Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • Paying It Forward on the Internet

    A big part of SQL Server Central has been members of the community answering questions for others. We have an amazing community and over the years, it’s been helpful to so many people. I often get the thanks, but really the people at the top of the all-time list have been those that have helped many people. There are too many to list, but gilamonster, Jeff Moden, lynn-pettis, lowell, and more have been tremendous assets to our community.

    Part of the inspiration for StackOverflow years ago was SQL Server Central and the popularity of people helping others. The main thing their founders didn’t like from us (and other sites) was the need to register. Hence, the ability to be anonymous on Stack if you choose. No matter what format or style of Q&A you like, Stack and many other sites have found that there is a lot of desire to ask and answer questions online.

    Brent Ozar answers questions regularly during his office hours. I enjoy watching the recordings, especially from the beach. I miss the beach, but I love the mountains, so I’m only a bit jealous. However, recently he had a number of questions come through that he declined to answer and instead put out a post, inviting the community to answer. There are some interesting answers in there, and some are worth reading. Maybe you even want to add your own thoughts to some of the questions.

    A big part of my career, and in life outside of my career, is helping others improve their lives. Answering questions for others got me started on this path of SQL Server Central and speaking at conferences. Coaching my kids led me to coach others. Thinking about both those things got me to volunteer at other organizations.

    I’ve had success, so I’m paying it forward in different ways. I’d encourage you to do the same. Whether online or in your local community, whether now or at some point in the future, paying it forward is good for your soul.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher, Spotify, or iTunes.

  • Daily Coping 16 Sep 2022

    Today’s coping tip is to make time to aim to be good enough, rather than perfect.

    I find that many of us that work in technology want a solution to be great. Often perfect. Computers are so good at following instructions that we expect them to work as we intend all the time. We aim for this perfect in our code and we find “good enough” to be a low bar.

    However, good enough means to me that it is good enough for most situations. It’s not leaving something unfinished or undone, but finishing something that works well. I often tackle chores in this manner, usually because of time crunches.

    Recently I was traveling a bit. I was gone from home for 15 days in August, and during those stretches, it rained quite a bit. The grass grew near the house, and I came home from a trip with a few commitments and kept delaying cutting it, thinking it would just take a few minutes and I’d get to it. With another 8 day vacation, I ran out of time and left town.

    I came home to grass that was really high, but I had other priorities. I needed to fix our gate, as my wife is using the front pasture and we need to keep horses in. Another busy weekend, and I got to the grass Sunday afternoon. I cut it and then needed to rake up the excessive clippings. As I did, I realized that there were a few stretches that had gotten weighed down and as I rake them, they stood up a bit. Not a clean lawn.

    However, it was good enough for the weekend. I still needed to edge with the weed trimmer, so I left them, finished edging and walked away. I can go back later this week and recut the lawn, even though most won’t need it.

    Good enough for today.

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

  • Daily Coping 15 Sep 2022

    Today’s coping tip is to make time to do something you really enjoy.

    I do enjoy life, and I’m lucky that I have the chance to do a lot of things that I enjoy. One of those is watching and coaching volleyball. Technology helps here in a few ways, which lets me cope with a busy life.

    These were on two days, but both were enjoyable times for me. First, thanks to cheap bandwidth and streaming technology, I was able to watch my daughter play volleyball in New York. My wife and I got up early and spent an hour watching her play last Saturday before we got on with our day.

    Second, I left work a touch early to go watch high school volleyball, seeing a kid that I will coach this coming season play for her school. It’s a fun, enjoyable time, and one of the few times I can cheer for this kid without looking for ways to improve.

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

  • Register at a Stem Cell Donor to Help the #sqlfamily

    A friend and member of the #sqlfamily is battling cancer, specifically acute myeloid leukemia. Hugo Kornelius is someone I’ve enjoyed learning from and sharing meals with all over the world. I’m saddened that I won’t see him in the immediate future, but I am hopeful we will get together in 2023. He wrote about his story on his blog, but there is something tanglible that you can do.

    Register as a stem cell blood donor.

    I registered in the US and a kit is on the way. I hate donating blood, but if I can help Hugo or someone else, I’m willing.

    This is a small way of helping others, and it’s a good thing to do for the world. When medical issues strike, it is often beyond our control. These can be difficult, and very scary times. I had a friend that had a AML diagnosis as well, though his was in his late 20s. A tough him for him, but he went through treatment and into remission.

    Someone might have saved his life with their donation, My, or your, donation might do the same for someone else.