Meme Monday For May

If you're an alliteration aficionado, you'll like the fact that's it's May Meme Monday! Thanks to Thomas LaRock (blog|Twitter) for a thought-provoking question:

If you could go back in time and meet yourself on Day One of your IT career, what advice would you give?

This was harder to answer than I thought it would be. I guess the most important piece of advice would be the thoroughly un-original: don't 'go with the flow' in your job, accepting things the way they are; take a more active role in managing your career.

A few more bon mots from the present to the 1970-something version of me:

• Don't waste your time trying to be a programmer; you're not going to be very good at it.
• You're going to write an application using a product named 'dBase' on a 'Personal Computer' in a few years, and you're going to think it's pretty cool. Stay focused on that.
• There's going to be this company called 'Apple'. When their stock gets ridiculously low, buy it - lots of it. We'll both be glad you did.

Meme Monday For December

It's Meme Monday time again. This month, Thomas LaRock (blog|Twitter) wants to know:

What gift do you want Microsoft to leave for you under the tree this year?

Hmm, let's see...Microsoft wouldn't give me an iPhone, would they? I'll guess I'll have to settle for a Windows Phone; I should probably start learning the Metro UI anyway.

Oh, and Santa Bill (or is it Santa Steve these days)? A few vouchers for certification tests would make nice stocking-stuffers, too.

Meme Monday: Dumb SQL Questions

Once again, it's Meme Monday. Thomas LaRock's (Blog | Twitter) meme this month is dumb SQL questions.

First, let me express an opinion. I agree with the ideas that there are no dumb questions, or the only dumb question is one that isn't asked. But I think there are lazy questions, questions that could be answered with a little digging (or a quick Google search), but it's just easier to ask the DBA. I don't like lazy questions, and I try not to ask them.

Now, on to this month's meme. I don't really have a dumb question, more of a dumb attitude. It seems that a lot of end-users and developers think that creating a database takes about as much time and effort as creating a spreadsheet. They need it tomorrow, and don't understand when we start asking about schemas, tables, constraints, etc.

I suppose the DBA team needs to do a better job at education, but sometimes it seems like a lost cause.

It's Meme Monday Again

It's the 1st Monday of the month, so Thomas LaRock (Blog | Twitter) has another Meme Monday. Here's my list of Nine Things That Can Go Wrong With SQL Server That Don't Involve Disks:

1. Users delete data they shouldn't.
2. A memory module goes bad.
3. Backup tapes get lost or damaged.
4. The SA password is compromised.
5. The network goes out, so no one can access the database.
6. The requirements for a project change drastically at the last minute.
7. The documentation you're using to try to fix a problem turns out to be wrong.
8. Your mentor suddenly quits.
9. Your raise is denied.