Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • T-SQL Tuesday #148–User Group Advice

    tsqltuesdayThis month the T-SQL Tuesday invitation is from Rie Merritt, and it’s one that means a lot to me. I don’t actually run a user group, but I think community is important. It’s a big part of my job and my life.

    Rie asked me if she could host this month because she had a specific topic. If you’d like to host a T-SQL Tuesday, all you need is a blog and participation in another month by writing a post. You could even write a post today for T-SQL Tuesday #1.

    If you’re interested, contact me.

    Advice for User Groups

    As I mentioned, I don’t run a group. In fact, I never have, but I have run events, attended lots of meetings, and I do speak at quite a few.

    The pandemic has been hard on many groups, and a blessing to others. While I don’t like the virtual meetings, I understand how and why they work for some groups and not for others.

    My big advice for organizers is twofold, and I’ll write a couple paragraphs about each.

    Serve Your Community

    My main advice is that your work with groups or events, whether leader, speaker, or something else, you ought to make sure you are serving your community. What is best for them, or what do they want?

    Sometimes I find leaders doing what’s best for them, without knowing what the community might prefer. If you want virtual meetings for your own personal reasons, whatever they are,  make sure a large portion of your attendees and speakers agree. Same for in-person meetings. If your area wants to stay online, understand that.

    This isn’t to say that you can’t experiment, and that you might make decisions on days/times/etc. More it’s advice to think about what helps people as we come out of this pandemic.

    Go Slow

    I’ve seen a lot of groups struggle over time to run a monthly meeting and find speakers. Speakers are easier online, but it’s still work.

    My advice is that you can consider doing something less than monthly, especially if you move to hybrid or in-person. A quarterly or every-other-month pace might suit you (and others better).

    Also think about adding in some lunch meetings, perhaps just discussion ones without a presentation. Bond, be social, just talk, vent, and share what we love about data and technology.

    Don’t kill yourself. I’d prefer you enjoy running a group for 3 years than burning out after 6 months.

  • Daily Coping 8 Feb 2022

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral 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.

    Today’s tip is to call a friend to catch up and really listen to them.

    I don’t love talking on the phone, and I usually avoid it. However, my fellow founder for SQL Server Central, Andy Warren, and I have talk almost every week, sometimes 2-3 times. We have done this for 20 years, and outside of my wife, he’s probably been the biggest influence on my life across that time.

    I often use our calls as a way to unwind, the think, and to catch up on life. Sometimes we talk work, sometimes tech in general, sometimes life with kids, or maybe books we’ve enjoyed.

    These calls with a friend are often highlights of my week.

  • Daily Coping 7 Mar 2022

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral 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.

    Today’s tip is to make uninterrupted time for your loved ones.

    I try hard to do this, putting down my phone when I’m with family and paying attention. It doesn’t always work with the kids, but if I engage them, then it often does.

    Recently my wife and I were supposed to go out with friends. The weather wasn’t great, and friends cancelled, but I still wanted some time with my wife. I had been out a couple hours earlier and I didn’t think the roads were bad. We’d gotten ready, so I convinced my wife to just go out with me.

    We had a nice quiet dinner, no phones, just talking and enjoying a bottle of wine at a place we hadn’t been in a long time. It was quiet enjoyable.

  • Using Technology for Health

    I’ve been fairly healthy and fit for most of my life. While I’ve always had a few extra pounds, I do try to eat better than average and I exercise regularly. That didn’t stop age and some pandemic laxity from catching up with me. My annual checkup last December had my doctor (and me) slightly concerned about a few things. I made a goal of exercise for January and better eating in 2022.

    I thought about how I’ve used technology to help me with this after reading Robert Cain’s post on his efforts to get more healthy. Robert is a friend and I enjoy seeing him at various events. I’m looking forward to our next meeting and seeing the changes in person.

    He uses an Apple Watch and his iPhone, as well as a few devices to measure and track different aspects of his health. He can review his progress towards goals and export data for his physician. The post provides some recommendations and explanations of how technology helps. I found it interesting, as well as a contrast to what I do.

    Technology is more of a substitute for my memory, giving me a view into how I work on my health and fitness with a light touch. I don’t track food, but I have been on a fairly limited diet, which means I have a rough idea of what I consume and the calories involved. I don’t track hydration, but I started to fill 4 water bottles, about 120oz, and empty them each day. I use my watch to log exercise and heart, but I mostly glance to see if I am working hard enough and if my long-term trend for heart rate changes. I do track my weight, but I step on a scale every day or two and record the value in an app.

    It’s common for people working at desks, especially in technology, to lead a less than healthy lifestyle. While I go to the gym often, my wife is probably healthier because she works outside and is active most every day. Technology can help some of us improve our health. The gamification and community aspects of technology apps definitely change how we may approach the challenge. Various devices also lower the effort of data entry.

    If you are looking to improve your health, or you struggle with making changes in diet or exercise, read Robert’s post and think about harnessing some of the power of tech devices to help you improve your life. If you do use some technology, write about it and maybe you’ll inspire others.

    As for my goals? From Jan 4 to Mar 2, I exercised on 48 different days. Not every day, but good enough for me. I have lost about 15 pounds and my long-term resting heart rate has dipped below 50bpm. Technology didn’t really make this happen, but it helped, and I am glad that I can easily see some incremental progress, which isn’t always apparent when I rely on my memory of what my stats were a month ago.

    Steve Jones