Wrapping up 2025 and looking forward!

~ SqlAsylum ~ 5 Comments

It is that time of year when the world reflects on the past and starts making plans for the future. I personally am not a big fan of “Resolutions”. I prefer to look at goals for the next quarter, identify what I want to improve, and then focus on just those items. I intend to make this a quarterly post going forward. For now, I’ll recap the last year.

Below are some key accomplishments from last year:

  • I spoke internationally.
    • I was able to speak at PG Conf India in Hyderabad. It was a great experience, and I plan to do it again soon. It was even better since many of my team members were able to attend.
    • Personal fitness.
      • Failed my first 50-mile Gravel ride. (Moab Gravel Fondo)
      • Succeeded at my first 50-mile Gravel ride. (Rebecca’s Private Idaho)
      • Total of 5k miles on bike for the year.
    • Travelled a LOT.
      • New Countries indeed: Canada, Singapore, Japan (Tokyo).
      • New States: Hawaii, Virginia.
      • Several International trips, multiple regional trips, and vacations with family.
    • Led a team of DBAs and DBEs
      Very proud of how well the team works independently. Enabled the team to react quickly to any situation. More proactive changes were implemented to improve system stability.
    • Upgrade of PG towards the end of the year.
    • Started a new job
      Very excited about starting a new job right at the end of the year. Going to be the most challenging position for me yet!

    Some key goals I have for the next quarter:

    • Write every day. Post a blog once a week.
      This is critical to my new position and something I’ve wanted to do in the past, but haven’t had the time to focus on.
    • Set up the Testing environment.
      I typically have a production/Test/Dev environment to play with that includes lots of real-world data. When I want to test something new in PG or some other database. I now need to create something that does this. I have plenty of scripts and data to use for this; I just need to get it set up. This project is in process, and you will probably hear more about it soon.
    • Plan dates for three events in Utah.
      I have an SQL Saturday, a Kids Code Camp, and a Big Mountain Data event to plan. Need to lock in dates.
    • Figure out how to work differently.
      As mentioned in a previous blog post, I am transitioning into a very different role and need to focus my attention on a very different way of seeing the world.
    • Prepare my new presentations.
      I have several new presentations I’m working on and will be prepping all the content for them in the next few weeks.
    • Restart the user groups here in Utah.
      We have some user groups that need to resume operations, and I will be focusing on those events with other members of the community.
    • Manage Sponsorships.
      I have 3 events this year that I’m managing sponsorships for, and I need to make sure they are all ready to go.

    This is not everything I have planned for the quarter, but it’s a good start to keep things moving along. Hopefully, I can post an update in a few months and let you all know how these things are going.

    Hope to see you all at a future event in 2026!

    Here are some photos that I hold dear from my 2025 Adventures.

    Presenting in India!

    My Daily Driver. Most of my commuting to work.

    Just ride!

    Solemn moment at Arlington National Cemetery

    The Jewel in Singapore is well worth a visit. Amazing place! I would love to go back.

    Tokyo was a fantastic city.

Changing Jobs

~ SqlAsylum ~ 2 Comments

If you haven’t seen my LinkedIn post regarding my new job, you should check that out first. 

I started this week at Redgate Software as an Advocate. This isn’t just a new job for me, it’s a complete change in my day-to-day work. I’ve spent the last 20 years working in the DBA world. It’s a complete change to come to a position where my first few days were not spent discovering which Databases the company has and where they were located, not trying to figure out whether Backups were being done on the systems or what performance problems they had. 

It’s a BIG change for me.  The idea of not being on call, dealing with incidents, or simply being a member of the Engineering department is a foreign concept to me.  

The good news is that it’s VERY exciting!  Change is a tricky thing, but one that we need to embrace.  

I’m a firm believer that to find happiness, you need to find challenge and change.  

It also helps that my biggest passion has always been the community and helping others.  

I’m pretty sure these are going to change.  But I like to set something I can measure at different points along the journey. I don’t have a problem failing at my goals as long as I learn something.  I intend to review these each quarter. So while they are listed as 2026 goals, I’m sure they will change as I move forward through the year. 

