Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Jack Corbett (2/10/2009)


    Of course you may be having your surgery done by a resident or intern that has not slept in 18 hours.

    [font="Verdana"]I think everyone who has been involved in a disaster recovery scenario at 3 a.m. has discovered the necessity of documenting the silliest little detail.[/font]

  • Alvin Ramard (2/10/2009)


    It's the DBA that is homicidal that you have to worry about.

    [font="Verdana"]How do you distinguish them from normal DBAs?[/font]

  • Bruce W Cassidy (2/10/2009)


    Alvin Ramard (2/10/2009)


    It's the DBA that is homicidal that you have to worry about.

    [font="Verdana"]How do you distinguish them from normal DBAs?[/font]

    The ones that appear to be crazy are safe.



    Alvin Ramard
    Memphis PASS Chapter[/url]

    All my SSC forum answers come with a money back guarantee. If you didn't like the answer then I'll gladly refund what you paid for it.

    For best practices on asking questions, please read the following article: Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help[/url]

  • Here is something on the lighter side...:-)

    -Roy

  • DavidB (2/10/2009)


    GilaMonster (2/10/2009)


    Bob Hovious (2/10/2009)


    "I've just deleted some huge, important tables and I haven't been doing backups. How do I get these tables back?"

    If you want to laugh (or maybe cry), check this thread from SQLTeam on the myriad assorted ways that people destroy their databases.

    It's kinda depressing actually.

    It's dead, Jim

    This is truly sad! I started writing an article about this last week and hope to finish it soon. I just can't believe how many people don't take / test their backups. Crazy!

    Unfortunately some of these people may not be DBA's at all. They may be business owners who bought a 3rd party product that installed SQL Server and even created backup jobs for the application's database(s), but never did anything for system DB's.

    I only mention that because this happened where I currently work, before I arrived. The finance department bought some check scanning software that installed SQL Server, created backup jobs for their database, but not the system DB's. The whole system was on a PC in the finance office and all the IT department did was backup the folder the images were stored in and an occasional image was taken using Acronis. When I came on board I asked if there were any applications using SQL Server and wasn't told about that one. 4 months after I came on board it crashed. I was brought in because the database was corrupt. I said no problem, where are the backups? Oh, 3 months earlier msdb had been corrupted so the backup jobs quit running then. I was able to work with a copy on the last image and take a log backup and get almost everything restored.

    Needless to say the application now uses a SQL Server in the server room which has backups of the system databases and user databases. As well maintenance jobs.

  • Alvin Ramard (2/10/2009)


    Psychology:

    "I have a client who is a DBA and suicidal. What do I tell them?"

    You don't have to worry about that one. His problems will go away on their own.

    It's the DBA that is homicidal that you have to worry about. His problems will go away too, but it could be a bit more messy.

    Damn straight!

    "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

  • says the Scary DBA

  • Is it me or are these posts getting random ?

  • When was it ever logical???

  • Andrew Reilly (2/11/2009)


    Is it me or are these posts getting random ?

    I've been noticing the same kinda thing. There's really weird stuff getting asked at the moment.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • It seems to happen every February... company finally gets a new budget for the year, hires some folks in January, and they start asking questions in February. It's compounded by companies trying to get their act together for the taxman. There's a couple of times of year where they just seem to come out of the woodwork. December is another time where I seem to notice it happening... that's when all the folks are finally trying to wrap up projects that are supposed to be done in the year and they finally realize they're not quite sure what they're doing. The other hotspot seems to be June... fiscal year stuff and all.

    --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)

  • GilaMonster (2/11/2009)


    Andrew Reilly (2/11/2009)


    Is it me or are these posts getting random ?

    I've been noticing the same kinda thing. There's really weird stuff getting asked at the moment.

    Anybody seen my lizard poo?

    “Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw

    For fast, accurate and documented assistance in answering your questions, please read this article.
    Understanding and using APPLY, (I) and (II) Paul White
    Hidden RBAR: Triangular Joins / The "Numbers" or "Tally" Table: What it is and how it replaces a loop Jeff Moden

  • It certainly seems like the volume has picked up again. Last November it seemed like things had slowed down, now there are plenty of questions to answer again. Some good, some bad, and some in-between.

  • Bob Hovious (2/10/2009)


    Other posts for other bulletin boards:

    Engineering:

    "How can I tell if my bridge is going to hold all the cars and trucks that will be driving on it?"

    "How do I make sure that wings don't fall off an airplane."

    Accounting:

    "My client owns a grocery store. What should I report for my client's amount due to the IRS?"

    Law:

    "I have a 25 year old client from Michigan visiting in Florida. What do I do to make a jury say he is innocent?"

    "My client has a wife and two children. What should his will say?"

    Psychology:

    "I have a client who is a DBA and suicidal. What do I tell them?"

    You missed...

    Banking:

    "I just took on a massive bad risk debt and my bank collapsed, what do I do now?"

    [Answer: "Get the government to bail you out and pay yourself the bonus as usual."]

    Derek

  • Wait until this Friday! I wonder what strangeness we'll get on the 13th!

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