It's become an annual tradition, on October 7th to celebrate Women In Technology and honor the legacy of Ada Lovelace. This year, many are talking about the women who have influenced them in their careers.
I plan to do the same in this post, but probably not honoring the people you would at first think.
As a member of the SQL community, there are the women who are at the top of all of our lists: Kalen Delaney and Kimberly Tripp to name the first two who come to mind (followed closely by Karen Lopez and Kendra Little...am I the only one sensing a trend with the 'K' names here?). However, the women in our community who have influenced me most are not household names, but deserve recognition, if only from me.
First, is Denise McInerny. A long time member of the SQL PASS community, I met her on my first day of my very first Summit (see Summit Memories post). Denise has been quite an inspiration to me over the years and not just because of her involvement with the WIT community. I admire her drive and sense of perspective in so many ways! She is not afraid of challenging the status quo and has no problem standing up for what she believes is Right. As much as she is an advocate of WIT, she's also a great person to go to when I'm not sure how to interpret events or resolve conflicts. Thanks, Denise for all the years of support and guidance, it's truly appreciated!
Next, I'd like to bring your attention to Kim Tessereau. I don't think she knows it, but she's been a big influence on me, inspiring me to take the stand and speak at a technical level. I've always loved teaching, and her easy-going style and ability to break concepts down into manageable chunks is something I aspire to reach. You can catch Kim at SQL Saturday events in the Midwest, so don't miss her if you get the chance!
Finally, for service with a smile no matter how crazy things can get, I'd like to recognize Sanjeet Gandham from PASS HQ. Sanj is always on top of things. She keeps absolutely everything organized. I wish I had 1/10th of the organizational ability she displays. Sanj, thank you for inspiring me to take on the tasks I have and give me the faith that I *can* get it all done.
Thank you all - I'm happy to not only know you and have the opportunity to work with you, but also to call each of you 'friend'.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Links for Presentations
Read Dirty To Me...Isolation Levels in SQL Server
http://www.littlekendra.com/2011/02/08/isoposter/ (Kendra Little - FREE Poster!)
http://www.littlekendra.com/resources/isolation/ (Excellent reference page)
http://michaeljswart.com/?p=604 (Transaction Phenomena)
Nolock info:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/davidlean/archive/2009/04/06/sql-server-nolock-hint-other-poor-ideas.aspx
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/news2/beware-the-nolock-hint
Visualizing Your Indexes: The Science Behind The Art
http://sqlchicken.com/sql-university/ (Grant Fritchey's Series on Indexing)
http://www.jasonstrate.com/2010/12/can-you-dig-it-missing-indexes/ (Jason Strate, finding missing Indexes)
http://performance.sqlpass.org/PresentationArchive.aspx (Paul Randal presentation)
http://sqlfool.com/2010/12/disposable-indexes/ (Michelle Ufford)
http://www.midnightdba.com/Jen/2009/12/get-index-included-column-info/ (MidnightDBA)
http://www.sqlteam.com/article/sql-server-indexes-the-basics
http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1452
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd171921(v=sql.100).aspx
http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1339
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc917715.aspx (Indexed Views)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms191475.aspx (Reading Pages)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms177443.aspx (Clustered Indexes)
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Fill+Factor/70827/ (Fill Factor)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc280372.aspx (Filtered Indexes)
http://www.littlekendra.com/2011/02/08/isoposter/ (Kendra Little - FREE Poster!)
http://www.littlekendra.com/resources/isolation/ (Excellent reference page)
http://michaeljswart.com/?p=604 (Transaction Phenomena)
Nolock info:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/davidlean/archive/2009/04/06/sql-server-nolock-hint-other-poor-ideas.aspx
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/news2/beware-the-nolock-hint
Visualizing Your Indexes: The Science Behind The Art
http://sqlchicken.com/sql-university/ (Grant Fritchey's Series on Indexing)
http://www.jasonstrate.com/2010/12/can-you-dig-it-missing-indexes/ (Jason Strate, finding missing Indexes)
http://performance.sqlpass.org/PresentationArchive.aspx (Paul Randal presentation)
http://sqlfool.com/2010/12/disposable-indexes/ (Michelle Ufford)
http://www.midnightdba.com/Jen/2009/12/get-index-included-column-info/ (MidnightDBA)
http://www.sqlteam.com/article/sql-server-indexes-the-basics
http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1452
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd171921(v=sql.100).aspx
http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1339
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc917715.aspx (Indexed Views)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms191475.aspx (Reading Pages)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms177443.aspx (Clustered Indexes)
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Fill+Factor/70827/ (Fill Factor)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc280372.aspx (Filtered Indexes)
Friday, September 16, 2011
PASS Summit Memories
Another #memeMonday
Yeah, I know...It's Friday. Deal.
