PASS Summit 2010 Day -1 – NoSQL, DBA Myths and Twitter

Written by belle
Posted November 8, 2010 at 12:57 am

Yeah I know, my counting system is off. This is my weird counting plan, you just have to bear with me:

Day -1	One day before official PASS week. Sunday.
Day 0	Pre Conference. Monday.
Day 1	Real Day 1. Tuesday. After all, everyone is going to refer to this as Day 1 anyway. Best to be consistent.
Day 2	Real Day 2. Wednesday.
Day 3	Real Day 3. Thursday.
Day 4	Post Conference. Friday.

Day -1 Summary (read Day minus 1)

PASS has not officially started, but my adventure already started.

Got my official PASS Summit 2010 backpack swag. Woo hoo! What can I say, swags make me happy.

By this time I’ve already devoured through the PASS Summit 2010 Program Guide, the schedule, and Im halfway through the free SQLServer Magazine!

Which leads me to my first “discovery” : NoSQL

NoSQL

Michael Otey, technical editor of SQL Server Magazine, has a great concise summary of NoSQL. I have to admit I feel out of the loop about this topic, but Michael’s editorial really piqued my interest. NoSQL, originally meaning “Not Only SQL”, is becoming the newest buzzword for scalable databases. And why not, it currently boasts implementations at Google, Apache, and other “big wigs” like Facebook and Twitter.

Michael also gave a great recap of NoSQL pros and cons – summarized in one phrase – “NoSQL, No ACID”. Bottom line, you should know what you’re gaining, and what giving up, with NoSQL. Make an informed decision.

A quick Google search on NoSQL and I stumbled upon Jonathan Ellis’ blog (Spyced) .. I think I’ll have to go through his archive, see what he says about Cassandra, another implementation of NoSQL).

Paul Randal – DBA Myths

Paul Randal (blog | twitter) released a free collection of DBA Myths. By the way, I’m so looking forward to his DBA MythBusters session!
Common SQL Server Myths – http://www.sqlskills.com/BLOGS/PAUL/category/Misconceptions.aspx

Brent Ozar Free Ebook!

Last but not least, yep, another free ebook! From none other than Brent Ozar (blog | twitter). Twitter newbie? No problem. He’s got your back. Download the ebook:
The Simple Twitter Book – http://www.brentozar.com/twitter/book/

Care for an inspiration fix? Here, read this. You’ll be inspired, guaranteed:
http://www.brentozar.com/archive/2010/04/rock-stars-normal-people-and-you

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More tomorrow! I’m too excited to sleep, even though I’m tired from the drive from Vancouver.

By the way, Brian Knight (blog | twitter) announced he has a surprise in the first 5 minutes of his pre-con tomorrow. I should be there early! I can’t miss surprises