Welcome to the Virtual SQL Playground Adventure! Why Adventure? What’s an Adventure?

An adventure is an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome.

That is exactly what this series is all about. I can’t tell you how… Read more

The Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 SP1 Virtual Machines on my laptop are connecting just fine to my physical network adapter (wifi) via the External Virtual Switch that I setup in Hyper-V (Windows 8 Pro host). I can connect to the internet to do Windows updates on those VM’s. Read more

How many lines of TSQL codes and Window Functions you need to come up with this?

With R, it takes about 2 commands:

> order <- as.matrix(sqlFetch(ch,"SalesDetails")
> summary(order)

To give you an idea, I prepared the dataset into a view like this:

CREATE VIEW SalesDetails
AS
SELECT
 soh.OrderDate…

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This post is inspired by Andy Warren’s ( b | t ) “Books On The Desk” post.

I’ve got plenty of SQL Server books at home (physical and Kindle versions). But if I’m not in the mood of reading a tech book but itching to read anyway, I’d… Read more

Joe Lacob bought the struggling Golden State Warriors NBA franchise in 2010. He has been the most hated man by the Warriors fan base since then.

Lacob promised the fans he would turn the franchise around and get it back to the winning edge.

To set the wheels in motion,… Read more

I’ve been looking for better ways of learning and improving my SQL Server skills. Blogs, BOL, webcasts, and training videos are great learning aids. Having the right tools and method makes a lot of difference. Building a SQL Server VM Playground to put the lessons in practice is a vital… Read more

There is something about the Silicon Valley that attracts the innovative and creative individuals. The “misfits, rebels, troublemakers, and the round pegs in square holes” come here as dreamers and leave the valley as billionaires world changers. The Silicon Valley provides the opportunity and platform to make a difference for… Read more

Update:

This book project got its second life. I am now collaborating with another author to bring this book to completion.

*****

I was super excited when I received an invitation to write a book on SSRS 2012. Writing a book has been in my bucket list for as… Read more

I’m in the middle of writing the first chapter of my book. I’m not just ready to announce the working title yet. I’ll probably wait until I finish the 5th chapter (total of 10 chapters).

I thought it would be fun if I open up my writing process so… Read more

Every time you run the SkyDrive Client on your device, a laptop in my case, all your files from the cloud are downloaded to your device locally. That is cool because you can still work on your files even when you’re offline.

The thing is I don’t need all the… Read more

There are things that I’m thankful for this year. Yes, I also got a lot of setbacks but that wouldn’t make me less thankful.

I’m thankful for my family as always. No words can ever describe how thankful I am for the gift of family.

I’m also thankful for my… Read more

I needed to upgrade my tools. It was not a matter of “want” but of “need”. It’s no longer enough to have just the bare minimum, specially when you need to test or study about certain features of SQL Server that require multiple servers in a network environment.

My current… Read more

Developers will love this latest improvement, specially those that have SQL Server Express installed on their laptops or workstations but still work with full versions of SQL Server on their network.

In the past you have to have at least the Developer Version of SQL Server if you also wanted… Read more

You probably heard about 7 Days To OLAP by Simon Doubt. It’s Simon’s experiment on learning OLAP during his stay on the PASS Summit. This is a very interesting concept and you should try it. The experiment has four key elements:

• Focus on one goal
• Isolation from regular work/life responsibilities

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Weeks Before The Event

1. Check for conflict in Schedule
   • Family Activities (Y/N)
   • Business Appointment (Y/N)
   • Other Commitments (Y/N)
2. Plan the Trip
   • Distance (calculate travel time)
   • Budget $ (Gasoline, food, etc.)
   • Airline/Hotel Booking (if applicable)
3. Want to Volunteer for the Event (Y/N)

Few Days Before The Event

1. Check If Schedule is…

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Many can boast that they were trained by Paul and Kimberly Randal at SQLskills. That company is so highly regarded in SQL Server circle that having undergone training with them is considered a great privilege.

Not all of us will have the same privilege of sitting in an Immersion Event Read more

Like I said on Twitter, here’s the post about the dashboard I created using Tableau, a BI visualization software. I’ve been hearing good things about Tableau from different people and from the social networks. A couple of friends from Twitter encouraged me to try it and see if I… Read more

I’m nowhere near where I needed to be. I am not digging enough. I’m not learning enough. Learning opportunities are not landing on my lap.

I have to go out on my own and learn SQL Server on my own time and resources.

This blog was never meant to become… Read more

I recently placed an order for a ThinkPad W530 from Lenovo. One day before the estimated shipping date, I noticed that I inadvertently picked the integrated wireless card that I didn’t want (ThinkPad B/G/N 1×1). I wanted the Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (or at least Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205) instead. Read more

Jen McCown (Blog | Twitter) wrote about an interesting topic on the different levels of database professionals. In her article, Jen identified the three levels as Junior, Mid-Level, and High-Level.

I’m not repeating here her descriptions of the different levels, so go and read her article (link… Read more