Category: Professional Development

SQL Saturday Minnesota (149) Recap

By on

My customary post-SQL-Event post is a Top Ten List. I have decided that I do not wish to be bound by the limitations of the number Ten. Therefore, from here on out, my plan is to do a more free form recap.

SQL Saturday #149 just took place in Minneapolis, MN, on September 29th. There were also some Pre-cons offered on September 28th. I shall arrange my recap chronologically.

September 28th

I attend the Unlocking Insight – Be a Data Hero pre-con given by Dan English (b|t) and Brian Larson. The content was on the BI stack in SQL Server 2012, with special focus on Tabular Models and Power View. I got a lot out of it and had fun, to boot. Nice work, gents.

I had to miss the Speaker Dinner this time around. But, if you will bear with me, I will imagine some events that may or may not (likely not) have taken place:

Llama1. Jason Horner (b|t) showed up riding a llama he personally befriended while on a hiking trip through the Andes. Her name was Gertrude and her ability to juggle was astounding.

2. Jason Strate (b|t) decided to challenge Gertrude to a game of chess. Fortunately for Jason, Gertrude’s hastily constructed Sicilian Defense was no match for his knights. Well done, Jason.

3. Jes Schultz Borland (b|t) demonstrated that she can actually levitate over a stack of SQL Server books by uttering a very long, high pitched, “SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” It was truly impressive to behold.

 

 

 

 

September 29th

I attended the POSH Eye for the BI Guy presentation given by Jason Horner (b|t). It was about using Powershell for managing objects in SSIS, SSRS, and SSAS. Jason showed great agility by doing an impromptu intro to Powershell when he learned that the vast majority of the attendees had never used it. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to playing with Powershell to do all kinds of cool stuff with the BI tools.

I attend the Design and Implement BI Like Edison session by Bill Pearson (t). He did a great job combining fascinating facts about Thomas Edison with Business Intelligence. It was a lot of fun.

I helped Mike Donnelly (b|t) distribute lunches to the experts in the lunch breakout sessions called “Topics on a Stick,” which is a great reference to the numerous stick-bound foods one can get at the annual Minnesota State Fair. I then hung out at the PASS table with Sarah Strate (b|t) to have my lunch and do my part as a PASS Regional Mentor.

I had the honor of giving my MDX Trek: First Contact presentation. I have a blast with this one. Thanks to all who attended and for the great feedback.

I attended the session called Fast Track to Spatial Reporting by Jason Thomas (b|t). Jason did a great job explaining the use of spatial data with Reporting Services 2008 R2. As someone who has only done basic stuff with maps in SSRS, I found it really helpful.

For the final session of the day, I went to Real-Time Analytics With SSAS Tabular DirectQuery by Paul Doyle (t). It was a really interesting look at the DirectQuery option for the new Tabular models in SSAS 2012. Paul and a colleague demonstrated how to set it up, track it using Profiler, and went over some of the caveats. It was a good session on a new topic for me. Nice work, gents.

The after party was a great time. I hung out with old friends and made some new ones. There was SQLKaraoke, which is always a good time. The SQL Saturday after-parties are just awesome. Spending time with the fine folk of the SQL Community is just awesome.

That pretty much wraps it up. Huge thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this event the great success that it was. The people who give so much of their time and energy to put on events like SQL Saturday are truly an asset to the SQL Community and deserve way more recognition than they tend to receive.

PASS Regional Mentor–Canada

By on

I had mentioned in my most recent PD post, Professional Development Plans: Turning Your Job Into a Career, Part 2, that I wanted to jump back into SQL Community involvement and let PASS know of my desire to become a PASS Regional Mentor (RM). I was on the Executive Board for the Minnesota chapter of PASS, PASSMN, for three years and had a great time. After taking a few years off, I am ready and anxious to get back into the game. The RM program is a huge asset to both PASS local chapters and the PASS community as a whole. The roles of an RM are, as PASS Community Evangelist Karl Landrum (b|t) noted in her post on the PASS Blog, the following:

image

I heard from PASS Director Allen Kinsel (b|t) that PASS would like to have me on board as a Regional Mentor. Hazzah!!!! It is now official.

