Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

  • Security Panics

    I went to host the Red Gate SQL Source Control webinar recently and had a snag. I downloaded the GoToWebinar software (why must I download this every time?) and when I ran it, I got an error.

    First it was a FireFox, “This security certificate is invalid” and I had to click the “I understand the risks” button to move forward. But then I got a dialog that said

    “This security certificate has been revoked”

    Now, a smart guy would click “cancel” because perhaps there’s some phishing or malicious behavior going on. Being in a hurry, I clicked “OK, move forward anyway, I don’t need no stinking certificates.” Maybe not smart, but it failed, so no big deal.

    Fortunately I had been trying to connect 30 minutes early, so I had time. I called Citrix, and they attempted a remote desktop session, which failed for the same reasons. We chatted for a few minutes and the tech support guy said that the certificate didn’t expire for years, and could I try another machine.

    I went out and was about to do so when I noticed that my clock said “8/19/2039”. It hadn’t registered before, but that time it did. 2039 is likely past the end of the Citrix security certificate’s lifetime.

    I reset my clock, and things went well.

    I’m not sure what happened. I used my machine early in the morning, took kids to school, and then came back to a machine that wouldn’t come out of suspend. I rebooted, and when it responded (some Java error on the screen, figures), things seemed to work. Except that the webinar didn’t.

    I don’t know what causes a clock to slide, but this actually happened last year one time as well. This is a Win 7, x64 machine, and it surprised me that I got this much drift, if 29 years is “drift”, but it did.

    On the bright side, the Win 7 year-changing dialog is kind of cool. You might play with it.

  • SQL Source Control Webinar

    We had our first public SQL Source Control webinar, on the new product from Red Gate Software, my employer. I MC’d a private one a month or so ago, and sat in on one at SQL Saturday #28, but this was the first public one.

    I think it went well, a minor demo crash, but overall it worked well. However with 150+ attendees the questions came fast and furious. Some dups, but mostly good questions and we ran long trying to answer.

    I couldn’t comment on a lot of them, but we have the transcript, I have sent it to Red Gate, and have them working on answers. Can’t guarantee it will be done tomorrow, but by next week I’ll have answer out.

    If you believe in Source Control, this is a good product. It eases the burden of tracking changes, but doesn’t eliminate them, and there are holes.

    This is a process, however, and I’m not sure it’s fundamentally different, even with the product, from what I wrote about years ago: Version Control Part 1 – Dealing with Code.

  • SQL Saturday Advice – Feedback and Raffles

    At SQL Saturday #28, I was surprised to be given the speaker evaluations after my first session. One of the volunteers approached me and gave them to me, saying that I could have them and use them.

    That surprises me since I think one of the things that people rarely do is give good feedback to speakers. Too often we design these nice forms and someone just gives all 4s or 5s. They just don’t think about it much.

    I favor a simple feedback form, but I’d also include a raffle prize or two that can incent people to turn them in. I know it’s a pain to sort them out by speaker, but I think a simple session name/title, a ranking (1-3 or 1-5) and a comment would be nice.

    Then draw some at the end of the day and give prizes. I suspect we’ll get more, though not necessarily better, feedback.

  • In the Interests of Transparency

    I read Stuart Ainsworth’s blog post this morning, and I thank Stuart for posting something. However, there’s an implication in there that I know more than I’ve posted and am withholding information. So, in the interest of transparency:

    I give PASS, the organization, and the PASS Board of Directors Nominating Committee, full permission to release anything about my application to run for the board of directors, with the exception of my home address, phone numbers, social security number, and birthdate.

    I’m sure most comments aren’t flattering, or maybe not even nice. I’ll stand on who I am.

    Also, a clarification: since my interview on August 6th, I have received one email as the sum total of my communication from PASS, excepting the Connector newsletter. That email was this morning, as shown below:

    PASSBod

    I am including the full text of that letter, which is all I know about the reason I was rejected. I can speculate on exact reasons, but this is all I know. The full text is:

    Dear Steve,
    Thank you for your application to the PASS Board of Directors. After interviews with the candidates, the nominating committee spent an extensive amount of time deliberating before a slate consisting of 5 candidates was proposed to the board. After discussions, a majority board voted to accept the slate. I regret to inform you that your name was not among the 5 candidates proposed by the nomination committee for the 2010 Elections to the PASS Board of Directors.
    The nominating committee considered two important factors in their decision for placing candidates on the slate – volunteer efforts with PASS and the ability to be an effective leader and team player in a predominantly volunteer based organization.
    PASS is a volunteer organization.  Volunteers who do much of the work for the community do so because they feel valued and appreciated. An effective board member must be able to work with volunteers from all levels of expertise and commitment.  It is the board members responsibility to lead and encourage volunteers. While the NomCom continues to be impressed by your passion and support for the SQL Server Community, questions were raised during the interview regarding your ability to effectively work with volunteers in an executive capacity. The limited work you had on PASS committees was a factor in the NomCom’s decision. This can be easily addressed with your continued participation in PASS committees.  Therefore we ask that you continue to volunteer with PASS, at the international level, so that you gain valuable experience in working with all levels of volunteers.  I look forward to your interest on serving on the Board of Directors for the next election cycle.
    On behalf of the PASS Board and the nominations committee, I thank you for your service to the organization. We truly appreciate your volunteer spirit, and look forward to your continued involvement with the PASS organization.
    If you have any questions or need further feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at wsnyder@sqlpass.org.
    Sincerely,
    Wayne Snyder
    Distinguished Architect
    Mariner

    Steve Jones: I have removed Wayne’s contact information
    SQL Server MVP
    Microsoft Certified  IT Professional – Database Administrator
    Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist – SQL Server
    Microsoft Certified Trainer
    Business Intelligence Specialist