Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • The Personal Checksum

    checksum
    Do you create a checksum for yourself?

    This editorial was originally published on Nov 2, 2007. It is being republished as Steve is on vacation.

    Someone sent me this article on foiling thieves in restaurants with a personal checksum. It’s an interesting idea and while it could help, I’m sure there are some smart people that will find a way around it.

    I don’t reconcile my restaurant bills that closely, but I have an idea of what I’ve spent and I think that changing of bills rarely happens. I spent about 8 years in the restaurant business cooking, waiting tables, bartending, and managing at various times. I worked in all types of restaurants from diners to nightclubs and I’ve rarely seen anyone change a tab. It does happen, usually when someone is upset about their gratuity. But the person usually will brag about it to other employees and often you can tell when a ticket is changed.

    I don’t condone that behavior. If someone doesn’t want to tip you, then they don’t have to. On the other hand, if you’re going out to a restaurant in the US, remember that those people work essentially for tips. They aren’t paid minimum wage; they’re paid less as an allowance against tips.

    I’m not looking to start a restaurant debate, but with this being a Friday, I needed a poll and here it is:

    What other useful personal checksums do you use?

    Or do you need? Or do you wish someone would develop? Do you want some type of checksum on your credit score, something to tell you if it’s been accessed or even correctly calculated? Does it make sense to have some type of calculation to determine if your mortgage is being correctly credited?

    I’m not really sure what checksum I’d be looking for. To date I’ve had fairly good luck with security in my personal data and have had no real cause for concern.

    The one interesting thing I would like is a way to get a quick checksum for the last month off my automatic toll transponder and compare that to some calculation against my bill. I can never remember how often I’ve used it during the previous month.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    Everyday Jones

    The podcast feeds are now available atsqlservercentral.podshow.comto get better bandwidth and maybe a little more exposure :). Comments are definitely appreciated and wanted, and you can get feeds from there.

  • Holiday

    Taking some of my own advice. I’m off today and tomorrow, as well as Monday for Labor Day. Across this 5 day weekend, I have a number of chores to tackle, including trying to build another horse shelter before winter.

    However I will look to recharge and relax a bit. No baseball, no kids sports, just a family weekend on the ranch.

  • Watch Your Mouth

    It’s one way to control what you say

    I give a talk on branding and resumes that has been well received over the last few years. In it I cover the ways in which you can use networking, blogging, and other ways to improve the chances that employers will want to hire you. There are lots of jobs available, and lots of candidates, but finding a good fit is hard. I would argue that disclosing more about yourself, and your interests, is a good way to help find a good fit with an organization.

    One of the cautions I raise in my presentation is that you should be aware of how you present yourself, and the impressions you make. There are no right or wrong ways to do this, but there are ways that reflect differently on you to different people. As such, I do urge you to think about the implications of your actions, your posts, and the way in which you communicate with others. If you are looking for a job, it doesn’t make sense to unnecessarily restrict your options because of the things you say or write.

    I ran across this slide show on profanity and cursing at work. I’m not offended by off color language, but some people are, and they often won’t let you know that you’ve created a poor impression. If the data is accurate, the majority of people think regular cursing creates a negative impression. Whether you think it’s a lack of control, unprofessional, or anything else, it still is a negative impression. It’s also one of the things that caused some HR groups to eliminate candidates.

    These days there is competition for jobs, and if you find the job you really like, do you want to diminish your chances because of a few colorful words? You have the freedom in the US to say what you want, and I support that, but you also get the responsibility of handling the consequences. I’d argue a few colorful words aren’t worth giving someone a reason to choose another equally qualified candidate over you?

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    We publish three versions of the podcast each day for you to enjoy.

  • The Field Museum – SQL in the City 2012 – Chicago

    Chicago is a neat down. My first PASS Summit was in Chicago, back in 1999. My wife joined me with an infant son, and we took in the last baseball game of the season that year at Comisky Park. This year I was hoping to take in a game at Wrigley Field, but the season will be over for the Cubs when I arrive in Chicago on Oct 4.

    I’m arriving for the SQL in the City 2012 – Chicago event, part of our SQL in the City US Tour. We’ll be holding this one at the Field Museum, right near the lake, so guess where I’ll be running? I’ll likely job in San Francisco on Thursday before I leave, so my run along the lake will be a crack of dawn run on Friday, Oct 5. I’m hoping to convince Brent Ozar (b | t) to come with me, but I suspect he might want to sleep in before his session at the event. Maybe Jes Borland (b | t) will come instead.

    Those two, along with the incredible Powershell guru Allen White (b | t), Grant Fritchey (b | t), and a number of Red Gate developers will be speaking with me at SQL in the City 2012 -  Chicago. A bunch of great sessions are packed into one day, teaching you about SQL Server, inspiring you to try new tips and tricks, training you The Red Gate Way.

    2012_London_cThe Red Gate Way is a great location, good content, debate and discussion, answering your questions, and feeding you well. We talk about ways to make your job easier, give you new ideas to consider, and make learning fun. It’s our way of participating in, and improving the community.

    And it’s free. Just register and come down to the Field Museum on Friday, Oct 5, 2012. If you’re really ambitious, follow me on Twitter and plan on a  6:30am run along the lake. It might be cold, so dress appropriately, and we’ll do 2 miles, looking out over the water.

    Register today if you can come. I hope to shake your hand in Chicago.

    This is part of my SQL in the City series, covering a few thoughts on the US tour.