Nice article.

In many ways, I feel it is a great shame that the full-text index engine was allowed to stagnate.  If that had had some TLC over the years perhaps...

People like Scott Taylor (The Data Whisperer) are both entertaining and informative.  Because he is a public speaker, the closed caption interpretation is excellent.

So much out there relies on video and audio. As a deaf person, this is a whole world I struggle to interact with.

As an experiment, turn the sound off and...

In my 1st job, PCs were just starting to appear in the office for general use.  We used to get some strange support calls, like the one from the manager...

I switched to a small company where you need to have a broad range of skills and be prepared to grasp any nettle.

I needed to have a solid grasp of...

Definitely agree!

When your energy levels get below a certain point, getting that energy back feels impossible.

I see many DBs that would run perfectly happily on SQL Server 2000.  I've seen various pieces that put the average data warehouse size at below 250Gb.

I can see why...

I was given the task of migrating an application that hadn't been touched or patched in years.  The app relies on AWS Lambdas written in Python 3.8, and AWS issued...

I don't think SQL Server emits OpenTelemetry metrics yet, but this strikes me as where OpenTelemetry should come in. As I understand it, the parts you need are as follows:...

I think the important questions are:-

• Could we have tested for this through mechanical means?
• How would our approach to building software/databases have to change to make mechanical testing possible?

If...

Your comment on storing the data and failing to notice a downstream process is something that opens up a can of worms.

In the old days, a web app might store...

One observation I have from across my career is that people agonise over which product is best rather than which one meets their needs for the next 3-5 years.  The...

• Perfect is the enemy of good
• The worst decision is no decision

When people are scared to make a decision, is it because an organisation has a blame culture?

The culture...

Do IT people have the mentality for union membership?

On average, how long do IT people stick with one employer?  In the UK, demand for IT skills has always run ahead...

Primarily aimed at new starters, I have written a Confluence page that lists learning resources I recommend. For these, I list the following

• Technology of interest
• Author or presenter
• Price...