Dear Old Self, read these blogs…
February 13, 2009
I just got back from a New England SQL Server Users Group meeting. Andy Leonard (twitter: @AndyLeonard, blog) gave a great presentation on Change Data Capture and SSIS 2008. At the beginning of this week, I posted about things I wish I knew when I started. I tagged a couple people asking them the question … Read more
Things you know now…
February 9, 2009
When I wrote about empirical evidence and learning through trying (instead of asking only), I got thinking about things I wish I knew when I was a Junior DBA that I know now. Rather than just keep those thoughts to myself, I figured I would write about them here and tag a couple folks to … Read more
Shrinking is a popular topic…
January 31, 2009
When I started blogging, my first posts were on shrinking. That’s still a popular search. Why?
Empirical Evidence
January 18, 2009
Or how I learned to stop asking so much and start trying… Empirical, as defined by Webster: 1.) originating in or based on observation or experience 2.) relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory 3.)capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment. I think empirical thought … Read more
Do you focus too much on your backups???
January 14, 2009
Have you lost your mind?! What could I possibly mean by that title? I’m a DBA… One of the basic tenets of a DBA is “backup, backup, backup”, right? Well sort of… Far too often I hear people asking questions like “will this setup allow our backups to be fast?”, “how is your backup process … Read more
Old Dog? New Tricks..
January 11, 2009
Reading a blog this week, I learned quite a few new tips and tricks about SQL Server Management Studio. Incremental Serach (No annoying search window pop-up and searches as you type), replace within files from SSMS!!, Block Selects and Moves for the T-SQL Code formatting OCDers (like me). Check it out and add Aaron to … Read more
Free Training – New England Area
January 9, 2009
Adam Mechanic over on his blog has announced a code camp offered by Microsoft, and the New England and New Hampshire SQL Server User Groups. Looks like a great time of learning and the price is right

Don’t Touch that SQL ServerShrink Database Button!
January 7, 2009
Updated [2016] This post continues to be a popular destination for searches like “How do I shrink a database?” I made some copy edits. I also wanted to reiterate a default position: It isn’t usually a good idea to shrink your SQL Server database. There are exceptions, but they are exceptions. This post is part 1 in a series … Read more
Good information on upgrade to 2008
December 31, 2008
The SQL Server Customer Advisory Team has a great blog and they have a good article here about upgrading to 2008. Lot of reasons to upgrade to 2008 (especially if you are on SQL Server 2000 or earlier). Check it out; http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlcat/archive/2008/12/08/ultimate-guide-to-upgrading-to-sql-server-2008.aspx