Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Lynn Pettis (12/1/2013)


    Revenant (11/30/2013)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (11/30/2013)


    Thanks and a good holiday here. Quiet, with family.

    Personally I have no issue with stores opening on Thanksgiving. The first time I worked on the holiday was when I was 12. Spent the next 10-15 years working on that day before I was senior enough to avoid it.

    Some people want to work, some need the money, and some work because they're needed.

    ... and some people just have to check the daily ingestion because no one else will do it. 😉

    And some of us work because there is nothing else to do but work.

    Actually, Thanksgiving Day was spent in-transit from ISAF HQ to Bagram. We had a non-traditional Thanksgiving Dinner which consisted of Thai food (I had the Crying Tiger).

    We are now all working at Bagram after being evicted from ISAF so units moving from Eggers (which was shutting down) had a place to go.

    I will say that the food at the DFAC here is SO much better than that served at ISAF.

    I've lived in Thailand more than 10 years and I can honestly say I've never seen "Crying Tiger" on the menu. But if it made your Thanksgiving a yummy one Lynn, who am I to quibble.

    Happy belated-Turkey day to all!


    My mantra: No loops! No CURSORs! No RBAR! Hoo-uh![/I]

    My thought question: Have you ever been told that your query runs too fast?

    My advice:
    INDEXing a poor-performing query is like putting sugar on cat food. Yeah, it probably tastes better but are you sure you want to eat it?
    The path of least resistance can be a slippery slope. Take care that fixing your fixes of fixes doesn't snowball and end up costing you more than fixing the root cause would have in the first place.

    Need to UNPIVOT? Why not CROSS APPLY VALUES instead?[/url]
    Since random numbers are too important to be left to chance, let's generate some![/url]
    Learn to understand recursive CTEs by example.[/url]
    [url url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/St

  • dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    Lynn Pettis (12/1/2013)


    Revenant (11/30/2013)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (11/30/2013)


    Thanks and a good holiday here. Quiet, with family.

    Personally I have no issue with stores opening on Thanksgiving. The first time I worked on the holiday was when I was 12. Spent the next 10-15 years working on that day before I was senior enough to avoid it.

    Some people want to work, some need the money, and some work because they're needed.

    ... and some people just have to check the daily ingestion because no one else will do it. 😉

    And some of us work because there is nothing else to do but work.

    Actually, Thanksgiving Day was spent in-transit from ISAF HQ to Bagram. We had a non-traditional Thanksgiving Dinner which consisted of Thai food (I had the Crying Tiger).

    We are now all working at Bagram after being evicted from ISAF so units moving from Eggers (which was shutting down) had a place to go.

    I will say that the food at the DFAC here is SO much better than that served at ISAF.

    I've lived in Thailand more than 10 years and I can honestly say I've never seen "Crying Tiger" on the menu. But if it made your Thanksgiving a yummy one Lynn, who am I to quibble.

    Happy belated-Turkey day to all!

    Could just be what this Thai Restaurant calls this particular dish. A very spicy marinated flank steak dish. Not as spicy as the Dances with the Devil dish they also have on the menu.

  • Lynn Pettis (12/1/2013)


    dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    Lynn Pettis (12/1/2013)


    Revenant (11/30/2013)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (11/30/2013)


    Thanks and a good holiday here. Quiet, with family.

    Personally I have no issue with stores opening on Thanksgiving. The first time I worked on the holiday was when I was 12. Spent the next 10-15 years working on that day before I was senior enough to avoid it.

    Some people want to work, some need the money, and some work because they're needed.

    ... and some people just have to check the daily ingestion because no one else will do it. 😉

    And some of us work because there is nothing else to do but work.

    Actually, Thanksgiving Day was spent in-transit from ISAF HQ to Bagram. We had a non-traditional Thanksgiving Dinner which consisted of Thai food (I had the Crying Tiger).

    We are now all working at Bagram after being evicted from ISAF so units moving from Eggers (which was shutting down) had a place to go.

