Carlos Sierra's Tools and Tips

First day of the RMOUG Training Days February 11-13, 2013 is over. I had the honor to present Using SQLTXPLAIN (SQLT) to Diagnose SQL Statements Performing Poorly. I had 14 participants and we were able to go into the details of several topics that were raised by this small group. We covered all the material I had prepared. We also covered SQL Plan Management (SPM) in a live demo branched from the SQLT core presentation and demos. The most rewarding part for me was watching the smiles in the faces of most participants. I think everyone got something out of this session.

I wanted to share my personal experience at this great conference. In short, I am having a blast! From being picked up at the airport by Prashant Khanolkar and sharing the ride with Cary Millsap and Faun deHerry; to speaking at the pre-conference event; and sharing a beer (or two) with other speakers. Just being here at this RMOUG event has been an awesome experience that I highly recommend to all! Last night, I had the chance to socially share with well recognized personalities, including: Kerry Osborne, Maria Colgan, Karl Arao, Kellyn Pot’Vin, Kyle Hailey, Jeff Jacobs, Andy Colvin, Faun deHerry and Scott Spendolini. I also had the change to meet or meet for the second time: Tim Gorman, Mogens Nørgaard, Ken Johnson, David Stokes, Lisa Cocklin, George Trujillo and Galo Balda. I met a lot more nice people but I am not so good with names to remember them all, specially this early in the morning…

It feels like yesterday when I participated at the Hotsos Seminar on March 2012. I was so intimidated just by thinking that some of the Oracle performance key players were there, and they would actually might sit in my session… I feel deep respect for most of the professionals that gather and are regulars at these events. What I learned at Hotsos 2012 was that most of these “big shots” were so approachable and down to earth. It was a big relief since I had been learning from them for years, through their books and blogs. For some reason I always thought they would be too busy to talk to someone like me… How wrong I was! That Hotsos 2012 event almost a year ago was the inspiration I needed to submit topics and try to participate in other similar events. RMOUG has had the same friendly, open, welcoming environment I discovered at Hotsos. My kudos to RMOUG organizers for making this event an awesome experience! As long as Oracle is willing to sponsor my travel expenses I will keep submitting topics to the RMOUG annual meeting… and Hotsos, and NoCOUG, and ECO, and some others…

Now, it is time for some workout before enjoying a busy day at the RMOUG!