Author: way0utwest

I used to build the Database Weekly newsletter and write the editorial every week. It was a chore, and it’s a grind. I have to go through hundreds of blog entries and news feeds, pick up the 40 or 50 ones that I think DBAs are interested in, and load them into our publishing system. They appear on the Database Weekly site as well.

It’s a grind, and last year I was able to convince my boss that it would be good for others to understand the process, and practice as well. As a result there are 4 or 5 of us that take turns building the newsletter. However it’s not even and I end up doing every other one, or close to it.

So it’s my week again this week. I skipped last week, and was glad, but this week I’m dreading it. It feels like a grind, especially with a bunch of other stuff to do this week. Just thinking about what the RSS reader looks makes me want to just skip it and claim no news this week!

It’s not always like that. I learn a lot from going through things, keep in touch with the pulse of what others are blogging about, and I find interesting things to write about. It’s actually a good exercise, and many weeks I look forward to seeing what it brings.

Just not this week.

I had an issue with a user recently. Actually it has been going on over a few weeks, due to both of us being busy and slow to respond to the other, but basically a user had two accounts. They had lost the password, changed jobs, and registered a new account rather than changing the email of the old one. As a result their history (QOD, posts, etc.) were in two separate places. They realized this and asked me to change the name on the old account. I did that, but I changed the email on the old account to move to the new one, and got things tangled up.
First, a little background. In order to be more “service oriented”, we actually use 3 databases. We have one for sign on, one for forums, one for everything else. However developers built this, and they didn’t think a few things through, like cross DB RI. So we have not only some linkage IDs, but also emails stored in a few places.
As a result, when you change your email, or when I do it on the web side, it doesn’t change the email in the forums db or the general SSC db. For the SSC db they must be referencing the IDs since those stay in lockstep with the signon ID, but in the forum DB, since we don’t create a user there until you post, they must reference by email. So when I changed things and they were looking for your profile (I assume you mean Linked In contact there), it was pulling the “first” one, which was the old one.
They also aren’t changing the name on the posts, which is a great non-RI implementation by InstantASP. Your name is stored in the post.  So I had to manually update a number of posts with the new name as well as fix some IDs in new posts to match the old one.
I also had to fix a few other places where things were mis-linked when they were changed somewhere else.
Keeping summarized data in sync can be hard, but when you are dealing with cross linked databases, and you don’t have constraints or strict interfaces that ensure updates propagate throughout all places, it’s easy to get out of sync.
I think I’ve fixed this issue, and saved the script for future use, but we’ll know when I hear back from the user.

We booked a vacation over the weekend, so I’m marking off the week before Christmas as vacation this year. Hoping not to get caught again with everyone but me taking time off.

It’s now 3 events that I’ve canceled in the last 6 months, and a 4 or 5 more that I’ve declined an invitation to, despite having a desire to go. I got a note this morning, reminding me of a presentation tomorrow more, a remote webinar, that is supposed to start at 9am EST.

The problem is that time is 7am MST, which is when I’m sitting at the bus stop with my son, trying to get him to school. Even allowing for a delay, I then have to get my daughter up, and to school by 8, which isn’ t likely to happen if I’m on a presentation. I could get her to the bus at 7:20, but then I’d be starting at 7:30, and that delay kills the schedule for the webinars. Fortunately Brian Knight will step in and do his best. I’m cleaning the deck (it’s built for 75 minutes), and adding some notes now for him.

Most of my cancellations are due to my wife needing to work. Both of us are busy, and successful, and we have some collisions. In this case she’s out of town for the next few days, called out on an emergency, and so I’m stuck. Her job is a little more important than mine, at least to our household, and so I get the short end of the stick for now.

I missed SQL Connections last year and the MVP Summit last week. I’ve also declined a few SQL Saturday’s (Boston, Dallas, Richmond), as well as the Indy Tech Fest because of other commitments. Hopefully I’ll still make Charlotte, Pensacola, and Baton Rouge!