    I will say that the food at the DFAC here is SO much better than that served at ISAF.

    I've lived in Thailand more than 10 years and I can honestly say I've never seen "Crying Tiger" on the menu. But if it made your Thanksgiving a yummy one Lynn, who am I to quibble.

    Happy belated-Turkey day to all!

    Could just be what this Thai Restaurant calls this particular dish. A very spicy marinated flank steak dish. Not as spicy as the Dances with the Devil dish they also have on the menu.

    You can't get a good steak here either.

    Back in the states I used to frequent a Thai restaurant that featured "Chicken Volcano" which was quite popular with my clique. Again, never heard of such a thing here.

    I chalk it up to slick marketing.

    Essentials of Thai cuisine, at least in Thailand:

    - Rice or noodles? khao reu senn[/I]

    - Chicken, pork, shrimp, crab or fish? Beef available but usually poor quality. gai, moo, kung, poo reu pla [/I](beef=nua[/I] which is just plain "meat," probably indicative of the lack of quality, while a cow is referred to as wua[/b] - don't ask me why)[/i][/b]

    - Spicy or not? phet reu mai phet[/I]

    Answering those 3 questions usually gets you a decent meal.

    Edit: Added Thai transliterations in case anyone's in town without me in tow as an escort. Duck is also phet but with a different tone and also available.


    My mantra: No loops! No CURSORs! No RBAR! Hoo-uh![/I]

    My thought question: Have you ever been told that your query runs too fast?

    My advice:
    INDEXing a poor-performing query is like putting sugar on cat food. Yeah, it probably tastes better but are you sure you want to eat it?
    The path of least resistance can be a slippery slope. Take care that fixing your fixes of fixes doesn't snowball and end up costing you more than fixing the root cause would have in the first place.

    Need to UNPIVOT? Why not CROSS APPLY VALUES instead?[/url]
    Since random numbers are too important to be left to chance, let's generate some![/url]
    Learn to understand recursive CTEs by example.[/url]
    [url url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/St

  • dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    I've lived in Thailand more than 10 years and I can honestly say I've never seen "Crying Tiger" on the menu. But if it made your Thanksgiving a yummy one Lynn, who am I to quibble.

    Heh... it's MUCH better than the "Crapping Hamster" dish. 😀

    --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)

  • dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    cow is referred to as wua[/b] - don't ask me why)[/i][/b]

    FINALLY!!! AFTER NEARLY 40 YEARS, AN EXPLANATION!!!! When I was in the service, I had a young lady walk up to me and damn near kill me with a totally unexpected slap that could have knocked a freight train off its tracks. Still seeing stars, my buddies picked me up and asked what I had said to her so I told them...

    "Wuuuaaaa! She's cute!". 😛

    --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 (12/1/2013)


    dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    I've lived in Thailand more than 10 years and I can honestly say I've never seen "Crying Tiger" on the menu. But if it made your Thanksgiving a yummy one Lynn, who am I to quibble.

    Heh... it's MUCH better than the "Crapping Hamster" dish. 😀

    LOL... yeah for sure! Haven't seen that lately though.

    Haven't seen baluts lately either. Or "urban deer" (which is even more disturbing that baluts if they've got a carcass hanging there).


    My mantra: No loops! No CURSORs! No RBAR! Hoo-uh![/I]

    My thought question: Have you ever been told that your query runs too fast?

    My advice:
    INDEXing a poor-performing query is like putting sugar on cat food. Yeah, it probably tastes better but are you sure you want to eat it?
    The path of least resistance can be a slippery slope. Take care that fixing your fixes of fixes doesn't snowball and end up costing you more than fixing the root cause would have in the first place.

    Need to UNPIVOT? Why not CROSS APPLY VALUES instead?[/url]
    Since random numbers are too important to be left to chance, let's generate some![/url]
    Learn to understand recursive CTEs by example.[/url]
    [url url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/St

  • dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    Jeff Moden (12/1/2013)


    dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    I've lived in Thailand more than 10 years and I can honestly say I've never seen "Crying Tiger" on the menu. But if it made your Thanksgiving a yummy one Lynn, who am I to quibble.

