Voice of the DBA

Tag: speaking

  • A Speaker’s Dilemma

    I read Eddie Wuerch’s post on cross-submissions for SQL Saturdays and found it hitting close to home. It provoked a few thoughts, and I wanted to write a little bit about what I think since it’s something I think more and more people will deal with over time.

    The idea behind SQL Saturday was to get more local events, more local speakers, and improve our industry at a grass roots level. That was Andy Warren’s vision, and it was something we strived for as we grew the SQL Saturday framework. Over time it’s evolved into something we never expected, with many speakers traveling from remote locations to talk.

    It’s also grown so much that many of the weekends of the year have multiple events. This year we have 58 events (completed or scheduled) and we have multiple collisions, including

    • 3 on Apr 21, Apr 28, Aug 4, Sept 15, and Sept 29,
    • 5 on Apr 14

    There are also plenty of weekends with two events.

    As a speaker, I like attending these events. I’ve been to quite a few, and I turn many more down because of scheduling conflicts. I try to get to 4-5 a year, and meet a lot of people. These are fun events, and I’d like to do more, but travel is hard and it takes away from other things in my life.

    When I decide to submit to a SQL Saturday, I usually start making plans to attend. I don’t book travel, but I free up my schedule, and I don’t submit to events on consecutive weeks. Traveling two weeks in a row, while it might not seem like much, is a big impact to my family, and to me.

    My method for dealing with multiple events and choices is to contact the organizers of my first choice. I don’t ask them for a favor, but I do ask if they would like me to submit and attend. I’ll give him an idea of what I am prepared to talk about and let them know that I don’t want to submit if I’m not being chosen, only because I would like to attend some event that weekend. If they decline, and I have had some decline, I thank them and contact my second choice.

    I don’t like the idea of adding in more rules, or restrictions, or even asking the organizers to work out among the various events who will get speaker X. I think it’s the burden on the speakers to make as little an impact on the organizer’s workload.

  • SQL Saturday #132 Files

    Uploaded here if you need them. These are the PPT deck and the code.

    UnstructuredData.zip

    EncryptionPrimer.zip

  • Back to Pensacola and SQL Saturday #132

    This will be my fourth trip to Pensacola for SQL Saturday #132. I’ve enjoyed going every time and I usually take a day or two off from work on the trip to spend with my daughter. Last year we both got shirts, and had a good time at the event, and at the beach.

    sqlsat77_asqlsat77_b

    This year I’m giving three talks, which is a lot, but they’re spread out throughout the day. I have the Early Bird morning session, at 7:30, which is really there for the people that arrive early. I’ll be talking about Unstructured Data in SQL Server, going over the Filestream and Filetable options you have for storing binary data.

    At lunch I’ll be doing a Preparing for Disaster Recovery talk at the vendor session where I’ll talk about how some of the Red Gate tools can help you prepare for disaster.

    In the afternoon, I’m then talking Encryption at 4:30. It’s a beginner session, but I’ll show the various options you have and how they work in SQL Server. There’s a ton to learn about encryption, and I scratch the surface, but if you want to know what’s available, come see.

    If you’re anywhere near Pensacola, I’d urge you to register and come by on June 9th. This is a free day of training on all different parts of SQL Server and you get the chance to improve your career for the price of a car trip and a little time on a Saturday.

    If you’re not coming, cancel so others can atttend. It’s not sold out yet, but attendance is always good at this event.

  • I’m Going on Tour

    I’ve done quite a bit of speaking over the last few years, which has required a lot of travel. I had 15 events that I attended last year, only one of which was in Denver, so I spent quite a few days on a plane.

    sqlinthecitylogoThis year I’ve cut back a bit, with only 3 events so far this year, but it will get busy this fall. The SQL in the City events last year in London and LA were a big success for my employer, Red Gate Software, and this year we’ve decided to expand and build a mini-tour of events.

    We are back in London this July, for two dates this time on July 13, and 14. Friday is booked, but you can still register for Saturday, July 14 and come attend a free training event, which will talk about SQL Server issues and include information about how Red Gate’s products make you more efficient and effective at your job.

    This fall, we are going on a 5-cities-in-11-days tour all over the US. We have booked the following dates:

    In addition, we’ve added a sixth event in Seattle, on Monday, Nov 5, just before the PASS Summit.

    sqltoolbeltThese are free events, and we’ll have some tool tracks, talking about how to better get value from Red Gate tools, but we’ll also have tracks that talk about real issues you encounter as DBAs. I’ll be speaking, along with Brad McGehee and Grant Fritchey on writing better T-SQL, database maintenance, disaster recovery, and more.

    This tour is something we’ve talked about for a few years, and we’ve finally gotten the time, money, and permission for a tour. So look for us to be traveling through your part of the US. I’m not sure if we’ll have a real tour bus to travel in style.

    tourbus2

    With quite a few people coming over from the UK, and a frugal boss, our budget might end up supporting a tour in something like this.

    tourbus

    In any case, if you will be in one of the cities on any of the dates above, register today. It’s an exciting experiment, and one that I hope will be valuable for you and us, and something we’ll get to do every year in different cities.