I will be helping Chris Shaw (b|t) with the mighty Canada region. I am really excited to get this opportunity to work with Chris and serve this community I care so much about.

To my Canadian friends:

1. Having grown up in New Hampshire before moving to Minnesota, I have never lived in a US State that did not border Canada.

2. Canada happens to be the only country outside the US to which I have traveled.

3. When I was growing up, my Dad would often watch Les Habitants on the French language channel.

4. I think Mike Myers is hysterical.

5. I studied French in school for 12 years. It was mostly written, though, so my conversational French is pretty poor. But I can tell you all about pencils, pens, dogs, cats, cows, pigs, coats, boys, girls, and colors. Oh, and skirts. I don’t wear them, myself, but I remember how to say it in French. Boats, too.

6. I remember watching the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, thinking it looked pretty cool. I was only thirteen at the time.

7. My wife and I watched a whole big lot of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and it was just amazing. When I told her that being a Regional Mentor for Canada was a possibility, she immediately told me, “If you end up going to Vancouver, I AM COMING. Period.” 🙂

8. Like The Kids in the Hall, I was in a TheatreSports improvised comedy troupe for three years.

Words can’t really explain how excited I am for this new role. I am constantly telling people about the vibrant, fantastic SQL Community. It’s going to be great to be an ambassador for PASS in a more formal capacity.

Professional Development Plans: Turning Your Job Into a Career, Part 2

By on • ( 1 Comment )

Long ago in a galaxy far far away, I blogged about my Professional Development Plan (PDP). That really was a long time ago: May of 2010. Wow. I want to provide an update on my own PDP and reiterate their value. I also have a few tips to share.

Updates From Last Time

1. One of my PDP goals at that time, as I was really starting to delve deeper into Business Intelligence, was to pass the 70-448 Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance. I did that. I have since achieved my MCITP in 2008 BI by also passing 70-452 PRO: Designing a Business Intelligence Infrastructure Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008. I work for a consulting firm. Certifications are an important part of Microsoft Partnership criteria for our organization. So, certifications certainly do matter here. They also help me by serving as a measurement of my learning. I know there are people who feel that certifications have no value whatsoever since some people have learned how to game the system and get certified with little to no effort or experience. I think it is short-sighted and unfair to dismiss their value. People have learned how to steal cars relatively easily, but that does not invalidate car ownership. Now, I’m not saying that certs are everything by any means. A cert is no guarantee of aptitude, but neither is it meaningless.

2. I explained my personal goals of establishing myself as an expert and being an active member in the SQL Community. I had also listed the MVP Award as a goal. As I had explained in my previous PDP post, the MVP itself was not truly a goal, but rather would a possible side-effect of achieving my personal goals of community support and expertise. Since the MVP is an award, and not something with a definitive roadmap, having it as a goal is silly. I have removed that. Don’t get me wrong, it would be cool. But MVP is something that happens to you, not something you go get in a definitive fashion.

New Goals

Sextants and Compases1. It was back in May of 2010 that I fully decided to pursue Business Intelligence as a career path. I have learned a lot since then and have been on an engagement dealing directly with SSAS since December. I am loving it and learning more every day. I am also learning about Master Data Services (there will likely be a presentation/blog series on this in the future). I have started learning MDX and even presented on it several times. My goal is to keep forging ahead with the SQL 2012 BI tools including Power View (which is just friggin awesome) and the new SSAS Tabular Model. There’s just so much to learn. Dig it!

2. Blogging. Yeah. I have on my PDP a goal to blog twice per month. Well. Yeah. Not doing so hot on that one. I am doing better than I have in that past, but many of my posts of late have been about upcoming presentations. Those are important to me, but I promise I have some cool content coming. I am planning some blog series and I also have another writing project that I am working on that I am not ready to discuss yet.

