Caribbean | SQL Cruise

February 1, 2012

#SQLCruise2012, Caribbean #SQLCruise, #SQLCruise2012, SQL Cruise

SQL Cruise Caribbean 2012 Day 5 – St. Maarten Day

Tim Ford

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Our first day on land has finally arrived. After two very successful class days at sea we arrived at 8:00 am in the port of Phillipsburg, St. Maarten. While some of us simply planned to explore the shops and perhaps get a drink or meal on the island many of us spent the day on excursions – in the case of Aaron Betrand from SQL Sentry one of his own choosing. Aaron decided that after a day leading us through enhancements and changes coming in SQL Server 2012 that he would avoid relaxation in exchange for biking 25 miles around the island that is shared by both the Netherlands and France. While the French are determined to maintain their roads – Aaron wasn’t so lucky on the Dutch side and is nursing some serious chaffing, aches, and pains along with a nice little sunburn.

Though there were five cruise ships in port we did manage to occasionally run into one another. While my family was run Segways up and down the boardwalk and beaches (I WANT ONE!) we ran into Kevin Kline (PASS President Emeritus) enjoying a quiet island brunch in one of the many beachside restaurants. Aaron ran across Ivan and Irina Camayo who joined us on SQL Cruise at the last minute out of Miami at the beach on the far Dutch side of the island, and prior to boarding at the end of our time in port we found ourselves with Ryan and Jennifer Adams along with Aaron at the last pub prior to embarking back upon our ship for sailing to the next destination: St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

After making sure all were aboard the Norwegian Epic set sail and the SQL Cruise staff and Cruisers collected on the aft deck for the Idera Iditarod contest (video to be posted soon; still photos do not do the event justice.) Our winners were second-time SQL Cruiser Bill Sanstrainte and the aforementioned Ryan Adams – making him a redundant winner at the hands of Idera Software. Congratulations Ryan and Bill! They each receive a Flip Mini HD Camera courtesy of Idera Software!

The evening concluded early with office hours. Discussions about indexing, execution plans, and volunteerism in the SQL Community gave way to nodding heads, blank stares, and yawns as the full day of sun and late meals on board took their toll on speakers, Cruisers, and yours-truly alike.

Today we meet for debarkation and a water ferry to the island of St. John’s for a quiet respite on the beach and office hours of the most-unique variety. Most of the SQL Cruise group will be spending the day together so we will possibly have an unscheduled extra 8 hours of informal training, networking, and instruction today.

It will be sure to be another great day in Paradise aboard SQL Cruise!

January 30, 2012

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SQL Cruise Caribbean 2012 Day 2 – We’re in Class on a Boat

Tim Ford

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Our first day in class was a great success. Brent Ozar presented on San Features for Senior DBAs and I covered the Periodic Table of Dynamic Management Objects.

The evening agenda for SQL Cruise kicked off first however at the Spice H2O Pool and Grill where we held the Brent Ozar PLF Art Auction. If you’ve gone on a cruise before you know they do what they can to separate you from your money. One of those methods are by holding art auctions – they lure you in with free champagne in the hopes you will make some starving artist not so hungry and the cruise line will happily take a commission on the sale. On SQL Cruise we have our twist on the genre. Including our own money which we provide to the Cruisers. Some prizes are great. Some, well let’s just say some are great fun. From underwater digital cameras to posters of dogs playing poker everyone walked away with something after the auction.

We then held open office hours like you’ve never encountered before unless you’ve been on a SQL Cruise. Presenters and Cruisers alike asking questions and volleying ideas off each other while getting some sun and some refreshments in and around the pool. Consulting sessions should always be this easy!

After the draining stress that poolside consulting requires we moved into relax and network mode with many of us taking in the Blue Man Group. It was an absolute delight seeing my sons in the front row enjoying themselves. The Blue Man Group was the first thing we took in at Universal Studios about a year ago after Trevor’s long stint in the hospital; still frail and in a wheelchair at that time. Sharing such a recovery with #SQLFamily aboard SQL Cruise is a very fulfilling experience for me.

When you come on a SQL Cruise you always seem to find the energy to stay out late and make it to class the next day. I attribute it to the 24-hour lifestyle so many DBAs need to adopt to support their environments. Here it is just a bit more casual though.

Our next day will also be a training day; this time featuring Kevin Kline and Aaron Bertrand. This is shaping up to be a great week, just as expected of course!

January 29, 2012

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SQL Cruise Caribbean 2012 Day 1 – Miami

Tim Ford

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The first day of SQL Cruise is always filled with energy. Everyone rushes to get through the lines to embark and get that first fruity drink… then they see how much drinks cost on the cruise ship. We meet for our first taste of the buffet for our initial SQL Cruise meal and kick off the evening with the Red Gate Search the Ship Contest.

