Blogs

Adding a Netlify Contact Form to a Hugo Static Site

Adding a Netlify Contact Form to a Hugo Static Site

By Kendra Little on June 29, 2023 • 7 min read

I redid my static site’s contact form with a free option from my host, Netlify.

Here’s why I changed my static site host and how I got a Netlify contact form to work with a blog built on Hugo and the Mainroad theme.

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Is It OK to Show My Database Schema to ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot?

Is It OK to Show My Database Schema to ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot?

I’m answering two questions from Brent Ozar’s list of user questions open for answers.

Q: What’s your opinion of entering confidential info in chat gpt? Will we see AI therapist chat bots?

Q: In terms of security, is it OK to expose your database to tools like GitHub Copilot in Azure Data Studio? Someone will know that your email address column is not encrypted or a stored procedure is not parsing its input parameters when dynamic T-SQL is built.

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When NOT to Choose SQL Server to Store Your Data

When NOT to Choose SQL Server to Store Your Data

By Kendra Little on June 21, 2023 • 7 min read

I recently posted on LinkedIn that I was interviewing for a SQL Server database administrator role for the first time in a long time. I invited folks: “Ask me your favorite interview question!”

Stephen Vakil had a great one: “when should you use SQL Server to store your data?”

For situations where SQL Server is already in use and there’s a relatively low barrier to entry, I think it’s simpler to turn this question around and ask, “When is SQL Server not a good choice for storing your data?”

This post is also available as a podcast episode, and on YouTube.

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Career Navigation in the Time of Tech Layoffs

Career Navigation in the Time of Tech Layoffs

By Kendra Little on May 23, 2023 • 5 min read

Reorganizations and layoffs are now commonplace in the tech industry: a daily occurrence. It’s increasingly necessary for tech workers mentally prepare for potential job loss and uncertainties that arise. It’s a common antipattern to believe that it’s “too late” to prepare for a layoff or unexpected reorganization if a layoff has already occurred in your organization.

It’s never too late, and it’s always the right time these days to start mentally preparing yourself for change– because there’s reliably another change around the corner.

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ChatGPT Says SSMS Is the Best SQL Server Monitoring Tool

ChatGPT Says SSMS Is the Best SQL Server Monitoring Tool

One thing I enjoy about AI chatbots is that they can help me recognize when I’ve missed something obvious.

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Use ChatGPT to See Multiple Perspectives: An Example With ORMs and Database Code

Use ChatGPT to See Multiple Perspectives: An Example With ORMs and Database Code

There’s a lot of hype, concern, and fear regarding generative AI lately. Tools like ChatGPT are so good at generating groups of words that it feels like magic– however, generative AI doesn’t have the ability to understand or verify the language it generates. For example, it’s been used to write news stories for CNET – but sometimes included facts that are just plain wrong.

One positive use case of a generative AI tool like ChatGPT is to ask it to make a case for different perspectives than your own, and use this as a starting point to broaden your understanding – with the knowledge that we need to verify everything ChatGPT tells us. As an example, let’s chat to ChatGPT about Object Relational Mapping tools (ORMs).

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3 Lessons Learned About Azure SQL Database

3 Lessons Learned About Azure SQL Database

By Kendra Little on January 15, 2023 • 4 min read

Category: azure-sql

Hosted cloud databases make a lot of administrative tasks easier, or take care of them for you altogether.

But here are three things that I’ve found a little too easy to forget about Azure SQL Database.

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