3. Presenting. I have had on my PDP for some time that I want to present at least 3 times per year. Well. I have knocked this one out of the park. I have already done more presenting in 2012 than in the previous years of my career combined. And I intend to keep it up. I don’t think I am being overconfident when I say that presenting is something I have a talent for. Absolutely loving it helps a lot, too.

4. PASS Regional Mentor. I spent 3 years on the executive board of the Minnesota chapter of PASS, PASSMN. I have taken a few years off from that and now I am anxious to get back into community involvement. I would like to try something different this time around. My favorite part of community involvement is helping people and evangelizing SQL Server the SQL Community. RM seems a great fit for that. Thus, earlier this week, I let SQLPASS HQ know of my desire to become a PASS Regional Mentor. I am looking forward to hearing back about interviewing for the role. I am really excited about the possibility and feel that I could do a great job.

PDP Tips

Road Signs1. My original PDP post was in May 2010. It is now July of 2012. More than two years. In that time, my maintenance of my PDP has been less than awesome. I have also had periods in there, some long ones, actually, where no PDP progress was made at all. This brings me to my first tip: Cover Your Nut. That is an old Sales adage. It means, above all, do at least enough to pay your bills and maintain the status quo. There were periods where it took everything I had just to do my daily work and extra stuff just didn’t happen. There will be times when going above and beyond is just too far above and beyond what you are able to do. I urge you to be OK with that at the time. Doing more than you can handle is not a sustainable behavior; it will just lead to burnout. That said, get back to your PDP and making steps toward your goals when you can.

2. Find a mentor. Your mentor does not have to be someone older or a wizard or anything. It really can just be someone you discuss your PDP and your goals with. Having someone like that can help you stay on track and even offer advice on steps to take, etc. My own SQL Server consulting career started when Lara Rubbelke (b|t) hired me at Digineer. Lara was a great mentor for me. When she moved on to Microsoft, direct mentorship became a bit more difficult, although it is still great to chat with her about my career every now and then when we can. The person filling the role of my mentor today is Jason Strate (b|t). His knowledge of SQL Server is really impressive and he has a willingness and a knack for helping people out. I get a lot of good advice from him on blogging, presenting, and networking, as well. When it comes to more Business Intelligence focused topics, Dan English (b|t) has helped me out as well. After seeing my MDX Trek: First Contact presentation, he emailed me some valuable feedback that helped me polish it up. All of the people mentioned above have great expertise and are more than willing to share.

3. The best PDP related tip I can give is this: HAVE A PDP. It does not have to be anything especially rigid or come with drill sergeant. But working toward turning your job into a career is a lot easier when you know what you want that career to look like.

I’m going to try to be better about keeping my PDP updated. I will also make sure my next PDP update blog post doesn’t take over two years to happen.

SQL Saturday Chicago (119) Top Ten List

By on • ( 1 Comment )

As is my custom following a SQL event, I hereby release my SQL Saturday Chicago Top Ten List. And, as always, these are in no particular ranking order and some really cool things could not make this list due to limitations of the number Ten.

10. 6 of 1…

This year, like last year, I rode with some really great folks. Jason Strate (b|t) drove, and brought his awesome wife Sarah Strate (b|t) who volunteered at the PASS table. Jason brought fellow Digineerians Chris Fish (t), Joe Tempel (t), Eric Strom and my very own self, whose blog you now read with rapt joy. I have to say, I was looking forward to the drive with such fine humans just as much as anything. I had a lot of fun talking and laughing with them on the trek. And Jason once again proved he is a successful driver as we didn’t crash even once.

9. Speaker Dinner

The speaker dinner on Friday night was at Dave and Buster’s. There was pool and shuffle-board and general laughing and hanging out. These are always fun and just build up even more excitement for the event itself.

