Developers love to push CI since it's simple and makes sense with application code. It's a whole new beast when you're trying to automate deployment of a terabyte database. I...

The really good managers that I've had were masterful at handling different personalities on the team and kept the necessary corporate red tape from slowing down actual work. I've left...

Nice question. It had me stumped for a while since I was looking for an answer with 3 dates. It made me pay attention to the distinct values of the...

My toasters are PDF viewers, VSCs, FTP browsers, and SQL Server Central...I kid, I kid. 😀

I wasn't 100% sure but, <name, type, default> seemed logical since that is the way variables/parameters are declared. Nice question.

Oh, and thanks for all the hard work Steve & Co. This site saved me nearly a decade ago when I suddenly inherited my first DBA position and didn't have...

I was very upfront with my current boss before accepting my current position that I got burned out at my previous job. He was very understanding and even told me...

I don't have anything against Oracle or any other RDMS, but I tend to always recommend SQL Server if for no other reason than it is the cheapest to support...

I've been in a development shop where we built some amazingly powerful apps that went above and beyond the functional requirements. But, the designers were doctors and statisticians where as...

I guess it pays to wait until the afternoon to answer the QOTD.

This reminds me of when I was an accidental DBA for a company and was asked to fulfill the external/internal audits for SOX compliance. I was shocked that my external...

I try to follow the "Golden Rule" and put myself in the requestor's shoes, including whether or not I would have found it absolutely necessary to request the use of...

I've had jobs before where I was extremely passionate about the product and/or the idea of being the first to market with something new or ground breaking. In all but...

Gary Varga (10/13/2014)I remember doing crazy hour stints in my youth only to discover after a decent amounts sleep (or sometimes just some sleep) that what I was thinking didn't...

I recently went back to a company known for work/life balance because my enthusiastic attempt at living the Silicone dream burned me out in about 6 months. I've finally accepted...