I know most of you turned in today for the next post in my series on Security Audits. Well, I felt that I had to talk about something much more important. A friend of mine died on Monday (April 2nd, 2018). Not just any friend though. This was Robert Davis, also known as SQLSoldier on social media, where he kept in touch with the world.
Robert was one of those wonderful, intelligent people who had forgotten more about SQL Server, or databases in general, than most of us would ever know. But, unlike a lot of knowledgeable people out there, he would bend over backwards to help bring you up to his level.
He presented at as many SQL Saturdays as he could. (If you don’t know about SQL Saturday, you owe it to yourself to check out my post here to see what it is.) From topics like SQLCMD, Resource Governor, or SQL Mirroring and Logging, Robert was a vast knowledge base on SQL Server. For a quick look at his vast list of presentations, you can view that here.
If you’ve been on Twitter in the last few years, and needed help with SQL Server, one of the many ways that you could get a fast answer is to include in your tweet #SqlHelp. This might as well have been the Bat-Signal for Robert (@SQLSoldier). He was usually one of the first to reply – most of the time within a minute or two.
So, two points here that I know Robert would agree with:
- Reach out to your friends and family and just tell them that you’re thinking about them. I know it puts a smile on my face and could brighten someone’s mood, especially when they need it the most.
- Help others. Whether it be on SQL or Construction or Dogs, help others to learn about something you’re passionate about. Teaching others will make you smarter and could even help you make new friends along the way.
Thinking of you Robert. #RIP
If you’d like to help his family in some way, a GoFundMe has been created. It can be found here.