**Authors note: I scheduled this to post last Friday, apparently that did NOT happen.
All week, people have been posting some of their favorite memories from the PASS Annual Summit. I am fortunate that for me, there are many to choose from. Some, people have heard me tell a few times, others I'm under strict NDA, so you'll just have to hang out and catch those as they happen!
My first, and still my fondest Summit memory is from my very first Summit, back in Orlando in the Year of the Hurricane. The Summit was actually delayed a day, but I had no trouble arriving on schedule, so I did what any Midwesterner would do when in Florida in November...I went to Epcot! That evening, it was time for the Welcome Reception at the resort, so I spruced up, pushed the elevator button and waited to descend 30-some-odd floors to the party.
It was on that fateful elevator ride I met my first other attendee at the Summit*. A nice-looking guy with glasses and a mischievous smile was wearing a badge and reading it, I happened to notice he was from Kansas City. Having grown up in St. Louis, and having spent a few years just outside of KC and visiting family there often (my home-away-from-home, truly), I felt an immediate kinship with this fellow Missourian, so I introduced myself. Being horrible with names, I was happy that his was easy to remember: Bill. Whew, nothing like trying to meet new people and forgetting their names...Bill would be easy enough to commit to memory. So we chatted for a minute or two about KC and the Summit and he learned this was my first time attending. I was really excited when he mentioned he would like to introduce me to some other people he knew attending, as I wasn't much looking forward to standing around at a big party with no one to talk to.
As we enter the party, my new friend looks around for his other 'people' and spots them several feet away.
"Hey DENISE! I have another one for you!" I hear him call. Now that made me giggle :) This wasn't my first technical conference, so I get it that women are few and far between at these things**. Plus, I could tell this guy was being genuine and he really was excited to help the ladies network. I spent the rest of the evening, and the Summit that year hanging out with my new found friends.
And, that, dear reader, is how I met Bill Graziano and Denise McInerny at my very first Summit!
*Okay, that's stretching it a tad, I did meet some other folks on the bus to Epcot.
**It's impressive how the percentage of female attendes has grown at Summit over the years.
Yeah, I know...It's Friday. Deal.
**Authors note: I scheduled this to post last Friday, apparently that did NOT happen.
All week, people have been posting some of their favorite memories from the PASS Annual Summit. I am fortunate that for me, there are many to choose from. Some, people have heard me tell a few times, others I'm under strict NDA, so you'll just have to hang out and catch those as they happen!
My first, and still my fondest Summit memory is from my very first Summit, back in Orlando in the Year of the Hurricane. The Summit was actually delayed a day, but I had no trouble arriving on schedule, so I did what any Midwesterner would do when in Florida in November...I went to Epcot! That evening, it was time for the Welcome Reception at the resort, so I spruced up, pushed the elevator button and waited to descend 30-some-odd floors to the party.
It was on that fateful elevator ride I met my first other attendee at the Summit*. A nice-looking guy with glasses and a mischievous smile was wearing a badge and reading it, I happened to notice he was from Kansas City. Having grown up in St. Louis, and having spent a few years just outside of KC and visiting family there often (my home-away-from-home, truly), I felt an immediate kinship with this fellow Missourian, so I introduced myself. Being horrible with names, I was happy that his was easy to remember: Bill. Whew, nothing like trying to meet new people and forgetting their names...Bill would be easy enough to commit to memory. So we chatted for a minute or two about KC and the Summit and he learned this was my first time attending. I was really excited when he mentioned he would like to introduce me to some other people he knew attending, as I wasn't much looking forward to standing around at a big party with no one to talk to.
As we enter the party, my new friend looks around for his other 'people' and spots them several feet away.
"Hey DENISE! I have another one for you!" I hear him call. Now that made me giggle :) This wasn't my first technical conference, so I get it that women are few and far between at these things**. Plus, I could tell this guy was being genuine and he really was excited to help the ladies network. I spent the rest of the evening, and the Summit that year hanging out with my new found friends.
And, that, dear reader, is how I met Bill Graziano and Denise McInerny at my very first Summit!
*Okay, that's stretching it a tad, I did meet some other folks on the bus to Epcot.
**It's impressive how the percentage of female attendes has grown at Summit over the years.
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