SQL Server Consulting, Education, and Training
Thanks for watching!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
One thing that has been absolutely plaguing social media, particularly LinkedIn, is an abundance of LLM generated content.
I suppose this is a reasonable comeuppance for a company that decided to auto-opt-in every user to allow for LLMs to be trained on their content.
The fastest and surest way for LLMs to get stupider than they already are, of course, is to train them on their own bad information.
There is some value in the abilities of LLMs, but flat out, it’s not technical information.
Here’s what I’ve used it for with some success:
But every time I ask it to do that stuff, I really have to pay attention to what it gives me back. It’s often a reasonable starting place, but sometimes it really goes off the rails.
That’s true of technical stuff, too. Here’s where I’ve had a really bad time, and if there’s anything you know deeply and intimately, you’ll find similar problems too.
I’ve asked it some SQL Server stuff, like:
This is one of my favorite interactions.
In other words, it’s wrong more than it’s right, even about yes or no questions.
Worse, it’s confidently wrong. I need you to fully understand what a farce this all is.
Anyone who thinks it’s capable of taking on more complex tasks and challenges knows nothing about the complex tasks and challenges that they think it’s capable of taking on.
I see a lot of people using various LLMs to generate stuff to say, and it’s all the same, and it’s all wrong.
How many times can you post the same “10 things to avoid in SQL queries” list that starts with “Avoid SELECT *” and expect to be taken seriously?
Worse, there are people who post and re-post all manner of “SQL tips” that are blatantly incorrect, missing important details, or offer advice that ranges from doesn’t-make-any-sense-whatsoever to downright-harmful.
If these were people who knew what they were talking about in the first place, they’d be ashamed and embarrassed to read what they’re posting.
But they aren’t people who know what they’re talking about, and so the badness proliferates.
Somehow or another, these posts get tons of traction and interaction. I don’t understand the amplification mechanisms, but I find the whole situation quite appalling.
For all the talk about various forms of misinformation, and how the general public needs to be protected from it, I don’t see anyone rushing to plug the onslaught of garbage that various LLMs produce.
Seriously. Talk to it about something you know quite well for a bit, and you’ll quickly see the problems with things it comes up with.
Notice I’m not using the term AI here, because if I may quote from an excellent article about all this mess:
Generative AI is being sold on multiple lies:
That it’s artificial intelligence.
That it’s “going to get better.”
That it will become artificial intelligence.
That it is inevitable.
If you want to mess with LLMs for language-oriented tasks, fine. Treat it like having an executive assistant and double/triple check everything it comes up with.
If you’re using LLMs to come up with technical content, you need to stop immediately. You’re lying to people, and embarrassing yourself in the process.
We all know you didn’t write that, and anyone with a modicum of sense knows just how little you actually know.
I was recently linked to this podcast about the whole situation, and I found it quite spot-on:
Thanks for reading!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
Thanks for watching!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
Thanks for watching!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
Kendra and I both taught solo precons, and got to talking about how much easier it is to manage large crowds when you have a little helper with you, and decided to submit two precons this year that we’d co-present.
Amazingly, they both got accepted. Cheers and applause. So this year, we’ll be double-teaming Monday and Tuesday with a couple pretty cool precons.
You can register for PASS Summit here, taking place live and in-person November 4-8 in Seattle.
Here are the details!
Whether you’re aiming to be the next great query tuning wizard or you simply need to tackle tough business problems at work, you need to understand what makes a workload run fast– and especially what makes it run slowly.
Erik Darling and Kendra Little will show you the practical way forward, and will introduce you to the internal subsystems of SQL Server with a practical guide to their capabilities, weaknesses, and most importantly what you need to know to troubleshoot them as a developer or DBA.
They’ll teach you how to use your understanding of the database engine, the storage engine, and the query optimizer to analyze problems and identify what is a nothingburger best practice and what changes will pay off with measurable improvements.
With a blend of bad jokes, expertise, and proven strategies, Erik and Kendra will set you up with practical skills and a clear understanding of how to apply these lessons to see immediate improvements in your own environments.
Picture this: a day crammed with fun, fascinating demonstrations for SQL Server and Azure SQL.
This isn’t your typical training day; this session follows the mantra of “learning by doing,” with a good dose of the unexpected. Think of this as a SQL Server video game, where Erik Darling and Kendra Little guide you through levels of weird query monsters and performance tuning obstacles.
By the time we reach the final boss, you’ll have developed an appetite for exploring the unknown and leveled up your confidence to tackle even the most daunting of database dilemmas.
It’s SQL Server, but not as you know it—more fun, more fascinating, and more scalable than you thought possible.
We’re both really excited to deliver these, and have BIG PLANS to have these sessions build on each other so folks who attend both days have a real sense of continuity.
Of course, you’re welcome to pick and choose, but who’d wanna miss out on either of these with accolades like this?
You can register for PASS Summit here, taking place live and in-person November 4-8 in Seattle.
See you there!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
Thanks for watching!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
Thanks for watching!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
Thanks for watching!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
Kendra and I both taught solo precons, and got to talking about how much easier it is to manage large crowds when you have a little helper with you, and decided to submit two precons this year that we’d co-present.
Amazingly, they both got accepted. Cheers and applause. So this year, we’ll be double-teaming Monday and Tuesday with a couple pretty cool precons.
You can register for PASS Summit here, taking place live and in-person November 4-8 in Seattle.
Here are the details!
Whether you’re aiming to be the next great query tuning wizard or you simply need to tackle tough business problems at work, you need to understand what makes a workload run fast– and especially what makes it run slowly.
Erik Darling and Kendra Little will show you the practical way forward, and will introduce you to the internal subsystems of SQL Server with a practical guide to their capabilities, weaknesses, and most importantly what you need to know to troubleshoot them as a developer or DBA.
They’ll teach you how to use your understanding of the database engine, the storage engine, and the query optimizer to analyze problems and identify what is a nothingburger best practice and what changes will pay off with measurable improvements.
With a blend of bad jokes, expertise, and proven strategies, Erik and Kendra will set you up with practical skills and a clear understanding of how to apply these lessons to see immediate improvements in your own environments.
Picture this: a day crammed with fun, fascinating demonstrations for SQL Server and Azure SQL.
This isn’t your typical training day; this session follows the mantra of “learning by doing,” with a good dose of the unexpected. Think of this as a SQL Server video game, where Erik Darling and Kendra Little guide you through levels of weird query monsters and performance tuning obstacles.
By the time we reach the final boss, you’ll have developed an appetite for exploring the unknown and leveled up your confidence to tackle even the most daunting of database dilemmas.
It’s SQL Server, but not as you know it—more fun, more fascinating, and more scalable than you thought possible.
We’re both really excited to deliver these, and have BIG PLANS to have these sessions build on each other so folks who attend both days have a real sense of continuity.
Of course, you’re welcome to pick and choose, but who’d wanna miss out on either of these with accolades like this?
You can register for PASS Summit here, taking place live and in-person November 4-8 in Seattle.
See you there!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.
Thanks for watching!
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that, and need to solve database performance problems quickly. You can also get a quick, low cost health check with no phone time required.