Read them all here: http://tommymaynard.com/extra-powershell-summit-north-america-2015-0-2015/
I couldn’t believe it when it arrived: the final day of the PowerShell Summit North America 2015. Fifty some days ago and I wasn’t sure the summit would ever get here, and now, it’s over.
My final day consisted of another ride over to the Microsoft campus, another second breakfast — seriously, I ate two each morning — and several more PowerShell sessions. The standout sessions for me on the last day were Jason Helmick‘s The Top DSC Gotchas and Best Practices, and June Blender‘s PowerShell Help Deep Dive. These two speakers are two of the best when it comes to capturing the audience’s attention. Jason could keep me awake regardless of topic, and June could sell me anything. They are both great presenters, and so you should get to watching both of their sessions now. Now, as in relation to when you finish reading this post.
As I sat and listened to June speak, I kept thinking the same thing, and no, it’s not that her voice reminds me of my CPA — something I told her earlier in the week when waiting outside an elevator. Oh, by the way, I should probably put my apology out there for her now. Microsoft had these mints on the front desk, as you enter the building. I popped one in my mouth as I made my way to the elevator — bad idea. As much as I’d like to forget it didn’t happen during our conversation, a small piece of my breath mint decidely left my mouth and took flight near June’s direction. Thanks for pretending that didn’t happen, June!
What I kept thinking was that June should have spoken way sooner than day three. In future summits, she needs to do a welcome or keynote presentation, alongside, or before, or after Don. She pulls you in, and I think we all might have benefited from her speaking sooner, and to everyone.
So, as you might be aware, I had been looking forward to day three for awhile, because it was time to take the Verified Effective exam. During lunch on the second day, Don spoke to everyone that was going to take the exam and gave us some information we were going to need to know. One of the things I remembered most, was that the average time to complete the exam was 37 minutes.
Sometime on Wednesday morning, I took a look at my return flight home. The time had been changed to two hours earlier than I had planned. I called the airline and the change was made back in January. I can take some of the blame here, but for whatever reason the notification sent to Expedia, was never sent to me. That doesn’t mean it was Expedia’s fault, but suddenly I had to scramble — a little extra stress with my test. The airline couldn’t help me, nor could the hotel for a ride. If I wanted a ride from the hotel I would have to skip my exam. Ah! I asked the person at the hotel about a taxi and he had a private company, that was able to guarantee the pick up time, give me a call (“I have a guy.”). I gave them my info, got a call back, and arranged my car for 3:45 p.m. — the test started at 3 p.m. (ish).
The test wasn’t hard. In fact, I know I would have completed, if I had been given more time. I left at 3:45 p.m. (and turned in what I had completed, since Jason mentioned doing that) and headed to the airport. Originally, I wasn’t going to bother turning in anything. When I stood up at 3:45 p.m., I was only the second person to do so since the exam began. The first person had been sitting next to me and left a few minutes into the beginning of the exam. No one in a room full of 40+ people was done at 3:45 p.m. Someone did come up as I was standing at the front of the exam room and having Jason copy over my exam. I’m not sure how people felt about the exam and the amount of time to complete it, but I would definitely be interested to know. It seems like nearly all of us could have use a bit longer, unless of course everyone finished after I left, but before 4 p.m.
The summit was over. I was seated in the back of my SUV transportation and headed to the airport. I was disappointed about my test, and I was still stressed — I had to get my boarding pass, drop off and pay for my luggage, get through security, and find my gate all before it was my departure time. I didn’t have as much time as I wanted, but luckily I had enough time to make it.
In the end, I would absolutely recommend you join us next year. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do that too, because this was an opportunity like no other I’ve yet to have in my career. My prediction was correct. I look forward to continue to script in PowerShell, to continue to explore DSC, to continue to answer questions on PowerShell forums, and to continue to create tools for the community, and my employer. It’s a special bunch of people, and I’m glad I got involved. PowerShell is rewarding, and one of the best things I’ve done, and will continue to do, for my career.
It was great meeting and talking to everyone! I look forward to doing it again.