Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

  • Daily Coping 18 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 get outside and notice how the weather feels.

    I haven’t done much of this lately. It was cold in Denver for lots of Feb/Mar, and in London I was busy inside, running from place to place. I did like walking a little outside, but the walks were short.

    I did, however, get a bit of a walk. The train dropped me off at the West side of the ExCel center. My hotel was about a mile away on the East side. I started to a restaurant to get some food, but since they were not open yet, I decided to walk to the hotel. Rather than going back along the North side of ExCel, where the train was, or inside, I took a slightly longer route along the Thames.

    It was a pleasant day, about 50F/10C, a bit of a breeze, but not too bad. I plopped a cap on my head and sunglasses on my face. I walked along, looking at the water and the sites. It was a bit chilly, but invigorating. I had enough clothing to not feel chilled in my core, but the wind and cold air kept me from being too warm.

    I breathed deep, enjoying the sensations of a a wonderful day in London, at least mentally. I wouldn’t want to be outside for a long time, but the walk reminded me to appreciate I wasn’t in a rainy (or snowy) London, and I was in London. One of my favorite cities.

    As a note, I was in Greenwich and it snowed in London. Another not so great day, but one that I appreciated walking around and enjoyed the chilly weather.

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  • Was the Tesla Model Y a Good Decision

    This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

    As I write this, I’ve owned a Model Y for six months. I’ll do a review of the car ownership across six months, but first, do I think it was a good purchase?

    tl;dr yes.

    I think the Model Y is a fantastic car and fun to drive. It’s fun, works well in my life, and I still enjoy driving it. In fact, I sometimes make an extra errand trip because I enjoy it.

    Comparison with the BMW

    Cheap gas is nearly US$4/gal, which is pricey. Filling up the BMW would be US$80 to go a bit over 400 miles. I can’t go 400 miles in the Tesla, but here’s the comparison of 200 miles:

    • BMW: 21mpg, $4.32/gal – $41.14
    • Tesla Model Y, $0.13/kW, 300Wh/mi – $7.80

    I used 200 miles as that’s not a bad trip. I can easily do that without charging or without worry. However, given current prices, and what the mileage in a similarly sized car, the Tesla is way cheaper to operate. Plus, for now, my cost is fixed.

    Note: I have regularly driven 250 miles in a day without charging.

    A few people sometimes point out that I own an X5, whereas I had to buy a Tesla. I’m ignoring the purchase price because I was going to buy a car anyway.

    Other EVs

    When we first discussed Tesla, I was enamored with the X. I looked at used Xs and priced those against Ys. I decided the Y was a better choice for us, partially because of the newer tech that gets incorporated in them. After reading this article, I think I made a good choice.

    The first week I had the Y, I saw a Mach-E at the gym. At first I thought someone had put Mustang badging on a Model Y, but when I walked around it, I realized there are a few differences. There’s a review that I’d urge you to watch if you are comparing them, but based on the review, I think the Model Y is better.

    The charging network thing is a big deal to me. In reading and watching others talk, and my own experience in Greeley, I think charging on the road has a ways to go outside of Tesla.

    I also think the weirdness of doors, less space, the lack or dual wireless charging, and the infotainment being less tech-y make the Model Y better than the others.

    As for the smaller, shorter range cars, I wasn’t really interested.

    An Older Sports Car

    This whole new car journey started with my wife watching my browse sports car sale listings for weeks. I was thinking to do what my friend Brent did and get an older 944 (or 968).

    While I like the idea of one of those cars, I don’t know it would be as fun as this car, certainly wouldn’t be drivable in the snow, and I’d be thinking of the gas cost every time I drove it right now. I’d also potentially have some maintenance things to worry about, and while I could afford them, they seem to occur at bad times for us, financially. And they annoy my wife.

    I’m torn on this, though I do think I’ve gotten more enjoyment from nailing the accelerator in the Model Y than I’d get in a sports car. Maybe another 914 that let me whip around turns would be more fun, but not with anyone in the car.

    Reviewing the Decision

    It was a good decision. As I’ve thought about this, I’m not sure I could have made a better one. The Model S is attractive, but out of my price range, and this car is already fast enough.

    I’m still thrilled with my decision.

  • Daily Coping 17 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 stay fully present while drinking your tea or coffee.

    I tried to do this last week at SQL Bits with a few people. I drink a lot of coffee at events, perhaps too much, but at times I’d get a cup and then find someone to chat with. I’d listen and focus on them for the 5-10 minutes we might talk. I’ve found it to be an interesting and helpful way to spend time with people that I see rarely, or those I’ve just met.

    I want my energy to be with them, and not be distracted. I try to put my phone in a pocket, and just be with them. This doesn’t always work, but I am trying to be better.

    It’s something I enjoy, and I look forward to doing more at future events.

  • Power BI Dashboards

    This is part of a series on my preparation for the DP-900 exam. This is the Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals, part of a number of certification paths. You can read various posts I’ve created as part of this learning experience.

    I don’t know a lot about Power BI. I’ve lightly hacked and played with it, but it has evolved and changed so quickly that I needed to dig into some concepts.

    Power BI Dashboards are a part of what you need to know for this exam. Over the years, I’ve lightly made a few reports, but not dashboards, so this was an area I needed to study up on a bit, especially these concepts.

    Dashboard Basics

    A dashboard is different from a report. A dashboard is

    • a single page
    • available in the Power BI Service only (not Power BI Desktop)
    • composed of tiles
    • can use data from one or more reports, and more than one dataset
    • one dashboard can be featured
    • supports natural language queries
    • can’t see the underlying data, but can export data

    Tile Sources

    A tile can be from:

    • a report (a visualization)
    • another dashboard
    • an Excel workbook in OneDrive for business
    • Quick Insights
    • An on-premises paginated report from Power BI Server or SSRS

    There can be standalone tiles for  images, text boxes, video, streaming data and web content.

    These are a series of facts I think are important to understand about Power BI Dashboards