LADY SQL

A man I met today

2016-09-09T00:10:00.001-07:00

There are some people you meet, you can tell that life has wiped the smile off their face.

Today, if you sat with me and looked into this person's face, you see an unrecognizeable peace that looks so rare you want to know what they have done to overcome their tragedy.

It didn't take a Ph.D.

They muscled through each day with their faith.

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith."

Get to know someone's story..

Simply Crazy -Crazy quilt starter

2016-08-14T20:53:00.001-07:00

So glad I picked this up -- and found out how to use this!

Silly me.

I'm a rookie at quilting but thought this was a template we were to piece for an entire quilt.

It is the center start-point for a crazy quilt.

Exciting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr7vtLFhVzA&sns=em

A smocking stitch #19 using Brother DZ2850

2016-08-07T16:05:00.001-07:00

I wanted to take a page from the previous post: Sierra Fiber Arts' appliqué sample stitch. As I was playing around, I

I want to to modify a stitch to have a cabin-style Tahoe-pines look. I pushed out the length and width as far as it could go:

(Of course, Settings should be on stitching):

And here we are (bad manicure and all):

The manual settings (I didn't make the manual, but here is the smocking stitch):

Local Store visit: Sierra Fiber Arts

2016-08-03T06:39:00.001-07:00

My first time at Sierra Fiber Arts. I was impressed with everyone's welcome. Last Saturday was a "Free Sew Day"

and saw a friendly group of people on different projects.

To balance out work-and-play, I am looking for a class that will teach something new for me (which is not a hard thing). I also wanted to research the Bernina sewing machine.

Alas, poor folks in the store couldn't help, as they were offering free help (aka:"Free Sew Day")

A fellow sewer shared her Bernina experience.

I was amazed at the appliqué example. Told myself I'd love to do that!

Brother 4234DT serger: threading the lower looper

2016-03-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

Who would have known this wee puppy had a smirk on her little mug.((insert foreshadowing music))

She's ate 75% of my underthings. Yes, in all fairness she had a Havanese accomplice, but far be it from me to be unfair!

It has been a year & have quite the collection to repair. *ahem*

So! Back to the serger to repair my many lace lady-underthings. I swore I wouldn't lose so many precious danties.

Eghad! I was getting a flat forehead over threading the lower looper re threaded.

My husband was kind enough to get me some reading glasses at Rite Aid, staring at the manual, watching Youtube demos and simply.. Well.. Staring at the lower looper.

(Sorry Brother, as much as I love my brother sewing machine and serger, the manual is painful and small.

Ok! I rolled up my sleeves. This thing wasn't going to conquer me!

Thread lower looper like this:

Push the mauve (purple for us simple folk) lever to the right.

It will jet out the lower looper enough to see an "envelope-v" shaped lip to thread around. Then feed the remainder of the thread through the eye of the lower looper. Voila! I'm now pain free.

Calm when things got the fan

2016-01-17T21:57:00.001-08:00

Foundational to have a servant leadership frame of mind, "how can I help you"

, "How can this be better?"

"how can we get to the next steps?"

Keep that frame of mind and let's bookmark that.

So! When stress hits. The real kind where you have to operate and get it done.

Here are some things that have helped me.

1. It has happened before, it will happen again.

2. Who's your mental mentor? "Looking back" People have walked through this before, we can walk it out too. Who would you think of to be at your side when you have to fix something in the would-be panic mode?

3. Keep your eye on the ball.

Keep your "Eyes wide open" with the Now - .

Watch, listen to what is happening around you?

Constantly apply wisdom you've walked through.

4. Eliminate the "Germinators". Who causes worry to germinate! Eradicate!

I can't stop thinking how surprised I get when I get affected by downer people.

..negative folks

It's only afterward do I realize a weight has been taken off.

New wedding band !!

2015-12-13T22:36:00.001-08:00

Wedding ring replacement <3

No sew alley

2015-06-29T22:35:00.001-07:00

It has been a dry spell.. Work has me busy but hope to get going once we get major projects up and running.

As of this eve am choosing not to have few project rule me so I'll pick up a long standing project soon.

Brother 4234 DT Serger

2015-03-21T11:17:00.001-07:00

O purchased my serger! I went with the project runway limited edition model (the 4234DT is the same without the "limited edition" label).

It has sat here all week as my commute allows me only the weekend to roll up my sleeves.

I purchased this puppy via all brands.com. I've used them for the first time and LOVED the free shipping, ability to pay via Payal and the simple FedEx ground tracking. Way to go all brands.com.

I called them only once with friendly-excellent online support. No dial-a-number get off shore support either. Wahoo!

