Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

  • A New Word: ioia

    ioia – n.the wish that you could see statistics overlaid on every person you encounter – checking the signal strength of their compatibility, a measure of their trustworthiness.

    I subscribe to the NFL Plus mobile package every year and watch various games on my phone/tablet as I have time. Often I watch some while working on the ranch, cutting grass, shopping in the grocery, etc. I bring this up as there are a few viewing options in the package. I can watch the normal game broadcast, but I can also see one with stats. This looks similar to the image below:

    2024-04-10 11_51_58-NFL adding alternate game broadcasts — Mozilla Firefox

    I thought I would enjoy this, but I don’t. I don’t mind some stats at times, but I don’t like when there is an overlay while the players are in action.

    The idea of ioia being always overlaid on what I see, ala the Apple Vision or Google Glass views, would be annoying, and distracting. Already people checking mobiles is annoying.

    If I could control the display, and dismiss it, then maybe ioia is something I’d embrace. Of course, there’s still the concern with data quality as a lot of ratings for people are very subjective.

    From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

  • Redgate Summit Comes to the Windy City

    I love Chicago. I went to visit three times in 2023: a Redgate event, a volleyball tournament, and a wedding. Each time was a lot of fun and I look forward to coming back at the end of this month.

    The Redgate Summit is coming to Chicago on May 29. Three weeks from today! Register today and save your spot. If you get on the wait list, reach out to your account executive as they have their own tickets to give away.

    We’ve had two amazing Summits in Atlanta and London and we’re bringing the show to the Windy City. We’ll be covering a wide variety of topics related to databases, across three tracks.

    • New and Future Tech – leveling up skills about database DevOps and teams
    • Deep Dive Solutions – technical talks on innovative strategies for delivering software
    • Leadership – focused on strategic initiatives

    We have something for everyone. Technical people, managers, senior leadership, and others. Tell your colleagues and come as a group, taking in different tracks and then discussing them alter.

    I hope to see you there and register for the Redgate Summit in Chicago today.

  • Enjoying Australia

    I’ve been gone from home for two weeks, though I’ve only been in Australia for about 12 days. I lost a day in flight going across the date line. I’ll get that back later this week as I’ll actually land in LA a few hours before I left Melbourne. I leave Fri morning at 930a and arrive in LA Fri morning at 640a. That’s a crazy time travel situation.

    In any case, I’ve had a good time here. My wife and I spent a week doing some touristy stuff. The iconic shot with the Opera House was first, along with some travels around the area and a nice relaxing week.

    20240424_122658

    I went to Brisbane for the Redgate Seminar, and didn’t have much time there, but I came back to Sydney for the weekend. Unfortunately I was alone as my wife had to head home to get back to work on the ranch. I took a little time at the Sydney art Museum where I still couldn’t get away from horses.

    20240504_114421

    I also saw a neat modern art repurpose of old tube televisions as a cello.

    20240504_113524

    Lots of other interesting artwork there as well. I’m sure my kids were both jealous and annoyed with a lot of SMS pictures of my experience. I’m not usually a big art person, but it was raining and my daughter (a fine arts major in uni) has influenced me a bit, so I took a few hours to try and see the world from her perspective.

    I also spent a few hours Sunday at the theater. I’d seen the billboards with my wife and I loved the movie as a kid, so I decided to try the musical. It was good, and I enjoyed the singing and the way they moved scenes (and songs) around to work on stage. Great performances, but I still like the movie better.

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    I’m also heading to Melbourne later this week, but I’m only there for about 45 hours, so not a lot of time to see anything. I spent a week there in 2019 and loved it. I hope to get back there with my wife sometime, perhaps on the way to Tasmania or Adelaide.

    Now, back to work before the Redgate Seminar tomorrow.

  • A New Word: mcfeely

    mcfeely – adj. inexplicably moved by predictable and well-worn sentiments, even if they are trite or obvious or being broadcast blindly to the masses.

    I get mcfeely all the time. Recently I was listening to A Beautiful Life, from a movie by the same name. It’s a simple song, simple lyrics, but it creates a lot of emotion in me. It brings back memories of finding out my wife was pregnant with my daughter, of the early years when I put her to bed and read stories, of when she grew up and moved away for college.

    Music often does this for me, as do movies/television or even a well written passage in a book. It could be joy, sadness, anger, or anything else. I enjoy the emotion of the situations I’ve escaped into.

    From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows