Voice of the DBA

Tag: syndicated

  • Create a Community Event at the Summit

    There are a few community events at the Summit this year, but fewer than in the past. I know we’re all rebooting our conference experiences, and that can make motivation difficult.

    However, many of you go there to see friends, make new friends, and have fun. Lots of you have interests. I’d love to see a few of you put together something simple for a group. It is fairly easy to set up an Eventbrite event for free and use tickets to just limit the registration. If you want to have fun with 5, 10, or 20 people, think about organizing a small event.

    A few thoughts:

    A Photowalk

    This has been a traditional event, so maybe a photographer could to pick a time during the week to spend an hour walking around and taking pictures. Set up an event and get a few people to join you, get creative, and maybe inspire you with new ways to look at the city.

    Game Night

    I wrote about this last week.

    Prayer / Faith times

    I’m fairly secular, but I know there have traditionally been prayer breakfasts or afternoon meetings. If you want to worship with others, set something you. You don’t have to pay, heck, you could even just commandeer a few tables in the convention center during meals. Or have everyone cover their own costs.

    Veterans

    Another group that often enjoys comradery. Pick a time to meet, and invite others. You could even invite people to meet in the lobby and then break into groups to go get a meal.

    Runs

    There have been various SQL Runs over the years. Hopefully someone sets up one or two during the week of the Summit. I don’t run anymore, but I might join a group of walkers. Hey, anyone want to set up a #sqlwalk?

    Anything Else

    Whatever your interests are, there are likely others who share the interest and might not want to go to a party or have other plans. Consider inviting a small group of strangers to join you at something. Gameworks, shopping, hitting a museum, going to explore the Fish Market. There are a lot of things in Seattle, and I bet there are a few people that would like to join you in an activity.

  • Daily Coping 2 Nov 2022

    Today’s coping tip is to be kind to yourself today. Remember, progress takes time.

    I am usually good at this. I work on many things that take time, so I am always looking at things over time.

    However, sometimes I feel the weight of work or life and I forget. I’ve been traveling a lot in Oct (and Sept), being gone almost half the time. That makes it hard to concentrate on some things, and I’m often disconnected.

    One of those things is my editing queue. It has crept up a bit, and I know it bothers authors, and more importantly, my queue can sometimes disappear, so I need to work on whittling this down. I have slowly been knocking out items, and I’m reminding myself it is getting smaller, even though it sometimes grows with new submissions.

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

  • Getting Started Speaking – #NewStarNovember

    My journey might be somewhat unusual, but perhaps not.

    I started writing articles on the Internet at a few different places before I started SQL Server Central. There were other authors online, and one of them was also in Colorado. We became friends, and a few years later (after SSC started), he reached out to me and asked me to come speak at the local user group, which he was running.

    I accepted and then had to come up with things to say. I dug into the topic he’d requested, practiced a little (not enough), and was lucky enough that the meeting was small. About ten of us sat around a conference table and I talked about some things, no Power Point, just discussing some data topic.

    It was a rather inauspicious start, and I don’t think I did a good job. I didn’t really look to speak at other places until my co-founders at SQL Server Central asked me to join them at a few talks in different places. I got a few positive reviews and then started to send in my own submissions. Things worked out well and took off from there.

    The last ten years I’ve often looked for authors or fellow professionals that have good ideas, ask interesting questions, or might impress me during a casual chat. I often ask them to submit something to a user group or SQL Saturday and consider speaking. I know it’s not for everyone, but if I could give it a try, they could.

    Part of a Series of #NewStarNovember posts. If you want to help promote new speakers, consider writing a post as well.Some ideas at the New Stars of Data.

  • SQL Kilts #SeattleSummitMoments

    This is another memory of the PASS Summit, this one an idea from Grant Fritchey, who wanted support the Women in Technology (WIT) events.

    And have a few laughs

    If you have a memory, share it with #SeattleSummitMoments.

    Only a few of us did this one year, but many more over time. Here are Grant and I, much younger than now, during that first year.

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