Something for the Weekend – SQL Server Links 17/08/12

It’s SFTW Time, I hope you’ve had a great week!

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It’s funny when you look back on the week and have to think harder than you should just to recall all that you’ve been working on. You’ve had your head down and been racing from one problem to the next but did you actually achieve at least some of what you set out to at the start of the week? Me neither :-) A warning sign, at least for me, that you need to take your foot off the gas is when the weekend arrives and there’s all this “fun stuff”  that folks want you to get involved in! How are you supposed to get anything done? This weekend I shall be taking some of my own advice and doing nothing (How To Raise Your Game By Doing Nothing). Well, at least I will try….boxing, tennis and a birthday do don’t count right…..

There’s been a surge of activity in the blogshpere this week, with almost too much quality content to choose from. Long may it continue.

Here’s your weekly roundup of SQL Server Blog Posts, News and Techie Stuff. Enjoy!

• Database Corruption, Transparent Data Encryption, and Trace Flag 5004 – A SFTW first here from a Mr Bradley Ball (Blog|Twitter). How he has managed to stay off my radar for quite so long is a mystery.
• Tricks? In T-SQL? – Breaking down what’s really going on inside that CTE, it’s Rob Farley (Blog|Twitter).
• Temporary Tables in Stored Procedures – A supremely high quality and in depth write up from Paul White (Blog|Twitter). This get’s my vote as your must read of the week.
• Stop Worrying About SQL Server Fragmentation – Who’s worried? Brent Ozar (Blog|Twitter)
• Temporary Object Caching Explained – No introduction needed. More from Mr Paul White (Blog|Twitter).
• Being Right, the Other Side – Why being right is not always a good thing………. but it should be, Grant Fritchey (Blog|Twitter) explains.
• No Substitute for Time, Experience, and Training – Pure professional development sense and sport from Jes Borland (Blog|Twitter). A winning combination.
• SQL Server DBA Interview Q&A Part 2: The Answers – The follow up to the video from the other week, it’s Brent Ozar (Blog|Twitter) and PLF Team. How did you do?
• Survival Tips For Developers: How To Talk To Your Dba – Sharing a poster that you might not want to put up in the office, it’s Thomas Larock (Blog|Twitter).
• Avoiding Problems – Powerful professional development stuff delivered with artistic flair, it can only be Michael J. Swart (Blog|Twitter). Just don’t call him a “Problem Avoider”.
• T-SQL #33 – What happens if….? – The host with the most for this months T-SQL Tuesday, Mike Fal (Blog|Twitter), sharing his very own trickery with us.
• Free Ebooks from MS Press – A number of free ebooks have recently been made available. Grab yourself a copy and let me know your thoughts on those you read.
• Free Tools for Testing SQL Sever – The storage guru Wes Brown (Blog|Twitter) sharing his favourite tools for testing SQL Server.
• The Trouble With Transaction Logs – Thomas Larock (Blog|Twitter) is laying down the gauntlet, can you get DBCC LOGINFO to display 8,388,608 rows? ;-)

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Misc Technology Posts

• Productivity vs. Guilt and Self-Loathing – Scott Hanselman (Blog)
• Choosing a Mobile Workstation – Glenn Berry (Blog|Twitter)
• Hypersonic jet Waverider eyes Mach 6 – BBC News Technology
• The Importance of Paranoia for the Technical Professional – Buck Woody (Blog|Twitter)
• Bill Gates looks to new toilets to improve world sanitation – BBC News Technology
• Scientists find safer way to store hydrogen – TheRegister