SQL

Using Teradata SQL: Finding a person's age

How to calculate a person's age correctly given a date and their date of birth in Teradata SQL.

Life

Time Management - Categories, Activities and Contexts

Time manangement is one of those things I return to from time to time. We're always being told that we need to be more efficient with our time ⏱. It's a limited resource and we need to maximise it. The problem is I've never found a system that works for me.

Data Science

Can I answer the question I'm asking, with the data I have?

When you look at data, one of the most important you need to consider is "Can I answer the question I'm asking, with the data I have?" ... and be prepared to be creative.

SQL

Using Teradata SQL: Check the size of tables in a database

Some useful SQL that lets you find how much disk space your database and tables are actually using.

SQL

Using Teradata SQL: Create a reference table for human generations

Useful SQL to create a reference table of human generations like Millennial, Generation X, Baby Boomer etc with start and end dates.

SQL

Using Teradata SQL: How to find all the tables in a database or user area

This SQL lets you find all the tables in a particular database or your user area (your personal database) in Teradata, or table names that match a pattern.

SQL

Using Teradata SQL: Find the difference between two timestamps and express as hours

How to compare two timestamps in SQL and express the result in hours.

Dogs

Dogs and hot houses

With hot weather looming, we have some tips on how to keep your house cool when you have dogs but don't have air-conditioning.

Using... & How To's

Using Excel: How to count unique values

How to count unique values in a table or other data range in Excel. Includes a quick method for numbers, and a slower generic method that works with text.

Maker

Hacking a Davis Wireless Vantage Pro 2 Weather Station: Part 2 - the basic hardware

Part 2 deals with the basic hardware you need to hack the Davis VP2 ISS by intercepting the radio signals and shows the basic premise works.

SQL

Using Teradata SQL: How to find the number of AMPs and Nodes

How to find the number of AMPs and Nodes in a Teradata installation using a simple SQL query.

SQL

Using Teradata SQL: How to drop (aka delete) a lot of tables at once

This SQL creates a series of commands that can be used to DROP (aka delete) all the TABLES that match a pattern or username.

Maker

Hacking a Davis Wireless Vantage Pro 2 Weather Station: Part 1 - the theory

Part 1 discusses the Davis Vantage Pro 2 Weather sStation and the theory of a possible way to hack it and enhance its functionality.

Health

Diet Progress Report - February 2018

Lost another 4.4kg this month, making 10.4kg lost in total. Worth spending another month feeling vaguely hungry for :-)

Humour

What British People really mean when they say ...

Learn what British people are really thinking when they say ... A guide for foreigners.

Blogging

How to find images for your blog or social media feed …

A quick guide on how to find high quality images for your blog and social media ... without falling foul of copyright infringement and getting sued.

Health

Diet Progress Report - January 2018

So first month of the Moderation Diet is now complete. How has it gone, you ask? So far I've lost ... drum roll, please ... over 5kgs :-D OK, some of this will be the initial adjustment of my body to going on a diet, but it's still a solid (pun intended)

Design

This year will mostly be Purple

PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future ... and is a colour of rebellion, at least according to Jenny Joseph.

Health

Time to lose weight (again)...

It's post Christmas and it's time to lose weight (again). I'm a fairly classic weight losing person, in that my weight fluctuates. If I don't pay attention to it, it creeps up. The longer I don't pay attention to it, the more it creeps up. Eventually it'll hit a point

SQL

Using Teradata SQL: How to check if a table exists

Explains how to use SQL to check if a table already exists. Very useful to check prior to dropping a table, or for volatile tables if you re-run SQL.

Tableau

Using Tableau: Massive queries and slick SQL

As a data exploration tool, Tableau is second to none, but sometimes the SQL it generates to access SQL databases is just eye watering. Working smart can cure that. In one the reports I generate, there are two important dates. The reporting month and the dataset extraction date. In fact

Life

Chasing Rabbits ...

Sometimes you have to make hard decisions so you can concentrate on what's important, no matter how tempting the other rabbits are.

Life

The hidden menace of the passive-aggressive practitioner

So you hate a particular group of people and you really want to vent against them, but you know people won't tolerate such behaviour and anyway there are these inconvenient things called anti-hate laws (in the U.K. the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/

Design

Very useful website for Photoshop Graphics

I don't often give a call out to other sites. I only do it for sites I find regularly, and very, useful. This one is very useful site for finding Photoshop (PSD) graphics. What makes it stand out is the exceptional quality of the graphics, and the fact that it

SQL

Using Teradata SQL: Validating a UK Postcode

This one came about because a set of data I was dealing with had UK postcodes in it. The data came in from a whole variety of sources, and as such, was not very good in quality terms. The system that the data was going to, on the other hand