It’s not a question of scheduling. I just haven’t been to lots of community events in the last several months so that I can see community speakers and find one to give an award to. I’ve been trying. So, we’re giving out two awards this month (my blog, my award, my rules). Unfortunately, neither one is going to a full-blown community speaker. Hey, not my fault. I’m trying. Anyway, on with the show.

The first award goes to ALL the speakers on the SQL Cruise. That’s Jes Borland(b|t), Jeff Lehman(L), David Klee(b|t), and Kevin Kline(b|t). Look, I get it, Tim Ford(b|t), the guy who runs SQL Cruise, goes after top speakers (and, somehow I get in too). But, until you’ve watched these people present, in the long form sessions that SQL Cruise offers, you might not have seen these people at their very best. I did. I learned things about Amazon Web Services, VMWare, Automation, and just being a DBA, that I really didn’t know going in. And, I was entertained by witty people. And I was energized by animated, interesting talks on useful topics. Look, the main reason I didn’t pick a Speaker of the Month for February was because I wanted to do this and just didn’t feel like I should. I finally just gave in. So, here you go guys. You win. Amazing stuff. Thank you so much for sharing. And you, dear reader, should try to go on one of these cruises. It’s one of the best learning opportunities you’re going to hit.

The next award goes to Justin Langford(b|t) and his session on Get Started with Troubleshooting SQL Server presented at SQLBits.

This was a very good session. I really liked how Justin delivered the content. Not surprising since he’s an MVP and an MCM. He made good eye contact through the whole presentation. He presented troubleshooting in a way that people should actually follow. I also liked how he presented all the various tools (and seeing them listed out, there are a ton of native tools in SQL Server) and their uses. I learned a few things on some of the tools that I hadn’t worked with much, especially SQL Nexus. It was a great session that I can recommend.

The only thing I might change if I were Justin is that I’d rearrange the order just a little. I’d show the problem and then show the tool that solves it. He kind of approached it the other way around. It still worked great, but I think it would have worked a little better, maybe. But that’s it. It was a very solid session.

Next month, things should get back to normal. I’m hitting a SQL Saturday, so I should be able to track down some community people and get away from all these talented professionals.

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