Voice of the DBA

Tag: syndicated

  • Reading an dataset in R

    I got a dataset file the other day with an .rds extension. I had never seen this, but with a quick Google, I figured out this was a dataset exported from r. The extension is for “R DataSet”.

    That’s interesting, but how do I get this data into my workspace? Does readcsv just work on this? It doesn’t, as you can see here:

    2020-05-29 15_36_04-RStudio

    The format used is different, and there is a separate function to get this data. I searched and found this link, which describes loading data in the two different ways. Looks easy, so let’s try it. I’ll use the readRDS function in code like this:

    > qb.2016 <- readRDS(file="passingleaders2016.rds")

    This works well, as we can see below. I get my data loaded in.

    2020-05-29 15_36_53-RStudio

    The first link above recommends this for working in R, but I often am going from a database or other system to R, so I think I’ll mostly stick with CSV. It’s good to know how to load them, if I do need to work with these files.

  • Daily Coping 8 June 2020

    I’ve 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.

    Today’s tip is to re-frame a worry and try to find a positive way to respond.

    Today, I truly worry for the way forward in the US. I don’t think we’re headed for civil war, or anarchy, or the collapse of the economy, but I do worry that we continue to devolve into a place I no longer want to live.

    I consider leaving the country more and more, something I hadn’t done before the last 2-3 years. Despite my differences with people, leaders, laws, systems, etc., I have often thought this was one of the best places to live.

    In some ways, I still see that. I see tremendous creativity, activism, and effort from young people. In way that I only read about people in the 60s, and didn’t experience in my generation, I see changes and work in a younger one. I don’t always agree, but I appreciate their work.

    In some sense, I miss the simple world before the Internet, but at the same time, I am constantly amazed by the way in which young and old people produce music, media, art, sports, and share with the world. They come up with things that never get through some committee or individual funding work.

    I’m also amazed by the enthusiasm and creativity of technology professionals. Certainly dismayed and disgusted by many, but the people that build software, that try to make something useful, that compile and distribute data, they are doing incredible things.

    All this gives me hope and positivity at a time when many things are not.

  • Daily Coping 5 June 2020

    I’ve 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.

    Today’s tip is to decide to look for what’s good, even on difficult days.

    I’ve had a number of difficult days. Some days I think most people just suck. Some days, I look forward and think about how the world might improve over time.

    It’s easy to nitpick and find fault. Find a complaint. We see it constantly in social media, where someone can find a reason not to like or appreciate what many others might.

    These last couple weeks have been difficult in the US for me. As a minority, I find myself angry, sad, and generally upset. I disagree with some people over their views, their posts, their thoughts, but I also know some personally and I know they are good people.

    Our small, personal world where we shake hands, toast over drinks, and share meals is far removed from the larger issues of race, ethics, business, and politics. I try to remember that disagreement is just that, a difference of how we view things. Maybe because of some fundamental reason, maybe because of ignorance of naivety, maybe because of our experience and frame of reference.

    I can still appreciate and smile at my friends and colleagues for the things that they do well, the good, the respect, the favors, and the gentle way they behave in person.

    Even if I think they do a poor job of expressing themselves at times.

    Try to be a better version of yourself online, not a worse one.

  • Daily Coping 4 Jun 2020

    I’ve 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.

    Today’s tip is to look up at the sky. Remember we are all part of something bigger.

    I am blessed in that I have a very wide open, beautiful sky where I live. Sometimes when I’m out at night, it’s amazing how many stars I see. During the day, there’s vastness as it stretches from horizon to horizon. Here’s a recent shot of how widely I can see.

    20200525_165937

    I notice this, as it’s something I don’t get in NYC, London, or many cities, where buildings and narrow streets block views. The flatness of the land limits how far and wide I can look.

    I think that sometimes is how I view the world, getting caught up in some situation, some problem, some challenge, and I think about things from a narrow point of view.

    The world is amazingly large. Larger than most of us can imagine. The amount of people, land, money, resources, opportunities, challenges, difficulties, and more are huge. There is more that we are apart of than we can imagine.

    If you have faith in a higher power, that’s another level that is worth remembering.

    The world is bigger than any of us.