Are the posted questions getting worse?

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Are the posted questions getting worse?

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jcrawf02 SSC-Insane Points: 24198 More actions · Answer 1

Jack Corbett (9/29/2010)
GilaMonster (9/29/2010)
Kit G (9/29/2010)
Jack Corbett (9/29/2010)
Why assume that this person is a male?:-P
Because a woman couldn't possibly be wrong and therefore whatever she came up with would work and wouldn't be considered "Maverick". 😀 It's guys that mess things up...
😀 I was considering saying just about the same thing.
Just mentioned it because, at least in the US, a man could get himself into hot water if he used the "she" in that situation. I'm totally okay with using "he" in a gender neutral way, but I've met woman who are not okay with it. In this case they would be because it is describing a negative characteristic, but if I had asked about how you deal with a true superstar coder they would have a problem if I used a male pronoun.
I'm not trying to stir things up (too much ;-)) but this has been my experience.

That's why you should mix up your pronouns in the sentence, to throw people off.

"What would you do about a maverick coder who writes her code and then when you confront him, won't change?"

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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 2

Stefan Krzywicki (9/29/2010)
CirquedeSQLeil (9/29/2010)
Stefan Krzywicki (9/29/2010)
GilaMonster (9/29/2010)
Kit G (9/29/2010)
Jack Corbett (9/29/2010)
Why assume that this person is a male?:-P
Because a woman couldn't possibly be wrong and therefore whatever she came up with would work and wouldn't be considered "Maverick". 😀 It's guys that mess things up...
😀 I was considering saying just about the same thing.
I was considering saying that men are for more likely to be arrogant jerks who are always right in their own heads. : -)
Sadly I've found from experience that that's yet another area where the sexes are equal.
Tread lightly there 😉
I'm trying! Most people would agree. In fact, they usually describe me as very trying. : -)

B.A.G.

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
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Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736270 More actions · Answer 3

Speaking of stirring, new rice cooker coming today. Excited to be able to walk away and let it cook so I can only worry about stirring the pineapple curry my wife loves.

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 4

Steve Jones - Editor (9/29/2010)
Speaking of stirring, new rice cooker coming today. Excited to be able to walk away and let it cook so I can only worry about stirring the pineapple curry my wife loves.

Yum - rice and pineapple curry.

But then again, you had me at Rice.

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 5

Brandie Tarvin (9/29/2010)
Jeff Moden (9/29/2010)
The first country South of where I live is Canada. The first country North of where I live is Canada. And, the first country East of where I live is Canada. The fresh poo I accidently step in occasional at the parking lot at work is, you guess it, Canadian Goose poo.
So, you're Sarah Palin's next door neighbor? I've read stories about you ... @=)

Heh... nah... there are other places other than Alaska where such a thing occurs. 😉

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 6

Jack Corbett (9/29/2010)
So how do you all deal with a "maverick"/"lone ranger" coder? I think you all know what I mean. That person who goes off and does things however they want and hen get upset when you call them on it?

I don't. I nip it in the bud with standards and management buy in. And, no... it's not easier said than done because... I didn't say it was going to be easy. And, yes... some people will have to be fired at the proverbial pork chop dinner to make it work. Hell... that's where the pork chop story came from. 😉

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 7

GilaMonster (9/29/2010)
Grant Fritchey (9/29/2010)
GilaMonster (9/29/2010)
Just found out that the PM promised the users that they can see the reports on monday (as in next week). Fat bloody chance in hell, I'm still revising the DB design.
They'll probably just end up doing what we do around here. They'll release a piece of functionality or do a demo and declare the project "delivered on time." Then go back & finish it up.
The project isn't due until the end of next month. Why someone promised the user that he could see an [font="Arial Black"]end-to-end demo [/font]next week is absolutely beyond me. The database is still in flux, there's nothing more than test data in there, the data imports aren't finished and won't be for at least another week and we've just had to redesign a portion of database and front end.

BWAA-HAAA!!!! So just show the user the "ends". 😉 Sounds really stupid but I've seen it work... "Here's what goes in and, after we run it through our proprietary process, here's what comes out." 😛

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Evil Kraig F SSC Guru Points: 100851 More actions · Answer 8

I figured I'd eventually get the pork chop thing from context eventually... but... yeah, I'm not. Where'd this originate? I've got the generic idea but still a little lost on that one.

- Craig Farrell

Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.

For better assistance in answering your questions[/url] | Forum Netiquette
For index/tuning help, follow these directions.[/url] |Tally Tables[/url]
Twitter: @AnyWayDBA

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 9

Paul White NZ (9/29/2010)
Personal experience of course, but I have yet to work with a PM (much less a BA) that added value to a project. The most successful enterprises I have been involved with let the users, developers, and database people work it out between them in a positive atmosphere. Perhaps I have just been lucky and worked with smart can-do people.