8. Un-Hacking My Blog

I found out Thursday night, just before heading to bed that my blog had been hacked. My home page was replaced with an announcement of the hack and some political statements of varying levels of popularity in different parts of the world. Given that the timing was such that I was about to present at a SQL Saturday, typically resulting in a bit of a bump in traffic to my blog, and the fact that it is about the time that the PASS Summit Program Committee could be looking over my blog as a factor in whether to accept a session from me, I must confess that I uttered a few expletives. But at the same time, it was really quite funny and became a bit of a running joke throughout the weekend. Anyway, after the speaker dinner on Friday night, Eric Strom helped me out in un-hacking it. To the credit of the hacker, it was not malicious. I didn’t lose anything. All they did was replace my home page. So, recovery was quite simple.

7. My MDX Trek: First Contact Session

I gave my MDX Trek: First Contact presentation during the first slot of the day. Once again, I was overwhelmed by the great folks in Chicago and the feedback I received. It means a lot when something I worked so hard on ends up really helping people understand a complex topic. So many people have told me that my way of explaining MDX and the cube space just made it click for them. Helping people learn is such a huge part of my aspirations for my career. Knowing that I am accomplishing that is just awesome.

By the way, if there is a topic you want to learn about, write a presentation on it. You do not need to be an expert to present on a topic. You learn a lot by putting these things together.

6. Performance Tuning 2012 SSIS Data Loads

Hope Foley (b|t) gave a presentation on the awesomeness that is SSIS 2012. I found out after from Hope that she did this presentation as a challenge to herself since she did not do a lot of SSIS. If you want to learn something, present on it. Hope did a great job and set an awesome example of the “present to learn” ideal.

5. Kama Sutra of SSIS: A Guide to Loving ETL

In this fine session, Bill Fellows (b|t) showed some great tips and tricks for using SSIS well. Even dealing with a bit of a hardware failure just before the session, Bill did a great job giving a fun and informative presentation. Not only that, but he gave out candy. I like candy.

4. SQL Server 2012 Column Store Index

I knew very little about Column Store indexes before this fine session by Kevin Boles (t). Kevin did a great job explaining how they work and how they apply to data warehousing. He discussed the ups and downs of using them. He then demonstrated how they work and the awesomesauce they can bring. I definitely need to dig into these more.

3. Advancements in CDC in SSIS 2012

In this presentation by Mike Donnelly (b|t), I learned how new features of SSIS 2012 make CDC just awesomely easy. Mike did a great job explaining how to use them and showing how easy they are to use. Mike has only presented a few times before, but it doesn’t really show. He really does a fine job like someone who has presented many times before.

2. After Party

SQL Saturday after parties I have been to have been just a total blast. This one was no exception. As usual for Chicago, this one featured SQL Karaoke. What a blast this is. Hanging out and laughing and some people singing, and other people doing something that could NEVER EVER be confused with singing. Just awesome.

1. SQL People

I hung out with some people this time around that I never really spent time with before. A few of us sat chatting until almost 3am. Yeah. That’s the awesomeness that is the SQL community.

 

SQL Saturdays are just awesome. I implore you to make an effort to go to one if you haven’t before. It still amazes me how welcoming people are. The phrase “SQL Family” is totally accurate.

SQL Saturday Madison (118) Top Ten List

By on

I have a habit of posting Top Ten Lists after SQL events. I hereby continue said habit. As always, these are not really in any particular order. And also, as always, there were cool things that could not make this list due to limitations of the number Ten. A huge thank you to all the fine humans who worked so hard to make this happen and the sponsors for dropping some coins in the mighty fountain of learning.

Behold, my Top Ten list for the SQL Saturday (SQLSat118) this past weekend in Madison, WI.

10. Carpooling

CarpoolWhen I indicated that I was headed out to SQLSat118, a fellow member of PASSMN messaged me on Twitter to ask if I wanted to carpool. That fine fellow was Mr. Mike Donnelly ( b | t ). I didn’t know Mike much at all. We had just seen each other at PASSMN meetings, and such. It turns out that he didn’t try to sell me to any drug cartels or anything. He is a very cool guy and I had a lot of fun driving with him and hanging out with him in and around the event itself.

