Voice of the DBA

Tag: SQL Saturday

  • Backups, Encryption and Branding in San Diego

    This weekend is SQL Saturday #249 in San Diego. I’m looking forward to the trip for a few reasons, but mostly because I used to live in the Northern San Diego area and love going back to spend time near the beach. I’m not sure what I’ll have time to do this trip, but since the event is in La Jolla, likely I’ll visit Del Mar, where I used to work and see some sights. A short run in the sand might also be required 😉

    I arrive Thursday because Red Gate Software is hosting a small event Friday with The DBA Team: Grand Fritchey and myself.  This is one of our mini SQL in the City seminars and is targeted to DBAs. We’ve done two so far in 2013, with (I believe) three more to come. I’ll be talking about backups this time while Grant covers monitoring and parameter sniffing. I’m not sure if we’re full, but if you can come, register and we’ll see you Friday.

    Saturday is the SQL Saturday event, at the UCSD Extension campus. I’ll be opening the day talking about encryption and then have the second session on branding yourself. I enjoy these two talks, and they’ve been popular at a number of events across the last couple of years.

    I’m hoping for good weather, especially after a rainy week in Denver.

  • Two Weeks until SQL Saturday #222 in Sacramento

    It’s just two weeks until my next trip. It feels like I just got back from London, and one again I’m prepping to leave again. This is my only trip in July, which I appreciate. It’s been a busy year so far, with lots of travel for me and I am glad to have a little downtime.

    This trip is a mix of vacation and work. I’ll be heading out early as Red Gate has a mini-SQL in the City event on Friday. We’re trying to get customers to come, but if there is space next week, I’ll send out a registration link. I speak Saturday and then head back to San Francisco. My daughter is joining me on this trip, with the chance to tour the NoCal area for the first time. She was actually here with me when she was 1, but didn’t remember that trip.

    I’m presenting my talk on searching binary data, which I’ve done a few times in the last year. This one will be a look at how you get information out of office documents from within SQL Server. It’s a neat feature for the product, and I’d like to hear how people are using it. Let me know if you are, or if I convince you to try it.

    I’ve also got a joint presentation with Grant Fritchey on A Day in the Life of a DBA, showing the common problems you face and a few ways Red Gate can make your job easier.

    I’m looking forward to a Sun/Mon/Tue vacation, getting some time off and recharging before I have a busy fall with the US SQL in the City tour.

  • The Bicentennial

    sqlsat200Tomorrow is SQL Saturday #200 in Philadelphia. I’m traveling today to the City of Brotherly Love for the event. My partner, Andy Warren, co-founder of SQLServerCentral and SQL Saturday, is also making his way there for the celebration. This is the bicentennial event, and even though it might not be the two hundredth event to actually occur, it represents an amazing success of the SQL Saturday franchise and I am thrilled to be a small part of these events that have helped train, teach, and network so many SQL Server professionals all around the world. We even had Bill Gates learn of the events at SQL Saturday #175 in Fargo just a month ago.

    When the first SQL Saturday took place in Orlando in 2007, Andy and I weren’t sure how it would survive or grow. We wondered if we’d ever see 50 total events, or even 12 occur in a single year. Five and a half years later, these events have exploded, with over 80 taking place in the last year. Under the stewardship of Karla Landrum, more SQL Server professionals are getting free training every year than they ever might have dreamed of.

    And they’re excited by the opportunities offered by these events.

    I’ve seen people drive from Jacksonville to Pensacola for an event. People come from Virginia to Ohio for a day. Plenty of other people adjust their travel plans to come a day early or stay a day late to attend a SQL Saturday. We’ve had attendees and speakers bring their spouses and children, and even sessions they could participate in. Hundreds of speakers have donated their time and money, traveled long distances to help others. We’ve had networking sessions, games, BBQs and water skiing scheduled at SQL Saturdays. Summer, fall, winter, and spring, in every month, in over 20 countries, the SQL Server community has come together to teach, learn, debate, practice, and take pride in the work we do.

    I’m proud of what we’ve done together and amazed at how often we have done it. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and all the events that will come in the future.

    Steve Jones

    PS – Putting together a SQL Saturday isn’t too hard. Some events are extremely well organized and funded, but really if you can find a venue that will allow you to use a few rooms, you’re set. Speakers will come, you can charge for lunch, and people will learn. That’s what it’s all about. Contact Karla Landrum if you want an event in your area.

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    We publish three versions of the podcast each day for you to enjoy.

  • The Bicentennial SQLSaturday–#200 Philadelphia

    When Andy Warren (b | t | Li)started SQL Saturday with #1 in Orlando, we weren’t sure it would succeed. After a few events, we dreamed and wondered if we’d ever get to 50 events. Despite our success in the past, we weren’t sure if a free event, supported by advertising (essentially) would survive over time. We also weren’t sure if we could replicate and grow this event in other locations.

    It grew, and prospered, and then exploded, thanks to Karla Landrum (b | t). Under Karla’s guidance and nurturing, we’ve seen a tremendous number of events taking place all over the world. Not only did we get to 50 events, the SQL community blew past 100 a few years ago and earlier this year event #200 was posted.

    It’s somewhat fitting that in one of the cities that helped birth my country, and houses the Liberty Bell, will host SQL Saturday #200 in a little over a week. I’ll be traveling next week, along with Andy for the event. There’s an exciting lineup of speakers, bringing you a wide variety of SQL Server learning sessions.

    I’m looking forward to seeing friends and meeting new people, as we celebrate the bicentennial SQL Saturday. If you can’t attend this event, there are lots of SQL Saturday’s scheduled for the rest of the year. They’re free (other than lunch at a few events) and it’s worth your time to learn something new about SQL Server and network with some of the people in your local area.

    If you’re attending an event, you might even think about bringing kids and perhaps organizing a session for them.