I learned a new trick from Andrew Pruski. In a blog on avoiding PowerPoint, he had htis neat trick:
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
Apparently, this is a new setting in git v2.28. This allows you to set a default branch for all new repos. Since I often create a local repo first before pushing to a remote, this is handy for me.
This was on the git blog, if you want to know more.
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 give sincere compliments to people you talk to today.
I coach youth sports a couple times a week now. A lot of what I do is try to teach them something and get them to change how they play a sport. Much of this is criticizing and reminding them of things to do better.
However, I do try to remember and appreciate that they are getting better and they are doing things right. I made a special effort to do less criticizing and spend more time picking out the things they did well.
Easy for kids to get down on themselves when the outcomes aren’t what they want. Instead, I worked on telling them the parts of their actions that were good.
I set goals at the beginning of the year, and I’m tracking my progress in these updates during 2021.
As I look at goal progress for 2021, I’m going to follow a similar pattern as last year. I’ll give myself a current grade and report on overall progress in of the areas where I set goals.
Current Grade: C
I think I’m making some progress, but perhaps not as much as I’d like.
The goal was 4 books (3 non-fiction, 1 tech). Here’s the current progress:
I’m solving the Advent of Code three times. I’m also studying for certification.
I had a few projects for myself. Most of January was supporting SQL Memorial as well as doing some SQL Saturday/Data Saturday stuff. So far things appear to be working fine.
The other day I was talking to a someone about the amount of money their business spent on a particular transaction. This person thought the amount was high, but I didn’t. We had an interesting discussion from there.
Today, I’m curious what you think is a lot of money that your organization might have spent on some transaction. A piece of hardware, some software, maybe even another company. Are there times you’ve felt they overpaid for some item that you wouldn’t have bought?
Most of the people I know work for someone else. Their concept of large or small values is often dictated by their own view of personal finances. While we might spent US$1-2k on a computer, many of us wouldn’t buy a $50,000 server for home.
For friends that own a business, even a solo one, they often have a slightly different view of costs. A business might need to easily invest $10k in a project, a piece of equipment, or something else. They often find that spending money is less about the amount than the time it takes to recoup an investment.
I wonder how many of you look at a $100,000 purchase and don’t see the value returned. Perhaps you’ve seen your company spend $10mm and you wonder if there was any rationale behind the purchase.
Dealing with any amount of money is hard when you don’t necessarily have all the information, and you’re not used to spending at that scale. I know each time I’ve bought a bigger house, it’s been a bit of a shock and created anxiety. However, when I look back years later, I often feel differently.
I wonder how many of you feel that way about purchases by your organizations over time.
Steve Jones
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