Friday, February 21, 2020

Update: My Favorite (Data Platform) Podcasts

A tweet on the #SQLFamily hashtag triggered me last week to update an old blog post I wrote a few years back on My favorite (SQL server) podcasts.




After I switched jobs 2,5 years ago I have been doing a lot less commuting, which is good actually, but that left me also with less time to listen to podcasts. Therefore I chose to not listen to some episodes that are not that interesting to me.

Old podcasts

Here's the list I was already following since my last post:

  • .NET Rocks!
    • This is still a great podcast. I particularly like the Geek-outs.
  • Dear SQL DBA
    • The last episode is from the beginning of 2019, I always liked this very much because of the way Kendra explains things.
  • Developer On Fire
    • This was still a thing in 2019, but kinda dried up at the end of last year. The list of book recommendations is still there and huge, so do have a look there.
  • Hanselminutes
    • Still very much a thing. Good, short and fun episodes.
  • no dogma podcast
    • Still a regular flow of good episodes.
  • Office Hours Podcast: SQL Server Pain Relief
    • This one had its last episode on Jan 2 2019.
  • RunAs Radio
    • Still a constant, weekly flow of information and knowledge!
  • Simple Programmer Podcast
    • The frequency was turned down to weekly in 2019, but still regularly producing content.
  • SQL Down Under
    • The URL changed, and after 9 months of silence there was a new episode in December of last year.
  • SQL Server Radio
    • After a few months of silence there was a (re)new(ed) episode with a great announcement.
  • voiceofthedba’s podcast
    • Steve is actually on a sabbatical right now, but his short bursts of knowledge will certainly continue as he goes back to work next week.

New podcasts

These are the podcasts that are new:


Dutch podcasts

Next to the Data Platform related ones above, I also have a few Dutch podcasts that I like to listen to:


Closing

I still use the app Podcast Addict forAndroid, now the paid version without ads.
And one more pro tip before I finish: I use a podcast app that can set the speed of the podcast. I listen everything at 2 times the speed now :-) You can start at 1.5 and work your way up to what feels comfortable for you.

Are you also listening to podcasts, on your way to work, during work or somewhere else? Let me know in the comments which ones you like and if you have others not in my list!

@NickyvV

Monday, February 10, 2020

My Upcoming Speaking Engagements: Belgium and Iceland!

Before talking about my upcoming speaking engagements I would like to tell you a little story. And it goes like this.

How it all started

Back in 2018 I started my journey of getting more involved in the SQL and Power BI community. It actually all started with a Power BI User Group (the Dutch Data Dude Farewell Tour with Jeroen ter Heerdt (B | @jeroenterheerdt)) organized by PBIG (and me) at the Van Lanschot Kempen office in Den Bosch, on which I wrote about earlier last year. Jeroen Schalken (B | @JeroenSchalken) and me did a little introduction talk (around 15 minutes) about our implementation of Power BI at Van Lanschot Kempen. It was frightening and exciting at the same time. During the break of the evening Edgar Walther (B | @edgarwalther) of PBIG came to say it was a very interesting presentation and if we would like to extend that and come talk at the Power BI User Day in March 2019. It was right there that I (and Jeroen) made the decision to say YES. We still had to make a one hour presentation, but also had plenty of time left.

After that presentation I really got the feel of it and started looking for other opportunities to speak. Eventually this turned out in speaking at Power BI Days Belgium with a session and a workshop, followed by SQL Saturday Prague together with Jeroen, dataMinds Connect in Belgium, and even the Power Platform World Tour in Dublin!
It brought me so much more than I could have imagined.

The first thing is that I get the chance to share my knowledge with like-minded people. Next, it was not only amazing to travel to these venues with great speakers and people I look up to. There were also awesome social events during every trip. And that's where the real magic happens. You make contacts, chat a bit, have a beer (or drink of your choice) and make new friends. And at another event you meet even more people to connect with, but sometimes also catch up with the newly made friends from the previous conference. It's been an amazing experience so far.

Upcoming events

But now back to the title of this blog post: it was time again to update my Speaking page, because I already have a few very nice events in my calendar.

This year will start with SQL Saturday Belgium (#956) on March 7, where I will deliver (an updated version of) the presentation that started it all.
Next up is SQL Saturday Iceland (#937) on March 28, where I will deliver my new session A Form, a Flow and a Power BI Streaming Dataset Walk Into a Bar. This session is based on the lightning session I gave at the Dublin Power BI UG during the Power Platform World Tour in Dublin.
Next to those two SQL Saturday events there's also a UG meeting planned, but not officially released yet. So more info on that one later.

Teaser

And last but not least: I will have some very exciting news to share in the coming weeks hopefully. I'm currently finalizing everything, so I'll let you know when everything is signed, sealed and delivered :-)

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