SQLBits 2023
Super excited that I was selected to speak at SQLBits 2023. The conference is taking place 14-18 March 2023 in Wales. I have never been to Wales and am...
2023-01-06 (first published: 2022-12-23)
239 reads
SQL Swimmer
Power BI Learning Opportunity at SQLBits
If you’ve been thinking about learning Power BI, I have a wonderful opportunity for you. I will be presenting, along with my friend and colleague Michael Johnson (Blog |...
2022-02-24
18 reads
Unable to Validate Source Query in Tabular Editor
I recently encountered the error, “Unable to validate source query” when trying to refresh the metadata for the tables in my tabular model using Tabular Editor. I immediately googled...
2022-03-14 (first published: 2022-02-22)
187 reads
Bits Buddies
SQLBits is fast approaching, in fact, Training Days start 2 weeks from today, on March 8, 2022. I’ve attended SQLBits before, as well as other large conferences, but I...
2022-02-22
22 reads
I Still Can’t Believe It!
I received my MVP award letter from Microsoft today. This will make the fourth time I’ve been awarded and I still can’t believe it. I just wanted to help...
2021-07-01
26 reads
Data Saturday #8–Southwest US
I am very excited to announce that I will be speaking for Data Saturday #8 – Southwest US, coming up on Saturday, May 15, 2021. I will be delivering...
2021-05-08
15 reads
Data Weekender v3.1
I am super excited about this new version of Data Weekender, coming up on Saturday, May 15, 2021. This will be the third time I have been selected to...
2021-05-08
20 reads
It’s Not Horrible, It’s Just Very Sad
This is a non-technical post, but a necessary one for me. If you’re only interested in technical content, that’s okay, you can stop reading, I won’t be offended (heck,...
2020-08-25
45 reads
When Your Azure Data Catalog App Won’t Connect
This year I created a new presentation for introducing Azure Data Catalog. I love this product and think it has so much potential and everyone should be using it! ...
2020-06-15 (first published: 2020-05-26)
215 reads
I’m Speaking at #SQLSatBrisbane
I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, in fact we have a trip planned for Martin’s 60th birthday in a couple of years. But with all that’s happened in...
2020-05-18
57 reads
Blogs
PowerPoint to HTML with Claude AI
By Steve Jones
I had an idea for an animated view of a sales tool, and started...
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...
Forums
Tame Those Strings (Series)
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Tame Those Strings (Series)
SSRS shared dataset parameters not showing in expression builder
I am creating shared datasets that our executive staff can use for creating reports...
SSRS shared dataset parameters not showing in expression builder
I am creating shared datasets that our executive staff can use for creating reports...
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