Bob Pusateri, Author at Bob Pusateri

17 Aug 2010

Four Reasons To Learn The Dvorak Keyboard

Hardware, Thoughts

For quite a while now I've been intrigued by the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard (DSK). I was first introduced to it by my mentor at an internship during college, and after reading about how Dr. Dvorak's layout of the keys came to be, I thought it would be neat to learn given its advantages. After giving it more thought, there some disadvantages as well, and I'm torn to the point that I can't figure out what to do. In this and the following blog post, I'll take a look at both sides of the issue. 1. It's Faster Believe it or…

12 Aug 2010

By Bob Pusateri

“Password” is a Dirty Word

Software, Thoughts

Take a moment to think about the really important passwords you use - maybe for your computer at work, email, financial information, or even the 'sa' account on SQL Server. How many characters long are they? Are they really all that difficult? Are they: Dictionary words? Words with a few numbers or symbols substituted in place for letters? Totally random combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols? The last option is obviously the most secure choice, but it also happens to be the most difficult to remember. I’ve previously mentioned that I’m a big fan of KeePass, an open source password…

10 Aug 2010

By Bob Pusateri

T-SQL Tuesday #009: Beach Time!

SQLServerPedia Syndication, TSQL Tuesday

This month's T-SQL Tuesday is brought to us by Jason Brimhall (Blog | Twitter) and he's asking what we do to prepare for some time off. Databases don’t take any time off, and in my experience DBAs rarely do either. We do earn our vacation like every other employee though, and every once in a while we might even be allowed to use some of it! When I’m getting ready to go on a vacation, I take 2 simple steps to help ensure that things stay “business as usual” while I’m out of the office: Documentation The same…

05 Aug 2010

By Bob Pusateri

Three Events That Brought Me Here

Personal, SQLServerPedia Syndication

Back in January, Paul Randal (Blog | Twitter) started a wonderful blog meme that asked you to write about 3 events in your life that brought you to where you are today. I had the pleasure of reading many excellent posts written by people that I really look up to. I wanted to participate, but I didn’t have a blog back then. I’m 7 months late to the party (the story of my life!) and I’ll warn you that I don’t think my tale is nearly as inspiring as others that I've read, but I thought I’d share anyway. 1.…

02 Aug 2010

By Bob Pusateri

Speaking At Chicago Suburban PASS This Week

Presentations, SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication, User Groups

Tomorrow night I'll have the pleasure of speaking at the August 2010 Chicago Suburban SQL Server User Group meeting. Here's the details: WHERE: Microsoft Offices - 3025 Highland Parkway Suite 300, Downers Grove, IL WHEN: Tuesday, August 3, 2010. 6:00 - 9:00 pm I'll be giving my presentation entitled "Backups and Restores In Depth". I'll discuss some of the finer points of backups, restores, and how they work. I'll also cover the three recovery models in detail and add some best practices along the way. I'm not the only act though, Wendy Pastrick (Blog | Twitter) will also be speaking. Her…