sqlsat118

What I Learned, SQL Saturday #118 Madison (Part 3)

I learned quite a few things at SQL Saturday. I learned that presenting can be fun, there is some great beer in Madison, reporting services still loves me and I can get rid of all those extra pages, Bill is a real Scotsman, Erika cheats at WordsWithFriends (SQL Edition), I don’t know anything about SQL Merge Replication, road construction is a universal truth, being normal is a good thing (but not too normal), there is a long line for breakfast at Mickies Dairy Bar, and mostly I learned that the folks in Madison put on a great event. Continue reading →

My First Time, SQL Saturday #118 in Madison (Part 2)

I had the first time slot of the day so I woke up while it was still dark to practice my demos one last time. I had a wake up call and an alarm set, but I didn’t need either of them because I lay awake for about thirty minutes going over my presentation in my mind before I finally got up. I had broken the set up on my first demo before I went to bed and rather than stress over it I had decided to look at it again after a good night’s sleep. Proving that with age I am starting to get some wisdom, the issue with the demo was obvious when I woke up and started looking at it. It took about ten seconds to fix and I had time to practice both demos before I left for SQL Saturday. Continue reading →

Prequel Saturday, SQL Saturday #118 in Madison (Part 1)

When I sat down to write about SQL Saturday #118 I quickly realized it would be about many things. It’s about a road trip. It’s about public speaking. It’s about #SQLFamily and new friends. It’s about cows, kilts, and beer. And it is, of course, about SQL. I am going to split things up a little and this post is mostly about the #SQLFamily. If you don’t want to hear me gush about all of the cool people I met the day before SQL Saturday then you can probably skip this post and read about What I learned at SQLSAT118 or My First Time presenting in the posts that follow. I confess that this post is mostly for me, but if you haven’t been part of a SQL Saturday it might also help you understand a large part of what they are about. Sure there is great training, but there is also great people. Continue reading →

Someday I Will Speak at a SQL Saturday

This Saturday I will be giving my first ever SQL Saturday presentation. I am excited (and nervous) to be doing something that I would not have even considered two to three years ago. If you are in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend and want to learn about SQL Server for free there will be a lot of great speakers. There are diverse SQL topics ranging from First Contact with MDX  and Databases in the Cloud to How to Abuse T-SQL and Using SQL Window Functions. And if you are interested in learning about SSIS Configurations come listen to me at 8am. Continue reading →