 

9. New Presenter

Mr. Donnelly was giving his first full length presentation at SQLSat118. It was the first session of the day for me, called SSIS: Figuring Out Configuring. He talked about the use of xml configuration files in SSIS 2008 R2 and also discussed some of the new configuration options in SSIS 2012. He also demonstrated how to easily convert a solution from “package deployment” to “project deployment” in SSIS 2012. Mike really did a fine job. I honestly could not tell that he was really new to presenting as he stayed relaxed and had fun with it. Bravo, Mike.

8. SSIS 2012 New Features

Ever since I attended my first SQL Saturday (in Chicago) a few years ago and met Norman Kelm ( b | t ), I have made it a point to attend his SSIS sessions. I find his knowledge of SSIS to be impressive. This time around he discussed new features in SSIS 2012. There was some great discussion in that session, for sure.

7. Minimal Processing For Large Cubes

I attended this session by Ross McNeely ( linkedin ) being a bit of a newbie to SSAS. I am really glad I did. Ross has created a very cool framework that assesses each partition in your cube to determine the what type of processing it needs. Partitions that can be processed using Process Add are done that way. Only partitions that NEED Process Update get that more intense treatment. I haven’t had to deal with any processing headaches yet, but I found his framework to be really flexible and robust. Great session.

6. Performance Monitoring and Tuning in SSAS

I attended this session by mighty Steve Hughes ( b | t ) directly after my own session (which I will get to later). This was a bit of an advanced session, particular with my being pretty new to SSAS. Steve’s relaxed and fun delivery style is always a good time, though. And I didn’t come away empty handed. I learned how to monitor when MDX queries are hitting the cache and when they’re not, letting me know what queries need a little help. But the biggest thing I learned in that session was that I have a lot to learn before I can even begin approach the level of experienced SSAS folks like Steve. But don’t tell him I said that; I’ll never hear the end of it…

5. Data Visualizations in Reporting Services

I spent the last session of the day with MVP Stacia Misner ( b | t ) and Reporting Services. Indicators, Data Bars, and Sparklines, Oh My. Stacia demonstrated the configuration of each of these as well as maps. She also covered some visualization design practices, including what NOT to do. Can you say 3D? I agree totally that 3D visualizations defy the basic tenet of a report: Above All, Show The Data. It’s great to learn from experts like Stacia that I don’t get to see very often.

4. Life is Like a Box Of Chocolates

While hanging out a bit before the speaker dinner on Friday night, the great Erin Stellato ( b | t ) opened up a box of chocolates and offered me one. I immediately popped it into my mouth all in one piece. Apparently, that was a breach of protocol. I learned that you MUST bite the chocolate in half and share info about what kind of chocolate it is. I had never encountered this law of the universe. From now on, whenever I have myself a chocolate, I shall think of Erin (and furtively pop the whole dang thing into my mouth, probably).

3. Coffee

We don’t have Dunkin Donuts here in Minnesota. Having grown up in New England where they are EVERYWHERE, I miss their coffee big-time. On the drive back, Mike and I hit a DD just outside of Madison. So good. (sigh)Dunkin Donuts Coffee

2. SQL People

I have said this before and I will say it again. The people of the SQL community are JUST AWESOME. I spent a lot of time hanging out with really excellent folks. Just sitting around chatting with people I respect and like was just such a great part of the experience. If you find yourself attending a SQL Saturday or other similar event, I IMPLORE you to go introduce yourself to people. You won’t regret it.

1. MDX Trek: First Contact

I have to mention my own session here. I have been overwhelmed with how well-received my MDX Trek: First Contact session was. The comments I received on the evaluations, on Twitter, and face to face, have all been amazingly positive. I worked very hard on preparing that presentation, so the fact that it has had such an impact is just really uplifting. Thanks to everyone who attended.

Facing The Challenge: Designing a BI Infrastructure With SQL 2008 (70-452)

By on • ( 6 Comments )

On Monday, Feb 6th, I passed exam 70-452, Designing a Business Intelligence Infrastructure Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Hazzah. I am really excited about that, not because I get a shiny new MCITP certification, but because it validates how much I have learned. When I started working with SQL Server about 5 years ago, I started down the DBA track, even earning an MCITP in the SQL Server 2005 DBA track. It was not too long after that when I determined that Business Intelligence was where I really wanted to hang my career hat.

