Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

Daily Coping 1 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 a plan to change your daily routine for a day and see how you feel.

I tend to follow the same routines often, usually work, gym, cook, maybe some fix or chore. Changing up a routine is good, but it can be hard.

For me, I don’t sit still well. I usually have plenty of things to do, and I try to tackle something when I have free time. This might sound strange, but I don’t do well with taking days off. I’m either doing chores, fixing something, or coaching. Even my breaks for something like watching a football game are while I’m cooking or looking at the condensed game while playing guitar.

I wasn’t sure what to do with this tip, but last weekend we didn’t have plans. Or I didn’t. My wife had to work, but we had a weekend off from coaching, no plans, weather wasn’t great, so I decided to relax. I read in bed, watched some Netflix, played some guitar, but didn’t work on anything new.

I had a relaxed day, went to the gym later and sat on a bike for an hour, pedaling relatively slowly. Just taking it easy and doing a little work. I went to the store for groceries and had a relaxing time cooking dinner.

It was an odd, low stress, no hurry day for me. Unlike most of my life. I enjoyed the leisure, but felt the next day like I hadn’t done enough. I’d wasted time.

I accepted that, didn’t chastise myself, and moved on. Not likely to take many of those days, but I will take a few.
March 1, 2022
A New Command Palette in SQL Prompt

I’ve gotten used to using the Command Palette in VS Code/ADS/Sublime Text regularly to find some setting or change something. What felt strange at first has become a habit for me. I actually like having this one place to search and get things done.

It’s now in SQL Prompt.

If I press ALT+S, I see this in SSMS. A large command prompt with lots of entries.

This popup lets me do a few things. If I start typing, I can get to most any object or SQL Prompt command from here. It’s like a global search for all things Prompt.

As an example, I can highlight an object and then ALT+S, type “object ex” and I’ll see this:

If I select the “Select in Object Explorer” (or click), the OE will navigate to that item.

Simple, and I could get there in other ways, but having all this in one searchable place, rather than right clicking and looking through a menu, or looking at the top menu bar, is easy. I even see the shortcut in the command palette (CTRL+F12) if I want to memorize it.

I can also use this for commands like insert semicolons, which I can never remember the shortcut for.

I can look for objects, commands, or options, filtering my results with the selection at the top. Or I can look in all areas. I can even look at the see the status of options in the palette, as shown here.

I have some things memorized, and the ALT+S isn’t quite in my muscle memory, but I am finding that I use it when I don’t know where something is located, or can’t remember a shortcut.

It’s a new feature, and the team is looking for feedback, so give it a try and let them know what you think.

If you don’t have SQL Prompt for SSMS and SQL Server, download an eval today and give it a try.

February 28, 2022
Daily Coping 28 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 appreciate the good qualities of someone in your life.

I’m very lucky with family and friends. I get to see a lot of people, sometimes more than I want, and for the most part the interactions are very enjoyable.

A few years ago I was traveling for work to an event. I met someone before the event and we got to chatting about things. It was a very pleasant 10-15 minutes. We talked a bit later in the day, and I came home with good memories.

After that day, this person reached out on Linked In to wish me a happy holiday a few months later. I responded, and since that day, this person has checked in every few months, asking how I am and sharing info about their life and family. We had talked about those things when we saw each other.

This person has been a friend, someone that I only met once, but we correspond and catch up, usually at their initiation, and I appreciate the kind words and thoughts. I appreciate the genuine curiosity and caring.

Each time I see a message, I smile.

February 28, 2022
Chill v Standard Mode in the Tesla
This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

I bought the “slow” Tesla. The Model Y Long Range, which is fine. I wanted range more than performance. If you look at the 0-60 times, you can see a variety, but for 2021 this is how things rank.
- 2021 Model S Plaid – 2.1s
- 2021 Model S Long Range – 3.5s
- 2019 Model 3 Performance – 3.1s
- 2019 Model 3 Long Range – 4.1s
- 2021 Model Y Performance – 3.6
- 2021 Model y Long Range – 4.4
- Model X – 3.3-5.5 s, depending on model
What’s crazy is that I can “buy” a boost of acceleration for US$2000 that will drop me down around 4s. It’s a software upgrade.

Is It Tempting?

Getting into the Tesla and nailing the accelerator is exciting. The car really moves, and people that haven’t experienced it before are often surprised. I try to avoid it, usually playing the “video game” of how little power can I use, but it is fun once in awhile.

When the weather changed, and I needed snow tires, I became more cautious. In fact, I accidentally had some slippage from pressing a little too quickly on the accelerator a few times. One of the things I changed for snow was setting the accelerator to “Chill” mode, which reduces how quickly the car reacts.

Across the last few weeks, I’ve left Chill mode on for daily driving, even without snow. The car is still plenty fast, and I know I use less power. The other day I was curious how much of a difference it makes, so I turned it off in town. With a bright sunny day, no snow or moisture on the ground, I nailed the accelerator.

It’s neck snapping quick. I can feel my neck muscles bunch up. In fact, I turned it right back off at the next traffic signal.

A few days later I turned the Standard mode back on and drove for day. It’s fun, but I realized that most of the time I don’t really need that much acceleration. I tend to leave it off today most of the time, only turning it on if I want to have a little fun or I think I might need to be ready to accelerate quickly in traffic.

That’s rare, so no, I’m not tempted by a $2000 upgrade for more speed.
February 25, 2022