People have strong feelings about SQL Server Management Studio: they love it AND they hate it. In this week's episode, I talk about why people have such conflicting feelings about SSMS, and how to work it all out.

A query is slow, and you figure out how to collect the query execution plan. Now what? In this episode I talk "big picture" about what execution plans are, what "cost" is, why to collect "compiled for" values, and the steps I take to analyze execution plans while performance tuning queries.

As a SQL Server DBA, do you need to be a killer with scripts? In this episode I talk about how much you need to know about PowerShell, and examples of ways I personally use (and struggle with) PowerShell.

I'll be attending and presenting at the SQL PASS Summit in Seattle Washington this year from Oct 31-Nov 3. In this week's episode, I share why I'm excited about going, and why I've purchased a seat for a pre-conference session. (Spoiler: pre-cons are awesome!) I also give my tips on how to get the MOST value out of a big conference like the PASS Summit.