Sean’s giving a precon at SQL Satrurday 163 this October! Oh yeah, and so are Tim Mitchell and David Stein. Here’s the word from the fearless leaders:

In addition to our Special Bi Edition of SQLSaturday #163 Dallas
<http://sqlsaturday.com/163/eventhome.aspx> , let
<http://northtexas.sqlpass.org/> NTSSUG help you immerse…

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We here in the IT community are clearly concerned about our weight. More specifically, we’re concerned about our weight going up and up like a growth chart for a high-transaction OTLP database. (SQL tie-in for ya, there.)

Starting to move…

We’re starting to do something about it. I know people… Read more

Note that THIS talk, and a ton more, is the subject of Sean’s  precon at SQL Saturday #163 Dallas this fall.

We can’t really livecast Sean’s session, so I’ll live note-take.

Tonight’s session is on being able to answer questions before they’re asked.

Intro

• Right now we’re talking about estimating…

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SQL Server 2012 Cumulative Update (CU) 2 is out! If you’re like Me-from-10-years-ago, you couldn’t care less!

But there are actually some good reasons for paying attention to new CUs.  For example: it’s one good way to get to know the new version of SQL Server: play with the bugs… Read more

I’ve recently been asked for some clarification about this statement (from my last blog post): “This is EXACTLY the kind of job I’m NOT looking for.”  Inquiring minds want to know: What turns you – meaning me – off of a job, especially in the first interview? 

First, it’s… Read more

Best. Luncheon. EVAR.

I just finished up moderating this year’s Women in Technology panel here at SQLRally, and it was fantastic.  SQLSentry sponsored (thanks!), and our panelists were SQL notables Erin Welker (@sqlbigirl), Jen Stirrup (@jenstirrup), and Wes Brown (@SQLServerIO)*.

The topic was absolutely brilliant: Negotiation. The abstract:

Whether…

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Conferences are awesome. They are full of people and sessions. Almost…TOO many sessions. How on Earth do you get in the “right” ones?

I can see this problem from both sides of the fence. On the one hand, it can be very difficult to understand what content a session may… Read more

TheOatmeal.com has provided the absolute best counsel regarding creativity vs marketing. The comic I’m talking about is entitled “How to get More Likes on Facebook“, but the advice applies to absolutely everything we do. For example:

• Panel 1, 2, & 4: Over-pimping your blog, product, or session (in…

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This is in response to yesterday’s Twitter conversation, and subsequent blog by Eddie Wuerch, about submitting to more than one SQL event on the same date.

Doubling down? It’s just not my bag, baby…

I guess it never occurred to me that this would be such a problem: submitting… Read more

Two days of precons.
60 regular sessions over two days.
The now-famous Women in Technology luncheon.
Open access to Microsoft Customer Service and Support engineers and the SQL Server Customer Advisory Team.

And you’re not GOING? Are you SERIOUS?!?  Do you have any idea how easy it is… Read more

For me, conference season begins with the new year, and ends with the PASS Summit (sorry, November and December SQL Saturdays!), with a break sometime in the summer.  Last week I spoke at #SQLSat111 in Atlanta, this week in Houston, and next month at SQLRally. Busy times!

SQL Saturday Houston

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I particularly enjoy SQL Saturdays in Atlanta for a few reasons. It gives me an excellent excuse to come out and see one of my best friends from college, Georgia is simply gorgeous, I get to see a TON of my SQL friends, and Atlanta UG….well you know, Atlanta UG… Read more

A while back I invited the unpublished masses to submit abstracts for a new-author-written SQL book – called Tribal SQL – and the people spoke.  The chosen ones are now feverishly writing their first drafts, as the rough deadline for first drafts approaches.

This entire proceeding is new, interesting, fun,… Read more

This will be my first Meme15 (here’s Jason Strate’s original Meme15 post), and today we’re talking Facebook. The question is:

How do you balance mixing family, friends, peers, and co-workers on Facebook?

Frankly, I simply don’t use Facebook much; I’m a Twitter being.  My personal Twitter account posts to… Read more

Updated with links to no-login goodness. Updated again with IE rage.

This week, Microsoft announced the SQL Server 2012 release to market (RTM), and a Virtual Launch event.  Much like a movie premiere, an event like this is meant to really jazz up SQL customers (and potential customers) about the… Read more

Originally published March 6, now with Post-launch updates.

Just a quick note for you today: Microsoft announced that SQL Server 2012 (previously codenamed “Denali”) has released to manufacturing. pGo download the evaluation and play around with it on a test environment*, and impress your boss, friends, and children with… Read more

Edit: The group I’m speaking to is the Content Team, not the Books Online (BOL) team!

Edit: Updated with FAQs and clarifications.

I’m at the Microsoft MVP Summit in Bellevue, WA this week. Today I’m talking to the SQL Server Content team – one of my very favorite… Read more

Update: Jen Lussier has blogged a summary of the talks she had at the MVP summit last week. Take a look!

I’m at the Microsoft MVP Summit in Bellevue, WA this week (and having a simply lovely time, thanks for asking!)  MS Community Program Manager Jen Lussier tweeted:

Looking 4…

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Dear Sir or Madam,

I have your resume here in my hand and couldn’t help but notice that you have listed several versions of SQL Server in the experience section.  You may be an interviewee for a position in SQL Server, a .NET, or some other IT related discipline.  Regardless… Read more

I have a tablix in an SSRS report, populated by a query that might or might not return any rows.  What I want to do is make that tablix invisible if there are no rows returned.

First off, to set conditional visibility. 

1. Right-click the tablix and select Properties. 
2. Click Visibility.

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