Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

  • A New Windows Terminal

    Watching the Build keynotes, I saw that the new Windows Terminal has been released. It looks mildly interesting, as I really like ConEmu, but it’s something that will be on every machine at some point, and I ought to get used to using it. I like that Bash and Azure Cloud Shell are in here, so I decided to try it.

    The URL given in the keynote was aka.ms/terminal. This gets you to the Windows Terminal site, with a great animated opening. Give it a moment if you don’t see anything right away.

    Installing

    The “Get/Install” link you see will want to open the Microsoft Store app on Windows 10. You do need to have version 18362.0 or better. Type “Ver” at a command prompt to get your version.

    It installs quickly and you can get moving right away.

    2020-05-19 14_03_10-Microsoft Edge

    When my new Windows Terminal launched, it started with PowerShell, which is likely a good default. Most cmd utilities work, so this makes some sense. I find myself in PoSh quite often when I run ConEmu.

    2020-05-19 14_05_48-Windows PowerShell

    In the title bar are two things. There is a +, which opens a new tab. This is your default tab, which seems to be PoSh. I’m sure you can change this.

    2020-05-19 14_06_11-Windows PowerShell

    The drop down arrow next to this gives you choices. The defaults I see are shown below (PoSh, Ubuntu, cmd.exe, and Azure Cloud Shell). There are shortcuts here you can use.

    2020-05-19 14_06_18-Windows PowerShell

    The settings is interesting. If I click this, I was surprised that this happened:

    2020-05-19 14_07_02-Microsoft Visual Studio Enterprise 2019

    This is a settings.json file, and you’ll need to know JSON to edit this. You can see my default file below:

    2020-05-19 14_07_09-settings.json - Microsoft Visual Studio

    There are quite a few things you can change here, and I keep debating about the copyOnSelect option, which might be useful, but it might also be something I’m not expected.

    One thing I was interested in is changing the colors a bit. There’s a bit description of colors on their site, and I added a property to me default section. I’m not digging into profiles now, but I do want the colors to change. Let’s try one of the built in styles.

    2020-05-19 14_12_43-settings.json - Microsoft Visual Studio

    I tab back and I see the change immediately.

    2020-05-19 14_12_40-Windows PowerShell

    I’ll play with the schemes and see how I like them. For now, the Vintage one looks good.

    I need to do more Azure stuff and play with Linux more, so I’m going to give Windows Terminal a chance and see how it works.

    If you don’t love the built in cmd.exe, you can give this a try and see what you think. I do like the choice of terminals handy, and I can see myself adding one for Python at some point.

  • Daily Coping 22 May 2020

    I’ve 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.

    Today’s tip is to reflect on what makes you feel really valued and appreciated.

    That’s an interesting thought. This reminds me of the Five Love Languages that help us learn to get along with others. What ways do I feel appreciated and valued?

    At work, it’s often through emails or comments people make to me. I’ve been lucky that SQLServerCentral grew to be popular, and my writing has entertained and inspired others. They have let me know often over the years, which give me some level of Purpose in life (from Danial Pink’s Drive).

    At home, when the family uses something I’ve built, or they find satisfaction in my cooking, I feel that they appreciate my efforts. That hasn’t always been the case, especially with the busy lives of my family, but they have certainly expressed enjoyment and appreciation of some of the things I’ve made. A few popular items lately:

  • A Byte of Redgate

    When the global pandemic shut down much of the world, we started the Community Circle at Redgate, with the idea that we would try and help others cope with the challenges of being stuck at home the vast majority of the week. There have been a number of efforts, many around learning, but also some other non-technical, non work related items. One of those was released recently.

    front-cover-212x300A Byte of Redgate is a cookbook with recipes from our employees and Friends of Redgate. You can read the story in this blog, and I’m excited to be mentioned. Andy Warren, fellow SQLServerCentral founder, mentioned that a cookbook would be a fun corporate project. I suggested it at one of our meetings and it turned into reality.

    You can download your free copy in pdf and epub formats now and try some new dish.

    I’ve found cooking to be a nice, relaxing, coping mechanism from the blandness of everyday life. I am trying out new recipes every week and enjoying the time with family that hasn’t had many evenings together as my kids have grown into adults.

    Whether you like cooking or not, pass along the link to those that do, or that you might want to make something for you. I’m looking forward to trying a few of the dishes for my family in the coming weeks. These are on top of my list:

    • Banana Bread (gluten free)
    • Tomato Soup Cake
    • BBW Chicken Shawarma Wraps
    • Charlott’s Kofta Curry
    • The Fussy Eater Frittata

  • Daily Coping 21 May 2020

    I’ve 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.

    Today’s tip is to find a way to craft what you are doing to give it more meaning.

    I do a lot, both at work and on the ranch. One of the things that I do regularly is cook dinner. While my kids can cook, they don’t do it much. My wife doesn’t like cooking at all, but I enjoy it. It’s a relaxing exercise for me most nights. Sometimes I need a break, but most times I enjoy it.

    I am trying a variety of things since it’s one of the few places we can get some routine as a family. With kids in school (teaching or learning) and days full of similar activities, I’ve been trying to build some routine in cooking. A few things I’ve tried:

    • mixing gluten free and non gluten free meals
    • often having a veggie/fish main with a meat one
    • doing some favorites everyone has enjoyed once or twice a week
    • trying a new recipe at least once a week

    With a mix of preferences and diets, it’s an interesting challenge. Often I combine some things and separate others. For example, I made spaghetti squash enchilada boats. My wife and son got plant based ground meat in theirs, while my daughter and I got chicken.

    I’ve also added in some once a week baking. I’m not trying to gain weight, but a sweet treat is a nice thing periodically, so I’m doing a bit here and there.

    A small thing, but it’s become more meaningful as our lives slowed down slightly and we’re all together.