Voice of the DBA

Tag: syndicated

  • Daily Coping 23 Nov 2021

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral 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.

    Today’s tip is to broaden your perspective: read something different.

    I tend to read a lot of fiction. If I flip through this year’s GoodReads, I see mostly books to help me escape. I tend to alternate between sci-fi, legal, mysteries, and thrillers. I sprinkle in a few coaching books and business books.

    One that I found different was Thanks for the Feedback. I’m in the middle of it now, and I didn’t really want to read it. A friend recommended it, as something that helped them grow. I don’t like reviews, but I decided this would be good for me.

    I found the book to be very interesting. It helped me to think about how I communicate with others, and how I might say something that is received differently. It also helps me think about how to react when someone gives me feedback.

    Quite a different read, but I’ve found it fascinating for me.

  • Reading Data from the Command Line in PowerShell–#SQLNewBlogger

    Another post for me that is simple and hopefully serves as an example for people trying to get blogging as #SQLNewBloggers.

    In every language I’ve coded in, there is a way to read input from the command line. From INPUT in BASIC, readln in PASCAL, scanf in C, read in LISP, input() in Python, and more, every language can do this.

    I knew PowerShell could, and I wanted to find out how to do it. I’m building a CLI tool for SQL Saturday, and I am looking to get user input.

    A quick search led me to Read-Host. I probably should have guessed this, but it does what I need. A quick example of where I started. This code gets an event number from a user and then prints if back out, along with a string created from the number:

    $EventNumber = Read-Host -Prompt "Event Number:"
    $DataFilename = "SQLSat$($EventNumber).yml"
    # write the data
    write-host("Event: $EventNumber")
    write-host("File: $DataFilename")

    I can run this, as shown here, and put in a number.  I typed in the first 1022 below:

    2021-11-17 17_45_25-● sqlsatcli.ps1 - sqlsatwebsite - Visual Studio Code

    I’ll use this to get information from the user and then produce a YAML file that will contain what’s needed to publish, or update, an event.

    SQLNewBlogger

    This post took me about 10 minutes to assemble. I was already working through this process and stopped to jot down an idea, save some code, and make a screenshot. That was about 2 minutes out of my day, and then I went on with coding. Later, I wrote this.

    You could do the same thing. Take a minute out of your daily work, sketch a quick post, and then finish it later.

  • Daily Coping 22 Nov 2021

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral 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.

    Today’s tip is to connect with someone from a different generation.

    I used to think of a different generation as being someone older than me. However, these days, I tend to think younger. I make it a point to do this regularly as I coach, taking time to do more than interact with kids on the court, but also asking them how they think and view the wider world.

    However, I had the chance to talk to a few people recently at a technical event, and I took time to interact with someone much younger than me. Someone early in their career, who I asked questions and tried to understand the world as they see it. I got the chance to better understand what’s important to a younger person, which is vastly different than how I view the world.

    I made it a point to talk about “I think I’d do this”, rather than offer advice, counseling, or opinions on how they view things. It was quite an enjoyable conversation.

  • Daily Coping 19 Nov 2021

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral 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.

    Today’s tip is to choose a different route and see what you notice along the way.

    I tend to be a creature of routine. I got from point A to point B often and take the same route. I might vary a bit early on, trying to find an efficient route, but then tend to settle in.

    I went down to Colorado Springs a few weeks ago for the user group lunch meeting, and decided to try a different route. I went down 83, but then cut over West at the Palmer Divide and enjoyed going through the rural areas. I’m amazed at how many new neighborhoods are tucked in the wilderness, just East of I-25. On the way home, I cut off from 83 into Russellville Road and saw the same thing.

    On one hand, I wish there were less construction and building, but on the other, I’m glad to see properties still above 1 acre and spread out. I suspect the pandemic has made it easier for people to work from the country, and not lose a large portion of their day to a commute.