I'm going to conclude this series on running a small user group with a topic that came up for discussion earlier in the week. A friend of mine, and a member of Midlands PASS, made a remark that whenever the officers of Midlands PASS talk about the group, we call it the… Read more

Because running a small user group is a labor of love, we look for time savings wherever we can to get done what has to be done. Most of this involves meeting announcements. You've got to advertise the next meeting, and it helps if you can provide little things, like… Read more

When we first started Midlands PASS, we tried to do it the way PASS suggested. We tried to get folks together to work on a set of bylaws, and the first try floundered. Myself and one other person attending the first organizational meeting. Needless to say, we tabled the… Read more

Midlands PASS is a small user group. We average about 15 people coming to meetings, which is good for Columbia, but still puts us in the small user group category. Having a small user group can mean some challenges, and that's what I'll be blogging about over the next few… Read more

Yesterday I talked about taking notes using Google Docs. It's a great way if you've got multiple systems (especially with different configurations) to be able to store and organize information. But what about when you don't have a computer? And for this, I'm also including mobile devices, because they… Read more

I've admittedly been a terrible note taker growing up. Throughout most of school, I've always been able to remember everything that was said in lecture, at least long enough to complete the class. When I did take notes, I did so haphazardly and incompletely. The reason was simply because I… Read more

I was tagged by Mike Walsh in the latest meme to circle the SQL Server community, which is what is our greatest weaknesses. The meme was started by David Stein.

One of the things I've had to come to grips with is that I can't do it all. I… Read more

The short answer is that's where my heart has been. I write because I feel compelled to write. I don't write to put my name in lights, to secure that next gig, or to blow my horn. I write because I can't see myself not writing. But that's not the… Read more

I'm reading As Iron Sharpens Iron, which is a classic book on Christian mentoring. Written by Dr. Howard Hendricks and his son, Bill, the book is split into two parts. The first part is for the one who wants to be mentored (also known as the protégé). The second…

Both of my tips are up on MSSQLTips.com on fixed roles. You can find them here:

• Understanding SQL Server Fixed Database Roles
• Understanding SQL Server Fixed Server Roles

As might be expected, these tips give a basic understanding of the roles provided by SQL Server automatically.

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I was scrolling through my professional email as my wife drove me in to work (my car is being looked at by a mechanic... hold together, old buddy) and I came across one that caught my ire. It's subject line was this: "Holiday Gift Giving Guide." Now I'm using a mobile… Read more

"... but you won't tell me how to fix it." I remember that quote coming out of my mouth when I was dealing with auditors from one of the big accounting firms many moons ago. My point is if you are going to tell someone that what they have is wrong, you need… Read more

I had the privilege of writing a guest post on Mike Walsh's blog, entitled:

Conciseness

It's simply about being concise in our communications. Check out the post there and the rest of his great blog!

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Cross-Posted from A Goal-Keeping DBA blog:

I'm reading Getting Things Done because of Brent Ozar's excellent blog post, How I Use GTD 50,000 Foot Goals. I'll post a review of the book later, once I've finished, but as I'm working through it, I have seen some things that… Read more

The conversation on local administrators having rights in SQL Server has proven to be interesting and at times entertaining. My two most recent posts to the discussion went in the reverse fashion, which is, "Should DBAs have local Administrator rights on the server?" Of course, the magical answer is, "It… Read more