Daily Coping 7 Jul 2020

Posted on July 7, 2020 by way0utwest

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 take a few minutes and do something fun for yourself.

Last week I drove to the mountains to be sure I could host the SQL in the City Streamed – APAC. We were having construction at the house and I couldn’t find a quiet place there. I expected to go up, work, spend the night, and then have my wife and kids join me.

Instead, my wife decided to stay home and work, sleeping in our camper. My daughter joined her, which uses up all the comfortable beds in there. My son went to hand out with friends, and that left me alone at our condo for a few nights.

At first I thought about going back early, but decided not to crowd anyone out of a bed and instead take some time and reflect on life and enjoy myself. I had to work, but I also spent time walking around, enjoying the beautiful Colorado mountains, and getting away from my normal life. All in all, a bit of an indulgence for me, but a good one.

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Getting the Proc Code–#SQLNewBlogger

Posted on July 6, 2020 by way0utwest

Another post for me that is simple and hopefully serves as an example for people trying to get blogging as #SQLNewBloggers.

I saw a question recently about getting the code in a stored procedure. I’ve become dependent on SQL Prompt, which gives me a nice preview of code when I see a proc:

2020-06-30 16_42_34-ObjectDefinitionBox

The main way I’ve gotten code is right clicking a proc in Object Explorer and clicking Modify. That opens up an ALTER statement for the proc.

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However, there’s one more way to do this: sp_helptext.

2020-06-30 17_26_18-SQLQuery2.sql - ARISTOTLE_SQL2017.Sandbox (ARISTOTLE_Steve (82))_ - Microsoft SQ

Not the best solution, but it gives me a quick look from SQL without futzing through a big list in the OE.

SQLNewBlogger

This is a quick example of some knowledge that I can use in my regular work. When someone asked the question, I knew the code for procs was stored somewhere, but I wasn’t sure what the proc to get this was. I tried sp_help, but that wasn’t right, so I had to go look up sp_helptext.

This took about ten minutes to write.

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Daily Coping 6 Jul 2020

Posted on July 6, 2020 by way0utwest

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 think of something you’ve always wanted to do and never tried.

Lots of things for me, but one of the items I haven’t made time for is to travel to South America or Africa. During some time on vacation a few weeks ago, I struggled to keep up on a hard hike with my kids. They’re in their 20s, and they should be able to go faster and harder than I can, but it reminded me of my age.

My wife and I talked about some of the things we would like to do while we are still relatively young. Machu Piccu was on our list for this year, but that’s been delayed until who knows when, but hopefully 2021. We also talked about China after seeing a commercial of the Tianmen Cave.

I’m hoping that I can get the chance to travel more in the next 5 years and see some of the amazing things on our planet.

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Managing Stress

Posted on July 4, 2020 by way0utwest

This has been a stressful time for many people around the world. Working remotely, limited movement, pressure to continue to perform while perhaps being worried about continued employment, these and many more factors have made the last few months hard for many people around the world.

I interviewed Troy Hunt earlier this week for Redgate Streamed and in the introduction, made a joke about his achievements, including being a father and husband. He published a post about stress the next day, revealing that his home life had been difficult last year and he had to rebuild it. I felt bad and sent an apology, because I know how hard difficulties in life can be and the stress they create. It’s also good to apologize to anyone you might have hurt, regardless of intent.

His method of rebuilding was based on friendships, being careful in his decision making, focus on goals and letting other things go, finding a way to unwind (a beer), and taking care of his health. I think those are great things, though driving forward with focus is something I find many people struggling with. Of course, that’s why most people aren’t Troy Hunt and extremely successful in their finances and career.

It’s OK to not aim for what society thinks is important. Owning a company or making millions. It’s OK to aim for simpler goals, but it is helpful to try to drive yourself towards something you are interested in. A friend went back to school and is struggling a bit this summer with work. There are few jobs and very few internships. Instead of getting too upset, this person checked their finances and decided they could get by with minimal work and has tried to spend some time working on learning a language. Not for school, or with a purpose, other than interest as a hobby.

It is important to have some way to relax and enjoy yourself with a hobby, with faith, with fun times with loved ones. Getting away from stress is important, however you may choose to do it. I’d also say that while goals are good and measuring them helps your career, for many of us, a break away from work should be just that. If you have a project or some thing you want to work on, just enjoy the time, whether you move forward or not. The journey sometimes is the best part, and the hopefully the part that helps you relieve some stress.

Steve Jones

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