It came with a DVD I am enjoying (the brother how-to DVD is helpful , and is multi-lingual. Having said that, the English 'paisley-lingo' makes you want to shake the gal into real life. Seriously folks!). "Shake it off".

It came with the "Bettina studio" learn to serge DVD sets. It has practical threading tension and fun projects that help get you going.

More to come!

1st serger thread at D &J sewing.

2015-03-14T11:13:00.001-07:00

I bought my serger!!

I 'leveled up' and got the brother serger 5324 PRW at Allbrands.com

I went into D & J sewing in Clovis, CA and got my first serging thread.

I met an absolutely fascinating couple who were in there getting their quilting machine (zilla) fixed. She teaches quilting and sells her quilts. She said she can average two a day(!).

Here's to people watching and fascinating folks.

Simplicity 8523

2015-03-10T21:06:00.001-07:00

Alas, I told myself I wouldn't need to buy another pattern, now that I have Wild Ginger's Pattern Master software.

But there's something left for the simple core patterns..

I will be doing a few simple blouses.

I have broad shoulders, so I will do pattern option "F"

With a fabric I got on sale

And one splurge, a decorative button:

I finished this blouse, and I would have been happy over this one. Albeit if I measured correctly. The bust was a bit too snug and my shape squared-out and personally felt like "frump girl".

Nice fabric, nice pattern. The end user error made me a sad panda.

Chalk that one up for experience.

Shopping For A Serger: Brother 1134 DW

2015-03-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

I have decided not to get the high end Babylock.

If I sewed more, I would see the benefit.

I didn't go with the 700.00 (oops! 699.00) project runway model..

I have decided on Costco's 1134 DW.

I haven't figured out what the DW means, and Brither's website has no description of the serger (I know! Just a pic!).

But it's from Costco, right?

Reviews at patternreview.com:
http://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingMachine/Review/1/5043

Try #3 blind hem stitch

2015-03-07T13:17:00.001-08:00

Eureka.

It was part configuration and part how to handle the fabric.

I stripped 10-12 swatches to make practice.

By the 5th or 6th one, I figured it out.

(Note: this is not a standard per sé, but it worked for me):

As the fabric is feeding through, brace the finger against the presser foot to stabilize.

Voila

It caught the edge perfectly.

.. Finished side:

Try#2 Blind Hem Stitch

2015-03-07T12:22:00.001-08:00

Ok!

I may need. -1 or -2?

Here are the settings: (higher width, thicker fabric, lower width normal to lighter): I have it on -3:

Here is what came out:

(Ok, so I didn't start out well- see the right side)

This is what the finished side looks like:

Try #1 Blind hem stitch on Brother DZ2850

2015-03-07T12:12:00.001-08:00

I'm trying my hand with the blind hem stitch.

On my Designio, it is stitch #10.

(Pic)

The result didn't catch the fabric.

The presser foot is in the upright position in this pic, but seems like the "zigzag" needs to be extended.

No barging

2012-10-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

The pups are finally peacefully waiting to come in. What a celebration! (2011)

Rolling up values (123A…123C..123D)

2010-09-01T11:38:00.001-07:00

I have a task to roll certain numbers up what have an ID with a letter at the end.

something like this:

194A
194B
50A
50D

I need to ‘roll’ values (ie: Sales Amount, Quantities) regardless of the version (A..B..C..)

Here is some sample code that will help create some sample data:

create a fake table called blah:

if object_id('blah') is not null drop table blah
if object_id('blah') is null create table blah (id int primary key identity, mixed_charachters varchar(20))

Now, insert values into that table:

insert into blah (mixed_charachters)
        select mixed_charachters
        from    (select '8B' as mixed_charachters union
                 select '244'                  union
                 select '51B'                  union
                 select '172'                  union
                 select '247A'                  union
                 select '274'                  union
                 select '249'                  union
                 select '273'                  union
                 select '194B'                  union
                 select '198'                  union
                 select '271'                  union
                 select '50A'                  union
                 select '276C'                  union
                 select '254'                  union
                 select '115'                  union
                 select '93'                  union
                 select '158'                  union
                 select '210C'                  union
                 select '50D'                  union
                 select '102'                  union
                 select '265'                  union
                 select '250'                  union
                 select '51A'                  union
                 select '196'                  union
                 select '188'                  union
                 select '216E'                  union
                 select '34'                  union
                 select '254B'                  union
                 select '276'                  union
                 select '65'                  union
                 select '78'                  union
                 select '178'                  union
                 select 'TEXTVALUE        union
                 select '221A'                  union
                 select '209'                  union
                 select '96A'                  union
                 select '73'                  union
                 select '190'                  union
                 select '262'                  union
                 select '258'                  union
                 select '278'                  union
                 select '194A'                  union
                 select '46'                  union
                 select '227A') as charachters_to_insert

Now, I can start working with the numeric values that have A LETTER IN IT

select * from blah where isnumeric(mixed_charachters)<>1

Find your ReportServer Stored Procedures

2010-08-31T12:52:00.001-07:00

Here is a source I found that will show you all the stored procedures that are stored in your SQL Server Reporting Services.

