Invest in Yourself Stop Making Excuses

Bob Pusateri (B|T) tweeted a quote image that really struck a chord with me and elicited a strong reaction from myself. It got me thinking I need to write a blog on this, so here we go. Many times, over the years I’ve had conversations with people in which they have said things like below. “I can’t learn anything new because my work won’t send me to training” “I can’t learn about xyz because my boss or coworkers won’t sit down with me to show me how” “I don’t have time to learn anything new” “We’ll never go to the cloud,… Continue Reading

Keep It Simple Stupid

Some of us take days and weeks to write a blog, while others can take two minutes and write a great blog *cough* *cough* Denny (B|T). Why is that? I think it’s simple, we are thinking to hard about it and over complicating things. Just sit down at your computer and write what’s on your mind. It doesn’t have to be rocket science or something completely mind blowing or life changing. I’ve seen several, as of late, crowd source their next topic, I think this a great avenue to take as it is those people that are likely your readers.… Continue Reading

Respectfully Responding

I typically don’t write opinion posts, but given recent events I thought it was important to follow up on one of my tweets. Last week, I tweeted about  Stack Exchange and my thoughts on the lack of respect in the responses to those who take the time ask questions in forums. I had many people ask as to what I was referring to specifically, including some Microsoft employees. My response was (and still is) that I don’t believe in mob reactions or smearing anyone’s name and chose not to reveal the details. My reason for posting that tweet was just to remind those in… Continue Reading

Live, Learn, and Grow

Ever look back at old work and wonder what was I thinking when I did that? Or even better you mock and get disgusted over some code you stumble upon and then realize you wrote it? Today is one of those days. Lucky for me one of my clients is a company I used to work for. It’s awesome to be able to go back and work in an environment you are familiar with. However, with that, you realize when you worked there you made some decisions or wrote some code that you now shake your head at. On the… Continue Reading

Bloggers Should Have Reach

One of my goals for 2018 is to expand the reach of my blog. As a blogger starting out I had my own site I posted to, but my blogs only reached those who followed me on Twitter, Facebook, Google + and LinkedIn. My blog automatically posts to these three sites using a WordPress Jetpack Plugin called Publicize. After a few months, I discovered that syndication could be setup on other sites such as SQL Server Central.  This allowed more people the opportunity to read my writing and expand my reach. Many sites, such as these will even send your… Continue Reading

AHHH I need a Blog Topic!!!

One of the hardest things you can do as a blogger is to come up with a post topic. Do you make it simple for newbies, technical, or something personal?  After figuring out a topic, now you have to write.  However, there is a difference in what you say and what will people actually want to read. Blogging is not easy, but without it, all of our google searches to help solve problems would be much less fruitful.   It’s important to put your experience into written words to help others, and let’s be honest lots of us use out blog… Continue Reading

Thankful DBA

This week is Thanksgiving in the United States, so I thought it fitting to write a quick blog on what I am thankful for as a DBA. These are in no particular order and feel free to respond with something you are thankful for. I’d love to hear it. Glenn Berry’s Diagnostic Scripts- (B|T) Used these for years. Really a great set of scripts and explanations that we all should be grateful for. Ola Hallengren’s (B) Maintenance scripts. Index Optimization, Backup, and Integrity Checks for all! They have become an industry standard and continue to get better and better. RCSI (Read… Continue Reading

Do Not Pass GO!

What is the GO statement and why is it so important to use? When do I have to use it? When do I not use it? These are questions that have passed through my head from time to time while writing T-SQL within SQL Server. First What Is It and When Should I Use It?   The GO statement lets SSMS (the interface) know when it’s the end of the batch. It basically defines the scope of what you are trying to send to the Database Engine. The below example sends two separate statements. The first statement changes the database context to… Continue Reading

TIL: Microsoft Azure Part 2

Last week I started a multi-part series on Today I Learned (TIL) about Microsoft Azure.  This is part two of what I am learning in Azure. Today’s topic is simply about Tenants, Subscriptions, Subscription Roles, Resource Groups, and Tags. It’s Always Good to Start with Pictures Here is a glimpse of how these topics relate. I will define and explain each below. What is a Tenant? In simplest terms, a Tenant is container for multiple subscriptions. An example of two subscriptions would be Azure and Office 365. They would be owned by one account, an individual or a company. A… Continue Reading

TIL: Microsoft Azure Part 1

I thought maybe it would be a good idea to start a multi-part series on Today I Learned (TIL) about Microsoft Azure. As part of my new job I am currently learning as much about Azure as possible. As I learn things, I will blog to share what I am learning. It will cover beginner level things initially and gradually progress to more advanced topics. Today’s topic is simply…. What the heck is Azure, how do I get to it, and what is the difference between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS? What is Azure? According to Microsoft. “Microsoft Azure is a growing… Continue Reading