SQL Saturdays and Why We Have Them
There has been some recent controversy over SQL Saturdays after PASS HQ announced some new changes. The changes introduced a...
2016-08-19 (first published: 2016-08-18)
1,870 reads
Tim Radney
SQL Server: Consolidation Tactics and Best Practices
My very first course has been published on Pluralsight – SQL Server: Consolidation Tactics and Best Practices. In this course I...
2016-07-21
1,505 reads
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Today I received an email notifying me that I have been awarded the Microsoft “MVP” award for my second year....
2015-07-01
1,234 reads
Getting Your Worth the Struggles with Moving Ahead
I often get asked for advice on how to get started in a career as a DBA or in IT...
2014-12-19 (first published: 2014-12-10)
6,993 reads
I am joining SQLskills
I am no longer just a SQLskills Insider, I am now a SQLskills employee. I have accepted an offer to...
2014-12-19
1,307 reads
#Summit14 Embarcadero Book Signing
The blessings continue as Embarcadero offered to support my new book by hosting a book signing and providing 100 copies...
2014-11-04
1,056 reads
Managing Geeks – A journey of leading by doing
I am proud to share that my good friend Andy Leonard has just released a new book. This is also...
2014-10-29
1,880 reads
SQL Server 2014 Backup and Recovery
In early October my third book was published. I have been blessed to be able to work with Joes2Pros for my...
2014-10-29
1,876 reads
SQL Server 2008 SP4 Released
On September 30th 2014 Microsoft released service pack 4 for SQL Server 2008. This service pack contains all cumulative updates...
2014-10-01
1,391 reads
What PASS is to me #sqlpass
I found out about the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) in 2008 when I attended my first PASS Community Summit “SQL...
2014-09-29
1,631 reads
Blogs
Don’t Miss Out – SQL Server Query Tuning Fundamentals Starts Next Monday!
Next Monday, February 9, 2026, my one-day live online training SQL Server Query Tuning...
Monday Monitor Tips: SQL Auditing Preview
By Steve Jones
One of the features we advocates have been advocating for is a better way...
SQL Server 2025 CU1 Fixes the Docker Desktop AVX Issue on macOS
Microsoft fixed the AVX instruction issue in SQL Server 2025 CU1. The container now...
Forums
25 Years of SQL Server Central
Comments posted to this topic are about the item 25 Years of SQL Server...
The Decoded Value
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Decoded Value
Deploying SQL Server Developer Edition in Kubernetes: A Cost-Effective Alternative to RDS
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Deploying SQL Server Developer Edition...
Question of the Day
The Decoded Value
In SQL Server 2025, what is returned from this code:
DECLARE @message VARCHAR(50) = 'Hello SQL Server 2025!'; DECLARE @encoded VARCHAR(MAX); SET @encoded = BASE64_ENCODE(CAST(@message AS VARBINARY(1000))); SELECT BASE64_DECODE(@encoded)See possible answers