Voice of the DBA

Tag: syndicated

  • A Live Conference Experience at Data Minds Connect 2021

    Last week I was privileged to attend a live conference in Belgium. dataMinds Connect 2021 took place in Mechelen, just outside of Brussels. I had submitted months ago, was accepted, but didn’t know I’d actually get to go until late September. However, I was glad I went.

    A Normal Experience

    I’ve been able to live parts of my life across the last year, but many things were limited in some way. Either I couldn’t do some activity I expected, or everyone was masked and separated. I’m grateful for what I could do, even with restrictions, but I’ve missed the world since 2019. The exception for me was a volleyball tournament in Orlando in June. It was a busy convention center without masks; the type of event I went to regularly the last few years.

    dataMinds Connect 2021 was the first normal work event I’d attended since SQL Saturday #910 in Slovenia. This was a good sized event, 400+ people, and it felt good. People were interacting with each other, able to shake hands, see each other talking, and recognizing faces was a great experience.

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    I enjoyed being able to chat with people in person, watch body language, meet new friends and see ones that I’ve missed.

    There were multiple sessions during the day, with 15 minute breaks for coffee or a snack. I got to speak in front of a good crowd, was able to see their reactions to my talk, and interact with them.

    Communication and COVID Rules

    I’ve had this event on my schedule for months, and I was happy with the way it was handled. Benni De Jaere (@BenniDeJagere) had emailed early with information on the event, venue, travel, and accommodations. A few months ago he contacted me again, asking if I was coming and giving guidance on the local restrictions.

    Just before the event, we got another long email with all the details of what we needed to be concerned about, how to get tested, quarantine rules, etc.

    While the event did not publish a specific policy, they did note they were deferring to local regulations. Since those can change, and even government sites can struggle to keep coordinated, this was fine for me. Grant (@gfritchey) and I were communicating, trying to decide the rules we needed to follow. I went through the border first, so I let him know about my experience and how to find the testing center and then our plans for quarantine.

    Foreign travelers needed to be tested and show vaccine proof. From there, the city where the event was held (Mechelen) was fairly open. Brussels was more restricted, and I wore masks and abided by their rules while there.

    I understand some people being concerned about safety under this pandemic. I don’t expect events to act differently than their local area. If they do, then they need their specific restrictions published. If not, then we are old enough to check the local guidelines and decide if those are acceptable to us.

    Overall

    I think Benni and his crew did a great job of setting up and running an event. Almost no one has done this in 18 months, and despite the delay, they smoothly handled a large crowd of people at entry and throughout the day.

    I thoroughly enjoyed the event, the people, and the area. I had never been to Belgium before, but it’s on my list as a place to come back to in the future, hopefully at another dataMinds Connect.

  • Daily Coping 25 Oct 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 recognize that you have a choice about what to prioritize.

    This seems like an obvious tip, but I see myself, and most others, often not prioritizing work. We tend to work on a FIFO method, first in first out, or within the squeeky-wheel methodology where the loudest voice wins.

    I am guilty of this at times, though I certainly get caught up in working on the thing that is due soonest, letting deadlines drive my workflow.

    At times I do find better ways to work, and occasionally I remember that I can set priorities. A couple weeks ago I was slammed, running from thing to thing (literally as I was in the Redgate office), and letting others dictate my schedule.

    This week I aim to do better. I have things due today, some tomorrow, some Wednesday. Then things open up a bit from a deadline perspective. However, I know that there are some items I can do today, which will relieve some pressure. I’ll prioritize a recording today, then a review of something for tomorrow. Those should eat up half of today. From there, my plan is to focus on the question of the day for a few hours. I need to build up a queue, and I know that tight focus time here will likely get me a couple weeks of questions, which reduces lots of stress.

    I’ll worry about Wednesday tomorrow or Wednesday.

  • A New Form of Address: Mx

    When I was presenting at the dataMinds Connect conference, I called on someone in the audience. At the time, I called on someone raising their hand and said something like, “yes, miss.”.

    I got dinged in feedback for assuming someone is a he or she.

    At first I wasn’t sure how to take this, but like much of life, I decided to try and learn something. I set aside my feelings and started to look at how I’d address the individual in the future.

    I should have asked then, but I didn’t think about it. I keep my “he/him” pronouns on my bio slide, and I’m happy to refer to someone as he, she, or they, as they prefer. It’s a simple thing and I look for the forms of address in other people’s slides and signatures.

    However, I’ve grown up with sir, madam, miss, and other forms of addressing someone I don’t know well. I’ve always considered is polite to say sir or miss.

    That’s not good enough for the current world and I learned there is a title: Mx. According to a few sources, this is pronounced mooks, as rhyming with books.

    Something new for me to think about as I call on people. Certainly I should ask, though asking everyone seems like overkill. Certainly, however, if I’m not sure, I ought to ask.

  • Daily Coping 22 Oct 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 reflect on what you accomplished this week.

    I’m going back a week, mostly because this is a busy week and I don’t know I’ll get to get organized in my thoughts on Thursday.

    Last week, 11 Oct-17 Oct, I was doing a lot. The first part of the week was in Belgium at the first live work conference in nearly two years for me. It was great. I met people, chatted about all sorts of things from how the event ran to what some people did in their jobs. I delivered a presentation, networked with speakers and attendees, and got to enjoy some amazing Belgian beer.

    I was back in Cambridge, UK on Wednesday, where I went to the office and had a few meetings. A hectic day, especially as I was trying to prep for work Thur. A great dinner with a friend as well, but a late night. That’s 3 in a row.

    Thursday was recording a series of interviews for the PASS keynote. This was surprisingly difficult to do, helping the people focus and answer questions, sit in a not-very-comfortable chair all day, take after take. 8 hours of recording and then a team dinner. I fell into bed at 8.

    Friday was also hectic, a few meetings, trying to get the final face time with people before leaving.

    Saturday was travel, so I didn’t do much, but I did read a few books on the trip. Total for the pandemic limited 2021, 97 so far.

    Sunday I got back to yoga class, cut some grass, and coached some volleyball.

    It was a lot of stuff, a bit too much, as I ended up getting run down, feeling as though I’m fighting a cold after too little sleep and too long days. I used to handle busy weeks like this better in the past, but I’m getting older. I need to learn to slow down a bit, which is my big reflection.