This is a staple for me! It can get pretty crazy, not knowing what stored procedure goes to what report!

;
with xmlnamespaces (
default 'http://schemas.microsoft.com/sqlserver/reporting/2005/01/reportdefinition',
'http://schemas.microsoft.com/SQLServer/reporting/reportdesigner' as rd
)
select name,x.value('CommandType[1]','VARCHAR(50)') as CommandType,x.value('CommandText[1]','VARCHAR(50)') as CommandText,
        x.value('DataSourceName[1]','VARCHAR(50)') as DataSource
from    (select name,cast(cast(content as varbinary(max)) as xml) as reportXML
         from   NRDEV1.ReportServer.dbo.Catalog
         where content is not null
                and TYPE = 2) a
cross apply reportXML.nodes('/Report/DataSets/DataSet/Query') r (x)
where   x.value('CommandType[1]','VARCHAR(50)') = 'StoredProcedure'
order by name

SSRS multi-select (easy way!)

2010-06-24T12:36:00.001-07:00

Open Visual Studio Business Intellegence Studio

Open an existing project or create a new project.

Select the Data Tab
create new DataSet

call this dataset Select:

Here is my select statement.
select * from (
select 'basket ball' as ball
union select 'baseball'
union select 'foot ball'
union select 'nerf ball'
) t where t.ball in(@ball)

Call this ddl_select (this will be the drop-down menu you need for the multi-select)

select 'basket ball'
union select 'baseball'
union select 'foot ball'
union select 'nerf ball'

if you have a debug table you want to test your values (see how they are written, here’s some code:

if object_id('admin_ssrs_log') is null 
  begin
    CREATE TABLE [dbo].[admin_ssrs_log] ([ssrsID] [int] IDENTITY(1, 1)
                                                        NOT NULL,
                                         [PageName] [varchar](255) NULL,
                                         [Username] [nvarchar](520) NOT NULL,
                                         [runDate] [datetime] NOT NULL
                                                              CONSTRAINT [DF_ssrs_log_runDate] DEFAULT (getdate()),
                                         [string] [varchar](max) NULL
                                                                 CONSTRAINT [DF_ssrs_log_string] DEFAULT ('none'),
                                         [Stored Procedure] [nvarchar](255) NULL) 
  end
insert  dbo.admin_ssrs_log (PageName,
                            Username,
                            runDate,
                            string,
                            [Stored Procedure])
values  (
         'test multi-select parameters', -- PageName - varchar(255)
         'domain\username', -- Username - nvarchar(520)
         getdate(), -- runDate - datetime
         @ball, -- string - varchar(max)
         '(code behind execution; no stored proc)'  -- Stored Procedure - nvarchar(255)

Now, create the multi-select drop down for “ball”

here you can select the options (but you aren’t done yet! the clincher is next):

The multi-select parameter is written but SQL Server needs it parsed in a certain way.

(oh my, this is soooo easy!)

1. Go to your data tabl

2. Edit the dataset that needs the @ball parameter.

3. Select the Parameters tab

The key is to use the Replace function and the Join function

Chagne your value

from =Parameters!ball.Value

to =Replace(Join(Parameters!ball.Value,", ")," ", "")

voila. your multi-select will work every time!

helpful source (kinda obscure, but here it is)

writing sequential numbers with a zero prefix

2010-06-21T10:56:00.001-07:00

At times you may need a zero as a prefix to sequential numbers

ie:

00001
00002..

00009
00010…

Here is test code that flows through one to ten thousand:

declare @number int,
  @prefix varchar(20),
  @display_number varchar(20)
-----------------------------
set @number=0 
while @number<10000
  begin
    set @number=coalesce(@number, 0)
    -----------------------------
    if len(convert(varchar(20), @number))>0
      and @number<>0 
      begin
    -- ones place
        if len(convert(varchar(20), @number))=1
        begin 
          set @display_number='0000'+convert(varchar(20), @number)
        print @display_number
        end
    -- tens place
        if len(convert(varchar(20), @number))=2 
        begin
          set @display_number='000'+convert(varchar(20), @number)
        print @display_number
        end
    -- hundreds place
        if len(convert(varchar(20), @number))=3 
        begin
          set @display_number='00'+convert(varchar(20), @number)
        print @display_number
        end
    -- thousands place
        if len(convert(varchar(20), @number))=4 
        begin
          set @display_number='0'+convert(varchar(20), @number)
        print @display_number
        end
      end
    set @number=@number+1  
  end

adding windows permissions to Navision

2010-06-12T10:12:00.001-07:00

my file location: ..\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics NAV\CSIDE Client

1. copy the file xp_ndo.dll

save it to a fixed location on the server’s location.

note: if this is a local machine: I typically save it locally to a C:\Data folder so I know the info should NOT be deleted!