This post isn’t really about that, though. I have a process that I use to learn the material. I then use the exams to measure that learning. The process I have has worked pretty well. Actually, I am 6 for 6 when I commit to this process. Since it seems to work really well for me, I thought I would share it in case it may help someone else as well.

Typically, I like to use the Microsoft Press Self-Paced exam guides. I find them to be a great starting point and cover the key areas of the technology in question. In the case of exam 70-452, as of the time of this writing, there is not a Microsoft Press exam guide for that exam. Therefore, I instead chose Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 by Brian Larson. I found it to be a great base for my prep for 70-452. In areas where I felt I needed to go deeper, I turned to Books Online.

My process consists of a few key steps.

1. I go through the text taking notes on the details of each topic. I make sure to make my notes in my own words and avoid taking anything word for word from the text. This helps a lot in that I must process the information more than once as I go.

2. The books I have used have all featured do-it-yourself style exercises during which you put what you learned into practice. I find this really valuable to gain at least some experience, particularly with skills I have never used in real life.

3. I read through the notes several times over, just like studying for test back in school.

It does not seem like much and certainly is not very elaborate. There are no tesla coils involved or anything. But sometimes it is the simple things people overlook.

Since I titled this post “Facing The Challenge,” I figured I should also show some of the faces I used during the process outline above.

 Confusion. Some of the content was confusing at first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Determination. I knew I had to commit myself to understanding all the concepts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Realization. Ah. NOW I get it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Blue Steel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Satisfaction. I passed. I dun learned something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, there you have it.

PASS Summit 2011 Top Ten List

By on • ( 3 Comments )

After I come back from an event, whether I presented or not, I like to write up a Top Ten List of my experience. These are not necessarily ranked in order of importance; they were all cool. And there were awesome experiences that could not make the list due to limitations of the number Ten.

photo

Behold!

10. Guidebook App

Mobile phone users (aka anyone with a pulse) were able to use an app called a Guidebook to track the schedule, speakers, exhibitors, etc. This meant that I was able to easily build my own schedule of the sessions I wanted to attend as well as fill out my evaluations online. There were configurable reminders to make sure I didn’t forget something I had put on my schedule. It was also easy to keep track of any updates to the schedule during the event. Especially for a noob like me, this app was awesome.

9. SQLKaraoke

SQLKaraoke is just fun. When you’re not singing, you get to hang out with really cool people. I have a background in Theater and Improvised Comedy, so SQLKaraoke is a total blast for me. Since I’m well…a little different, I actually use SQLKaraoke as a networking tool. I like to make up SQL-related spoofs and even do an impression or two. This time around, I ended up performing The Bangles Eternal Flame as Gilbert Gottfried. Yeah. It was pretty silly. But it ended up being a huge boon in terms of networking. People who I have long followed and respect were introducing themselves to me instead of the other way around. I was “the karaoke guy.” Bottom line: be creative in your networking. Creative use of your strengths can pay off really well for meeting new people.

8. Women In Technology Luncheon – Make Yourself HeardLadiesRoomSign

This was totally a great way to meet girls. <pause>

Seriously though, this is an event really designed to help women continue to gain more traction in the workplace. Things are certainly a lot better than they used to be (my wife just started watching Mad Men), but I think we can all agree that true equality isn’t there yet. I was excited to see there were a LOT of men in there (and not just to meet girls). The wisdom shared by the panel is applicable to everyone. It was just a great experience.

 

7. Exhibitor Hall

I’m a nerd. I like hardware and software. I like stuff. There was all of that in here. You know the old saying, “run around like a kid in a candy store?” Well, this was more like a mall full of candy stores. Mmmmmmmm.

