Voice of the DBA

Tag: speaking

  • An Amazing Live SQL Bits in 2022

    I was lucky to travel to London last week and attend SQL Bits 2022. This was the first live SQL Bits I’ve been to in 4 or 5 years, and the first one held since 2019. Two years away, but back strong and as wonderful as ever.

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    The event was at the London ExCel center, which is a large exhibition hall. There were 4 or 5 other events taking place, and the 1,000+ SQL Bits event was in less than 1/10th of the space. Still, a large space that reminded me of what a large conference is like.

    The event hall was a large space, surrounded by curtains, with booths in the middle and around the edge. The Community Zone was a section near registration that had some benches, large pillows, and of course, an arcade machine. Various people were hanging out here all week.

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    The “rooms” were spaces that were curtained off with large screens, stages, and seating that was separated out with tables and space. Overall, I liked the room, though there was a low rumbling of crosstalk from other sessions. Not so loud that it felt like I was listening to two speakers, but more there was a lot of ambient noise, and I had to focus on my speaker. Applause was a bit loud.

    I saw lots of friends. Here’s my Kevin Kline shot, adding to my collection. I’ve seen Kevin at events all over the world for the last 20 years and it’s always a treat.

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    I also ran into John Morehouse and many others. I didn’t end up taking as many pictures as I would have liked. A sore wrist and a phone stuck in the wrong pocket had me rarely taking it out.

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    The Friday keynote was a Community one, which I really liked. Rob Sewell and Ben Weissman hosted and asked a number of us to pick our favorite feature in the data platform.

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    I had my moment on stage and someone got a nice shot.

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    Both keynotes were live in one of the 12 rooms, but broadcast to the others. That meant that there wasn’t a large space where everyone had to go to in order to watch. They could go to session rooms and see the keynote. I like this idea, and would like to see it at more events. Requiring a large space is hard, and expensive.

    One thing I like about Bits is lots of breaks, with time between sessions to walk around, see people, get coffee, etc. Some events seem to have everyone running from place to place, but Bits is more relaxed.

    Speaking of relaxing, I was wiped out by Friday afternoon. I spent a good portion of time relaxing in the main expo hall, talking with Redgaters and others.

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    London is an amazing city, one of my favorites, and I had a couple nice dinners out with Brent Ozar. Here’s one with Erik Darling and his wife. Wonderful times with friends that I’ve missed the last two years.

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    The party Friday night was a fun affair. I liked that some food and refreshments were in the expo hall, which was quieter. A smaller space behind there was the louder party with music, games, and dancing. Not quite my style, but it was nice to see people having fun. I had to fly Saturday morning, so a quick photo with Grant and Kathi as I was leaving.

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    SQL Bits went too quick, and I was sorry that I wasn’t there for the last day. It was a lot of fun, and a sign that people still want to meet in person and conferences will come back. I’m looking forward to future events and hopefully SQL Bits in 2023 as well.

  • Redgate at SQLBits

    SQLBits LogoRedgate and the Advocates are attending SQL Bits next week in London. I’m excited to see Grant and Kathi in person, as it’s been far too long since I have been in the same room with them.

    You can register today and attend any of these sessions in person.

    If you feel comfortable in crowds and miss getting together in person, come to SQL Bits next week and say hi.

  • VS Live Cancelled

    I got a note this week from the organizers of VS Live. They let me know the March event in Las Vegas was being cancelled.  That was disappointing to me, as I enjoy going to Vegas for a couple days and was looking forward to the getaway.

    Their reasoning was the escalation of the Omicron variant. It was slightly surprising to me, as I think the Omicron wave is receding, as South Africa and the UK. In fact, the UK has removed some restrictions. Our Governor in Colorado has been reporting similar news, expecting the rise in cases in my state to start dropping soon.

    I’m glad, as it seems that this variant is closer to the normal flu and people are learning to live with it. Most of life is fairly normal, albeit with some minor precautions and masking, and some evidence of vaccine/negative test/past infection required in places. I think those are sensible and allow us to move forward with life.

    However, a conference is different than living life. Conferences have to make a bet on space, hotels, and more, with financial payments due before attendees pay for registration. I completely understand that the last few months likely had many attendees (and their employers) hesitant to travel to, and pay for, a large event. Despite the requirements for vaccine or negative tests, I am guessing few people were willing to take the chance.

    A few weeks ago the VS Live staff actually emailed to ask if I was still planning to attend as a speaker. I let them know I was, but apparently some speakers were asking to switch to remote presentations. That’s been offered for SQL Bits speakers as well, and I completely understand the decisions others make.

    I think that we will get back to in person conferences, or perhaps hybrid ones, but it is going to take time. Planning an event is hard, and it can be scary if you are not sure of whether or now people will come. I was luck to attend the SQL Server and Azure SQL Conference in Las Vegas in December, with plenty of others that wanted to also come. I expect that the fall will include more events, and VS Live has said their summer and fall events will go on.

    There are a few SQL Saturday events in planning, but quite a few more have pulled back with the concerns of Omicron. Understandable, but I do hope that we start to move forward as we find safe ways to do so.

    Since I now have a small hole in my schedule, I’m starting to look for a different getaway with my wife. Hopefully something in the mountains of Colorado.

  • Unexpected Speaker Gifts

    I got two packages this week, both unexpected. They were nice surprises.

    First, a huge thanks to the Cloud Summit and Stephen Simon for running a great event and for allowing me to speak. This was quite an event, across many days with lots of sessions. I opened a package and found these items:

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    A nice commemorative trophy for my desk, a shirt, a few stickers, and a neat spinner keychain. I also got a charging cord with a key ring that has UCB A, C, and micro B. Quite handy to keep these around, as I always find a time or place I’m missing one.

    A second package came from a corporate conference I was involved in. A beautiful overnight bag, an erasable notebook, and a keyring with a BT tracker.

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    I’m honored and pleased when I get chosen to speak. I don’t expect gifts, but I’m always happy when someone goes to the effort to send something.