Tavern on the Meta

Jason C

12:00 AM

Oh but that'd be a pain because I think I have to declare all the columns in the parameter list too

Oh well

Shog9

3

Q: Execute a stored procedure in another database with params

I need to get the column names of a table that's located in another database. The following script works for the active database but I need to run it against another database in the same server instance: SELECT @ColumnList = CASE WHEN @ColumnList IS NULL THEN name WHEN @Colu...

tl;dr: SQL is horrible

Jason C

There's all kinds of weird there

Although I do like the replace for at least making it simpler to write the queries instead of concatenating strings everywhere.

Shog9

y'know how folks always complain about having to treat SQL logic as unchecked strings when working in languages like Java? Apparently it isn't much better if you decide to work entirely in SQL

Jason C

Yeah, well, you can do parameterized queries with sp_executesql, except the syntax is almost prohibitively awkward.

But i don't think you can cram in database/table/column names that way, at least I assume you can't, haven't tried it

It's too bad tsql doesn't have some sort of neat way to treat a string directly as a database name. Then you wouldn't have to build e.g. the cross-site queries as strings.

Shog9

12:19 AM

every time I start to say "it's too bad SQL doesn't have..." I realize that some other language does, and it's probably just easier to make that language generate SQL.

Jason C

I very rarely find a need for raw sql in practice anyways

sede's been good fun

Pretty much any sql server feature request I'd make to microsoft would end with "... so that I could do this thing in SEDE"

I don't think it'd be convincing

user315433

Like REGEXP

Jason C

I wish

It's cool they have string_agg now

Oh neat sql server vnext will run on linux

JamesENL

12:51 AM

@AstroCB is around, there's a name I haven't seen for a while

JamesENL

1:03 AM

waves

user315433

The footer of stackexchange.com links to Meta with link text "feedback always welcome". Yeah...

user315433

Also links to plus.google.com/+StackExchange where the last post was in 2015.

user315433

That social media intern analyzing SE accounts won't have much to do there.

user202362

@Gerry I know how the idea of @Jason chasing you with a hot spicy frozen tuna excites you, but no need to spam the chat with messages.

bjb568

user315433

1:14 AM

Looks like a SLAC awkwardly placed in.... Memphis, TN?

Jason C

@bjb568 Lol... because text is soooo outdated

user315433

> 52% belong to social fraternities/sororities

user315433

Kalk kat will fit right in...

bjb568

:3

Jason C

It annoys me when a comment conversation leads to somebody asking me "Hm, should I delete this answer?"

user315433

1:19 AM

Well, Princeton Review ranked them "No. 1 on Most Beautiful Campus list", so it's natural they'd just send you a pic of their campus.

Jason C

I don't know. If you want? Don't be so weird and submissive.

It is a nice looking campus

Journeyman Geek

@Gerry maybe that's why they need one.

Jason C

I'm a bit partial to any campus in Pittsburgh though

Not as picturesque as Rhodes but plenty of awesome views

user315433

Remember when the Twitter icon bird was flying horizontally instead of up-and-to-the-right?

Jason C

(Especially when mushrooms are involved... >.> )

Whoa I forgot about that

user315433

1:23 AM

Yeah, the Cathedral of Learning is something..

Jason C

user315433

The building of math department is nothing to rave about, though.

Jason C

@Gerry And it's awesome inside too

Views off Flagstaff hill, the serenity of the surrounding parks, general views in the city, lots of awesome stuff.

bjb568

The picture from the email.

Jason C

Ah I haven't been home to visit in a while now I miss it.

user315433

1:24 AM

Yes, I've been there. Went through the country-repping classrooms on the first floor, and up as far as they'd let me.

bjb568

TIL they have a tree.

Jason C

Haha

And obligatory diversity

Cosmos Gu

Hey guys! Can I ask a question?

Jason C

No

Well maybe, for a small fee

Cosmos Gu

Okay. I am sorry to disturb you guys.

Jason C

1:26 AM

No wait lol

I'm joking

Cosmos Gu

Oh okay

user202362

speaking of campus, the university I have attended are usually shown like this:

user202362

Cosmos Gu

:D

My bad for not catching your joke

user202362

or this:

user202362

1:26 AM

user202362

but in reality, I have spent considerable amount of time in buildings like this:

user202362

Jason C

@Telkitty Clicked image. Apparently it looks like this up close:

Quite breathtaking, really

Cosmos Gu

My question is, when asking a question, can I say "Thank you" at the bottom of my question? I know it is frowned upon to say thank you in comments as it does not generate a helpful discussion, but for question details I think it is a matter of courtesy so I am not sure.

user202362

@JasonC yep, narrow wooden benches inside lecture rooms there

Jason C

1:30 AM

google.com/… was a weirdly beautiful building. It's funny because the pictures are super disappointing, but when you're up close looking at it, it's a really fascinating sort of modern castle vibe.

user315433

@CosmosGu See Should 'Hi', 'thanks', taglines, and salutations be removed from posts? with the consensus "yes"

Jason C

@CosmosGu There are two types of people on SE: Those who get really mad when they see "thank you", and those who don't care.

@Gerry (Consensus is "no" wrt cosmos' question)

Journeyman Geek

@CosmosGu no. If you must thank someone ~~send 50,000 dollars in small bills, unmarked to this address~~ upvote their answers or select the best one.

Jason C

Personally I don't care at all about thank yous.

Journeyman Geek

@JasonC I consider them things to remove when removing other things

but not worth hunting down

user202362

1:32 AM

And I only get to sit in that beautiful (on the outside) building because I took advanced maths. If you take normal maths, you don't even get to sit in there ... snobs

Jason C

But for some reason people love to argue about it. It's stupid. So you're safest if you avoid them. But if you add them and somebody else removes them or whines, just don't bother arguing about it.

user315433

Bottom line, putting "thank you" in a question won't make anyone's day brighter, not even a little.

Jason C

They make my day brighter.

Cosmos Gu

Got it. Thank you.

Jason C

I actually leave them in when I see them even when I'm editing other things. But i'd never roll back a removal. It's a non issue in my head.

Cosmos Gu

1:34 AM

I asked a question on a stack exchange site and was insta-edited to remove the last line of "Thank you.", so I came here to clarify the consensus of the community.

Jason C

Yeah. That removal is to be expected. Eventually somebody who doesn't like them will see them.

JamesENL

I feel like you can but if it gets insta-edited don't throw shade at the editor

Jason C

Expect to see more thank yous removed. Just roll with it.

Yeah

user315433

@bjb568 This Sunday I'm supposed to give a presentation to admitted students interested in math. What would kalk kitties like you want to know about? Probably, not how many papers per year are published by faculty.

Cosmos Gu

I did not :p that's why I was here

user315433

1:38 AM

I can tell that we have trees, too. But they probably noticed already.

Jason C

@Gerry How to spell "boobies" on a calculator

bjb568

@Gerry Show a distribution of published papers per year per person overlaid with a distro of published pages of papers per year per person.

Fawad

@Gerry which lvl maths?

bjb568

Grad students, right?

user315433

No, undergrads.

Fawad

1:40 AM

Which topic?

Jason C

How about a pie chart of the distribution of vowels used in published papers?

Overlaid with boobies

bjb568

ooh, just jump right in to an abstract alg proof with lots of confusing symbols and say that's a preview of what will happen to them

Jason C

And then rick roll them

user315433

I'm actually thinking to do that in the middle. I'll pick the thing about odd partitions = distinct partitions, because it's both understandable and totally unexpected.

bjb568

For something useful, you could describe the areas you can specialize in in math and what opportunities your university has in them.

user315433

1:41 AM

Yeah... Post-graduation careers of our majors... Research opportunities... Pure Math vs Applied Math...

bjb568

Say something about ultrafilters.

Jason C

"87% Safeway Cashiers"

user315433

That's closer to truth than I'd like it to be.

Jason C

Heh, I don't think that's unique to math.

What do math majors end up doing, though? I've always wondered.

I always just assumed they all became math professors. Like... math viruses.

Probably a big demand in financial fields

user202362

@Gerry pure maths must have a lot of career opportunities </trollololo>

JamesENL

1:49 AM

Send them to work for me

I could use some maths people

Can they make their way to Australia?

user202362

how much are you willing to pay?

user202362

457 visa

The 457 visa is the most commonly used program for Australian or overseas employers to sponsor skilled overseas workers to work in Australia temporarily. The 457 visa provides 2 main alternatives, Business sponsorship and self-sponsorship. The full title of this subclass of visa was Temporary Business (Long Stay) and was introduced soon after John Howard became Prime Minister in 1996. The title of the visa was changed to Temporary Work (Skilled) (Subclass 457) visa on 24 November 2012. Applications are processed by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). == Requirement...

user202362

statutory minimum wage for 457 visa is $53,900

user315433

@JasonC The best ones gravitate toward financial things. They tend to pick up some of required non-math skills along the way.

user315433

Some move toward programming, with CS minor, or even without. (This takes time, of course.)

user202362

1:53 AM

maths major can be quants - quantitative finance

user315433

A lot get Master's degree in some professional sounding thing, and it's hard to track them after that.

user315433

But many are kind of lost at graduation... which is likely if they chose the major because they were at a loss of what to do.

user315433

Many teach math in secondary school (high or middle). Those with ed inclinations get into elementary / special education.

user315433

Anyway, maybe I shouldn't be typing up my Sunday presentation in the chatroom.

user202362

this only means one thing: we are more interesting than your presentation

bjb568

2:07 AM

Or we are more interested in math than your audience.

user315433

Frankly, I don't know why people don't just go to Engineering. If you bring a bunch of AP credits, you'll still have time to learn some math and get a second major in it. And you might even have a job at graduation.

user315433

If you're independently wealthy, or (more likely) parents are connected enough to get you into business, then sure, study whatever.

user315433

2:24 AM

> What if we just closed Stack Overflow tomorrow and told everyone to re-ask their questions somewhere else? How would everyone like that? -- Nick Craver at 6:59 PM - 5 Apr 2017

user202362

also connection is over rated

user202362

in this world, it's every man, woman and cat for him/her/it self

user202362

because unless you have a conjoined twin, the hardest time, you pretty much on your own

user202362

that's not saying we shouldn't help others, just saying we should always rely on others help

bjb568

3:25 AM

@Gerry Do you think majoring in Physics is a good route? It seems like there are plenty of things to do after it.

user202362

Physics offers as good career opportunities as maths

user202362

if your college offers, you can choose to do combined/double degrees

user202362

@Telkitty what I meant was: that's not saying we shouldn't help others, just saying we should not always rely on others help

user202362

forgot 'not' :x

user315433

3:43 AM

@bjb568 Yes, but double majoring in Physics/Math is better.

user315433

Doing only physics constrains you by the precepts of reality

Jason C

3:57 AM

Lol

-3

Q: Why is everyone over at the regular stackexchange/Superuser such a D-bag?

This does not really relate to Sci-Fi, but I have a question for you all about the site in general: Why is everyone over at the regular stackexchange/Superuser such a D-bag? Every time I have answered someones question, or even asked a question or two, people have answered or commented with snid...

technology

JamesENL

Well then

I'm sure ranting about it on an unrelated site will completely fix the perceived issue

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Manually reported question: Why is everyone over at the regular stackexchange/Superuser such a D-bag? by Braden Dodge on scifi.SE

Jason C

I wonder why they chose sci-fi / fantasy.

JamesENL

Because the assertion made is a fantasy?

user310756

4:19 AM

he got whacked with the rude penalty

JamesENL

4:41 AM

Ouch

that's -50 right?

I'd keep an eye on him cause there's a 50/50 chance he'll rant about the -50 now

SmokeDetector

4:58 AM

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] URL in title, bad keyword in body, bad keyword in title, link following arrow in body, pattern-matching website in body, +2 more: colodetoxplusfrance.net/nutralyte/ by Hendrickson I on graphicdesign.SE

Jason C

@YvetteColomb superuser.com/questions/1189825/… looks to be the origin of this.

Which was doomed from the start

It's a crap question, and a not-so-great answer regardless of the question, and some overly critical comments from that other person.

Fail everywhere.