I'm so happy to once again be hosting T-SQL Tuesday. If you're not familiar, T-SQL Tuesday is a blogging party hosted by a different person each month. It's a creation of Adam Machanic, and it's been going on for over 6 years now! Basically the host selects a topic, defines the rules, and then everyone else blogs about …

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Thank you so much to the wonderful organizing committee of SQL Saturday Madison 2016 for selecting me to present! I'm a huge fan of Madison – it's a great city that's not-too-terribly far from my house. I've had amazing times at their previous SQL Saturdays in 2012, 2013, and 2015, and I can only assume it will be just …

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We're proud to announce our lineup of speakers and sessions for SQL Saturday Chicago, taking place on Saturday, March 5, 2016! Building a schedule for an event like this is never easy, especially given the number and variety of submissions. Thank you to all who submitted! We received a total of 148 abstracts from 66 …

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I'm already at peace with the fact that I'll never know all of SQL Server's secrets, but that doesn't stop me from being surprised every time I figure out something new. In this case, it's another "secret" hiding in plain sight (Books Online). It turns out that the DROP DATABASE statement doesn't just have to …

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Registration is now open for Chicago's 6th SQL Saturday! It will be taking place at DeVry University's Addison Campus on March 5 2016. Please join us! If you're not familiar with SQL Saturday, it's a free day of training for data professionals, covering a wide variety of topics relating to database administration, …

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When backing up a database or transaction log, SQL Server needs to know two basic things: What information the backup should contain Where it's going to be written Many options exist to control the contents and behavior of a backup: whether it's full, differential, or a log, if it should be compressed, copy_only, …

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I had a beyond amazing week at SQL Saturday Portland and PASS Summit, but now it's back to reality. Time to catch up on sleep, return to the daily grind of work, and enjoy the comforts of home. Gotta sort through all those photos, start counting down the 51 weeks until the next Summit (PASS has a countdown clock up on …

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It's nearly upon us! Next week, data professionals from around the world will gather in Seattle for the spectacle that is PASS Summit. A conference (and family reunion) like no other, we'll share knowledge, war stories, fellowship, and also germs (because I'm pretty sure I've come home with some strain of the nerd flu …

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There's a little more than a month to go until two momentous occasions are upon us: PASS Summit, and the deadline for Argenis Without Borders 2.0! Maybe reaching our goal will help impress him! If you're not familiar with last year's incarnation, Argenis Without Borders started as an office dare by Kirsten Benzel and …

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I'm extremely honored to once again be part of the speaker lineup for PASS Summit. This will be my 4th year in attendance and my 3rd year speaking, and the joy of being there never gets old. It's an incredible gathering of people from all over the world who are passionate about data, and returning each year feels like …

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