Volunteering at SQLSaturday #275 Copenhagen

SQLSaturday #275 check-in table with a group of attendees waiting in line.

Last weekend I was in Copenhagen for SQLSaturday #275 Denmark. What a great event! I had signed up as a volunteer for several reasons. I wanted to help the Danish (and Nordic) SQL community, I wanted to get more experience as a volunteer, I wanted feedback and inspiration that will be useful for when we’re organizing SQLSaturday #317 Oslo, and most importantly I wanted to meet all the great community people I only knew from Twitter.

Planning volunteer tasks started a few weeks before the event when the event organizers and volunteers decided on who would be responsible for each task via e-mails. I felt a bit like Donkey from Shrek going “pick me! pick me!” when I told the event organizers I could volunteer all weekend if needed, but they had done such a great job they didn’t really need much help. The main tasks were volunteering as room attendants and helping out with registrations.

Speaker standing in front of a projector screen.

I was assigned a room after lunch, so I spent the morning listening to the keynote, attending a few sessions, getting to know people and talking to sponsors. (I may have had moments where I ran around like a headless chicken trying to figure out what to do, which usually made me grab some more coffee, which in turn made me run around even more… At least I got to see a lot of the venue this way!)

SQLSaturday #275 sponsor area.

During the end of the lunch I realized that I wasn’t exactly sure what to do as a room attendant, but a quick briefing from the event organizers made it an easy task. The speakers in my room were experienced and had no problems running the show themselves, so all I had to do was agree on when to notify them about the amount of time left, make sure there was enough water, hand out speaker gifts and keep the room clean.

It was a long day, but a great day! What I enjoyed the most was meeting everyone in person and getting to know new people. It was a fun surprise to meet coworkers and members of SQL Server User Group Norway that I didn’t know were attending 😃 I got to attend sessions on topics I usually don’t work on and learned new things that way, and I have to mention the SQL swag I brought back home: volunteer shirt (also known as “shirt dress”), fleece sweater (I drowned in it, but it was lovely and warm), cap, candy, books and lots of other fun items.

Holding a bottle of beer labeled SQLBrew.

There were a few things that could have gone smoother, but I really am being nitpicky when I point those out. The organizers could have sent out instructions on each task before the event, but I could also have made sure to ask earlier what to do. I could have talked more with the speakers in my room, but I didn’t want to disturb them while they were preparing. I could have greeted the attendees as they walked in, but they were there to see the speakers, not the volunteers, so I let the speakers greet everyone. I wish I could have met more people, spent more time with sponsors and attended all the sessions, but there was just not enough time for everything.

Volunteering is a great experience and I definitely won’t hesitate to help out at other events, but it does take time and you could miss out on sessions because you’re volunteering in another room. If that’s the case for you as a volunteer, try to switch rooms with another volunteer. If you’re an event organizer, try to make sure everyone gets to see the sessions they’re most interested in so it’s a great day for everyone.

At the end of the day there were giant jenga matches, raffles, organic hot dogs, #SQLBrew and lots of happy faces. Thank you to the event organizers for a great event and for inspiring us Norwegian organizers. Thank you to all the speakers and the other volunteers, I hope to see some of you in Oslo in August and hopefully at other SQLSaturdays!

Notepad++ Macros Example

Notepad++ logo.

Do you ever find yourself doing the same things over and over and over again when working on your text files? You can save a lot of time by recording and running Notepad++ macros to automate these repetitive steps. Just record your steps once, then run them as many times as you need!

Animation showing how to record and run Notepad++ macros.

A shy first-timer at PASS Summit 2013

PASS Summit 2013 Logo.

It’s not easy to write about PASS Summit 2013 in a structured way. Just like the summit was buzzing with energy I feel like running around tossing keywords and hashtags at people: #SQLFamily! Ribbons! First timers! Sessions! #SQLKaraoke! Exhibitor booths! It was all a little overwhelming for this shy first-timer, but also exciting and fun at the same time.

Notepad++ Remove Duplicates, Remove Blank Lines, and Sort Data in One Operation

Notepad++ logo.

You can use the 32-bit version of Notepad++ with the TextFX plugin to quickly remove duplicates, remove blank lines, and sort data - in one operation! This is a fast and easy way to get the results you want in just a few seconds. And as with any kind of automation: the more data you work with, the more time you save 🤓

Animation showing how to remove duplicates, remove blank lines, and sorting data in Notepad++.

The quick version:

  • Install the 32-bit version of Notepad++
  • Install the TextFX plugin (this is not available in the 64-bit version of Notepad++)
  • Enable Sort outputs only UNIQUE
  • Click Sort lines case [in]sensitive

Takeoff! Launching cathrinewilhelmsen.net

Large pink fireworks exploding.

Today, I will be marking my calendar with a bright color. (Probably pink.) I’m taking a plunge into the world known as “The Internet” and launching cathrinewilhelmsen.net! It’s quite exciting to have my own little place online 🤓

I have a few reasons for launching cathrinewilhelmsen.net. The first reason is entirely selfish: I want to tell everyone hi, hello, my name is Cathrine, this is who I am and this is what I like to do. The second reason is because I want a place where I can learn and experiment with web design and web development. And the third reason is that I want to keep a tiny library of useful links and code snippets and tips and tricks.

I have no idea yet what this website will grow into, but I’m excited! Welcome to cathrinewilhelmsen.net, I’m happy to have you here 🥳