Voice of the DBA

Tag: SQL Saturday

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • SQL Saturday #131 Recap

    This past weekend I attended a SQL Saturday in the desert. SQL Saturday #131 was held in Phoenix, AZ

    Photo Apr 28, 9 28 01 AM

    It’s April, but it was definitely hot. However the campus at Chandler Gilbert Community College was geared to the desert with lots of shade and open spaces. I was surprised how comfortable some of the places were on a 90+F day.

    Friday night was the speaker / volunteer dinner, at a nice Mexican restaurant in Chandler. Kudos to the SQL Saturday team for the venue. Quite a few people attended, enjoying a few drinks and good food.

    Photo Apr 27, 8 03 30 PM

    Amy Lewis (@Amy_LewisAZ) was the organizer, and she had everyone play a little networking game. We all had to stand up and say where we were from, what we were talking about, and then tell three facts about ourselves, one of which was a lie. There were some interesting lies, and some neat facts about different people. All in all, a fun time. You can see Amy egging us on below.

    Photo Apr 27, 8 26 08 PM

    The venue was easy to find, and it consisted of the science building at the college and one of the student centers. The student center had all the vendors, good, and a very open space, surrounded by windows.

    Photo Apr 28, 9 19 15 AM

    The speaking rooms were well equipped college rooms, with projectors and desks. A few of them were a little small, but things worked out well with 7 tracks for the 250-300 people that attended.

    Photo Apr 28, 9 37 05 AM

    I presented two sessions: Encryption in SQL Server and Branding Yourself for a Dream Job. Both went well, with no issues. Hopefully people enjoyed them. I got some good feedback, but few evaluation slips.

    I went to see a few people speak. I saw Robert Miller (@RobertMiller) talk about Change Tracking, which is a neat feature that you might want to check out if you need to audit things or manage ETL processes. I also snuck into part of Will Sisney’s (@HanSQL | blog) 9 Secrets to a Stellar Performance Review talk, which was great. I’d recommend that one for sure.

    Photo Apr 28, 10 32 15 AM

    I had a short break in the open space above, which wasn’t that hot if you weren’t in direct sunlight. I was tempted to do my Branding talk out here, but it really needs a little AV. Afterwards I wandered into Bill Pearson’s SSAS Best Practices talk. This was the first time I had the chance to see Bill speak, and he does a great job. Bill is very smart, and I enjoy listening to his Southern accent and country analogies, but a word of warning. Bill moves fast, he covers a lot of ground, and you should have some idea of the topic if you want to keep up.

    Photo Apr 28, 10 38 13 AM

    I got a patch, which was cool. I assume these come from the national SQL Saturday people, though I’d like to get these, or pins, instead of shirts for the speakers. I’ve spoken at probably close to 20 SQL Saturdays, and that’s enough shirts for a solid month of business work. I’ve gotten some nice shirts, but at this point, I’d like to see something else.

    And a nice special treat in the speaker room. Cookies!

    Photo Apr 28, 1 41 43 PM

    A fun event, that ran smoothly, and one I enjoyed. I hope to go back there sometime in the future.

  • SQL Saturday #131 – Phoenix Schedule Posted

    I got an email today from the SQL Saturday #131 crew with the schedule posted, showing me listed for two sessions. I’m delivering these items:

    These are sessions I’ve done elsewhere and they’ve been popular, so I’m hoping they go over well.

    The event is Apr 28, just a few weeks away, in Phoenix, AZ at Chandler-Gilbert Community College Pecos Campus. I like Phoenix, and it will be nice to go back. I’ve been there multiple times for vacation and for baseball. Unfortunately, this will be a short trip, with lots of other stuff scheduled.

    If you will be in the area on Apr 28, and want to learn a little SQL, think about registering and coming by the event.