2. Open SQL Server Managmenet Studio

3. (be careful!) tier down to the master database

4. Programmability –> Extended Stored Procedures
5. Right-Click “New extended stored procedure
name it xp_ndo_enumusersids
DLL field select the full file path for the xp_ndo.dll

my location is c:\Data

6. Assign permissions to the public role: IN the extended Stored Procedures properties, click on “permissions” then “search” type in “public” then OK. Then assign execute permissions to Public

7. repeat the previous steps and make another extended stored procedure which is exactly identitcal except this one must be called xp_ndo_enumersgroups in stead of xp_ndo_enumusersids

special thanks go to Lars Lohndorf-Larsen – Microsoft Dynamics UK

But wait! There’s more!

You may just get this error as well.

You have to put a trace flag on your database. This enables certain properties in SQL Server.

In SQL Server 2005, a user trying to use a program (..an application role) cannot access metadata (meaningful info you need) outside its own database because application roles are not associated with a server-level principal.

This is a change from earlier versions of SQL Server.
Setting this global flag allows for application roles to access server-level metadata

1. Open SQL Server Manager

2. Right Click SQL Server –> Properties –> Advanced tag.

3. Scroll down until you see “Startup Parameters”.. type in –T4616.

4. Click OK.

5. Restart SQL Server

(this site helped: http://plataan.typepad.com/microsoftdynamics/2007/11/how-to-set-trac.html)

ERROR: “Cannot insert the value NULL into column 'permission path', table '@temp'; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails.”

2010-06-07T08:40:00.001-07:00

I was scripting a senddb code

and got this error:

“Cannot insert the value NULL into column 'permission path', table '@temp'; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails.”

Descriptive huh!?

This has to do with a profile name not being entered.

View what the name of the profile is. mine is “testForMailJob”

and I updated my code to include the profile name:

decimal calculation Phakery

2010-06-02T15:12:00.003-07:00

I have written a calculation inside a column called written amt.
I multiplied the Amount * Net Weight which is the Net Weight times Amount.
But when I verified the amounts by a unit test (SQL Mag’s InstantDoc ID #37428 or Wikkipedia)
certain values failed.
Notice the Net Weight column for the failed lines:

Object1: failed rows

All the failed rows had net weights of decimals
Cross reference with the amounts.

Then I knew the column specification for my table was smaller than the source table.
source table: decimal (38,20)
destination table (from the select): (38,2)
so, what I see are the truncated amounts shoved by the wayside to give me rounded numbers.
voila.
[insert large exclamation of “DUH” here]

Weighted Averages in SQL Server

2010-05-11T10:19:00.001-07:00

Here is a screen shot of my brain dump regarding weighted averages.

The Financial Dictionary says:

Weighted Average definition
An average in which each quantity to be averaged is assigned a weight. These weightings determine the relative importance of each quantity on the average. Weightings are the equivalent of having that many like items with the same value involved in the average.
Investopedia Commentary
To demonstrate, let's take the value of letter tiles in the popular game Scrabble.
Value: 10 8 5 4 3 2 1 0
Occurrences: 2 2 1 10 8 7 68 2
To average these values, do a weighted average using the number of occurrences of each value as the weight. To calculate a weighted average:
1. Multiply each value by its weight. (Ans: 20, 16, 5, 40, 24, 14, 68, and 0) 2. Add up the products of value times weight to get the total value. (Ans: Sum=187) 3. Add the weight themselves to get the total weight. (Ans: Sum=100)
4. Divide the total value by the total weight. (Ans: 187/100 = 1.87 = average value of a Scrabble tile)

here's a start:

SELECT ItemToCount, price AS value, COUNT(ItemToCount) AS weight, COUNT(ItemToCount) * price AS value_times_weight FROM SalesTable GROUP BY ItemToCount, price ORDER BY ItemToCount

research used:
(I played “with rollup” to give me subtotals):
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189305(SQL.90).aspx
Webster’s Dictonary lookup on Weighted Average:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/weighted+average

Happy Mother's Day to All!

2010-05-09T19:56:00.001-07:00

My daughter made me cry... on Mother's Day!