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#SQLPASS Election Interview with James Rowland-Jones

September 18, 2014

PASS (the artist formerly known as the Professional Association for SQL Server) is about to hold their Board of Directors election. There are 3 spots open, and 4 people in the running. James Rowland-Jones is currently on the PASS Board, and this is his first time running for re-election. I wholeheartedly, wildly endorse James because I’m biased. I’ve known him for years in several capacities: As a sponsor manager – I worked with him back in my Quest Software days when I was an evangelist and he was managing vendor relationships for SQLbits. As a coauthor – on our book, Pro SQL…

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How I Vote for #SQLPASS Board of Directors Members

September 17, 2014

#passvotes, pass, sqlpass

tl;dr – I’m voting for Grant, James, and Wendy. There are 3 open spots, and 4 people running. This means you have to pick one person who won’t get in. I’m a data guy, so I made a spreadsheet of what’s important to me: PASS Board of Directors Candidates When I elect somebody to a volunteer position, I want to know what they accomplish. Ideally, they blog and tweet about what they’re doing, but I understand that not everybody likes to communicate that way. Just in case, I also read the PASS Board of Directors meeting minutes looking for what they’ve…

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Wanna Run for #SQLPASS Board? Better Read the Rules.

August 14, 2014

#passvotes, pass, sqlpass

The rules this year are clearer than ever, and that’s awesome. But you’d better actually read them (warning: Word docx), because there’s a few doozies like this one: “All campaigning must promote PASS in a positive manner. Campaigning that breaks the stated rules or brings PASS into disrepute may be challenged by any PASS member.” Keep in mind that you’ll be running against PASS Board of Director members up for re-election. You can’t say anything negative about them or the choices the organization made while they were in office. You probably think what you’re saying is fine, but remember that “any PASS…

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Donate to Doctors Without Borders, and I’ll Wear…

July 29, 2014

doctors without borders, pass, sqlpass

Donate to this Doctors Without Borders campaign before the PASS Summit and check out what humiliating things we’ll be doing to ourselves: $5,000 Total Donations: Argenis Fernandez will wear this unicorn hoodie at PASS. Update: reached, woohoo! $10,000 Total Donations: Adam Machanic, Grant Fritchey, Steve Jones, and I will wear these furry rainbow leggings. That’s right, the Scary DBA and the Scary Parallelism Guy and, uh, me, who’s not really scary at all. Kirsten Benzel will also run the 11-mile SQL Long Run in the unicorn hoodie. Update: reached, woohoo! $15,000 Total Donations: While wearing the leggings, Adam, Grant, Steve, and I will line dance…

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I Need Your Help Improving #SQLPASS

July 15, 2014

conference, pass, presenting, sqlpass

Read this if you’re a #SQLPASS attendee – you’re the one I’m trying to help. Last week I wrote about how conference organizers pick sessions, and I closed by talking about how there’s no clear right or wrong way. However, some ways are wronger than others, and today let’s talk in general terms about what happens when things go wrong. I can’t possibly discuss this subject with actual speaker names lest I hurt people. (Disclaimer: that’s a dark music video about drugs and violence, but the song is insanely danceable and catchy, and it’s been stuck in my head for weeks. You’re welcome.)…

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My #SQLPASS Abstract Feedback (And How to Get Yours)

July 3, 2014

pass, presenting, sqlpass

When volunteer speakers submit a session for the PASS Summit conference, volunteers on the Program Committee have the tough job of ranking them and picking winners. In the past, this has been done completely in private, and speakers had no idea why their sessions weren’t accepted. This meant they couldn’t work to get better. Thanks to requests from the community, that’s changing this year! Amy Lewis, the Board of Director member responsible for the process, writes in her blog post announcement: “If you submitted a session proposal for Summit 2014 and would like the comments from the abstract review team,…

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#SQLPASS and the 24 Hours of Microsoft

June 10, 2014

24hop, microsoft, pass, sqlpass, vendors

The Professional Association for SQL Server describes itself this way: “PASS is an independent, not-for-profit organization run by and for the community.” Every now and then, PASS runs a popular online event called the 24 Hours of PASS. With a name like that, and a mission statement like PASS’s, you’d assume the speakers would be community members. That was true for years – but this time around, there’s something a little different. The speakers are Microsoft employees (save one co-presenter). The topics focus on marketing SQL Server 2014 and Azure SQL Database. And the 24 Hours of PASS is sponsored by Microsoft.…

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Why I Broke the #SQLpass Rules (And How It Worked)

November 7, 2013

pass, presenting, sp_AskBrent, sqlpass

I like trying new ways of delivering presentations, pushing the boundaries of what’s normal at conferences. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been trying a few different things: Giving out a stored proc and walking the audience through using it Making webcast attendees run queries on their systems while they watch the session Handing out pieces of paper making attendees fulfill queries This year at the PASS Summit in Charlotte, I wanted to try another new experiment – simulate what a DBA’s life is really like onstage. I brought them in to learn about performance troubleshooting basics, just like…

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How to Attend a Conference

October 1, 2013

conference, pass, presenting, sqlpass

I’m lucky enough to attend a lot of conferences – in Chicago, Vegas, Charlotte, Amsterdam, and Stockholm over the next six weeks – and I’ve put together two systems that work well for me. When Your Employer is Paying the Bill Your #1 goal – even above learning things or meeting people – is to get your employer to pay for it again next year. To pull that off, ask your manager, “What’s the one thing you want me to bring back? Is there a problem that you want help solving, or a category of tools you want to know about,…

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PASS Board Brouhaha BS Bulletin

January 18, 2012

#passvotes, pass, sqlpass

You, dear reader, have a real job that doesn’t afford you the ability to follow this kind of gossip, so lemme bring you up to speed. Dec 28 – Board Election Results Announced The Professional Association for SQL Server held their elections for Board of Directors, the people who shape the direction of the community, SQLSaturdays, and the annual PASS Summit. Here’s the final tally: Adam Jorgensen – 1,026 Denise McInerney – 990 Rob Farley – 958 Sri Sridharan – 781 Kendal Van Dyke – 762 Geoff Hiten – 526 There were 3 spots open, so Adam, Denise, and Rob…

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Hi. I’m Brent.