Category: SQLSaturday

SQL Saturday Chicago (119) Top Ten List

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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

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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.

Upcoming Presentation: SQL Saturday 119, Chicago IL May 19th

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I just got the great news that my session, MDX Trek: First Contact has been accepted for SQL Saturday 119 in Chicago on May 19th. I had the honor of attending the past two events there including presenting last year, and I have to say the fine folks of the windy city know how to put on a great event. If you have the means, I highly recommend attending; it’s so choice.

SQL Saturday Chicago Top Ten List

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This past weekend, I attended the amazing SQL Saturday event in Chicago. I also had the tremendous honor of presenting this time around. The entire experience was fantastic. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who worked so hard to make this event happen. Here is my top ten list:

10. A 3-pack of Hanes white cotton T-shirts + a black Sharpie = SWAG. On a whim, after the spSwageaker dinner on Friday night, I decided I needed swag to give away during my session. One trip to Walmart and a few moments of sketching later, I had 3 genuine, hand crafted, MarkVSQL shirts. One recipient called my shirts the “greatest swag ever.” #awesomeshirt

9. Doug Lane (blog | Twitter) built a really cool solution using SSIS to achieve Data Driven Subscription functionality without the need for Enterprise Edition. I love really creative uses for SSIS and cannot wait to play with this. On top of that, I was meeting Doug in person for the first time. He’s a really cool guy. If you get a chance to hang with him or mow his lawn or something, go for it.

8. This one I had already seen when I attended last year’s SQL Saturday Chicago: The SQL community in and around the Windy City is vibrant and fun. The attendees for my session were great and I had such an awesome time presenting.

Not everyone had the great experience I did, though. A tiny number of people (1 that I know of) need to keep in mind that people who give of their time to present at these events, and in many cases travel across the country at their own expense to do it, deserve to be treated with some appreciation and respect.

7. Part of the experience is getting to hang out with cool, smart people. I learned a lot outside of sessions just chatting with other folks at the speaker dinner and after party.

6. Hope Foley (Twitter) showed some cool features of PowerPivot, including some mad compression. Nicely done.

5. Norman Kelm (website| Twitter) demonstrated how to have SSIS logging take place within the Script Task. He also showed some Script Task debugging techniques. Pretty cool stuff to be sure.

4. The hot dogs at Portillo’s are frickin spectacular.

3. Jason Strate (blog | Twitter) likes to say: “I’m not a good driver; I’m a successful driver.” Well, he is that. Chris Fish (Twitter) and I rode with Jason down to Chicago from the Twin Cities. And I have to say, we didn’t die even once.

2. I sing about as well as a dead cow under a truck (which is pretty bad, in case you are not aware). I knew that one a long time ago. What I learned this time around is that I can pull off a pretty good rendition of The Lion King’s Hakuna Matata, with Timone and Pumbaa character voices throughout, all by myself. Seriously, #sqlkaraoke is more fun than should be allowed. And singing ability is irrelevant. Just ask Jason Strate. Wait. I should delete that.

1. Getting involved in the SQL Community is awesome. I highly recommend picking a topic you know and want to learn more about and submit a session at your local user group, a SQL Saturday, or even just present to a group of co-workers. You can learn so much by presenting and sharing your expertise with others. If you would rather not present, then please feel free to volunteer or help out however you can. The SQL Community is all of us.

Upcoming Presentations

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I am delighted to announce that I will be presenting an Introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services Report Models at two different events in October. I have implemented report models at clients and seen how they can be a great way to empower users to be more self-sufficient.

The events are:

Twin Cities Code Camp

This takes place on October 9th and 10th at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. This is my first time presenting at this semi-annual event.

SQL Saturday 58 – Minnesota

This event takes place on FRIDAY October 29th at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, Minnesota. This is Minnesota’s first SQL Saturday. Hazzah! I affectionately refer to it as SQL Friturday. Yeah. We’re a little different here in Minnesota. Well…I’m a lot different, but most people are a little different. The schedule for this is not yet posted but I have verbal confirmation that my session was accepted.

I am learning a lot more about report models while creating this presentation. The old adage really holds true: “You can pick your friends and you can pick you nose. But you can’t pick your friend’s nose.” Wait. That’s not the one. It’s this one: “If you want to learn a lot about a subject, do a presentation on it.” Yeah. The second one.

My Top Ten Lessons From SQL Saturday #31 Chicago

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I attended SQL Saturday Chicago this weekend. I had an awesome time and attended great sessions. While I got something good out of every one of the sessions, I decided to distill the entire experience into a top ten list with some of the highlights.

SneakersOnWire

10. According to Google Maps, the distance from Grand station on the CTA Blue Line to Navy Pier is 2.1 miles. I learned this after #8 below.

9. According to Google Maps, the distance from Navy Pier to Grand station on the CTA Blue Line is 2.1 miles. I learned this after #8 below.

8. Just like with shrinking databases, the fact that you CAN walk the distance in #10 above and then walk the distance in #9 above (all in under 2 hours, to ensure you will make it back to the airport in time to catch the last shuttle back to the hotel) does not make it a good idea to do so. AND, just like shrinking a database can affect its future performance, the walk mentioned above created soreness that is definitely affecting my current walking performance. But hey, while I was walking I did what anyone else would do: I asked myself, "What would Forrest Gump do?" Keep on goin’ is what. 

7. A good tip from Jeremiah Peschka ( Twitter | Blog ) is to create variables for commonly used strings (like creating new lines, or escaping single quotes) when building dynamic SQL to keep your code as readable as possible.

6. Kevin Kline ( Twitter | Blog ) pointed out that mixing DDL and DML within a stored procedure will cause recompiles, which can add significantly to resource consumption and execution time.

5. If it is a chilly Friday night in April around 8pm and you buy a churro from the little churro hut on Navy Pier, they may just offer you a second one for free as they are closing up anyway. Sweet. A little fuel for #9 above.

4. Before Andrew Karcher’s ( Twitter | Blog ) presentation on MDX, I knew jack about MDX (I could usually spell it properly, but that’s about it). Now, thanks to him, I don’t know jack anymore. Wait. I mean I now understand the basics that were a mystery to me before. Yeah. The second one.

DevilsTower3. Arie Jones ( Twitter | Blog ) pointed out something I had not read concerning SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services. When exporting to multiple worksheets in Excel, R2 allows you to name those worksheets without sacrificing black cats or running off to Devil’s Tower with Richard Dreyfuss. Hazzah to the product team for adding this. Hazzah, I say!

2. When doing Karaoke in a room full of geeks, requesting Barry Manilow’s Copacabana and substituting Weird Al Yankovic’s Star Wars Cantina lyrics can go over well.

1. Wendy Pastrick ( Twitter ), Ted Krueger ( Twitter ), Jes Borland ( Twitter ), and many others worked hard to put on a great SQL Server event. They succeeded quite well, indeed. Thanks so much to all organizers, volunteers, and presenters.