Where’s Drew, October 2017 Edition

Well, the year is drawing to a close which means my community involvement is going to start winding down, but not before I attend two really important events:

  • First up in October, it’s time for Dog Food Con 2017! This is a local conference full of Microsoft goodness hosted here in Columbus. It’s really got it all: Azure, Data Platform, .NET, information security, and even some professional development. I’ll be giving my talk about SQL Server Execution plans that I gave at Stir Trek earlier in the year. If you live in and around Central Ohio, you should definitely try and attend, and not just for my session. I think you’d really enjoy it. Plus, they play board games at their social events.
  • PASS Summit is coming up on October 31st, and I’m thrilled that I get a chance to speak. I’ll be there, talking about SQL Server and PowerShell and why you should be excited about it. I’ve never been to Summit before, so I’m equal parts excited to speak and just to experience the entire event. If you’re going, I hope you seek me out and just say hello!

Outside of those in-person events, I also have some fresh online content coming your way, too:

  • I’ll have more blog posts about using SQL Server and Linux, specifically around continuing to blog about SQL Server on Linux and using Active Directory authentication. I already wrote a pretty lengthy guide for using Ubuntu, and I have one almost done for CentOS. Keep your eyes peeled for this to post early in the month. After that, I’ll tackle SUSE Linux.
  • There’s one other, super-secret project that I’ve been working on. While it’s not ready to go yet, and probably won’t be ready until January, I expect to finally be able to announce it later this month at some point. I hate being coy, but I don’t want to let you know about it until not only I know it is happening for real, but also that I’ll be able to deliver what I promise.

With all that done, and not a lot of time before the holiday season ramps up, it’s time to reflect on everything that’s happened. I’ve done a lot of stuff this year, and I’m extremely fortunate to have a workplace and spouse that allows me to have the freedom and support to do all these things. Just because I’m not doing any SQL Server related things during this time, though, doesn’t mean I’ll just be sitting around. Since I have a little more “me time” here’s some other, non-SQL related things I’m working on:

  • I’ll be helping out at the Columbus Barbells for Boobs fundraiser on October 7th. This is a really fun event where you can either make a donation to the local fundraising team and/or compete is a special workout, held at Friendship Crossfit. You can learn more about Barbells for Boobs here, and this is our team’s fundraising page, if you’d like to make a donation.
  • I’m not sure if you saw my social media posts, but I’ve been a member of this year’s Dublin Citizen’s Police Academy. It’s been a fun program, and as part of the requirements for graduation, I have to participate in a ride along with an officer and also spend some time shadowing the 911 / Emergency Operations / Communications center. Since I have some  more time to do it, I’ll be getting these both done this month, too.
  • Since I’m going too have a little more downtime, I’m also really excited to get to play Destiny 2 on the PC at the end of the month. Some friends and I started a clan, we’re calling ourselves the “Select Stars.” You either get that joke or you don’t, but if you do you’re perfect for our clan. Feel free to sign up if you’d like to play with us. We’re relatively nice people.

So there you go. I’m hoping to finish the year strong, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to a little less to do. Thanks again for following along!