T-SQL Tuesday #107 – My Death March Project

October 9, 2018October 8, 2018 Jeff Mlakar4 Comments

This month I have the honor of hosting T-SQL Tuesday #107 about Death March Projects. The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #107 (hosted by yours truly Blog/Twitter) is:

“Tell me your project horror stories – the worse the better”

Through some redaction, slight change of facts, and creative control with some details I will protect the innocent; and in this case, the guilty as well.

If you don’t have time to read my lengthy exposition then please skip down to the section titled “The Making of a Death March Project”.

T-SQL Tuesday #105 – Brick Wall

August 14, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #105 (hosted by Wayne Sheffield Blog/Twitter) is:

“Tell me about a time when you ran up against your own brick wall, and how you worked it out or dealt with it.”

Gather around for story time as I relate a story from the field.

T-SQL Tuesday #104 – Code You Would Hate to Live Without

July 10, 2018July 9, 2018 Jeff Mlakar5 Comments

The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #104 (hosted by Bert Wagner Blog/Twitter) is:

“code you’ve written that you would hate to live without.”

I will share with you a simple snippet that I have used over the years and look forward to reading everyone’s code!

T-SQL Tuesday #100 – The Future of SQL Server 2026

March 13, 2018April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar2 Comments

The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #100 (hosted by Adam Machanic Blog/Twitter) is:

“…put on your speculative shades and forecast the bright future ahead. Tell us what the world will be like when T-SQL Tuesday #200 comes to pass.”

Big thanks to Adam for starting this monthly blog party and keeping the energy going!

Let’s predict the future of SQL Server! I will share with you my best guesswork about how it will be to work with SQL Server 2026.

T-SQL Tuesday #99 – Dealer’s Choice With Passion

February 14, 2018April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar2 Comments

The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #99 (hosted by Aaron Bertrand Blog/Twitter) is:

Dealer’s Choice – write about something you are passionate about (outside of the SQL / tech community) OR write about T-SQL bad habits

I opt to share with you a passion I have had for years.

T-SQL Tuesday #97 – Setting Learning Goals for 2018

December 12, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #97 (hosted by Malathi Mahadevan Blog/Twitter) is:

Setting Learning Goals for 2018

I like to think of year end goal setting in terms of inhaling and exhaling. Reflecting back on the year and planning ahead for the next year is exciting to me. I think a lot about these things – sometimes too much. Like breathing there is a balance between thinking about something and taking action to do it.

Let’s see about a healthy balance by looking first at 2017 then ahead to 2018.

T-SQL Tuesday #96 – Inspire to Make a Difference

November 14, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar2 Comments

The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #96 (hosted by Ewald Cress Blog/Twitter) is:

Who inspires you in the data community?

Inspire means to motivate or move to action. To many, the word conjures up images of fun, happiness, and cajoling to leisure time. That’s not what I think of when I look at those who have motivated me and impacted my career. Inspire involves both good and bad experiences.

I’m not saying that you need bad times to learn good lessons – there are more desirable ways – but they can work. To be fair, I consider both in my experiences and how they’ve impacted me for the better. Stay with me as I’m going to take a different angle on this.

T-SQL Tuesday #94 – Embrace the Shell of Power! Get into Powershell with dbatools

September 12, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar2 Comments

The topic of this months T-SQL Tuesday #94 (hosted by Rob Sewell b/t) is all about PowerShell.

The question: What are you going to automate today?

T-SQL Tuesday #93 – Interview get-help

August 8, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar6 Comments

The topic of this months T-SQL Tuesday #93 (hosted by Kendra Little / @Kendra_Little) is Interviewing Patterns & Anti-Patterns. The question: What advice to you have for people preparing for or going through an interview?

It is a big question with many different perspectives and factors:

Entry level vs experienced professional
Startup vs enterprise
DBA vs developer

Instead of delving into each specific domain I will discuss some insights that have served me well. I hope they will help you too. Whether you are interviewing for a Senior DBA role or an entry level BI developer some things remain the same.