUI.
Dziękuję,
Mikey
]]>The SQLBits 2022 was my second in-person (the first in 2019). Last time I was an attendee and could experience the famous party, but this year was different. I’ve been there in several roles.
The SQLBits offered crèche to help parents with childcare during the conference. It was a gift for us as we could both help and enjoy the conference, and our little human could enjoy tons of toys, watching trains and singing and painting with childcare professionals because they are not that into data… yet.
@SQLBits offered a crèche option for little people. It was a big help in our case as we could fully focus on the event and our little one could play with blocks, animals, read stories or even watch the trains 🚂
— Mikey Bronowski (@MikeyBronowski) March 14, 2022
Thank you from MMA#familyfriendly #SQLBits pic.twitter.com/SdNFL6GXDl
This year, my wife and I decided to join the famous orange crew. It was the first time we did this, and it was a great experience. Being there early each day, seeing the conference from “the inside” was something great. As helpers, we were making sure the speakers have all the information and assistance they needed, so they could focus just on their presentation. We would also help the delegates to enjoy the conference and not to be lost in the big venue.
Kudos volunteers!🍊 You are doing an amazing job, keep being awesome!🎉 pic.twitter.com/EmoSdWgM5X
— SQLBits (@SQLBits) March 11, 2022
If you would like to be part of that experience check this tweet out
If you would like to help at #sqlbits 2023 please email us at helpers@sqlbits.com so that you can be added to our list. Thank you. @SQLBits
— Annette Allen (@Mrs_Fatherjack) March 14, 2022
This was my very first SQLBits as a speaker and although I had to wait for my turn till the end of the event it was very good. I was pumped before the conference and till the very end, as basically after I finished, it all finished minutes later :) I liked it and learned a thing, or two about not changing the configuration last minute, otherwise there might be no way to present the session to the audience - kudos to the AV crew who helped me sort it out.
the last but not the least ❤️ Automate management tasks using elastic jobs in Azure SQL Database @MikeyBronowski at @SQLBits pic.twitter.com/xnYPvrH1yY
— MgaChy (@chy_mga) March 12, 2022
This wasn’t new to me, but because we had to wait over two years to meet in person, so it was unique. Over the last two years, there were a lot of events where I could learn awesome things from awesome people virtually. SQL Bits 2021 was my chance to see the sessions in person, physically be with the speakers (at least in my case, as the event had remote speakers too). It was also an opportunity to catch up with friends we’ve not seen for a while.
This second aspect had a great value to me. I could catch up with people from my previous places, and to me, it almost felt like we hit the “pause” button the last time we met in the office, and at SQLBits, we just unpaused. I’ve not seen some of them for over two years, but it felt like it was just a few days before the event.
I have recently started a new job, so the SQLBits was an opportunity to meet my new team, although most of them I have already met in the past.
Today we welcome @MikeyBronowski as the newest member of the Data Masterminds team!
— datamasterminds (@datamasterminds) March 1, 2022
Mikey has a ton of experience working with #SQLServer #PowerShell and his community contributions also mean he is the fifth Mastermind that is also a Microsoft MVP.
Welcome Mikey! pic.twitter.com/IeCGTau2iH
At SQLBits, I probably spent more time talking to friends and networking with others than watching the sessions. But it was worth it!
I already cannot wait for SQLBits 2023!
Thanks,
Mikey
]]>This month the #TSQL2SDAY invitation comes from Rie Merritt (twitter). The T-SQL Tuesday is a monthly blogging event that was created by Adam Machanic (blog|twitter) and is maintained by Steve Jones (blog|twitter).
Rie asks us to write about various aspects of running a user group. The invitation is in this post.
“What the heck Mikey? The topic is clear” some of you might think. That is true. Although I am not running a user group I had the opportunity and pleasure to attend a number of user groups in two countries (Poland and the UK) in the past 7 years. I want to share some of my observations as an attendee.
But… first. I would like to show my big appreciation to all user group leaders who spend their precious time with like-minded folks. Very often sacrificing family time.
Thank you very much for what you are doing for the communities.
From the discoverer’s diary…
My very first user group had monthly meetups in the same building as my office was. I only found out by someone from outside as it was mentioned in some sort of the newsletter. Someone could tell that it is my fault I was not “looking around”. True. But once I found out about the UG, I carried on attending it ever after. Although it was a pattern noticeable in almost every user group I have attended, maybe it is not a problem, because as an attendee I might not see everything.
Almost every user group I attended had pizza and drinks for attendees. Most of them had soft drinks, but some of them had just alcoholic beverages. Although we cannot please everyone I think it is good to have diverse options. Personally, I do not like to mix alcohol with learning (that is how I treat the user groups). Some groups organised themselves after the meeting for a drink, which extends networking. As for feeding options, it probably has changed a bit since 2019, but for people who still work in the office having a chance to grab a hot slice between sessions might improve focus rate.
This is totally my opinion. My very first user group was very consistent and regular. I always knew when it is happening and the agenda was published in advance. I fell in love. Unfortunately, it is not the default for every user group. Sometimes attendees found out days before that it is going to happen, sometimes there was no “warning” - it just did not happen at all. For in-person meetups it might be discouraging, as people need to plan their trips.
This is totally my opinion. My very first user group was very consistent and regular. I always knew when it is happening and the agenda has presented the way in advance. I fell in love. Unfortunately, it is not the default for every user group. Sometimes attendees found out days before that it is going to happen, sometimes there was no “warning” - it just did not happen at all. For in-person meetups, it might be discouraging, as people need to plan their trips.
What was difficult as an attendee became easier for me as a speaker. I had a chance to speak at user groups that normally I would probably not visit. Speaking to people all over the world was fun and interesting. And I could do it from my own home!
Several user groups had a hybrid option long before the pandemic. They had one virtual speaker presenting to everybody in the room and there was a second speaker locally in the room. Even though the speaker was virtual the discussion could carry on in-person between attendees.
One of the user groups always tried to find new speakers from the crowd. One idea was the study group that was created alongside the regular meetups. The concept was to prepare the group for the exam. The leaders asked for volunteers to present a session based on the guidelines. This way it was way easier for first-time speakers, as the topic was preselected. In my case, this was my very first public speaking. So nervous! But then I had the courage to ask the leaders if my own topic makes sense. While I was still feeling ambiguous about going out there and speaking about my own topic, the group leader came to me asking if I am ok to speak at the next meetup. They pushed me, and here I am :-)
Since I attended my first data platform user group in 2015… I tried to give back to the community as much as I can (speaking, volunteering). One day I might even lead the user group… So again, big thanks to the leaders, volunteers, speakers and organisers for creating space for like-minded people where we can all meet and learn.
I also wanted to thank the Ukrainian Data Platform Community who gave me the opportunity to speak at my first conference ever! I believe we will meet again in your beautiful country! Stay strong and safe my Friends!
Thanks,
Mikey
]]>Festive Tech Calendar 2021 is a community driven event where every day you get to learn lots from people around the world. Big thanks to Gregor (blog|twitter) and Richard (blog|twitter) for running the whole event and letting me be part of it once again!
Please check their JustGiving website where they are raising money for Girls Who Code.
In my presentation I am taking you for a trip to learn more few tools I found fascinating. Let’s have a look at their YouTube channel or straight to my video.
Happy watching and learning!!
Thanks,
Mikey
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