Same here. Our idea of "xtreme programming" was to sit a User down with a Developer in front of a machine. Comparing projects that did it this way to projects that didn't, we saved hundreds and sometimes thousands of FTE hours using such methods. Over time, even small projects of just a couple of hours were solved more quickly than analyzing a help-desk ticket at times using such "pairs".

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 10

Steve Jones - Editor (9/28/2010)
I am not sure I've had many projects at all in my lifetime that were on budget/on time unless they were trivial (< 1 week). It seems anything over that typically goes long.
So does that mean we suck as an industry in
a) writing code
b) estimating
c) both

Nope... it's usually because some manager made a promise in a 60 second elevator ride or over drinks with the boss. A lot of times an "I'll see what I can do" is interpreted as a promise.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 11

Chad Crawford (9/29/2010)
I had to post this for the "estimation" portion of project management:
http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-12-07/
Thanks,
Chad

Perfect... 😀

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 12

Chris Morris-439714 (9/29/2010)
Jack Corbett (9/29/2010)
So how do you all deal with a "maverick"/"lone ranger" coder? I think you all know what I mean. That person who goes off and does things however they want and hen get upset when you call them on it?
Some of these folks are very good indeed and the fruits of their labour can justify their existence. Mostly they're a PITA. Fire 'em, unless they're good enough to be the R&D department.

Heh... "kindred spirit", Chris. 🙂

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Evil Kraig F SSC Guru Points: 100851 More actions · Answer 13

Jeff Moden (9/29/2010)
Chris Morris-439714 (9/29/2010)
Jack Corbett (9/29/2010)
So how do you all deal with a "maverick"/"lone ranger" coder? I think you all know what I mean. That person who goes off and does things however they want and hen get upset when you call them on it?
Some of these folks are very good indeed and the fruits of their labour can justify their existence. Mostly they're a PITA. Fire 'em, unless they're good enough to be the R&D department.
Heh... "kindred spirit", Chris. 🙂

Not all "Lone Rangers" tend to be unable to defend their choices, but not everyone will agree with them. I was one, still kinda am. I grew up, SQL wise, in a 2 man shop. We compared notes with each other and then ran with it. It was horribly unpracticed, unstandardized, and we'd inherited it that way and just kept trucking.

It takes a while to change that mindset when you get out of the 1/2 man shops and into the corporate cogs. You're NOT good enough to do it any way but the one, or two, you know. The way you and *maybe* your buddy did naming convention is the only one that makes sense to you, and you think you can fix the world. The whole 'ignorance thinks it knows all' problem.

That mindset of the lone wolf though tends to get into the strangest areas, and those lone wolves, when they're pups, are utter and horrendous PITA's, to be sure. They're also the people that, eventually, become some of the greatest coders out there, able to tackle just about any problem that comes at them, either through knowledge or due to knowing what to research to fix it.

The easiest way I've learned to deal with the lone pups is to show them, through repitition (like smacking said pup on the nose...) that they don't have the only way, and there are options and alternatives, and that everyone has to play nice in the same pool or noone can get their work done. If the pup is being stubborn, the one trick I'll use to be a complete ***, and make my point, is to obfuscate the living crap out of a proc with comments, horrible aliasing, #d temp tables that do nothing... and give them the bug that came with the ticket that had me open it in the first place.

Nothing has seemed to get the point across quite so well otherwise. 🙂

- Craig Farrell

Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.

For better assistance in answering your questions[/url] | Forum Netiquette
For index/tuning help, follow these directions.[/url] |Tally Tables[/url]
Twitter: @AnyWayDBA

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 14

CirquedeSQLeil (9/29/2010)
So even though we can demonstrate to him that his approach is slower than another approach or takes more locks or whatever, he just dismisses it as "not invented in my brain."

Sounds like mister self-appointed has a longer line of BS than the boss has for a spine. If you folks are constantly proving him wrong, get folks to start keeping a diary on it and then get mister spineless to fire the booger.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004363 More actions · Answer 15

Steve Jones - Editor (9/29/2010)
Speaking of stirring, new rice cooker coming today. Excited to be able to walk away and let it cook so I can only worry about stirring the pineapple curry my wife loves.

Maybe I'm just lucky but I've never even thought of buying a rice cooker. I bring the properly measured water to a rolling boil and throw in a bit of salt to taste. As soon as the rolling boil returns (usually just a couple of seconds after that), I throw in the pre-measured rice, give it a quick stir, cover the pot, and let cook until it returns to a full rolling boil (usually just a minute or so). Then, I turn off the heat and go away for 30 minutes without moving the pan or uncovering it to even just look. When I come back 30-35 minutes later... perfect rice every time.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)