This year was like the other cruises past. We assembled on the SQL Cruise Lido Deck and divided into teams of 2 or 3. Each team is issued a sheet with 26 items, people, or locations they need to have themselves photographed near. After one hour the teams – Cruisers, Guests, Speakers all working together – return to the SQL Cruise Deck. Points are tallied and prizes are given. This year Red Gate really came through with some great prizes for the winners. A year license for their SQL Toolbelt collection of software (of which I’m a long-time user and fervent advocate of) and this cool little camera that has one foot in the digital age, one foot in the Polaroid era, and well, was designed by Lady Gaga.

Congratulations to Ivan Rodriguez Camejo who won the camera and Brandon Leach who has use of the Red Gate SQL Tools for the next year!

Sunday starts the SQL part of SQL Cruise with presentations from myself and Brent Ozar. I’m really looking forward to getting everyone in the classroom so they can start to see what it’s like to train at sea.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter. We will be using the hashtag #sqlcruise when we have internet access. Likewise we will be using the hashtag of #sqlcruise2012 on photo sites such as Flickr, SmugMug, and Instagram. Please keep an eye out there for glimpses into the fun we’re having onboard.

January 28, 2012

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SQL Cruise Caribbean 2012 Day -1 – The SQL Cruise BBQ

Tim Ford

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Why do I do this?

It seems to be always the same when organizing SQL Cruises: the first couple weeks are a flurry of action, stress, bureaucracy, stress, and stress… then the months of waiting… then bring back the stress, bureaucracy, and stress for the two weeks leading up to the cruise. Add that this work is done in bursts over weekends, lunch hours, and late nights and I always question why I choose to keep doing it. It’s not for the money – that is for sure. It’s not for the fame – I’m training small groups of 15 or so at any given time on one of my SQL Cruises.

This is why.

It all becomes clear after the inevitable hassles with modern air travel including the TSA making it to ~~second~~ third base with my wife and me. This moment when those that have taken the plunge to try something different when it comes to technical training – those whom were able to convince the purse-holders of the training and travel budgets that SQL Cruise is not the same as SQL Cruise – gather in one place to meet in person for the first time after months of shared emails. I look around and see that I’ve been able to bring together two dozen strangers and convinced them that their lives will be different the next time they return to port; they will be more productive in the workplace and will be more rounded in their life taken as a whole. It’s a wonderful feeling and it makes me immediately want to do it all over again… and again… and again.

Miami Beach, January 27, 2012

We gathered today to do it all again. Thanks to the financial support of our sponsors: SQL Sentry, Brent Ozar PLF, Red Gate, Idera Software, and B-Side Consulting and the support of all those former SQL Cruisers and friends in the SQL Server Community I’ve been able to organize two more SQL Cruises in 2012 and they started today. We met as we always do prior to the sail date of a SQL Cruise at a local venue to meet (many of us for the first time) with fellow Cruisers, and their friends and family for a relaxing meal, introductory conversation, and the requisite distribution of swag from sponsors and SQL Cruise. This time around SQL Cruise 2011 Miami Cruiser Richard Zuech graciously offered his apartment to us for hosting the event. Richard is going to be joining us for both 2012 cruises this year and it was great to catch up with him. The food and drinks were great; the conversations pleasant and insightful; the view – spectactular! It’s really shaping up to be another great week for SQL Cruise and it’s Cruisers. We have a record this time around with an attendee as far away as South Africa joining us for SQL Cruise Caribbean 2012 thanks to winning Idera Software’s SQL Cruise contest this Fall.

Travel takes it’s toll on you the first day or so – another reason why we try to give the cruisers this bonus day of SQL Cruise prior to embarking. It makes the first day on board so much more enjoyable when you’re not carrying the emotional and physical baggage that comes with a full day (or in the case of De Wet Erasmus joining us from South Africa 26 hours) of travel. We capped off the night back at our hotel sharing some left-over key lime pie between my wife, Aaron Bertrand, and Missy (our delightful bartender.)

Join Us in Alaska

While it’s definitely too late to join us in Miami for our Caribbean 2012 training session it is certainly not too late to join us in Alaska. If interested you can do so via our registration page. Please be patient with us though. Our staff is at sea this week so all registrations will be recorded and processed once we return to port in regards to the SQL portion of SQL Cruise Alaska. Our personal cruise consultant at Norwegian Cruise Lines is aware of the number of open seats we have for SQL Cruise Alaska however so he can take care of your Cruise registration in the meantime. Right now with lower deposit costs and free balcony upgrades I can’t think of a better time to commit to joining us on SQL Cruise Alaska 2012!