Author: Michael Wall

Coming together

Michael Wall January 11, 2021 0 Comments
PASS, the organization we all know and love (and sometimes not love so much) has come to an end. I am not going to say anymore that has not already been said other than that I treasure all of my friends and experiences I have gained through PASS and look forward to the next chapter. Ironically enough, the day before the announcement was made, my co-president for Oregon Data Community, Jessica...

Sponsorship and giving back

Michael Wall August 06, 2020 0 Comments
I'm lucky to be in a good area with a lot of data professionals merely a drive away. I've made some good friends and really improved my knowledge just by having them available. Sadly, a number have also moved away like Alicia Moniz and Brandon Leach, but they still left their mark upon me (in a good way). But, Kellyn Pot'vin-Gorman just moved into the area, literally a bike ride away (a long...

Speaking at PASS Summit 2020

Michael Wall August 03, 2020 0 Comments
First of all, thank you for picking me to speak at PASS Summit again. I am honored and grateful and very appreciative of the chance to pass on knowledge to all my many peers out there in the world. And this time, it really will be out there in the world with the event going virtual!! I will be speaking on Polybase, which is a really fascinating tool for SQL Server that could use a little more...

Happy DBA Day!

Michael Wall July 03, 2020 0 Comments
Today is International DBA Appreciation Day! Go hug your local DBA (if they'll let you!) There have been many articles about the death of the DBA, the evolution of the DBA, how to feed a DBA, etc. Rob Sewell has posted on the many meanings of the DBA acronym, and let us not forget that it also means "Doing Business As" to the greater population! So what kind of a business are we doing? In my...

Polybase – It’s what’s for dinner

Michael Wall July 01, 2020 0 Comments
Polybase is a pretty cool technology that was debuted in SQL Server 2016 as part of the Big Data (Clusters) initiative. It got a bit of a facelift in SQL Server 2019 and now is really cool. I've been testing and breaking it in the past few months just for fun, but it got kind of exciting when I applied the SQL Server 2019 CU5 patch on my test cluster. I'll post about these findings as I am able...

PASS – Show us the numbers (you need)!!!

Michael Wall July 01, 2020 0 Comments
Let's face it, we're all data geeks. We love numbers, we love visualizations, we love dashboards (or at least know how to make them!). The PASS board said that they need a "certain amount of registrations to break even and a certain amount to make sure they keep the coffers full for next year". (paraphrased). In fact, an email even came out last week promising some numbers. Great! What are those...

Keeping the PASS dream alive

Michael Wall June 24, 2020 2 Comments
I went to a couple of sessions yesterday hosted by the PASS executive leadership and the board. Sadly there weren't that many leaders in the morning session, but the afternoon was more lively. A big thanks to the PASS leadership for putting on the time to do this. Remember, they are all volunteers as well and do have "day jobs". It was refreshing to have such a down to earth conversation with...

On PASS and what it means to me

Michael Wall June 20, 2020 0 Comments
I admit that I haven't been to many PASS Summits (two!), and most of my involvement with PASS has been on the sidelines, but my experiences with the SQL (ne Data now) Community have been almost without exception positive. I have been to many many SQL Saturdays and user group meetings and met so many quality, passionate, and kind people it's amazing. But, what has brought all of these people...

User Groups – pt 2

Michael Wall June 11, 2020 0 Comments
Last night was another successful meeting of the Oregon Data Community, virtually of course! We were thrilled to have two of our leaders speak, Jessica Aguilar, and Paul Turley, both on that Power BI thing that seems to be pretty popular... Jessica is our newest member to the leadership group and she's very excited about it. She's had a busy month with starting work at Pragmatic Works with me...

Communication – Business Continuity Style

Michael Wall June 10, 2020 0 Comments
At my many positions in my career, it has been said many times that "Communication is our number one priority." During this never ending period of crisis, poor communication between people, cities, counties, states, and countries has caused just as much confusion and delay (quoting Sir Topham Hatt of Thomas the Tank Engine fame) as the actual multiple crises! When something goes wrong at your...