Rick Heiges

Rick Review: Day 3 Keynote PASS Summit 2011 - Big Data-What's the Big Deal?

2012-02-10T13:40:00Z

I recently did a Rick Review of the Day 3 Keynote from the 2008 PASS Community Summit that featured Dr. DeWitt speaking on new technology that ended up in the Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) edition of SQL Server 2008 R2. I decided to also listen again to the Day 3 Keynote from the 2001 PASS Community Summit. While I listened intently to the keynote on Day 3 of this past summit, something seemed to be somewhat familiar. Had I heard some of these concepts before? The keynotes from the most recent PASS...(read more)

Rick Review: Day 3 Keynote of the 2008 PASS Community Summit

2012-02-09T19:04:00Z

Am I stuck in the past? Not really, but I like to blog about the recordings that I have recently watched. There are a lot of recordings out there on the PASS website and other places. Recently I have had the good fortune of exploring some of the neat technology behind the Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) in SQL Server 2008 R2. In order to get myself grounded in some of the basics around what PDW was all about, I decided to review the Dr. DeWitt keynote (Day 3) from the 2008 PASS Community Summit. The...(read more)

Rick Review: SQLBits7: Consolidating Data Collection with SQLDIAG and SQLNexus

2012-01-06T02:54:00Z

I ran across this recording about 3 months ago. It is a recording that is open to everyone. It was recorded at SQLBits 7 with Christian Bolton as the speaker for a session entitled: "Consolidating data collection with SQLDIAG and analysing it all with SQLNexus". I found it very informative and hope that you will too. SQLBits is a UK based conference that occurs twice a year and I can't wait to attend one personally from the stories that I have heard. They record the sessions and make each one available...(read more)

Rick Review: PASS Summit 2011 - DBA-104-S

2012-01-05T18:34:00Z

I recently got my DVD set from the PASS 2011 Summit and started to look through all of the sessions that I missed. Wow! I can't wait to go through all of these! It will take me a while. Since this is a new year and many people are often greeted with new challenges (like a new server to manage), I decided that this session would be a good one to review. It is by Brent Ozar and titled "BLITZ! The SQL - More One Hour SQL Server Takeovers". Essentially, Brent shares with the audience his experience of...(read more)

Rick's Review - Goal for 2012

2012-01-05T18:14:00Z

One of my goals in 2012 is to blog on a more consistent basis. One idea that I have for keep this goal is to blog about a webcast or session recording that I listened to. I often listen to webcasts / session recordings while working. It helps to keep me "current". So I will be starting a series called "Rick Reviews" which will be providing a summary and key things that I learned from a webcast or recording. I hope that you find these useful and can help point out some resources that you may not have...(read more)

Be Prepared to ask the CSS and SQLCAT folks your toughest questions....

2011-09-20T03:02:00Z

As I alluded to in my blog series on "What to expect at the 2001 PASS Community Summit", the SQL Clinic will once again be in full swing. See the following blog post on how to best be prepared to get your question answered. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/psssql/archive/2011/09/19/inside-the-sql-server-clinic.aspx...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Summary

2011-09-19T13:30:00Z

As I finish up preparing for the Sep 20 (@1pm ET) webcast, I thought a final blog post may be appropriate in order to quickly reference many of the areas that I have touched upon. Naturally, much of this information is geared towards First Timers, but Alumni are welcome to join in the webcast as well and are encouraged to help spread even more tips/tricks around to all who attend. General Overview Planning Your Learning Itinerary Meals More Than Just Sessions - And Be Prepared Networking After Hours...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Part 8

2011-09-19T11:30:00Z

In this post, Logistics centered around how to get to downtown from the airport (SEA - commonly referred to as SEA-TAC for Seattle - Tacoma). As you would expect, the Seattle airport is almost always busy. Some airports have periods where almost no activitiy is going on. That is rare here. Signage is good throughout the airport on how to get to Baggage CLaim and Ground Transportation. If your flight comes into the "N" or "S" satellite terminals, you will need to take at least one train to the main...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Part 7

2011-09-16T16:30:00Z

I really don't think that you can get the full flavor of the Summit unless you delve into Social Networking. There are multiple vehicles for social networking. Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and Yelp are all tools in the Social Networking Toolbox. At the Summit, the best one of these is Twitter. With twitter, yo can eavesdrop on conversations, get tips in real time, and find out where people are hanging out at. Here is a YouTube video that is pretty good about Twitter. There are other ones...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Part 6

2011-09-16T13:30:00Z

Now that I have covered just about all of the "official" Summit activities, it is time for a blog post about "After Hours" activities. There is a webpage that lists some of the activities that we are currently aware of. You can find that page here . Monday Night Networking Dinner - Last year, Andy Warren and Steve Jones started a Netowrking Dinner (Food / Drink is your own responsibility). It will be Monday Evening at Lowell's. More information is available on the link provided above.Follow general...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Part 5

2011-09-16T11:30:00Z

One of the most valuable parts of the entire Summit experience is the networking that goes on. In this post, I will go over some of the opportunities for you to network with others. Once again, this post will not focus on "after hours" activities which will come later. Badge and Ribbons - Once you get to the Summit and pick up your materials, you will have a badge. The badge will have the following information on it: Nick Name Full Name Company Name Where you are from Twitter Handle You will also...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Part 4

2011-09-15T11:30:00Z

The Summit is much more than just geat content from excellent speakers. There is a great deal of other stuff going on at the Summit to really enhance your experience. In this post, I will not focus on the "after hours" events. Do you want to get your hands dirty with Denali? Perhaps you downloaded the latest Denali bits, but you just never got a chance to install them. Or perhaps you just really don't know what's new with Denali and don't know exactly where to start. This is where the Hands-On Labs...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Part 3

2011-09-14T11:30:00Z

Another question that you may have is "What about food? What meals are included? Should I budget for meals?" Breakfast: A Continental Breakfast will be served from 7-8am in the Meal Hall on the 4th floor across from Registration Wed - Fri Lunch: This meal is usually more substantial. It is often quite good. Your typical Conference Food with multiple buffet lines. I can't recall, but occassionally, the lunch on Friday is a box lunch. Dinner: Dinner is not officially a meal provided; however, there...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Part 2

2011-09-12T13:11:00Z

One of the things that you should do is map out your "Learning Itinerary" before coming to the summit. It probably will change once you get onsite, but having a plan will save you time and perhaps some frustration. You can go to the Summit website and start to build your schedule. When you arrive at registration to get your badge and other materials, you will also receive a Program Guide. This booklet has a lot of information about the entire event. It has a detailed description of each session,...(read more)

PASS Summit 2011 - What you can expect at the Conference - Part 1

2011-09-09T15:19:00Z

This is the first in series of blog posts about getting ready for the PASS Summit 2011. Why am I doing this? I am preparing for my webcast on Sep 20 @ 1pm ET (Details to come) about this subject. I thought that I'd get this information out in a blog format as well. Even before the Conference Begins, there are some great training opportunities. Check out the great pre-cons happening Mon/Tue here . Pre-cons are $395 each except for the 2 hour Don Gabor Networking Session (3-5pm) which is $70.This is...(read more)