Shows
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 24 Fabric CommunityIn this episode, Shannon Lindsay from the Microsoft Community team joins me to talk about, well, community! We talk about her trajectory from non-profit space, to Power BI developer, to Microsoft employee. We go over how social media is fragmented and the joy of finding your friends.Dunbar's numberUnderstand translytical task flowsData WitchesMicrosoft Fabric Community
2025-12-0331 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 23. Dealing with Fabric OverwhelmIn this episode, Shabnam Watson talks about dealing with Fabric overwhelm and how her bureaucratic experiences with Azure and Synapse motivated her to learn Fabric. She talks about how it's important to focus on finding a way that works with the tool instead of finding the "best" way. In general, the best lesson is to find ways to tie your new learning. We also touch on the DP-600/DP-700 certifications.Analytics Engineering with Microsoft Fabric and Power BI (O'Reilly, early release)The Analytics Engineering Podcast (dbt Labs)Design for How People Learn by Julie DirksenWhat is Copy Job...
2025-12-0131 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 22 Making Fabric Feel Like HomeIn this episode, Microsoft MVP Prathy K talks about her journey into Microsoft Fabric from her MSBI background. She explains how Fabric felt like "coming home" since she could map SSIS, SSRS, and SSAS concepts to new tools. We discuss how medallion architecture is really just rebranded data warehousing layers and why Fabric can feel overwhelming if you haven't kept up with the big data world.Microsoft documentation on medallion architectureWhat is a lakehouse? (Databricks, 2020)Big Data or Pokemon? (circa 2013)Fabric Capacity Metrics appFabric benchmarking loading CSV
2025-11-0530 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 21 - Reverse interview, should you switch to Microsoft Fabric?In this episode, Microsoft MVP Angela Henry asks me questions about Microsoft Fabric. We compare the current Fabric development timeline to the old Power BI development timeline. I talk about when Fabric makes the most sense, in my personal opinion. It was a surprise this episode to hear about SSRS.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_crabSVG images in Power BI (2018)Fabric Roadmap
2025-09-0330 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 20 - Power BI AccessibilityIn this episode, Juliana Smith talks about accessibility in Power BI. She talks about starting out as a data scientist and moving to Power BI. We talk about how impairments can be temporary or varied and how accessibility helps everyone. We discuss simple, low-effort changes like font sizes, labels, and color contrast.Megean Longoria on accessibilityInclusive Design ToolkitAccessibility Insights for WindowsAccessibility documentation for Microsof Power BIJuliana’s YouTubeJuliana’s Blog
2025-08-2027 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 19 - Getting into Microsoft FabricIn this episode, Heidi Hastings joins to discuss the practical realities of adopting Microsoft Fabric. We cover her early exposure to Fabric through the MVP preview, the challenges of understanding and implementing it across real-world projects, and the often-overlooked learning curve for newcomers. Heidi shares insights into common misconceptions driven by marketing materials, gaps in documentation, and the difficulty of navigating architectural decisions like Lakehouse vs. Warehouse. LinksYou could have invented Microsoft FabricGuy in a CubeRui RomanoWorkout WednesdayKerry KoloskoMegean LongoriaData witchesSynapse EspressoContoso generated datasetAustralia timezones
2025-08-0635 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 18 - SQL DB on FabricIn this episode, Sukhwant Kaur the PM for SQL DBs in Fabric, talks about the new feature. She talks about how management is much easier, which is great for experimentation. SQL DBs are very popular for metadata pipelines and similar. It’s exciting as a way to enable writeback and curated data storage for Power BI. We also talked about AI features and workload management.LinksVector support for in Azure GASurge protection in Fabric
2025-07-3032 min
SQL Data Partners PodcastEpisode 286: Data Governance and Security In Microsoft Fabricnance and Security In Microsoft FabricIn this episode of the SQL Data Partners Podcast, host Carlos L. Chacón is joined by Kevin Feasel and Eugene Meidinger for a deep dive into data governance and security within Microsoft Fabric. As part of Season 8's focus on Fabric, the trio explores how governance tools and practices are evolving with Microsoft's platform, including the use of domains, Purview integration, and the challenges that arise from pricing and tool fragmentation. With their usual banter and insights, the hosts lay out foundational concepts around organizational data governance and highlight some key components Fabric offers out-of-the-box. They a...
2025-07-2833 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 17 - Fabric NotebooksIn this episode, we talk with Emilie Rønning about notebooks. We talk about how notebooks can be used for data engineering and when to get started with them. One of the nice things about notebooks is that you can easily debug individual steps instead of having to search a whole script for an error. We also discuss when to learn notebooks. Near the end we talk about how exporting notebooks risks exfiltrating data.LinksROC in statisticsREPL LoopLiterate programmingU-SQL languageFabric FebruaryLucid Will capacity trackingSemantic link BPABest Practices aren't always helpfulThe hidden risk in F...
2025-07-2329 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 16 - Administering FabricIn this episode, Elayne Jones talks about being an expert reference for the IT Center of Excellence and about administering Fabric. We talk about the types of things that can be administered and some of the challenges.Deploy Power BI from OneDriveMatthew Roche: problem domain and solution domainPublish to web turned off by default now1,000 item limit in Fabric workspaces
2025-07-1625 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 15 - Fabric or DatabricksIn this episode, Meagan Longoria talks about Databricks and helps us compare it to Fabric. The general conclusions is Databricks is still the mature tool, but Fabric is making improvements. In reality, there is space for a hybrid approach and if you have to start somewhere with Fabric, it likely makes sense to start with Power BI and work your way back, where this value. We also talk about how the way Fabric is structured can sometimes lead to messy workspaces.LinksItems limitations in workspacesConway's law (you ship your org chart)F...
2025-07-0935 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 14 Changing Data CultureIn this episode, Ewa Hutmacher talks about driving change and changing cultures in a organization. I think it’s fair to say that adjusting to Fabric and centralizing your data is a big organizational change. It was new to me to hear there are ways to track and monitor organizational change.Crucial ConversationsMedallion architectureRussian nail factoryPerverse incentivesWho Moved My Cheese?“We need this report in Power BI”
2025-07-0240 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep 13. Power BI, Your First Job, and the PL-300In this episode, Evelyn talks about getting certified in the Tableau and Power BI. We talk a little a bit about how each is different. For her, BI was an ideal career because it was in the middle of her two passions: art and IT. We also discuss getting her first job and studying for the PL-300.Ggplot2Kind and Wicked learning environments (regarding delayed feedback)Column profiler
2025-06-2532 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 12 - Power BI, Data Viz, and Solving the Right ProblemT. from Data Rocks talks about how data viz is a tiny subset of information design. The key is to focus less on just charts, but more about how the data is communicated and received. We talk about how what the user does with it separates a pile of charts from a successful design flow. I found this conversation helpful to understand it means to be good at data viz.LinksStop SolutioneeringFinancial Intelligence for IT PeopleSolving the Right Problems by Kurt BuhlerDon't Make Me ThinkThe Pepsi Paradoxwww.datarocks.co.nz
2025-04-1530 minFiguring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 11 - Data Science, Career Paths, Learning FabricIn this episode, Steph Locke covers a wild career from data science consultant to startup owner to Microsoft manager. We talk about what’s required to work in data science. We also talk about the interaction of large language models and coding. Finally, we talk about adjusting to Power BI and Fabric.LinksStatistical t-testStatistical r-correlationBase rate fallacyROC (statistical test)Roc (mythical bird)Why your AI abstract was rejectedAgainst Power BI dogma
2025-04-0838 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 10: Fabric and Instructional DesignIn this episode with Ellen Burns-Johnson, we talk about when we worked on a cloud game for Azure Synapse, ADF, Power BI. A big lesson learned from that is a big challenge today for Fabric is getting different teams and personas to communicate with each other; it's not just about the technology. Ellen's first impression is "it seems like Microsoft is trying to 'product away' the communication layer". LinksScott Hanselman and AbstractionsHenry Forde never said anything about faster horsesBig data is deadJanuary 2025 update on RedditMayor uses deeply disturbing AI imagePower BI, AI, and E...
2025-03-3137 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 9 - Fabric in GovernmentIn this Episode Els Van Vessem talks about the challenges of implementing Fabric in the government. In it they talk about doing proof of concepts with Fabric and the limitations when your data is confidential, protected and on-premises. Data sovereignty often means sticking to a hybrid approach. We also discuss the challenges of similarly named products with slight differences.LinksVeteran's affairs hackPolice force hackFabric MirroringFabric Warehouse T-sql surface areaFreedom of Information Act
2025-03-2535 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep 8. CI/CD in FabricApologies for the audio; I stupidly forgot to double check my mic this episode.In this episode, Erin Dempster gives us an outside view of fabric focused on CI/CD. We talk about both deployment pipelines and devops pipelines and how she uses both tools in concert. This episode is interesting because it touches on the challenges of integrating a variety of data sources for an insurance company and using CI/Cd to keep everything in sync.PBIP file formatPBIR file formatDeployment PipelinesDevops PipelinesAutomating tests for broken visuals
2025-03-1729 minFiguring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 7 - Semantic Link and Semantic Link LabsIn this episode, Stephanie Bruno talks about semantic link and semantic link labs, which allow you to better manage your Power BI resources with Fabric notebooks. Semantic allows you to query and work directly with your semantic model. Semantic Link Labs allows you to automate running the best practices analyzer against your model. I've heard nothing but great things about it.LinksSemantic LinkSemantic Link LabsFabric.guru by Sandeep PawarFabric Notebook UtilsSemantic best practicesReport AnalyzerSNL Shimmer skitChatGPT to document measures
2025-03-0328 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep 6. Scouting out FabricIn this episode, Krystina Mishra talks about being an accidental Fabric admin. She talks about the challenges of being part of a centralized IT team that operational and business teams. She talks about the challenges of how everything with Dynamics 365 is slightly different than every other data source and how everything is convoluted with Synapse. She also talks about how there are nuanced differences between a P1 and an F64.LinksDynamics Great Plains schemaHow to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with PeopleWhat is a thermoclineFabric surge protectionFabric capacity metrics appSatisfactory video gameWhat...
2025-02-2435 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 5 - Realtime IntelligenceIn this Episode, Frank Geisler explains Realtime Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric. We learn how RTI is its own thing in Fabric and is not directly backed by Parquet like a Lakehouse is. We also dig into the distinction between real-time analytics and real-time intelligence. The latter is not just reporting but being able to trigger activity based on it.LinksFabric Realtime IntelligenceKQL languageKusto DetectiveRealtime DashboardData ActivatorFrank's TutorialsMicrosoft Sentinel and KQL
2025-02-1833 minFiguring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep 4. Fabric Lakehouse versus WarehouseIn this episode, Ginger Grant talks about the differences between warehouse and lakehouses in Fabric. We talk about how Warehouses make more sense if you are doing a lot of ad-hoc querying. In most other cases, Lakehouse will be easier and fewer steps.LinksLakehouse versus Warehouse decision guideDelta lake vacuumPolaris engine behind Fabric WarehouseLakehouse versus Warehouse (Advancing Analytics)Fabric surge protection (preview)
2025-02-1031 minFiguring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep 3. Extracting Data from Legacy SystemsIn this episode, Kellyn Gorman talks about the challenges of getting data out of legacy systems (i.e. relational data bases) into Fabric. She explains that whoever hosts the data wins. She talks about often content talks about the golden path or focuses on the marketing content, but it's much rarer to see content that deals with the difficult edge cases.We talk about how despite being Software as a Service, in order to learn Fabric you will need to learn networking, authentication, and infrastructure more broadly. We talk about how it's impossible to completely get away...
2025-02-0335 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep. 2 Medallion Architecture with Cathrine WilhelmsenCathrine explains how there isn't a single solution for architecting your data lake with Microsoft Fabric. We walk through all the different moving pieces of getting started with Fabric and lakehouses. Catherine touches on some different ways of implementing medallion in Fabric. She also makes the point Medallion is not the same as Dev / QA / Prod. Lastly, we talk about source control and branching workspaces in Fabric.LinksFabric FebruaryMedallion architecture (Microsoft)Medallion Architecture (Databricks)Fabric concepts (capacity, workspaces, licensing)Ouroboros
2025-01-2735 min
Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.Ep 1. Data Movement with Kristyna FerrisIn this Episode, I interview Kristyna Ferris about the different types of data Movement in Microsoft Fabric. Specifically, we talk about gen 2 dataflows, data pipelines, and Spark notebooks. We see how you start simple and work your way up. Kristyna shares the "faucets first" approach at P3 adaptive.LinksYak shavingRapid developmentDatatypes in Fabric Data WarehouseVARCAHR(MAX) previewMicrosoft decision guideSemantic Link - SempyPower Bi file import benchmarksSemantic Link LabsData on Wheels blog
2025-01-2032 min
Knee-deep in TechEpisode 254In this episode, the trio have a chat about Power BI, training and running your own company with Eugene Meidinger! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-02-0833 min
Dear SQL DBAPower BI Performance Tuning with Eugene MeidingerEugene Meidinger stops by to chat about Power BI Performance Tuning with Kendra. We talk about the various engines and languages used in Power BI and big-picture strategies for getting performance from the start. Eugene then talks about the community of tools and techniques that can be used to dig in and solve performance problems in Power BI. Eugene's new Pluralsight course on Perf tuning Power BI launches on February 5th, 2024. The first 50 sales will be only $20. If you don't get one of those lucky spots, use code RACOONS to get 50% off. Find more of...
2024-01-1553 min
Connect Live with Power BI GuyEugene MeidingerTikTok, LARP, Shuffleboard.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/connect-live/donations
2023-05-2146 min
Confluent Developer ft. Tim Berglund, Adi Polak & Viktor GamovExplaining Stream Processing and Apache Kafka ft. Eugene MeidingerMany of us find ourselves in the position of equipping others to use Apache Kafka® after we’ve gained an understanding of what Kafka is used for. But how do you communicate and teach others event streaming concepts effectively? As a Pluralsight instructor and business intelligence consultant, Eugene Meidinger shares tips for creating consumable training materials for conveying event streaming concepts to developers and IT administrators, who are trying to get on board with Kafka and stream processing. Eugene’s background as a database administrator (DBA) and immense knowledge of event streaming architecture and data processing shows as he...
2021-11-2329 minSQL Data Partners PodcastMental Health and Wellness in ITEveryone has bad days; however, how those bad days develop are unique to each of us. In a special episode, we chat with Tracy Boggiano about her experiences with Mental Health, how she has dealt with it, how each of us can work on our own mental health, and phrases we should avoid saying to those with mental health issues. Our own Eugene Meidinger shares a story on negative thinking and how damaging it can be. We hope this conversation will help foster ideas on how you can feel more comfortable talking about Mental Health and making it easier...
2021-08-1159 min
Away From The KeyboardEpisode 77: Eugene Meidinger Slays Dragons
The conversation starts with Eugene talking about his background and how he got into tech. He then talks about his experiences in developing Pluralsight courses. Eugene then shares about his struggles with diabetes and how he rose to overcome them. The conversation then moves to Eugene’s love of boardgames and he suggests some boardgames that are great for newbies. The conversation wraps up around Eugene telling us his involvement in Live Action Role Play (LARP).
Bio
Eugene Meidinger works as a Power BI consultant and full time Pluralsight author. He talks about a wide variety of data issues on th...
2020-09-291h 00Knee-deep in TechEpisode 55Episode 55 of Knee-deep in tech was recorded at the PASS Summit in Seattle. Here Alexander interviewed two amazing people from the #SQLFamily. First up was Eugene Meidinger (@SQLGene) where we talked about Power BI, and second was Angela D. Tidwell (@AngelaTidwell) where we talked talked about data science.We'll be doing webinars in the not-so-distant future, and we'd love for you to tell us what you want the webcast to be about!As always we gladly accept tips and criticism, as well as ideas for content for us to cover. Just tweet Alexander...
2018-11-1330 minSQL Data Partners PodcastAlways EncryptedSecurity is always important to data folks and when a new feature like Always Encrypted comes along, it gets your attention. In this episode, we discuss this feature introduced in SQL Server 2016. We are joined by our guest Sam Nasr and he shares an overview and we find it may not cover all the scenarios you might think when you hear the name. Our discussion leads to scenarios in both on-premises and cloud solutions. Joined by Kevin Feasel and Eugene Meidinger, this episode will allow you to be a bit more prepared when you hear someone say all your...
2018-09-1935 minSQL Data Partners PodcastMeeting of the MindsI invited our fearless panelists Kevin Feasel and Eugene Meidinger to join me for a podcast discussion. We couldn't agree on a topic so we'll just call this episode Meeting of the Minds. You're welcome. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/06/06/episode-138-meeting-of-the-minds. Have fun on the SQL Trail!
2018-06-0638 minSQL Data Partners PodcastYou want to work with Analytics?What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by Any Other Name would smell as sweet. We could say the same for analytics -- there are plenty of similar or related words we use to describe the role or process of working with data. In this episode, we talk with Nicki Tinson about her journey into analytics, how others, like you, might break into the fields, and what has remained the same even when the names change. I am joined by Kevin Feasel and Eugene Meidinger, so you know we keep the conversation lively. Be sur...
2018-05-3158 minSQL Data Partners PodcastUse Case for PowerShellHeroes in a half shell, PowerShell! Well, maybe that wasn't the original line, but you know from this program and other places on the internet, PowerShell is all the rage. In this episode, we wanted to chat about other ways people are using PowerShell and we are happy to have Warren Estes talk with us about some of his experiences. Warren shares some ways he has used PowerShell to push the easy button and how it lead to a contribution on the Microsoft SSRS toolkit. We are joined this week by special guest panelist Eugene Meidinger. If you k...
2018-04-0431 minSQL Data Partners PodcastEpisode 104: Keeping up with technologyDo you have any experience with [Insert random technology]? Your heart starts to race and your palms get a little sweaty. You don't want to say no–we're tech folks–we know stuff, but there are so many new things to learn! How are you supposed to keep up with it all? In this episode, we chat with Eugene Meidinger about his thoughts on keeping up and his ideas on the most important learning components. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2017/07/07/keeping-up-with-technology/ and we hope to see you on the SQL trai
2017-07-1359 minSQL Data Partners PodcastEpisode 98: The first change you makeIn a recent SQLSaturday conference, I walked into the speakers room and asked the question--What is the first thing you change after you install SQL Server? It was interesting to get their take on the server setup and I think you will enjoy the conversation. There are various answers on this one but some of the speakers have mentioned stuffs like set auto grow files, SQL Prompt, SQL parameter class and max memory among others. I would like to thank Kevin Feasel, Jonathan Stewart, Eugene Meidinger, Raymond Kim, Tracy Boggiano, Mindy Curnutt, Thomas Grohser, and Vladimir Oselsky for their sug...
2017-06-0133 min