Links for the Week of 2009.10.23

I came across a lot of great links in the last week. So many that I had to cut about 40% of them to make this list. As always, you can check out the firehose at my delicious bookmarks page.

SQL Server

• CSS SQL Server Engineers : SQL Server Urban Legends Discussed – Common SQL Server myths discussed and dispelled by premier support services.
• SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) – Best Practices – Part 1 – Getting started in SSIS is hard enough. Then you have to learn a set of best practices that are very different from the way that we’re used to working with data. This set of best practices is an great way to jump start your learning.
• A Trick for Aggregating Data Fast – Sometimes there isn’t time or funding to create an OLAP database. When that happens you need to start aggregating your data.
• Making a List (and Checking It Twice) – I frequently get asked how to create a column that is a CSV list. I always forget and have to track down a code sample, now I can just check my saved bookmarks.
• Filtered Stats to Counter Data Skew Issues | Jason Massie’s Blog – Statistics are only good if they are accurate. Using filtered statistics can improve the statistics that the query optimizer uses to generate effective execution plans.
• What Is A Production DBA, Anyway? – Ever wonder what the production DBAs are getting up to when you’re busy coming up with new ways to make them angry?
• SQL Server 2008: Advanced Troubleshooting with Extended Events – Extended Events are a powerful feature available in SQL Server 2008. After talking with Jonathan Kehayias and asking him too many questions, I found this link… which lead me back to Jonathan. Poor guy can’t catch a break.
• MSDB Performance Tuning – Adding a few indexes to MSDB can increase performance, especially when you have a large number of databases.
• Carpe Datum : The 20 Queries – I’ve always favored simple, idealistic, approaches to design – they’re easy to modify and adapt to real world scenarios. This is no exception. Once you find the top 20 queries that people have about their data, it’s pretty easy to determine what they’re really driving at.

Development

• NHibernate Shards: Progress Report – NHibernate has the beginnings of support for data sharding. This makes SQL Azure a much more likable alternative to using a traditional RDBMS.
• ihumanable: tool roundup – Matt Nowack, friend and coworker, talks about the tools he uses to get the job done.
• Brian H. Prince: VS2010 SKUs simplified – It’s about GD time that VS got simpler.

Stuff & Things

• Follow-up Friday | Quiet Babylon – Weekly link dump from Tim Maly. Mainly related to the way we look and use the spaces around us.
• MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES on Vimeo – Milton Glaser talks about the relationship between art, learning, and the world while he draws a portrait of Shakespeare.
• Grammar Girl :: Effect Versus Affect – Despite having a degree in English, I still get confused by these two words. So much so that I have previously changed sentence structure to avoid them. NO MORE!
• Richard Howe – THE MANHATTAN STREET CORNERS – Richard Howe photographed every street corner on the island of Manhattan between March and November of 2006.
• Getting to No – Saying ‘No’ is frequently the hardest thing to do. I’m still not good at it, but I’m getting better. Greg Hoy shares his top five warning signs that can lead to a bad experience with a client.
• Kendal Van Dyke: Off-Hours Work: A Guide For Non-Managers – If you’re going to work extra, you need to know what’s expected of you. Make it clear, be up front, and you’ll have a good time of things.
• Shopping with AR – O’Reilly Radar – The way we shop will drastically change as time goes on. It already has. Technology will continue to bring new ways to interact and new surprises.
• Prune your contacts – Address book clutter is a killer, especially when they all sync to your phone and you can’t find the people you actually want to get in touch with.
• The 15 Creepiest Vintage Ads Of All Time | Retro – Looking back on ads from the past is interesting. Oh so interesting.
• A Softer World: 490 – I never know what to say about A Softer World, but I love it.