Category: Speaking Engagements

No In-Person SQLBits For Me

~ sqlswimmer ~ 4 Comments

I am saddened to report that I will not be able to attend SQLBits in person this year as originally planned. I was involved in a terrible car accident on 9-February, that has left me (hopefully) temporarily immobile and unable to travel for 3-6 months. I am on the road to recovery, but it will be a very long road.

This makes me sad for so many reasons. I will miss:

    1. All the hugs from my #SQLFamily
    2. All those smiling faces of delegates
    3. The excitement that comes with travel
    4. The anticipation of presenting live and in-person
    5. Pub Quiz night
    6. Fancy dress party night
    7. Catching up with all my #SQLFamily
    8. Impromptu conversations over hot chocolate or beers
    9. Meeting new people
    10. Stroopwaffles
    11. Austrian Chocolates
    12. Australian Chocolates
    13. Hanging out in the Community Corner
    14. My fellow Bits Buddies
    15. Did I mention Stroopwaffles?
    16. And so many more

    The most excellent organizers of SQLBits have been amazing and have accommodated my request to present remotely on very short notice, so I will still get to present my session, it will just be from my bed, instead of in-person. While I will miss the (famous) Fancy Dress party, I will be wearing my costume during my session, but you have to attend my session to see it (not even going to give any hints as to what it is!) There may even be a prize for who guesses correctly.

    My session is Identifying and Preventing Unauthorized Power BI Gateways. It’s a 20-minute session, check the agenda for the most accurate date and time.

    Power BI Learning Opportunity at SQLBits

    ~ sqlswimmer ~ Leave a comment

    If you’ve been thinking about learning Power BI, I have a wonderful opportunity for you. I will be presenting, along with my friend and colleague Michael Johnson (Blog | Twitter), a full day of training at SQLBits on 8-March-2022. Our Training Day session is called Zero to Dashboard.

    Our session assumes you have no knowledge of Power BI, so if this is your first encounter with Power BI, no worries, we’ve got you covered. We will cover the Power BI ecosystem, talk about the importance of data cleansing and data modeling, introduce visualization best practices, and review governance considerations. We reinforce all these concepts through hands on labs that we go through as a group. By the end of the day, you will be able to create a dashboard. If you are one of those folks who need to do things multiple times before they “stick” (like me), you will walk away with the lab manual used in class so you can go through the labs again to help solidify what you have learned.

    SQLBits is a hybrid event this year, so if you cannot attend in person, no worries, you can attend virtually as well. If you are interested in attending, there are still registration slots available, but seats are limited, so don’t wait to long to register.

    Michael and I hope to see you there.

    Data Saturday #8–Southwest US

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    I am very excited to announce that I will be speaking for Data Saturday #8 – Southwest US, coming up on Saturday, May 15, 2021.

    I will be delivering my Profiling Your Data session.  I love this session, data profiling is a passion of mine and is too often overlooked.  Come join me to find out why you should be profiling your data and how to do it.

    This is a free virtual event with lots of great sessions by wonderful speakers, so come join us, I’d love to “see” you.

    Data Weekender v3.1

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    I am super excited about this new version of Data Weekender, coming up on Saturday, May 15, 2021.  This will be the third time I have been selected to speak for this event.  It is truly humbling that the organizers have selected me once again.

    I will be delivering my Getting Started with Data Modeling session.  So, if you are interested in how to get started with modeling data for analysis and/or building out a dimensional model, this is the session for you.

    Data Weekender is a free virtual event and there are some really great sessions being offered by some fantastic speakers, so what are you waiting for?  Go register now and I’ll see you on Saturday, May 15, 2021.

    I hope to “see” there. 

    I’m Speaking at #SQLSatBrisbane

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    I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, in fact we have a trip planned for Martin’s 60th birthday in a couple of years.  But with all that’s happened in this social distancing world, we’re not sure if it will even be possible by then.  So, when SQL Saturday Brisbane (986) decided to go virtual, I jumped at the opportunity to attend and possibly even present.  I submitted my sessions and crossed all my fingers and toes.  I am excited and honored to announce that I’ve been selected to speak at this event on May 30, 2020!

    I will be delivering my Intro to Azure Data Catalog session.  I really like this session, so many people have no idea that it exists, let alone what it can do for you.  To be able to see the light go on in their eyes during this session is the absolute best.  Even though I won’t be able to see their faces, because it’s a virtual event, I am still super excited.

    Join me “down under” for what will be a fantastic event with 28 different sessions being offered by some really great presenters.  There’s still time to register.

