#SqlSatDublin (#SqlSat501) – ReCap

Friday

Last week I left home, bound for Dublin, to attend and speak at the SQLSaturday event organized by Bob Duffy (b|l|t), Carmel Gunn (b|l|t), Ben Watt (l|t), Dan Galavan (b|l|t) and many others.

I arrived in Dublin on Friday, getting settled in at the hotel, then took a quick peek at the venue, which was right on the back of the Hotel.

National College of Ireland
National College of Ireland

Friday night, all speakers were invited to attend a dinner on Quay 16, which turned out to be a smashing meal and really awesome company. If you ever get the chance of sitting at the same table as Buck Woody (b|l|t), you’re in for a treat.

Saturday

Rise n’  Shine, up early, to attend the first session of the Day, by Matt Masson (b|l|t). Except, Matt hat lost his voice halfway through his pre-con on Friday, needless to say, his sessions were cancelled. So I began the Day with a tour of the exhibitors and got a chance to talk to some of them. Next I went to attend the key note by Mark Souza (l|t) – What an amazing story-teller! After that, it feels like: It’s Just Faster… It just is…

During the next session, I went to the speakers room, to prepare for my own presentation. I had been selected to deliver a Lightning Talk on Custom Assemblies in Analysis Services. A topic I have written a couple of blog posts on, here and here. My presentation went well, even though only a few hands came up to the question on who was working with BI and SSAS. I was sharing session with Ben Watt (l|t), Andre Melancia (b|l|t) and Andrew Pruski (b|l|t), who all delivered excellent talks on Power BI, Certifications and Partitioning (T-SQL).

When the session was over, I had plenty of time since lunch was up next, followed by sponsor sessions – I skipped those, to take a break and talk with lots of people who wanted to chat about SQL Server 2016.

Next up, for me, was Rob Sewell (b|l|t) – I hadn’t had a chance before to see his PowerShell expertise unfold, so I grabbed the chance while it presented itself. Rob shared a lot of best practice and good advise. If you get the chance, attend his session – PowerShell is here to stay!


Final session of the Day, I selected to get an introduction to R in SQL Server 2016 by Marcin Szeliga (b|l|t). This session was also live streamed on Channel9, where you can still see it, for free, along with a selection of session from #SqlSat501.

Raffle time!

SqlSat501 Raffle Time
SqlSat501 Raffle Time

After finding the lucky winners, we all headed out in a court yard for some BBQ and beverages. A Perfect ending to a long day.

Sunday

Sunday was my day off, and I decided, based on numerous recommendations, to head out for the Guinness Storehouse. It was a good walk from the Hotel to the factory, and I didn’t mind the light rain on the way, but the view from the top floor was maybe not the one that goes into commercials. Still I think it was a nice trip and some great information about the beer, craftsmanship and history.

Dublins Finest #storehousestory #guinness #beer

Et billede slået op af Jens Vestergaard (@jens_vestergaard) den

Dublin is full of all kinds of wonderful sculptures, old as new and I was fortunate enough to pass by a lot of it on my tour through the city. City centre was currently undergoing heavy rebuild, as I understood the tram was to be rediscovered – I wish that would happen in Copenhagen as well.

The Linesman
The Linesman

Leaving from Quay 16 this stunning view was presented.

Samuel Beckett Bridge
Samuel Beckett Bridge by Night

In the afternoon, I was bound for home, wife and kids. I did get to shop some gifts for them, a genuine rugby, a rugby shirt and some other Irish treats.

I really enjoyed my stay in Dublin, and cannot thank Bob, Carmen, Ben, Dan and the rest of the team enough for giving me the opportunity to speak at their event. I hope to be back!

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One thought on “#SqlSatDublin (#SqlSat501) – ReCap

  1. Pingback: Last Time I Had a Whale of a Time! – T-SQL.dk

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