6. Peoples

A huge part of the Summit is networking. Meeting other people. I met so many awesome SQL professionals from around the world. It was just unreal how friendly people were. First Timers, like myself, were made to feel so welcome. I spent meals, walks (there was a LOT of walking), evenings, some events, just meeting and chatting with great folks. There were too many fantastic people to list.

5. “Preventing the Oh, Poop! Reporting Situation.”

SQL Server MVP Jessica Moss (Blog | Twitter) delivered this session. She demonstrated the out-of-the-box methods that Reporting Services provides for tracking the performance of your reports. This included how to determine that a report returned no rows (CEO’s LOVE that, right?). She also demonstrated a cool meta-report solution (reports about reports) you can use to keep an eye on things. It was cool to see a presentation about Report management to complement the ones about building them.

4. A Little Help From My Friends

My friend, Jes Schultz Borland (Blog | Twitter), gave a session called “Reporting Services 201: From Basic To WOW!” She gave some great tips on report authoring and really explained the Tablix well for anyone that was new to it. She discussed features such as the Tooltip and the NoRows message. These are things that are easily overlooked but can really enhance the user experience when implemented well. Squeeeeee! (translation of “Squee”: Hi, my name is Jes and I presented at the Summit!)

My friend, Doug Lane (Blog | Twitter), gave a session called “Developers Are From Mars, Report Servers Are From Venus.” Mr. Lane gave some valuable tips and tricks on Reporting Services through the lens of a marriage. He included the “mother-in-law always comes along” feature of the extra pages you sometimes get in SSRS and how you can often solve that with the ConsumeContainerWhiteSpace property.

Awesome

NOTE: This image has nothing to do with this post. But, it’s cool so I put it in anyway.

3. Dr. David DeWitt: “Big Data – What is the Big Deal?”

On Friday, Dr. DeWitt gave his keynote, this time on Big Data. As stated earlier, my background is in Theater and Improvised Comedy. I cannot remember any of my acting classes in involving huge quantities of data. And, never having dealt with VLDBs at all in my career, the concepts related to Big Data were pretty new to me. But here is the thing: I understood this keynote. That surprised me. I expected to get lost pretty quickly. Rather, I was able to follow along due to the excellent way in which Dr. DeWitt explained it. This was not merely a presentation on Big Data, it was also a master class in how to be a great presenter.

2. BISM (BI Semantic Model)

I have done a lot of work with Report Models and enjoy dealing with tools that can enable end users. I am excited to deal with BISM and help people get their own data. Why give people a fish when you can plant a potato? Wait… Yeah. You certainly don’t plant the fish…

1. Power View (Project Crescent)

Along the lines of letting users get their own data is the fabulous Power View (formerly known as Crescent). This thing is friggin cool. That’s totally industry speak, by the way. The idea of Two Clicks To ROI is just a great way to make things easy. Essentially, no feature in Power View is more than two clicks away. It is just so easy to use and gorgeous to behold. I can’t wait to really get in and play with this fabulous tool. Keep in mind that it complements the existing tools; it does not replace any of them.

 

The PASS Summit was an amazing experience. If you ever get the chance to go, grab onto it with both hands.

PASSMN July Meeting: Ask The Experts Panel

By on

The annual Ask The Experts panel has arrived for the Minnesota chapter of PASS. I am especially excited for this one since I will have the honor of serving on the panel for the first time. This is really a great milestone for me and fits so well with my goals to have an impact in the community.

Thanks to Superior Consulting for sponsoring this month’s meeting.

Location:

8300 Norman Center Drive, 9th Floor, Bloomington, MN  55437

Date:

July 19th, 2011

Time:

3:00 – 5:00

 

Please click here for meeting details and to RSVP

Ask the Experts

After the popularity of the past "Ask the Experts" discussions, we decided to bring back the forum for a third straight year. PASS members will have the opportunity to pose any burning questions they might have about SQL Server to our expert panel. We will round things out with a couple tips or tricks about SQL Server from each of our panel experts.  This year’s discussion will be moderated by Jason Strate.

