SQL Family on Andy M Mallon - AM²

Tech Community Equality Index

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 05:00:19 -0400

Over the last weeks & months, I’ve had an increasing number of conversations with folks on the topics of diversity, inclusion, equality, and justice. These discussions we have with coworkers, members of the data community, family and friends are all valuable, and help us look at life in a different, more inclusive way.

Hi, I'm Andy. My pronouns are he/him.

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 05:01:47 -0400

Forget what you learned in school-- "they" is singular

Lots of folks want to be an ally to the LGBTQ community, but don’t know where to start. One great way to be an ally is relatively low-friction.

List your pronouns. Everywhere.

Put your pronouns in your social media profile & your email signature. Edit your LinkedIn profile. Put it on your business cards. Make your pronouns part of your introduction. “Hi, I’m Andy. My pronouns are he/him. Nice to meet you.”

Racism is our problem to solve

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 01:00:59 -0400

This month's T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Kenneth Fisher (blog|twitter). Kenneth asked us to talk about any non-SQL tips and tricks we have. I'm going to take the moment to give some tips on how (and why) you can help fight bigotry, racism, and racial injustice.

In the US, Racism is a white people problem

The lack of diversity in Tech is a well-documented, well-known problem. Most companies have employee resource groups (ERGs) or other programs to help tackle the problem and build a more diverse workforce. However, companies cannot solve this problem without the engagement and help of employees.

Pride is a riot

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 08:30:10 -0400

Marsha P Johnson, LGBTQ rights activist & Stonewall instigator. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which mark the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the US. In the subsequent half century, the queer community has made significant strides in our march towards equality. Sodomy laws were struck down by the courts (but only as recently as 2003), same-sex couples can be married (state-by-state, starting in Massachusetts in 2004, and only with Federal recognition in 2015), and 21 states have enacted employment laws to fully protect employees from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. (As of today, 29 states still don't protect LGBTQ folks in the workplace: 12 states provide no protection, and 17 states provide only partial protection).

On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Bostock v Clayton County, GA that employment discrimination based on sexual orientation (including transgender folks) is a protected class under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This adds employment/workplace protections for LGBTQ folks in the 29 states where states had previously failed to enact protections. This ruling does not affect other aspects of queer lives, as this ruling is specific to workplace protections.

One of the key instigators of the Stonewall riots was Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson, a founder of the Gay Liberation Front, a devoted member of ACT UP, and co-founder of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries).

Supporting the LGBTQ #SQLFamily

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 22:54:39 -0400

I won’t be at PASS Summit this year, so unlike last year, I won’t be organizing an LGBTQ Meetup at PASS Summit. I’m hoping that even without the meetup, all my LGBTQ #SQLFamily friends will still get together for some fun and networking.

#LGBT channel on SQL Slack!

Tue, 14 May 2019 09:00:34 -0400

Last night while having dinner with my husband, I had a thought and messaged Chrissy LeMaire (blog|twitter) on the SQL Server Community Slack.

Thoughts on an LGBTQ channel here? I doubt it would be very active... But I'd love to have a spot for the data queers to find each other. Especially if anyone ever has a gay in the workplace question or whatever.

It was super duper late at night in Chrissy’s timezone, but I sent the message so I wouldn’t forget. Chrissy is one of the admins on the SQL Slack workspace, and fellow member of Team Gay, so I was really looking for validation that it was a good idea, and help getting it created.

Working from home: Home office tour

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:08:10 -0500

Callie might be the best office mate I've ever had. About two years ago, I moved my home office down into the basement at our house. At the time, I was working from home two (sometimes three) days per week, and sharing a home office with my husband was starting to feel cramped. He was rarely working at the same time as me, but only half the space was mine. The basement has a large finished room that we weren't using for anything else, so it was up for grabs. I painted my new office, and moved right in. This gave me a dedicated, and somewhat secluded place to work--no more worrying that my early morning call will disturb Ken while he sleeps on the other side of the wall, and less worry about getting interrupted during video calls.

