On this episode of Simple Talks, Louis hangs out with Aaron Bertrand and talks hockey, curling, football, hybrid cars and even some technology. One of the big (non-sports) themes of the episode is that Aaron is a problem-solver and is interested in how issues can be overcome with technology - even if his focus now and in the conceivable future is being a top-level expert with some of the aspects of SQL Server.

What’s data masking? What’s subsetting? Get past the jargon as Redgate advocates Grant, Steve & Ryan break down these processes, explain why they’re important, how they work, and their personal experiences of both.

On this episode of Simple Talks, Louis sits down with Kevin Feasel and talks database design, conferences, battle tech games, and a lot more. Kevin has one of the most interesting origin stories so far in this series. He is a Data Platform Microsoft MVP and is the model of a great member of the data community. Also on the podcast, Louis learns a few new words and phrases, and for those of you watching on video, you can see him accidentally take himself out of the video a few times as well.

Where to find Kevin:

CuratedSQL.com

LinkedIn: kevin-feasel-5047167

Twitter/X: @feaselkl

Blog: https://36chambers.wordpress.com/

User Group: https://www.meetup.com/tripass

Check out Simple Talks on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sLQQR7DgYDPj2Ob1muIgU

Visit the Simple Talk website: https://www.red-gate.com/simple-talk/

Ryan, Grant & Steve discuss all things AI, from driverless taxis in San Francisco and Redgate’s PromptAI software, to the current concerns around AI and the potential impact on the future workforce.

Have your say in Redgate's State of the Database Landscape Survey

Visit the Simple Talk website

Louis is joined by Redgate author, business owner and conference speaker Tonie Huizer for coffee and a chat. Tonie discusses how he got into technology, why he loves automation, and how speaking about whiskey has more in common with conference speaking than you may think. He also gives a taster of his upcoming PASS Data Community Summit sessions and teases an exciting new Simple Talk series for 2025.

Steve, Grant and Ryan return to Simple Talks to discuss SQL Server and Postgres. The advocates share their experiences with both systems, highlighting what works and what doesn’t. From time series and Query Store to extended events, tooling and log shipping - this is a quick-fire deep dive into the pros, cons and differences between the two. There’s also conversation around making the transition from one system to the other, and Ryan reflects on his challenging introduction to Postgres…on the first day of a new job.

Check out Grant and Ryan’s PostgreSQL articles on Simple Talk:

Learning PostgreSQL with Grant - https://rd.gt/3AxVZ0B

Transforming and Analyzing Data in PostgreSQL by Ryan Booz https://rd.gt/3XcGKTQ

...and for Simple Talk’s extensive SQL Server content - https://rd.gt/3MiPRMw

Host Louis Davidson is joined by regular Simple Talk contributor and community speaker Jason Romans for coffee and a chat. From his early days owning a Commodore 64, juggling retail work with his studies and becoming an ‘accidental DBA’, all the way up to his current position as a Business Intelligence engineer, Jason has quite a few stories to tell. Other topics discussed include a shared love of theme parks, the travel benefits of attending conferences, and the challenges of sharing a name with ‘JSON’…

Steve, Grant and Ryan discuss the evolution of Database DevOps, from its origins to its significance today. They discuss what they were doing at the time of its inception as a concept and how it impacted their day-to-day, while also looking at the various pieces that make up the Database DevOps puzzle – from automation to testing - and where it may go next.