#LGBT channel on SQL Slack!

May 14, 2019 Andy 1

Last night while having dinner with my husband, I had a thought and messaged Chrissy LeMaire (blog|twitter) on the SQL Server Community Slack. Thoughts on an LGBTQ channel here? I doubt it would be very active… But I’d love to have a spot for the … [Read More]

What the heck is downtime, anyway?

April 15, 2019 Andy 2

There’s a lot of discussion about preventing downtime. As a DBA and IT professional, it’s my sworn duty to prevent downtime. I usually describe my job as DBA something along the lines of, “to make sure data is always available to the people and applications … [Read More]

Code to purge data based on creation date

April 4, 2019 Andy 6

Yesterday, I talked about batching deletes, and the day before I talked about how much I like to delete data, and why it’s necessary to do it, despite being a data pack rat. Today, let’s look at just one scenario, and how I like to handle it. In my experience, this is one of the most common purge requirements (and probably the easiest), so first, let’s look at the business requirements.

Purging data with batched deletes

April 3, 2019 Andy 2

Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of planning your data purges. Today, let’s look at the simplest requirement for purging data: Keep data for X days after it’s created.

The thrill of purging old data

April 2, 2019 Andy 0

DBAs & Data professionals tend to be digital packrats. My personal Google Drive is filled with random files that I refused to part with–even though it’s of questionable value. I lament that I do not have a copy of every paper I typed in high school or college–and I envy those who do. You never know when you’ll need notes from that meeting 6 years ago, or when you’ll need that funny GIF you created for an inside joke you no longer remember.

SQL: A love story

January 21, 2019 Andy 0

I’m a college drop-out. When I was trying to figure out my life, a friend (my brother’s ex) referred me to a software company where she was working–I got the job because I was (a) breathing, (b) eager to do the job, and (c) cheap. … [Read More]

Failure is always an option

January 15, 2019 Andy 1

Bloggers spend a lot of time writing about our successes, but we’re human and we make mistakes, too. This post is a chance to share one of my memorable failures.

Using PowerShell to tidy up CSV files

December 28, 2018 Andy 0

I was recently fussing with a CSV file that had an inconsistent number of columns. UGH. There was a bunch of historical data that had 4 columns, and then more recent data had a new attribute added with 5 columns. I spent a few minutes … [Read More]

Working from home: Home office tour

December 18, 2018 Andy 4

About two years ago, I moved my home office down into the basement at our house. Earlier this year, I started a new job at SentryOne, and work from home full time. This means I spend more (awake) time in my office than any other room in the house. I thought I’d take everyone through a guided tour of my home office.