Earlier this year, I started a new job as Product Manager for SentryOne, and work from home full time. This means I spend more (awake) time in my office than any other room in the house. Over the last few months, I’ve spent some more time making my office be someplace I actually look forward to going every day. I finished my last project over the weekend, so I thought I’d take everyone through a guided tour of my home office.

Following up on the LGBTQ Meetup at PASS Summit

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 10:13:51 -0500

It’s been almost two weeks since the LGBTQ Meetup that I organized at PASS Summit, and I wanted to offer a bit of follow-up and commentary on the event. Why did I wait two weeks before writing this follow-up? Well, tomorrow is American Thanksgiving, so I wanted to take a moment to talk about how thankful I am for the community’s support.

LGBTQ Meetup at PASS Summit 2018

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:14:30 -0400

In 2016, I organized an (unofficial) PASS Summit LGBT Meetup. It was a bit of a last-minute party, and more than once I found myself saying, “Worst case scenario, I’ll end up having a chill cocktail party with some friends.” Turns out, I under estimated myself: I sold out of (free) tickets, the room was at full capacity, we raised over $3000 for The Trevor Project, and everyone had a great time.

Who are the extra special people in your life?

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 09:28:34 -0400

Warning: This is not my typical blog post. It has nothing to do with databases, nor IT, nor even technology. However, it has everything to do with you, with your career, and with your success. I’ve decided to turn this exercise into a public blog post, but it is a deeply personal, raw blog post. I don’t expect others to share their thoughts publicly, but I encourage everyone to take some time and do this same exercise privately.

TSQL Tuesday #99: SQL Tourism

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 07:00:45 -0500

It’s T-SQL Tuesday, the blog party that SQL Server expert Adam Machanic (blog|twitter) started. This month’s episode is hosted by Aaron Bertrand (blog | twitter). The topic: Dealer's Choice (Door Number 1: #sqlibrium)

When I was a kid, Choose Your Own Adventure books were overwhelming because I wanted to explore every possible option--some things never change. This month for T-SQL Tuesday, Aaron offers two blogging options and I've chosen to do both. "Door Number 1" is a challenge to write about what you do in your free time, inspired by Drew Furgiuele's #sqlibirum post. That blog post is below. My other post is for the "Door Number 2" option is to talk about his Bad Habits series--I've opted to bring up a topic Aaron hasn't blogged about: tabs vs spaces. ## SQL Tourism? What's that? I made it the term, but it's a very real thing. When I started travelling to speak at SQL Server events, I committed that I would make the most of it. To me, that means a lot more than just attending the event where I'm speaking. Sure, I want to learn and network at the event, but it means more than that, too. It means actually seeing the city where I'm speaking. It means enjoying the *entire* trip. It means making new friends, and connecting with old friends. Sometimes, it even means bringing my husband with me.

I work really hard. Some days I’m at my desk before 7:30, and working again after dinner until bedtime. My blog doesn’t write itself–most posts are written nights & weekends after I’ve finished my work obligations for my paying work. That makes it really important to have some down time when I can. When Drew Furgiuele (blog | twitter) posted his #sqlibrium post, it really struck me, because it’s something that a lot of us struggle with–remembering to strike that balance between work and life.

Interviewed by Mohammad Darab

Wed, 20 Dec 2017 10:01:42 -0500

As part of Mohammad’s series of interviews, he interviewed me on my thoughts on the future of SQL Server, the DBA role, and the cloud.

Read the interview on Mohammad’s site.

Q&A with the MVP Award Program

Wed, 01 Nov 2017 11:38:58 -0400

I was recently interviewed by the Microsoft MVP Award Program about organizing the LGBT meetup at PASS Summit last year, and about running diverse, inclusive tech events here in Boston. We discuss why it’s important to have LGBT events, and other events that focus on under-represented groups, as well as how we run inclusive events here in Boston.

SentryOne Community Ambassador

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 10:13:28 -0400

1947 Nash Ambassador. Unfortunately, the SentryOne Community Ambassador program does not provide me with one of these.

Last week, SentryOne announced their new PAC Community Ambassador program. I’m incredibly excited to be part of this new program.

