Monthly Archives: July 2015

The Security Payoff

Posted on July 30, 2015 by

I wrote a few months ago about United offering rewards for people that discovered security issues in the United Airlines software. Not the plane software, thankfully, but in their customer facing IT systems. Apparently a few people discovered flaws and were recently awarded … Continue reading →

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Hiring for Culture

Posted on July 29, 2015 by

I’ve written in the past that I think that it’s important the hire people that get along with your group first, and with technical skills second. It’s not that technical skills aren’t important, but I think that fitting in with … Continue reading →

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Halloween at PASS–Donate for some fun

Posted on July 29, 2015 by

This year’s PASS Summit will end on Oct 30, which is just before Halloween in the US. I’m sure lots of people will have some fun on Friday, though I also suspect we’ll see no shortage of people leaving early … Continue reading →

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Password for SQL Server Service Accounts

Posted on July 28, 2015 by

I wrote recently about my philosophy for service accounts, and wanted to add a few more thoughts. Security is important for our database servers. One of the loopholes that everyone should be aware of is that the service running SQL … Continue reading →

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Visualizing in Space

Posted on July 28, 2015 by

One of the really interesting things that we are able to do as developers and DBAs is help find ways to analyze data for our clients and customers. Many of us might not have expertise in the actual areas that … Continue reading →

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Culture Differences: US v UK

Posted on July 27, 2015 by

This is a bit of an off topic post from the technical stuff, but there’s a bit of a tie-in, so stick with me. I had to get a tire fixed this morning. I actually owned a replacement tire, so … Continue reading →

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What We Want and What We’ll Pay For

Posted on July 27, 2015 by

I’m sure many of you see surveys that note IT job growth is up 30%. Or that executives want to hire 20% more people. Or that the market dictates that salaries will be going up 12%. Those are exciting numbers, … Continue reading →

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Is Skynet Coming?

Posted on July 24, 2015 by

That’s the question this week: Is Skynet coming? I read a piece recently that noted Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates have warned us about artificial intelligence. They have been quoted as this is potentially something that the human race … Continue reading →

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Get Away from the Heat and Learn some Database Version Control

Posted on July 24, 2015 by

I have enjoyed the trips I’ve made to New Orleans and Baton Rouge in the past. It’s a good getaway, stopping in the French Quarter for a few minutes before an easy drive up the road. However it’s warm, and … Continue reading →

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My SQL Server Service Account Philosophy

Posted on July 23, 2015 by

Recently someone sent me a question about service accounts. They weren’t sure how they should go about setting accounts up for various instances and services in their environments. Specifically they asked me about having domain accounts, or accounts separate for … Continue reading →

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