The Panel:

  • Lara Rubbelke, Microsoft
  • Dan English, Superior Consulting Services
  • Mark Vaillancourt, Digineer
  • Bill Preachuk, Emergent Networks
  • Zach Mattson, Patterson Companies

August PASSMN Meeting: Ask The Experts Panel

By on

Ask the Experts Panel Discussion

Start Date/Time:
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 3:00 PM

End Date/Time:
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 5:00 PM

Description:

Meeting sponsor:

Red Gate Software makes ingeniously simple tools for over 500,000 Microsoft technology professionals working with SQL Server, .NET, and Exchange.  The company’s product line includes tools for comparing, synchronizing, backing up and recovering SQL Server databases; understanding and fixing .NET code problems; and email archiving for Exchange.

Location: 8300 Norman Center Drive, 9th Floor, Bloomington, MN  55437

Please click here for meeting details and to RSVP

Live Meeting

·         URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=HCC36W&role=present&pw=W%3E%2Bx%3C9%2B%21B

·         Meeting ID: HCC36W

·         Entry Code: mwD{j|\4B

Speakers:

·         Lara Rubbelke, Microsoft

·         Jason Strate, Digineer

·         Eric Strom, RBA Consulting

·         Tim Plas, Virteva

Agenda:

3:00 –3:15 : Announcements
3:15 –3:25 : Sponsor
3:25 –5:00 : Ask The Experts Panel

After the popularity of last years "Ask the Experts", we decided to bring back the forum this year. PASS members will have the opportunity to pose any burning questions they might have about SQL Server to our expert panel. We will round things out with a couple tips or tricks about SQL Server from each of our panel experts.

The Panel:

Lara Rubbelke brings her passion for architecting, implementing and improving SQL Server solutions to the community as a Data Platform Technology Specialist for Microsoft. This is a role that is a pre-sales role for SQL Server. Her expertise involves both OLTP and OLAP systems, data management, performance tuning, encryption, ETL, and the Business Intelligence lifecycle. Compliance and configuration management are near and dear to her heart. She is an active board member and advocate of the Minnesota chapter of PASS (Professional Association for SQL Server) and regularly delivers technical presentations at local, regional and national conferences, user groups and webcasts. Notably, Lara has presented at Tech Ed, the PASS Summit, the Minneapolis SQL Server Launch, and delivered numerous webcasts on MSDN and TechNet. Lara authored a number of the Microsoft whitepapers and was a contributing author of "Expert SQL Server 2005 Development" (lead author Adam Machanic).

Jason Strate, Digineer Inc, is a database architect and administrator with over twelve years of experience. He is Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) for SQL Server. His experience includes design and implementation of both OLTP and OLAP solutions as well as assessment and implementation of SQL Server environments for best practices, performance, and high availability solutions. Jason is a SQL Server MCITP and participated in the development of Microsoft Certification exams for SQL Server 2008. Jason enjoys helping others in the SQL Server community and does this by presenting at technical conferences and user group meetings. Most recently, Jason has presented at the SSWUG Virtual Conferences, TechFuse, SQL Saturdays, and at PASSMN user group meetings. Jason is an active blogger with a focus on SQL Server and related technologies.

Eric Strom is a Database Consultant at RBA Consulting and is a member of the Minnesota PASS Board. He has been a SQL Server DBA since 2001 and specializes in performance tuning. Eric studied database theory at the University of Minnesota to earn a B.S. in Computer Science. He loves exchanging ideas with peers and is always looking for a good discussion.

Tim Plas is a Principal Consultant at Virteva, in Mpls MN. His current focus areas are operational-DBA services, storage, server virtualization, cloud computing, & providing level-3 escalation support for IT managed services. His SQL emphasis is on monitoring, management, and high availability.  Previous specialties in his 25+ years in the IT field have included Citrix/TS (app hosting), LAN’s / WAN’s / network security, DB architecture, systems architecture & design, app development, systems-level programming, & various IT mgmt roles. Tim has held a variety of MS certifications since 1994.