PAC? Huh?

SentryOne doesn’t fuel their monitoring software with power-pellets, the PAC is their Product Advisory Council. This is a group of their users and industry experts who help provide feedback on the product, new features, marketing, etc. Sometimes we’re beta testers, sometimes we’re a focus group, and sometimes we just share our performance woes.

Congratulations 2017 Microsoft MVP!

Sun, 19 Mar 2017 09:42:01 -0400

Earlier this month, I got an email with the subject line “Congratulations 2017 Microsoft MVP!” I immediately commenced doing a Snoopy happy dance (my dog, Callie, picked up on the excitement and joined in). If you aren’t familiar with the MVP Program, you might be asking,

Community Influencer of the Year

Sat, 31 Dec 2016 11:59:00 -0500

Last night, I was sitting at home with my husband, when I got an ominous message from Aaron Bertrand (blog|twitter):

You up? I'm about to blog about you. You've been warned. ~ Aaron Bertrand

Uhhh.... OK? It was 10:30 on a Friday night. I was pretty sure Aaron was still on vacation with his wife. Why would Aaron be blogging about me? And why was it so important that he would be publishing a blog post while he's on vacation? If it's that important, shouldn't I know about it? Well, it must be important because he had just sent me a message to warn me. I did what any level-headed, rational person would do: I brought up Aaron's blog and hit F5 every five seconds until the post went live. ## 2016 Community Influencer of the Year

I hounded Aaron for a cool badge, and he finally made one for me.

Whoa! Aaron’s post named me as his first Community Influencer of the Year. It’s a funny feeling to be the first recipient of an award. Not only was I surprised that I was in the running, I was surprised that anyone was in the running.

(Unofficial) PASS Summit 2016 LGBT Meetup

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 09:00:51 -0400

PASS Summit has tons of opportunities to meet like-minded folks, in addition to seeing old friends. There are the Women In Tech and Birds of a Feather Luncheons. There is the Community Zone. Friends catch up over coffee and meals. There are vendor parties. There is SQL Karaoke.

Podcast: Mirroring, Availability Groups, Replication, and Log shipping

Wed, 31 Aug 2016 09:29:03 -0400

Have you ever wondered what the best option is for making your data available in your environment? I was asked by Carlos L Chacon (blog|twitter) to be part of a panel on his podcast for an episode discussing some of the options–availability groups, mirroring, log shipping, and replication. We cover each topic in detail and explain the positives and negatives of each one.

My 5th DBAnniversary

Tue, 10 May 2016 09:00:43 -0400

Five years ago today, I officially became a DBA:

Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to extend to you our offer of employment for the position of Database Administrator

How I got there

I got my first job at a software company in 2003. I had no degree, I had no experience, and I had no idea what SQL Server was. The company was in start-up phase, and I was a warm body with low salary requirements and high ambition. It was a match made in heaven.

It didn’t take long before I was installing SQL Server 2000 on an NT4 server to test our application on that configuration. I learned how log shipping worked, and configured DR for our clients. I did a lot of DBA work, but I wasn’t a DBA.

#sqlcares, #sqlwish, and #sqlfamily

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 11:00:34 -0500

I’ve been using SQL Server for a dozen years now, but I’ve only been starting to make friendships and build relationships within the SQL Server community in the last couple of years. More importantly, it has only been in the last year that I would say I have really gotten involved to the point where I feel I am part of the SQL Server family. This post isn’t about my journey, but rather it is about the incredible family of which I have found myself a member.

Watch your step! Don't become a DBA-hole

Tue, 14 Jul 2015 01:37:00 -0400

No, I’m not discouraging anyone from being a DBA. I’m just discouraging DBAs from being A-holes.

DBAs (and IT folk in general) have a terrible reputation for being curmudgeons, jerks, and a-holes. These guys exist, and working with them is a miserable experience–but they’re a minority. Unfortunately, they are a memorable minority and they give the rest of us a bad name.