As much as we'd all like to set up our SQL instances and never again let anyone touch them, that's just not possible in real life. We live in a world where entities, for good or for evil, are constantly exposing vulnerabilities both in the SQL software and Windows itself. For that reason it is... Continue Reading →
Giving Yourself Permission To Lose
One of the most profound turning points in my life was the moment that I gave myself the permission to lose. Please do not confuse this with apathy or a lack of ambition. It's more of an upfront decision to roll with the punches, coupled with a focused vision on what is worth pursuing. Let... Continue Reading →
Unlocking Liberty
This week a US judge asked Apple Inc. to help them unlock the iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernardino shooters. The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, has resisted this order citing risk to his customers and implications that extend past the case itself. Since then, notable people have stood up in defense... Continue Reading →
The Price of Free
When looking at which tech toys to use it's easy to differentiate by the upfront cost. An iPad, for example, can be twice the price of some of its competitors. This can certainly be prohibitive, no matter the quality of the device. I very much enjoy my Macbook Pro, but I would not be using one... Continue Reading →
Love God and Love People
There are a multitude of verses in the Bible and endless topics of conversation that can be drawn from them. However, we often forget that complexity is not the point. There is a simple message that ties it all together: love God and love people. Below I have recorded the verses that, to me, sum up God's... Continue Reading →
Consider It Pure Joy
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4; NIV) What on earth is James talking about? Consider it joy when... Continue Reading →
Is Optimizing for AdHoc Queries Worth It?
As you probably know, there is a server configuration option called "optimize for ad hoc workloads". For more details on that option check out the MSDN article. The real question is, how do I know the extent to which my environment uses AdHoc queries? Well, as usual there is a DMV for that. Use the... Continue Reading →
Managing CDC Jobs on an Availability Group
So, here's the deal. You've got Change Data Capture going in your environment and want to move your database to an Availability Group on SQL Server 2012. That's great, lots of advantages there. But what happens to CDC when your database fails over to a different node? Since the capture process runs through SQL Agent... Continue Reading →
Web Hosting Tools
Over the last year or so I've been getting more into web hosting for myself and friends. Below are the solutions I've chosen to use and I would recommend them to anyone. Name.com: This is the site I'm using both to register my domain and to host the site. They are easy to use, affordable,... Continue Reading →
Windows 8 Evaluation
My opinion of Windows 8 after using it for a bit: I think it will work well for personal machines. I'm going back to Windows 7 on my work laptop. In our case the apps we use just aren't compatible enough with it yet and the interface doesn't yield itself to higher work efficiency. Evaluate... Continue Reading →