Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

  • A New Word: Harmonoia

    harmonoia – n. an itchy sense of dread when life feels just a hint too peaceful – when everyone seems to get along suspiciously well, with an eerie stillness that makes you want to brace for the inevitable collapse, or burn it down yourself.

    I don’t want to burn things down, but I do like a little chaos in my life. I struggle to sit still and when things go too well, I worry about what will go wrong.

    It’s funny, but so much goes well in my life. I find great weather traveling, I get upgraded on flights or in hotels, events go smoothly, it’s somewhat amazing. I stop and think about this and appreciate the things that go well.

    However, sometimes life has gone a bit too well and I do think that something bad, or relatively bad, is likely to happen. I have no good reason, but I think harmonoia is something many people feel and it’s a good combination of harmony and paranoia.

    From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

  • An Important Break

    I left home last Tuesday for work, heading to New Jersey for work. Over the weekend, I took a side trip to see my daughter play volleyball at university, which is something I’ve tried to do every year she’s been gone. Normally I’d be heading home now.

    However, I’m on the road for a few more days. I’m taking advantage of being on the East Coast to head back to my hometown, Virginia Beach, to see my Mom. I guess I’m also with my brother. I flew to the DC area and we’re driving down early today.

    I’ve made a few plans to come out, but things keep going sideways, so I decided this was the best time to come and extended my trip. I’ve let other commitments get in the way for the last couple years, but I am glad that I’m making this trip now.

    Now, I need to be sure I work to get back every year.

  • The Database DevOps Roadshow Continues (with fun photos)

    At SQL Saturday Denver 2023, I had a few people ask me about the Redgate Database DevOps roadshow and how it was going. A few people asked about the van as well.

    Here’s the van, with my ready to rock in Chicago:

    IMG_5860

    Chicago is done, but we have a few more dates coming:

    • Oct 11 – Atlanta
    • Oct 19 – Jacksonville
    • Oct 26 – San Diego
    • Nov 1 – San Francisco
    • Nov 14 – Seattle

    All these are on the Redgate Events page.

    IMG_5776_copy

    I won’t be doing any in October, as you can see above, I’m tired. With the 3 US ones and the 3 UK ones I did across Aug/Sept, I was gone 24 days from Aug 23-Sept 21. I need a break, as shown below:

    IMG_6182

    The show goes on, and I’ll see (some) of you in Nov.

    Redgate-on-the-move

  • A New Word: Ringlorn

    ringlorn – adj. the wish that the modern world felt as epic as one depicted in old stories and folktales – a place of tragedy and transcendence, of oaths and omens and fates, where everyday life felt like a quest for glory, a mythic bond with an ancient past, or a battle for survival against a clear enemy, rather than an open-ended parlor game where all the rules are made up and points don’t matter.

    Lots of people yearn for a time gone past. Often I think the place they remember fondly exists in their mind and doesn’t really reflect what they lived, or what they heard about (or read about).

    I find that I struggle with a lot of time periods of the past. Pre-1900, convenience and facilities were a mess. I wouldn’t long for that. I have never been much of a WWI/WWII person, and even the booming 20s, being a minority, I don’t know that I’ve have enjoyed that time.

    Maybe the one time period I find enchanting, though I wouldn’t want to live then, was 1600s Japan, and the Samurai era.

    If I were picking another time, then the late 60s in the US, the Age of Aquarius, the struggles of civil rights, the chance when people really stood up to make their voices heard. I find that interesting. I was born in that era, but to be a 18-30 yr old then would have been enchanting.

    From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows