We attended the speaker dinner on Friday. You know the speaker dinner is great when you don’t want to leave, but know you need to go back to the hotel for a final run-through of your presentation and get some sleep.
Data Saturday Columbus 2024 was held on Saturday, August 17, 2024, at Otterbein University.
I dropped my wife off, and because of what was open in the area, I went through Starbucks’ drive-through. Coffee is something we look forward to at the conference, but it is more important to be at the conference early and be able to attend sessions. Sunday morning allows more flexibility, so I went to Bigby Coffee.
The first session I attended was Eugene Meidinger’s session titled You could have invented Fabric: a beginner’s guide. It provided an overview of prior technologies and the problems they were trying to solve. Lastly, it focused on how Fabric addresses those modern needs. Last year, Eugene did a session for the Ohio North SQL Saturday, encouraging people to start presenting and to get over the fear that comes with it. I was still new to presenting and appreciated the encouragement the session provided.
I then attended Visual Storytelling: Crafting Compelling PowerPoint Presentations by Gabby Fiffick. As a speaker, I thought this would be an excellent session to improve my PowerPoint presentations. However, I soon realized that this went beyond my presentation slide deck and could be applied to presentations in my workplace. I had never thought about the use of color or font and the impact I intended to create. This and the next session I attended will have a lasting effect as I incorporate what I learned.
The Art and Science of Data Presentation by Evelyn Maxwell could be delivered as a college course. Evelyn broke down the visual layer and showed how to apply Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception to improve the data visualization layer. As someone who feels my strength is in the data modeling layer, I am always trying to improve my ability to present the data in a practical and actionable way.
My Presentation was Power up your Fabric Development with DAX Studio and Tabular Editor (GitHub slides). After this presentation, I decided to streamline some parts so that I would have time to introduce a common problem that can occur and show how to prevent that issue proactively. This topic deals with performance tuning, and tough choices must be made regarding what should be covered in the time allotment.
At the same time slot I presented was another session, Joe the Axolotl, Clever Closet, & Demonic Robots – Weird Projects of Tech-Savvy Middle School Girls by Ashley Holcomb. The week before, I joked on LinkedIn that I wouldn’t blame anyone if they chose this session over mine. I did not realize I would refer to my wife, who attended this session. It inspired her to come back and see if we had a local chapter of Girls Who Code that she could volunteer with. As great as my session may have been, I do not think she would have returned and looked up a local chapter of the Tabular Editor User Group (although she loves the Tabular Editor t-shirts we got from SQLBits). I could see this session expanding to be a track for kids to participate in and learn at the same conference next year.
Lastly, I attended Why To Write, And Why Not To (GitHub Slides)by Louis Davidson. I think it had the intended effect of getting the audience to think more about what they can teach and write about. It takes someone else to encourage us that we have a voice and that there are people who will benefit from our knowledge and experience. For me, this needs to be a daily reminder.
Scheduling your sessions at a conference is always tricky since there is bound to be at least one other session you want to attend simultaneously. I needed to be motivated by Louis Davidson’s writing session, and I am glad I attended. This may be one of the reasons why I am starting to write more for this blog and Simple Talk. However, I missed Tony Wilhelm’s session, My Brain Has Blue Screened—Let’s Laugh.
The post-event meal was a great chance to catch up with friends. Unlike last year, this did not end with a career talk in the parking lot (a talk I am still grateful for).
Sunday Fun Day: We met with Tony Wilhelm for brunch at The Original Pancake House. I had a unique soufflé called the Dutch Baby, which they finished preparing tableside.
Last year, we went hiking at Hocking Hills State Park. This year, we had nothing planned and kept options open, such as brunch with friends.
With a late flight and airport delays on recent trips, we decided to drive back home. We mainly flew up to Columbus so it wouldn’t interfere with work. Since we are committed to attending as many conferences as possible, we mustn’t burn through PTO for the travel time. Even with returning the rental car to Nashville, we still saved a few dollars, and it was an enjoyable drive back.
We drove by Kings Island Amusement Park near Cincinnati. As people who love going to amusement parks (mainly Disney and Dollywood), we must incorporate this into next year’s trip, especially if Louis Davidson joins us. He shares our love of amusement parks—proof of this is evident in his Dollywood and Disney World Twitter accounts.
The DAX Shepherd 
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