Republish: Does Speed Compromise Quality?

Posted on December 5, 2022 by way0utwest

Out of town visiting a customer today, and it’s been a busy week. Plus, trying to get off for vacation, so you get: Does Speed Compromise Quality?

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Daily Coping 5 Dec 2022

Posted on December 5, 2022 by way0utwest

Today’s coping tip is to look for new reasons to be hopeful, even in tough times.

My life is pretty amazing most of the time. There are some stressful moments and annoying things, but overall, I can’t really complain about anything.

That being said, I have a lot of empathy for others, and I know that the inflation is a problem for many. I’m financially secure and don’t worry, but I also realize that I am lucky. Not everyone is in the same situation.

From my experience and travel, I’m glad to see some things starting to improve in the world. Fuel prices are lowering a bit, except for diesel. It’s not a perfect situation, but it’s better than nothing. I find there are more goods available in stores, which is always helpful for people that are just in time shoppers.

I’m also seeing lots of people posting well wishes, offering help, and doing favors for others. Community is important and it’s good to have people looking out for each other. In a very negative-world-view media storm, it’s nice to see plenty of people approaching life in a positive manner.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central 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.

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Goal Progress for Nov 2022

Posted on December 2, 2022 by way0utwest

I set goals at the beginning of the year, and I’m tracking my progress in these updates during 2022.

Another month of busy stuff. A long trip for the Data Community Summit and then gone the last few days of the month. Gone from home for 12 days, so more than Oct.

The conference was stressful and busy. It ate up a lot of time, with a lot of home time consumed with prep and stress. I have to get things scheduled and ready when I travel, so 10 days in the Pacific NW mean I need 12 days of stuff ready. Same for my Dec trip. I’m in the EU for 2 weeks, so a lot of prep.

However, I made some progress in a few areas. I read a bit more, getting through some books. I also finished my coaching certification and spent a bunch of time on my Power BI Reports.

I’m going to abandon the Habitat goal for this year. My health hasn’t been outstanding, and while I can try to fit one in, I’m unlikely to do well since I have been struggling a bit with my ankle. I’ll aim for 2023.

Grade: B

Here are the goals:

Work

Personal

I managed to get my Power BI report hooked to Google Sheets. I also copied it over for 2023.

  • Link Google Sheets to Power BI – 100%
    – figured it out

  • Create Report – 90%  – I have a report working for all my metrics.
    A few tweaks needed

  • Create Dashboard – 90%  – Needs tweaking, but it’s there.
  • Get people using it – 10% – Got one asst coach looking at it.
  • Coaching certification – 100% – some downtime this month helped

Community

  • Support the Colorado groups by speaking twice and helping get one event set up
    – 66%
    • CO Springs event set up and executed
    • Denver SQL Server SQL Saturday executed
  • Speak at 3 other community events (was user groups) outside of Colorado – 100%
    • DBA Fundamentals group
    • Toronto SSUG
    • SQL Saturdays in Jacksonville, New Jersey, LA, Denver, Boston, Toronto,  Oregon
  • Support SQL Saturdays – Help get 10 events run in 2022
    – 100%
    • We have had 15 run this year and 3 more scheduled
  • Volunteer 4 days with Habitat – 0 days
    • Not happy about this still. I had hoped to go Sept 15, but they cancelled the build that day. Need to find another day, but it’s hard. They aren’t doing every Wed/Thur/fri, and travel is getting in the way.
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An Amazing Summit

Posted on December 2, 2022 by way0utwest

It’s been a couple of weeks since the PASS Data Community Summit 2022. I was lucky enough to attend the event, and I had the chance to experience things firsthand for the in-person part of the event. I also had many people come up to tell me that they loved the event as well. It truly felt like a homecoming with so many people that I’ve seen at past Summits in the same place at the same time. I know I’m biased here, but it was a wonderful way to reboot the Summit after not having an in-person event since 2019.

Before the event, I was a bit nervous. While we have a number of people who have been a part of the Summit previously, and a lot of Redgaters coming who had been to events, the effort to execute on an event of this scale is high. There was a lot of stress and worry, and a lot of last-minute tasks. I was watching the various Slack channels in the background while being available to offer help where needed.

To be clear, I really had nothing to do with organizing, planning, or executing this event. I spoke at a few sessions, but it was a lot of other Redgate employees and various contractors that made everything run fairly smoothly. Despite a few hiccups with getting started and some streaming issues, almost everyone I talked to thought that the event was very similar to previous Summits and the highlight of their year.

For me, this was fun for many reasons. First, because of the people. Far too many to name, and far too many that I didn’t get a chance to speak with, but it was wonderful to meet new people and see so many friends from the past. The event was 5 days for me, but I never had enough time to stop and talk with others.

Second, it was fun to be a part of the Lego Steve promotion. Every time I saw a picture posted or talked with someone about it, I had to laugh a little. It was a fun part of the event for me, and I have some fun memories of the experience. Starting the week off with a photoshoot was very enjoyable.

Lastly, I loved seeing plenty of people taking advantage of networking and also seeing very quiet hallways during the presentations. People were learning from speakers and taking time between sessions to talk to each other. I had more than a few people tell me they networked and met some great new friends. Something that I have done many times over the years.

I’ve had a strange relationship with the Summit over the years. Sometimes I’ve loved the event, other times I’ve been angry with the organizers. I’ve skipped a few as well. Over time I’ve come to realize that this is a magical event for the data community, bringing many of the best and brightest together with a happy, eager, hopeful, and wonderful #sqlfamily. I look forward to next year, and hopefully, finding more time to chat with people during the week.

Steve Jones

Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher, Spotify, or iTunes.

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