    I’m Speaking at #DataWeekender

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    With all our in-person events cancelled for the foreseeable future, I was so excited to find that some community folks are not sitting back and waiting for the social distancing to end in order to have a technical conference.  There is a new virtual technical conference created by some wonderful community folks in Europe, called Data Weekender.

    I am so excited and humbled to have been selected to speak at this conference.  I will be presenting my Data Types Do Matter session on Saturday, May 2, 2020.

    There are so many great sessions being offered by so many brilliant community people, take a look at the schedule and see for yourself.

    If you’re not too busy washing the car in the drive or removing gum from that tangled mess of toddler hair, come join us.  I’d love to “see” you.  There is still time to register, so what are you waiting for?  Register now!

    DataWeekenderSupporter
    I am a #DataWeekender Supporter!

    I’m Speaking at #SQLSatRVA

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    I am super excited, and humbled, to have been selected to speak at the very first PASS virtual SQL Saturday, SQL Saturday Richmond, on Saturday, April 25, 2020.

    I find it very fitting that my first virtual SQL Saturday will be for Richmond.  As some of you know from previous posts, Richmond holds a special place in my technical heart.  It is the first SQL Saturday I was ever accepted to speak at three years ago.  It was the first SQL Saturday to allow me to do a pre-con.  But most importantly, Richmond is where I got to drive a go kart for the very first time in my life.  All these firsts are thanks to Wayne Sheffield (B | T).  He’s the lead organizer for SQL Saturday Richmond.

    I will be presenting my Intro to Azure Data Catalog session.  It was a huge hit with our local user group when I presented it back in January this year.  If you’re “jones-ing” for a SQL Saturday fix, then get registered and stop on by.  There are some great sessions being offered and I’d love to “see” you.

    I’m Speaking at #DataPlatformDiscoveryDay

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    We are living in some very interesting times and the technical conference community is facing some challenges like it never has before.  So many in-person events have been postponed or cancelled.  For those who are speakers, like myself, this have been very challenging.  I have worked from home for over eight years, so the new “norm” is just the same old same old for me.   But I used my speaking engagements as a way to connect with others in the tech community on a fairly regular basis.  Now that this has been put on hold for who knows how long, I’m having a tough time staying connected.

    I am very fortunate that I work in an area that is still very much in high demand and still employed, unlike many others who have been furloughed or laid off.  With so many people unemployed now more than ever in the world, many of those folks are contemplating a career change.  Thankfully, I have a fellow Data Platform MVP in the US who has partnered with a colleague in Europe to bring a new kind of tech conference to those who are looking to break into the data platform arena.  Oh, and it’s virtual – and it’s free! So you don’t have to leave your home and if you are on a tight budget, you don’t have to spend a thing.

    I am so honored to have been selected to speak at this first of it’s kind, beginner-virtual-free conference, Data Platform Discovery Day.  I will be presenting my What is Power BI session, so if you’ve ever wondered about Power BI and have some free time on your hands, then come join me on Wednesday, April 29, 2020.  There are lots of great introductory sessions out there, here’s the US sessions list and the European sessions list.  There’s still time to register for the US Sessions or register for the UK sessions.

    I hope you are all doing well and staying home and staying safe.

    I’m Speaking at #SQLSatSpokane

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    I am super excited to announce that I have been selected to speak at SQL Saturday Spokane on March 21, 2020.  Not only have I been selected to speak, but I’ve been selected to give a pre-con on Friday, March 20, 2020 as well.

    I will be delivering my Power BI Zero to Dashboard pre-con.  This is a full day introductory session to Power BI that focuses on: introducing the Power BI eco-system, what it can and cannot do for you; the importance of data cleansing and modeling;  and data visualization best practices.  My target audience is those that have little to no experience with Power BI, but want to learn more.  If this sounds like something you could benefit from you can Register Here.

    I will also be delivering my What is Power BI? session on Saturday, March 21, 2020.

    If you’re in the Spokane area on Saturday, March 21, 2020, stop by and say, “Hello”.  I’d love to see you and chat.  There are still registration slots open, so register now.

    I’m Speaking at SQL Saturday Victoria

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    I am so happy to announce that I have been selected to speak at SQL Saturday Victoria on March 14, 2020. This will be my second time speaking at this event.

    I will be delivering my Data Types Do Matter session. I love giving this session, it’s not anything new or sparkly, but it’s so important. Get the data type wrong and you can cause yourself a world of hurt later.

    If you’re in the area, stop be and say, “Hello”, I’d love to see you and chat a bit.