    Heh... it's MUCH better than the "Crapping Hamster" dish. 😀

    LOL... yeah for sure! Haven't seen that lately though.

    Haven't seen baluts lately either. Or "urban deer" (which is even more disturbing that baluts if they've got a carcass hanging there).

    Wow! I very thankfully haven't seen nor heard of baluts in nearly 40 years, either. Now there's an unforgettable dish I wish I never got to see.

    --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 (12/1/2013)


    dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    cow is referred to as wua[/b] - don't ask me why)[/i][/b]

    FINALLY!!! AFTER NEARLY 40 YEARS, AN EXPLANATION!!!! When I was in the service, I had a young lady walk up to me and damn near kill me with a totally unexpected slap that could have knocked a freight train off its tracks. Still seeing stars, my buddies picked me up and asked what I had said to her so I told them...

    "Wuuuaaaa! She's cute!". 😛

    LOL NCOB :hehe:

    Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
    Anon.

  • Lynn Pettis (12/1/2013)


    Actually, Thanksgiving Day was spent in-transit from ISAF HQ to Bagram. We had a non-traditional Thanksgiving Dinner which consisted of Thai food (I had the Crying Tiger).

    We've had a few non-traditional ones in the mountains. Pizza, Chinese food, even Wendy's one year when we skied too long.

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (12/2/2013)


    Lynn Pettis (12/1/2013)


    Actually, Thanksgiving Day was spent in-transit from ISAF HQ to Bagram. We had a non-traditional Thanksgiving Dinner which consisted of Thai food (I had the Crying Tiger).

    We've had a few non-traditional ones in the mountains. Pizza, Chinese food, even Wendy's one year when we skied too long.

    well there's an odd mental picture. No matter how far you ski, there will always be a Wendy's.

    ---------------------------------------------------------
    How best to post your question[/url]
    How to post performance problems[/url]
    Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]

    "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."

  • Jeff Moden (12/1/2013)


    dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    cow is referred to as wua[/b] - don't ask me why)[/i][/b]

    FINALLY!!! AFTER NEARLY 40 YEARS, AN EXPLANATION!!!! When I was in the service, I had a young lady walk up to me and damn near kill me with a totally unexpected slap that could have knocked a freight train off its tracks. Still seeing stars, my buddies picked me up and asked what I had said to her so I told them...

    "Wuuuaaaa! She's cute!". 😛

    Sounds about as good as being in an English British port, and your name is Randy (not an abbreviation...).

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes


    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

  • WayneS (12/2/2013)


    Jeff Moden (12/1/2013)


    dwain.c (12/1/2013)


    cow is referred to as wua[/b] - don't ask me why)[/i][/b]

    FINALLY!!! AFTER NEARLY 40 YEARS, AN EXPLANATION!!!! When I was in the service, I had a young lady walk up to me and damn near kill me with a totally unexpected slap that could have knocked a freight train off its tracks. Still seeing stars, my buddies picked me up and asked what I had said to her so I told them...

    "Wuuuaaaa! She's cute!". 😛

    Sounds about as good as being in an English British port, and your name is Randy (not an abbreviation...).

    I'm glad you did the strikeout with English and included British. I do find it interesting how words mean radically different meanings depending on where you are in the world. I haven't gotten in trouble with it yet, but there's still time. 😛

  • Ed Wagner (12/2/2013)


    WayneS (12/2/2013)


    Sounds about as good as being in an English British port, and your name is Randy (not an abbreviation...).

    I'm glad you did the strikeout with English and included British. I do find it interesting how words mean radically different meanings depending on where you are in the world. I haven't gotten in trouble with it yet, but there's still time. 😛

    Oh, I didn't get in trouble, but I did create a small stir in a little English village.

