It’s Monday time for this week’s blog and twitter round-up for last week. If you haven’t already, follow me on twitter (@StrateSQL). This post provides a good chance to catch up on data platform technology and career related information I’ve shared in the last week and activity on this blog.

Most Popular Article Shared

Last weeks most popular shared article is a blog Paul Randal (Blog | @PaulRandal).  In it, he walks through new functionality with online index rebuilds that better manage blocking during those operations.  This is a good post to check out and to re-read from time to time to keep this functionality in mind.

Last Week’s Popular Posts

The most popular posts on this blog in the week are:

1. 31 Days of SSIS – The Introduction (735)
2. Get Just The Tools: SSMS Download (451)
3. 31 Days of SSIS – Raw Files Are Awesome (1/31) (359)
4. 31 Days of SSIS as a Book (288)
5. The Side Effect of NOLOCK (202)
6. Looking to SQL Server 2014 High Availability In Standard Edition (196)
7. XQuery for the Non-Expert – Value (152)
8. 31 Days of SSIS – Using Breakpoints (2/31) (126)
9. 31 Days of SSIS – Generating Row Numbers (23/31) (115)
10. 31 Days of SSIS – 10 Things About Expressions (16/31) (111)

Last Week’s Top 20 “Reading” Links

Along with the most popular link, here are the top twenty items relating to SQL Server, technology and careers that were shared last week. If you missed them throughout the week, here’s the opportunity to get caught up on some items that other’s read after I linked them out.

1. Low priority locking wait types [42 clicks]
2. Updates to SQL Server Reporting Services include Power BI Compatibility [30 clicks]
3. Career Directions Self-Assessment Quiz [25 clicks]
4. Microsoft just buried the hatchet with another huge and bitter rival, Red Hat [23 clicks]
5. The Basics of Personal Branding [20 clicks]
6. Amazon EC2 Dedicated Hosts: Much Cheaper SQL Server Licensing [19 clicks]
7. 5 Questions with Mike Fal [16 clicks]
8. Of clustered indexes and ordering [15 clicks]
9. Statistics: Working with R and Revolution Analytics Software [14 clicks]
10. Big Data: 20 Mind-Boggling Facts Everyone Must Read [14 clicks]
11. PASS Speaker Idol at PASS: Part of the Goal of Being a Better Speaker [13 clicks]
12. Machine Learning: What is Machine Learning? [11 clicks]
13. Aging Software [9 clicks]
14. Links from my SQLPASS Indexing Precon [9 clicks]
15. Create a SQL Data Warehouse by using the Azure preview portal [9 clicks]
16. Monitor your workload using DMVs [9 clicks]
17. The Data Scientist’s Computer [8 clicks]
18. AlwaysOn AG Databases Need Bigger Log Files [8 clicks]
19. Getting Started With DocumentDB [8 clicks]
20. Basic Database Mirroring Monitoring [8 clicks]

Last Week’s Posts From Previous Years

Sometimes the most useful content on a blog wasn’t written in the past week, it’s often other articles shared in the past that resonate with readers. Check out the following links that I published in past years over the past week:

1. Why are DBA skills necessary? #TSQL2sDay (2010-11-02)
2. Ask the Unicorn: Do I have to sing at SQL Karaoke? (2012-11-02)
3. Return of the Index Analysis Report (2010-11-04)

Other Items Shared

Of course, no week would be complete without a few off-topic links. These have nothing to do with technology or your career, but they are interesting and worth a second look.

1. 5 Ways to Make Enough Side Money to Eventually Quit Your Job [76 clicks]
2. The ‘driest place on Earth’ is covered in pink flowers after a crazy year of rain [42 clicks]
3. Try not to lose it over the character posters for ‘The Force Awakens’ [24 clicks]
4. Company Faces $718K Fine For Blocking WiFi Hotspots At Baltimore Convention Center [21 clicks]
5. Mother Says Book on Cancer Cell Research Is Too ‘Pornographic’ for Son’s School [19 clicks]
6. Jimmy Kimmel helped his writer expertly prank his poor roommate [13 clicks]
7. [Theory] Jar Jar Binks was a trained Force user, knowing Sith collaborator, and will play a central role in The Force Awakens [11 clicks]
8. Here’s Your First Look at Lego’s SHIELD Helicarrier Set (Exclusive) [9 clicks]
9. The Pentagon Has A Zombie Apocalypse Emergency Plan [7 clicks]
10. 2 Big Reasons Why Cheat Meals Are Worse Than Darth Vader [6 clicks]

Got something you think I should read and share, leave a comment below. Also, if you want to see all of the links that were tweeted out last week?