Where does he get all those wonderful toys?  In the line made famous by Jack Nicholson’s Joker in the original Batman movie (c1989), the question may finally be answered!  He must have been hitting the SQLSaturday circuit, and other wonderful SQL conferences.  Will Batman show up at next week’s PASS Summit, with a large bat backpack?

With today’s TSQL Tuesday no. 47, the blog party goes on, but this time, don’t forget the SWAG!  No, we’re not talking about “an ornamental festoon of flowers, fruit, and greenery, as defined by TheFreeDictionary.com, yet the “FREE” is the operative word.  One would have to go with the UrbanDictionary.com definition, to understand what us techies and lovers of free stuff mean. 

Yes, today we’re talking about SWAG, Something We All Get (or Stuff We All Get), meaning those nifty, shiny, plastic, rubber, and electronic goodies that we hoard, er, I mean collect, or receive from our favorite tech vendors, in order to visit their product and service booths.  This fun and timely TSQL Tuesday topic, is brought to us by SQL MVP Kendal Van Dyke, aka SQLDBA (blog|twitter). Kendal works at UpSearch as a  Principal Consultant  and is a database strategist, community advocate, public speaker and blogger.  He also wrote a really awesome powershell app for documenting your SQLServer Environment, available for download, called SQLPowerDoc .

Kendal wants us to write about our “Best SQL Server SWAG”, and I have a few, but also a SWAG story to share.  Now, being the co-chair of the recent SQLSaturday#235 in NYC, I know something about SWAG!  I received first dibs; I mean, I first received boxes of it before the event to distribute to the SQL masses.  And, as sponsor coordinator, we are most grateful for their contributions!

So, we all love SWAG don’t we?  So why is it any different when my son accompanies me with an abundance of enthusiasm to various SQL Saturdays?  It must be the awesome SQL Server sessions to learn about the latest product features of SQL Server 2014, or SSAS.  Right?  Uh, no.  (Although he sat through WIT, Networking, and VM session, and feels honored when he gets to pick the raffles) He is my personal SWAG collector.  Complete with empty SWAG bag satchel in hand, he makes the rounds over the course of the day. Of course, I get the slim pickings when we get home.  But sometimes, I stash one or two neat knickknacks away for myself.  He doesn’t really need that light up pen, and don’t want to bring airplanes down with those laser pointers! At times I accompany him to the vendor tables, so I can chat with the folks.  No, son, sorry, that Ipad Mini is NOT part of the SWAG!  Put it back!

Back at home, my living room is like a mini-carnival with light up pens, cups, ice-cubes, yo-yos, flashlights, and other accessories.  Flying around the room, are rubber-band airplanes, and Soaring Eagle foam rockets darting from side-to-side. (Man those fly pretty far!)  Bubbles floating in the air – hey, I said no bubbles in the house! How about those coffee cup holders from Dell, but used as mini-mouse pads or wrist-bands that look pretty cool?  Don’t forget the water sports bottles, and hats with straws.  Oh, and please don’t start putting those Toad stickers on the wall! You can wear those Confio buttons, but don’t stick your sisters with a pin. (just kidding!)

I do very much like, call me boring, the logo hats and t-shirts, but I especially like the functional useful ones.  For example, I have many great shoulder bags that has made many trips to the beach, park and other places. I hate plastic bags, so these vendor logo bags come in quite handy, and are pretty strong.  I especially dig the neat mini-thumb drives with 4-8GB, and love those laser pointers, for presentations of course.  And, one cannot discount the volume (get it, discount the volume - HA!) of free SQL Server books from Apress, Microsoft Press, Red Gate, and Joes2Pros! Do these guys know about this? 😉

Probably one of my favorite pieces of SWAG, which isn’t cheap, was something I use today in all my presentations – a Wireless USB Laser Presentation Remote!  I’d have to say that one is my favorite, because of its usefulness and longevity!  While most of my SWAG has long since vanished, my trusty electronic slide clicker has come through for me time and again!  Just have to remember to change those batteries!

Alright, I want to personally thank Kendal for this thoroughly enjoyable topic.  Thanks for hosting this month! 

NOW I COMMAND THEE, go forth to PASS and collect SWAG!

If you are interested in participating in T-SQL Tuesday, do make sure you follow some simple rules:

• Your post must be published between 00:00 GMT Tuesday, October 8th, 2013, and 00:00 GMT Wednesday, October 9th, 2013

• Your post must contain the T-SQL Tuesday logo from above and the image should link back to this blog post.

• Trackbacks should work, but if you don’t see one please link to your post in the comments section below so everyone can see your work

And some optional (and highly encouraged) things to also do:

• Include a reference to T-SQL Tuesday in the title of your post

• Tweet about your post using the hash tag #TSQL2sDay

• Consider hosting T-SQL Tuesday yourself. Adam Machanic keeps the list.

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