Voice of the DBA

Tag: misc

  • Understanding a UK Keyboard for a US developer

    One of the very interesting parts of my job is that I run into UK keyboards on a regular basis. Redgate is a UK company and most of the trade show laptops that they bring to events are UK layouts. Our VMs are built in the UK, and when I use one of those, I need to remember that some of the keys are different.

    I needed to learn the difference between the layouts, because when you’re in a hurry, you can’t scan the keyboard. I found a nice visualization and summary on Wikipedia. I’ve used that a few times, and with Kendra starting as a new Redgate evangelist, I scanned it again. I haven’t worked on a UK keyboard in a few months, so I want to highlight the differences in my memory for upcoming conferences.

    For me, the main differences I need to remember are the at symbol (@ ) and quotes (“) are switched. That means for logging in with emails, I need to smoothly use what I know as quotes for the @. I rarely use quotes, so this isn’t an issue.

    I do use the $ at times, and there isn’t a good way to get this without messing around. The same thing for the hash or pound (#) key. If I really need those, I often just end up changing the keyboard layout.

  • Refreshed and Back from Vacation

    It was a nice break to get away from work for a couple weeks. My family and I traveled 2,000+ miles to Glacier National Park. We camped out each night, and managed to get to both Yellowstone (briefly) and Glacier. Obligatory pic below.

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    For the most part, I was unwired. There were plenty of places were traveled each day where no connectivity was available. My cell phone was mostly used for pictures, with the “No service” text at the top while in most of the national parks.

    Lots of hiking, and some horseback riding. My wife even managed to get me on a horse one day.

    IMG_20180802_113519

    It was nice to get away, and a little strange to arrive back in a place with more concrete and people than trails and wildlife.

    Going through email and quite a few requests that came in over the last two weeks, as well as starting to prep for SQL Saturday Baton Rouge this weekend. Back in the saddle, as they say, very quickly this week.

  • The Oddest Thing

    My desk is a mess, at least, it’s a mess compared to many people’s workspaces. Not as bad as some, but certainly worse than others. I sometimes care and will clean clear things away, maybe even get rid of some items, but for the most part I have an idea where things are and they can stay there. I’m not sure that a neat, ordered space has ever mattered to me. Some of you may feel differently, and I’m sure a few of you can’t work unless the clutter is clear. If you want to share a picture of your space, home or work, it might be a fun distraction today for others to see how you work.

    When I posted the picture of my desk, someone right away noticed that I had a hose clamp on my desk. I didn’t even realize it was there, and likely it got dropped there after making some repair outside and coming back in with an extra one in my hand. I probably dropped it on the desk as I was going to wash up, since my desk is on the way. It never got moved, and it’s actually still there today.

    Most of us use our desks for work, and I certainly do, but I also end up doing research and learning for home or ranch projects. I’ve been known to sit and watch a video on YouTube or read a manual with a tool or piece of equipment in front of me. As a result, I end up with some strange things on my desk, though most are too large to stay for long. After all, I do need to get technical work done.

    Today I wanted to see what you’re collecting. Is it swag from some event, a random item from your life, or even a strange momento you’re proud of. What’s the oddest thing on your desk?

    For me, right now, I think that since I’m a data professional, the hose clamp is certainly an odd item. There are various bits of electronics and parts, all of which make sense, as do the Aleve and souvenir baseball bat from SQL Saturday Louisville. There’s also a chainsaw clutch tool, waiting for me to get a spare hour to take a tooll apart. Maybe the strangest item is a jar of earplugs sitting to one side. Since I coach volleyball, I keep some around, and for some reason the spares ended up on my desk. Since they’re behind a monitor, I think I’ll leave them be.

    Take a look around your space today, post a picture if you like, and let us know what oddities abound for you.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

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  • Abolish Disjointed Time

    One of the more complex types of data to deal with is date data. We have dates, times, strange rules for when mathematical operations occur, and when they don’t. We have a period, which can be some combination of these, and that can include math rules that must be programmed consistently. Add to the issue of time zones where 3:00 isn’t 3:00 everywhere in the world, especially those strange half and quarter time offset zones, and it’s much more complex than seems necessary. There are no shortage of questions and articles at SQLServerCentral because this is a complex topic.

    I read recently that the European Parliment is considering getting rid of DST. Quite a few of the members think the practice isn’t useful and in a 384 to 153 vote, they decided to review whether or not they think this is a practice that should continue. There have been studies that show the change doesn’t help with power, and it’s certainly disruptive to everyone. I know it seems a percentage of people are always confused and either arrive early or late every year (or twice a year) when the clocks change. I know I’ve been late to work in the past on a Sunday when the clocks changed.

    I’m of the opinion that we should do away with DST. I get a double whammy every year the I work for a company in the UK and the US changes clocks at a different time. That means I get meetings that move for a few weeks, and just as I adjust to the new time, they move back. It’s a pain, and I’d just as soon do without it. There are also the adjustments to body clocks that likely slow our work and study habits, or at least mine, for a period of time. I’d just prefer that we stick to a single time schedule the entire year.

    From a data perspective, the adjustments can cause issues with reporting and tracking data. Having an hour essentially repeat itself can distort any aggregation over that time period. Likewise losing an hour, especially if we use left joins to ensure each time period has a value, can look funny. I know the data issues aren’t likely a big deal, after all, how much data does your company gather in the middle of Saturday night a couple times a year? Most reports probably don’t bother to account for the discrepancies, and there don’t seem to have been any issues I’ve seen from organizations. It’s annoying to me as a data person, but it’s probably not a significant issue.

    Ultimately I think DST is just a little silly in this modern world, where specific times, especially daylight time, seems to be less of an issue. I work when I need to, take time off when I can, and it seems more and more companies do the same thing. Whether I go to work in the light or dark, the days are shorter in the winter.

    Steve Jones