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

November 14, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar1 Comment

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.

Irregular Identifiers – Be Aware of Surprises

October 25, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

Surprises exist in SQL Server. There are “gotchas” to be aware of. One thing that can trip up your code is how tables, indexes, and other objects are named. They’re called identifiers. If you step outside the bound of a regular identifier then you must be careful how it is referenced.

For example adding a datetimestamp suffix to a table – let’s see how this can cause trouble.

Blogiversary #1 – Blogging is a Ladder

October 14, 2017October 14, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

Last month marked the 1 year point for my blog. It’s been quite the year of blogging! I wrote 21 posts over the 12 months. It is a little less than I thought I’d post but I’ve learned a lot on the way.

Here’s a quick recap of my 1st year:

I’m Speaking – SQL Saturday Charlotte!

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

On Saturday October 14 I’ll be speaking at SQL Saturday Charlotte. I’m excited to be presenting a lively session about Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting. If you want a preview you can check out some of my previous posts:

There are about 45 different sessions scheduled ranging from beginner to advanced – something for everyone.

Drive – Your Motivation at Work is Calling

September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

What Moves You?

Motivation is what moves us to action. What motivates you at work? For some it is pay, others prestige, and others a wide array of things: recognition, seeing results, making a difference, working with interesting people, etc. Sometimes you need to get motivated – this article is for exactly that.

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?

I’m Speaking – SQL Saturday Spartanburg!

September 1, 2017October 2, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

On Saturday September 23 I’ll be speaking at SQL Saturday Spartanburg. I’m excited to be presenting a lively session about Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting. If you want a preview you can check out some of my previous posts:

How to Learn SQL Server For Free Starter Pack

August 21, 2017January 31, 2018 Jeff Mlakar5 Comments

Do you want to learn SQL Server but don’t have any money? Are you thinking about working more seriously with SQL Server? Do you wonder what you need to do to get ahead or become a SQL Server DBA or developer?

I can help. You need a SQL Server Starter Pack. Read on for how to learn it on your own, on your own time, and all for free!

T-SQL Tuesday #93 – Interview get-help

August 8, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar5 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.

MSDTC Troubleshooting – Basic Guide Part 2

August 6, 2017January 31, 2018 Jeff Mlakar3 Comments

Now that the basics of MSDTC have been covered in Part 1 we can move on to troubleshooting more specific issues. Here I cover other tricks that can ruin your day. There was a period of time where it felt like all I did was diagnose and fix MSDTC issues. This is the outcome of that frustration – a guide that you may find helpful and prevent the stress I experienced. So without further ado…

MlakarTechTalk

SQL Server | Databases | Security | Privacy | Technology