2026 Goals

  • PG SLC UserGroup needs to be restarted and running. Hold at least five meetings. 
  • SLC SQL Server UseGroup, Same as above, with at least five meetings. 
  • Host an AI event. 
  • 3 Events in Utah for Utah Geek Events this year. 
  • Speaking at 5 PG conferences this year. Hopefully more. 
  • Assist three conferences in the US to get started. Hopefully, using the new https://dayofdata.org/
  • Speaking at 10+ User group meetings, Virtual or in person. 
  • Create five new presentations.  Three are already in progress. 
  • Have fun

These goals are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the specific goals I will have with my employer. I think many of them will align, and I’m sure a lot of these items will overlap.  I also think I’m being a little conservative on the numbers here.

What can you expect next?  This blog will be changing. It will still have content on PG, SQL Server, and biking, but I intend to revamp its look and make it easier to find things.  I will also be posting at least weekly, so check back often and subscribe! 

Just Ride!

~ SqlAsylum ~ 1 Comment

This post will not be technical, nor will it be related to any conference.  While that may seem like it’s not important, I think what I’ll talk about today is probably more important to a career than most of the technical things you will learn.  

About a year ago (May 2024), my son decided he needed a better way to get to work.  Walking, Bus rides, Lyft and bumming rides just wasn’t working well for him so we discussed going the bike route.  We found that RAD power bikes had a local shop, and I had seen them operating in Zion’s, which was a busy area, so we went to check them out.  

At this time, I had been struggling to get some exercise and was doing minor things like walking and stretching, but it wasn’t enough. I saw they had bikes “large enough for me” (for those that don’t know I’m 6’6” and 300+ lbs).  I figured, why not! 

Best decision I’ve made in a long time.  I had long-time friends who have wanted me to ride for years, so I decided it was time to let them know,  look, I did it!  Fast forward a year, I’ve now ridden just on my ebike over 3000 miles, I have a Surly Ogre as well that I’ve used as both a trainer and a bike.  I’ve logged about 1500 miles on that bike.  I participated in my first “ride”, in Moab in early May. It was supposed to be a 50-mile ride with 3000 vertical feet. I had a cold from traveling the week before, so I only made it about 30 miles.  It was a great learning experience and was amazing ride with friends!  

I typically commute about 3-4 times a week right now. My ride to work is about 17 miles one way. Takes me about 50 minutes currently to ride in.  I also plan to ride once a week with just my Ogre, which will be a little slower and more challenging.  

Great story, Pat. What’s the point of the post?  

The point is this. Get active and get out doing something!  If you are reading this, you probably live a computer life like me, you need to get out and do something to help your health and well-being. 

Don’t let anyone tell you an Ebike is not a real bike/workout. Do whatever you can and whatever drives you to do something.  I wanted to list the most important things I’ve learned in the last year. I hope this helps others to get started.  

  1. Friends make it all better!  I would not be anywhere on this journey if it were not for my friend Kris!  Kris had been riding for 100s of years, and not only was he a great bike mechanic, but he also pushed me and rode with me into the office. Many days I didn’t want to ride in (18F is very cold!), but I knew he was doing it as well.   Every activity is better when you have friends.  I would never have made it through Moab without Kirk (another amazing biker) keeping me going.  
  2. Just start! My first ride on my e-bike was 10 minutes long.  No joking.  My bike can take me 20+ miles, and my first ride was only about 1 mile.  I have to start things slowly. If you go out and start with a 1 hour ride, even if your legs/bike can do it your BUTT can not!  Go slow in anything you start.  
  3. Do your own thing!  If everyone tells you that’s not a real workout, that’s not exercise, “Did you even sweat?”.  You need to set your pace, you need to do what works for you. Seek out mentors and friends, but make sure they are supportive.  My biking friends never questioned me using an e-bike.  I was going it and making progress, and that’s all that mattered.  Find those people who believe in you. 
  4. Challenge yourself! We all have the voice in our head that says “Stay in bed”, “Eat the cake”, “Don’t sign up for a 50-mile race”.  You will NOT always win.  Matter of fact, you will lose more than you win.  Keep moving forward.  Learn from your failures.  I didn’t succeed at a 50-mile ride. But I went further than ever before, and preparing for the ride made me 100 times better.  I will succeed at a 50-mile ride in the future, I just have to fail a few more times.   

The last point I’ll make to this post is that you will find the 4 things I listed here also apply to work, software and in general life.  We all have the tools to do the hard things, we just need the discipline and the reasons to do those things.  Find the reason that will drive you!  

Hope to see you all on a trail or event soon!