    I had left one of these on a bus. And went to the little old ladies running the lost and found at the bus station. There, I asked for one of these. But, that word that comes just before "Pack" means something completely different in the UK than it does over here in the US. I said it over & over to these little old ladies who were looking more and more discomfited until finally, one of them said, "Oh, you mean a bum bag?" At which point things were resolved, but a man, standing behind me snickering the entire time pulled me aside and explained my error.... after the fact. Still. It's a good one to know. I suspect I was seconds away from getting a little stick time in with the local constabulary.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • Ed Wagner (12/2/2013)


    WayneS (12/2/2013)


    Sounds about as good as being in an English British port, and your name is Randy (not an abbreviation...).

    I'm glad you did the strikeout with English and included British. I do find it interesting how words mean radically different meanings depending on where you are in the world. I haven't gotten in trouble with it yet, but there's still time. 😛

    Randy has different meanings in different parts of Britain. But the changes don't happen at national boundaries, as some of the online dictionaries would have you believe.

    Tom

  • Jeff Moden (11/22/2013)


    Revenant (11/22/2013)


    Jeff Moden (11/22/2013)


    I'm, very thankfully, not currently in a postition like Lynn where I need to find a job because I wouldn't even consider working for a company like that. So far as the job description they provided goes, it shows me that they've put virtually no thought into what the high profile postition of Database Programmer Analyst III actually is. How much thought will they put into anything else?

    That job description is just as bad as any over-inflated resume that I've seen.

    Jeff, your succinct summary forced me to notice that the job description 'Programmer Analyst' goes all the way back to IBM in the late 60s, and it was a fail. Back then you could either be an analyst, trained to ask 'what are the relations or influences I have to deal with?', or a programmer, trained to ask 'what do I have to do in the next instruction?'.

    Of course, it led IBM to hire people with split personality disorder, or whatever it is called today, and together with their fixation on the 'man month' and 'produced lines of code' got them where they are now. They still own the two biggest software disasters of all time, OS/2 ($1.1B write-off in 2001 dollars) and OfficeVision (amount undisclosed, but quite sizeable).

    It got a bit better with the invention of functional languages; however, based on my experience, any software jock has to make a decision whether to pursue the C++ 'pure' programmer path, or the UX path (as in ColdFusion), or the analyst path (as in MDX and data mining tools, to bring it home).

    There is just so much to learn.

    Spot on and thanks for the history lesson. I knew Lotus (Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony... remember?) was dead as soon as I heard that IBM had bought it way back when. Lotus actually had "Pivots" (remember "Allways"?) long before Excel and, yet, MS has somehow copyrighted the word.

    And considering how much change there is, I find myself having to unlearn more than I learn. 😀

    Getting back on the subject, I agree with Lynn. They want a "Superman" although there's no doubt in my mind that Lynn can handle the database and management requirements.

    There might be some folks that can do all of what they've listed but I'd seriously question what their skill level is across the board. And then to use the word "DATABASE" in the title followed by a requirement of nearly a dozen years across such a bill of front-end tools raises all sorts of red flags for me.

    In a way, not really. Many DBA's, particularly in the SQL Server area do have a wide and varied skillset, I could scrape enough together - in terms of broad experience - enough to cever that. Admittedly, much with deep piles of cobwebs on them.

    This is clearly a fantasy shopping list, though. Mind - I've gone to jobs where the "requirements" were not dissimilar, and really enjoyed being there. If the job's through a Slave Trader, get them to ask the question "What are the 3/5 core skills they really NEED". If it's DB2 sysadmin and ColdFusion at numbers 1 and 2, - oh, btw did we mention Linux admin and Korn Shell; meh - run. If it's a direct advertisment, call and ask the question directly. If it's not your core skillset they're after (remember, one of which is your adaptability and drive) you've saved them and yourself some time

    I'm a DBA.
    I'm not paid to solve problems. I'm paid to prevent them.

Viewing 15 posts - 42,256 through 42,270 (of 66,712 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply