Category Archives: Extra

More blogs, articles, reviews, and anything else that is PowerShell-related, but doesn’t necessarily fit into the other categories.

Extra – PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#4]

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Read them all here: http://tommymaynard.com/extra-powershell-summit-north-america-2015-0-2015/

And, so it begins: packing. Today is the day I have to collect everything I think I’ll need for my trip to Charlotte. It’s not that I’ll forget something, it’s what will it be this trip: clothes, cords, cables and countless other things all need to fly along with me, from Arizona to North Carolina.

I noticed that today on Twitter, people have started to use the Twitter #PSHSummit hashtag a bit more. I think that’s a great idea. It’ll allow everyone the ability to share what they’re doing, as we all embark on this journey and experience. As well, it’ll serve as a meeting place for hearing about topics and speakers as the event is underway.

I’ve lined up my ride a bit more securely from my hotel to the meet-n-greet Sunday evening. Dave Wyatt, a PowerShell MVP and speaker at the summit, is going to let me catch a ride with him. Dave and I have yet to meet in person, and yet we’re riding together. I think this emphasizes what this event is all about. It’s not some huge conference, it’s about community, and knowledge sharing. It’s an event where a person like me — who’s an intermediate in PowerShell on a good day — can have a speaker’s ear for 15 minutes as we drive downtown. The fact that there’s an intentionally low number of attendees increases the learning possibilities, and will ensure all the questions we have, as participants, can be asked and answered. Like I wrote once before: This has the potential to be the highlight of my career so far. I can’t wait to find out.

Now, to start packing. See everyone soon.

Oh, and by the way, Jeffery Hicks followed me on Twitter today. It’s a crazy world.

Extra – PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#3]

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Read them all here: http://tommymaynard.com/extra-powershell-summit-north-america-2015-0-2015/

Well, I did it; I figured out what sessions I want to attend at next week’s PowerShell Summit North America 2015. It wasn’t easy, and I had to con-tin-u-al-ly remind myself that the sessions are being recorded, and that I’ll have an option to watch the ones I missed at a later time.

The sessions I selected are going to offer me the ability to hear various PowerShell big names speak. I’m mean seriously, when this event is over, I’ll be able to say that I’ve heard Don Jones and Jeffrey Snover speak (again), Mike Robbins (who recently followed me on Twitter — what!?), Dave Wyatt, Jeffery Hicks, Lee Holmes, Richard Siddaway and June Blender — the list goes on. That’s an accomplishment for me, and I’m not even doing anything but sitting and listening. It’s hardly any work on my part, but I’ll do it.

Here’s a screen capture of the sessions I plan to attend. While the speaker is important, the content is as well. We’re just days away, now, so I’ll be back to write more soon.

Extra – PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#2]

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Read them all here: http://tommymaynard.com/extra-powershell-summit-north-america-2015-0-2015/

I cannot believe how quickly April has come. The last, and first, time I decided to write about the upcoming PowerShell Summit North America 2015, it was 55 days away. Today, it’s only 9 days away — well, that’s exciting! I took a command from my previous post about this topic and wrapped it in a function. While I may never use it again, here it is: proof that this event is ridiculously close — as if you needed a function to tell you this.

Function Get-TMDaysUntilPSSummit2015 {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    Param ()

    Begin {
    } # End Begin.

    Process {
        Write-Output -Verbose "$((New-TimeSpan -Start (Get-Date) -End 4/20/2015).Days) Days"
    } # End Process.
} # End Function

Get-TMDaysUntilPSSummit2015
9 Days

As of recent, we now have a downtown venue for the meet-and-greet Sunday night. While all the details haven’t been worked out, I supposedly have a ride there with a PowerShell MVP — how cool is that? The sessions have been updated, too. I’m suddenly second guessing all the sessions I should attend.

The Scripting Wife has been adding to the excitement with a recent series of posts about the summit’s speakers, which I’ve linked below. I’ve read all of these, and they’re great. While I haven’t spoken to anyone but Don Jones and The Scripting Guy and Wife in person (and I doubt they remember that anyway), I am quite aware of the big names in PowerShell. I read their blogs and articles; I read their posts on forums and social media. There’s going to be a ridiculous amount of PowerShell talent at this event.

Meet the PowerShell Summit 2015 Speakers #1
Meet the PowerShell Summit 2015 Speakers #2
Meet the PowerShell Summit 2015 Speakers #3
Meet the PowerShell summit 2015 Speakers #4
Meet the PowerShell summit 2015 Speakers #5

While I’m short on things to say today, I will reiterate that I’m so excited to get this summit underway. On that note, I should mention that I am very grateful to my employer for this opportunity, and for my family, to help keeps things in order while I’m gone. Of course, my wife pretty much owns that anyway.

Back to my employer: I want to note that I’m grateful working in an environment where my desire to know and implement PowerShell is supported. I’m pleased that they understand the importance of PowerShell and automation, and that having me attend this summit is seen as beneficial.

Extra – PowerShell Summit North America 2015

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This series of posts was linked from PowerShell.org: https://powershell.org/2015/05/16/whats-it-like-at-powershell-summit/.

I decided in late February that I would document my trip and experience at the PowerShell Summit North America 2015 (that happens in April). This page is going to serve as the landing page for this project. I’ll link each of the new posts right from this post, so they can easily be read in chronological order (beginning at the bottom link), providing someone wants to do that, or reads any of this anyway. I truly believe this is going to be an incredible opportunity, and so I want to document my experience, and make it available to the PowerShell community, current and future. Thanks, and enjoy.

PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#8]: Day Three
April 22, 2015

PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#7]: Day Two
April 21, 2015

PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#6]: Day One
April 20, 2015

PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#5]: In Flight
April 19, 2015

PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#4]: Closest
April 18, 2015

PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#3]: Closer
April 13, 2015

PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#2]: Close
April 10, 2015

PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#1]: It’s So Far Away
February 22, 2015

Extra – PowerShell Summit North America 2015 [#1]

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Read them all here: http://tommymaynard.com/extra-powershell-summit-north-america-2015-0-2015/

I decided I am going to write about my experience at my first PowerShell Summit—from beginning to end. The word ‘beginning’ is being used a bit loosely, as the PowerShell North America 2015 Summit is still 55 days away (see how I figured that out below). Regardless, I continue to find myself looking forward to this opportunity as it has every potential to be the highlight of my IT career, and so I’m going to post about it.

PS C:\> (New-TimeSpan -Start (Get-Date) -End 4/20/2015).Days
55
PS C:\> "$((New-TimeSpan -Start (Get-Date) -End 4/20/2015).Days) Days"
55 Days

Although, I’ve been registered for the summit for a few months now, and had my plane tickets for nearly as long, I just secured my hotel room. There was a bit of an internal debate with myself about where to stay. While some mentioned they prefer downtown, I just couldn’t expect that the daily cab fare both ways, and perhaps the extra cost of a downtown hotel, would be worth it. I really don’t know the first thing about North Carolina, or Charlotte, so it’s quite possible that I am very, very wrong.

That said, if anyone reading this is staying near the venue and wants to venture downtown for a meal, perhaps with others, then feel free speak up. Spitting the cab fare up a time or two would definitely be worth it, especially to discuss PowerShell over dinner. That is just something I cannot do with my wife and children. At least not often, and not for long—trust me, I’ve tried.

I’d be willing to discuss PowerShell over a meal closer to the venue, too. I’ve never eaten at a Ruby Tuesday, but that’s the closest food to my hotel. I added the link for me, but feel free to look at all the incredible food coming my way. Honestly, until today, I thought Ruby Tuesday was a buffet for retirees and grandparents, but some of that food looks surprisingly appetizing. The place looks much more appealing than I had assumed, too.

Moving on. Long before I knew I’d be attending the summit, PowerShell.org mentioned a program called Verified Effective. While the cost to take the test had always been mildly prohibitive, I was ecstatic to discover that the cost of the summit included this opportunity. Well, up until the program was cancelled really close after the time when I registered. My emotions were really being played with, even more so when I found out it was back on, although I was excited again. The difference was that the test would have to be taken in person (not remotely), and at the summit. I seriously may have been the first person to click and register on the Eventbrite URL that came via email. Based on opening the exam up to approximately 60 people, it appears that as of today, a touch more than half of the Verified Effective registrations have been claimed. I’m nervous, but looking forward to this opportunity.

I recently decided to read Don Jones’ and Jeffery Hicks’ Month of Lunches PowerShell books (book one & book two). I’ve finished the first one and a little over half way to complete the second title. I’d like to get these signed by their authors, but simply couldn’t do that without reading the books first. While I already know most of what I’ve read thus far, it has been a beneficial and comprehensive review. I long worried that in my learning, which was never front to back in any PowerShell book, that I may have missed something here and there. I had, and I’ve been filling in those little holes nicely since January. I would, without question, recommended these two titles to anyone that wants to learn PowerShell. They would’ve been a great way to learn, had I started with them first. Just find the money, buy them, learn it, and thank the three of us later—more so to them, of course.

I’ll stop here for now, but will be back with more summit ramblings as I find time and topics to cover. This really is going to be an amazing event. I’ll be up close and personal to people that think like I do, and that love automation and PowerShell. This occasion is going to bring together all the rock stars and celebrities of the PowerShell community. If you don’t hear more from me before my flight in April, then you can at least expect I’ll be writing on April 19th from the sky, somewhere between Arizona and North Carolina.

A Quick, Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches, Review

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I’ve been using, and continuing to learn, Windows PowerShell for a while now. While I’ve used various resources to promote my learning and understanding, I had never sat down and actually read a PowerShell book, front to back. Well, now I have.

While I knew upwards of 95% of the content, I went ahead and read Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches by Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks. I have followed both authors in the past and was certain this would be a good title to start with—it was. In fact, being familiar with these two authors was why I was able to recommend this title, even long before I read the book myself. A bit backwards perhaps, but undeniable true. It’s a wonderfully, comprehensive guide to getting started with Windows PowerShell. As stated by Bennett Scharf, on the back cover, this in fact will be an extremely useful reference. With a generous and complete index, I will be able to easily pull up the concepts I read about in this book, whenever necessary.

Besides being able to say I’ve read the title (and with a good conscience, get it signed by the authors at the PowerShell Summit North America 2015 in April), I wanted to make sure that my method of learning PowerShell was in fact complete. I’ve learned PowerShell by reading help files, blogs, and articles posted to Twitter, as well as, trying things in the shell (this is key), and helping people on PowerShell forums. Even so, I wanted to be sure I hadn’t missed some of the fundamentals. I know many of the ‘hows,’ but was worried I may have missed a ‘why’ along the way. Like, why does it (PowerShell) do it this way?

My first, favorite part was the discussion on pipeline parameter binding. Parts of that topic never just came to me, and it is a concept that requires a complete understanding. The fantastic explanations in the book (chapter 9) have helped ensure I won’t have any questions about this concept again. After all my non-book learning, I never once read anywhere that you can only have one ByValue per cmdlet, even though it makes perfect sense as to why.

The second part that I greatly appreciated was the Regex (Regular Expressions) review. For whatever reason, I have the hardest time cementing these in my mind, and often find myself in need of a quick review. Knowing this book will spend all, or most, of it’s life after this weekend sitting with me at the office, will allow me to get a quick refresh when that’s required. It can be a scary concept for many, and this book laid it out in a quick and calm approach. I wish I read this the first time I was introduced to Regex. No kidding, but I folded down the top corner of this page—something I just don’t do to my books.

In the end, I will continue to recommend this book to people starting out with PowerShell. It explains PowerShell from the start, up to your first parameterized script. I had already purchased the toolmaking followup, Learn PowerShell Toolmaking in a Month of Lunches, even before I started this one, and plan to start reading it tomorrow. I left my copy in my office and so, sadly, I couldn’t start sooner.

Intermediate-Level, PowerShell Content Needed

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There was a ‘What’s New in PowerShell v5?’ webinar recently. I found one of the questions, that was asked of the participants, quite interesting. The question was, “What skill level of PowerShell content would you like to see on Petri.com?” At 49%, intermediate skill level came in first. It was followed by beginner at 34%, and expert at 18%.

I get that we don’t know the skill level of those that responded, or even the number of people that answered the question. Regardless, I was excited, and I’ll tell you why. I mentioned it here first, but a large part of why I write about Windows PowerShell, is because I want to provide original and current, intermediate-level, PowerShell content.

There was a day, about a year (and, maybe a half ago) that I decided I needed to learn at least one thing about PowerShell every day – to include Saturday and Sunday. It didn’t matter how simple, or complex, it was. You see, I understood that the best way to learn Windows PowerShell was to immerse myself, as much as my regular life – the one with the kids, and my wife – allowed. I wanted to ensure I was reading and learning about PowerShell, whenever possible.

My favorite place to find content was Twitter – a bunch of people, from all over, sharing articles and blogs, and asking questions. It was, and still is, a central place to go and find some random article to encourage my learning. I still search there regularly, and now, since maybe June 2014, I even post my own articles. I don’t know who reads what around here, but I often consider that someone like me is looking for new PowerShell content on Twitter, and I want them to feel like there’s plenty, by doing my part to contribute.

I want to be an expert at PowerShell – there’s no question. But until then, I’ll keep writing for us intermediates – not too basic, or too advanced.

PowerShell Resolutions 2015

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I read a recent Boe Prox tweet in regards to PowerShell resolutions for the coming year. I carry around with me a mental list of things I want to do, learn, and accomplish, in PowerShell. Although they are often thought about, I had simply never considered making them resolutions, but I suppose that during this time of the year, I should.

While 2014 was a great year for me and PowerShell, there’s just no way it could be better than 2015. I began to write down my list after reading Boe’s, and I’ve decided that I should post and share mine, as well. Perhaps this will be motivational; perhaps I’ll use this as my official checklist. If PowerShell is important to you and your career, then you should start thinking about, and maybe writing down, your PowerShell resolutions, too.

I can honestly say that I became successful with PowerShell the moment I required myself to learn at least one thing about PowerShell — no matter how small — per day. That, in addition to not allowing myself to get discouraged when I didn’t understand something at my first exposure, has been how I crammed so much knowledge into my brain in the last year. I remember searching Twitter for things to read and learn from, and that folks, is why there’s a tommymaynard.com. Anyway, on to my resolutions:

– Continue to help (and learn) on various PowerShell forums including: Reddit, Microsoft Technet, and PowerShell.org.
Update 1: As of May 2015, and I’m still reading and assisting on the various PowerShell forums.
Update 2: It’s December 2015 and I didn’t slow down on helping (and indirectly learning), by assisting on PowerShell forums which included all of those listed above.

– Continue to blog at tommymaynard.com and share my posts on Twitter, and possibly other outlets.
Update 1: As of May 2015, and I’m still producing a fair amount of original content and sharing it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashtag/powershell?f=realtime
Update 2: As of August 2015, I linked my first post on the Facebook PowerShell Page.
Update 3: I wrote 61 posts in 2015 — wow!

– Come up with a second submission for the PowerShell.org TechLetter Newsletter.
Note: First submission has been “lined up for publishing,” but has yet to be included—come on January 2015!
Update 1: 1st submission included in January 2015 TechLetter.
Update 2: While this wasn’t a submission to the TechLetter, my series of posts about the PowerShell Summit North America 2015 were linked in the May 2015 TechLetter and on PowerShell.org itself (before just anyone was able to blog on PowerShell.org).
Update 3: I submitted an article for the PowerShell.org TechLetter in hopes to win a 4-day pass to the PowerShell & DevOps Summit 2016. I indicated to run it whether I win, or not. So, perhaps that will show up.

– Express my interest in being a PowerShell.org, TechLetter Editor.
Note: May be mentioned on PowerShell.org in January 2015.
Update: This was never mentioned again by PowerShell.org (in which I’m aware).

– Learn more about, and begin working with, DSC.
Note: First two DSC servers built on December 12, 2014.
Update 1: I’m still working on DSC, but not as much as I would have wanted to by now. There’s still time in the year, and so I plan to return to it soon (May 2015).
Update 2: I took a chance on DSC and good thing I did. My employer heard about Just Enough Administration and wants a Proof of Concept. I’m still working on that…

– Attend, and learn as much as possible from the North America PowerShell Summit 2015.
-and-
– Make PowerShell community contacts (network).
Update: Done and done, and it was awesome.

– Take and Pass the Verified Effective PowerShell exam.
~~Note: After North America PowerShell Summit 2015.~~
Update 1: The Verified Effective PowerShell exam is gone.
Update 2: It’s back on, but the test is only offered at the PowerShell Summit 2015: I’m registered!
Update 3: I didn’t pass, that I know of, but I haven’t actually checked. I should probably track down that link. Anyway, I could have completed the test, but there just wasn’t enough time.

– Submit PowerShell presentation abstract for IT conference at (name redacted).
-and, possibly-
– Lead a PowerShell, conference presentation.
Update: My abstract wasn’t ready in time. Even so, I’m not sure this is the right conference for this topic. We’ll see what next year brings.

– Start (name redacted) PowerShell Users Group.
Update: This didn’t happen, but I like the chances I can get something going in the coming year.

– Continue to work toward PowerShell.org Hero, and Microsoft PowerShell MVP.*
Update: I think I’ve done a good deal to help the community, but only time will tell. I’m definitely better off than I was a year ago. I know so much more now, and have no desire to stop. I still love to write about, and help people learn, Windows PowerShell.

* I feel like I should say something about these goals. I’ve read it a time, or two now: “I didn’t set out to be an MVP…” For me, I’m not afraid to openly admit that I want recognition within the PowerShell community. The thing is, if I can line myself up with these recognition programs, then I have proof of what I set out to do from the beginning — help teach PowerShell to those seeking to learn. So sure, I want to be successful, in helping others succeed.

Nine Essential IT Job Skills for 2015

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You probably haven’t heard my story, but when I was first introduced to Monad (Windows PowerShell’s original name), I was anything but pleased. I was happy automating in VBScript; I didn’t need (or want) something different. Now, I won’t hardly go near VBScript and if I do, I better be getting paid well to do so.

I read an article a few years ago that offered 10 skills for a successful career. I don’t remember 1 through 9, but I do remember number 10. It was lean PowerShell. A year late and I read practically the same article, however, PowerShell was number 1. It was that day that I decided I would start, and complete, my next automation project in something other than VBScript. Without that second article, I would have likely continued to delay learning PowerShell, and then possibly missed out on some of the success in my career. I know for a fact that having PowerShell experience was a part of getting my current job – a job I didn’t have when I read that article.

If you haven’t started learning PowerShell, then perhaps this newest article will be what you need to start your learning. This list includes 9 IT job skills to be successful in 2015 and beyond. Guess where PowerShell is this time, too: It’s number 1.

http://www.petri.com/9-essential-it-job-skills-for-2015.htm

PowerShell iPhone Wallpaper

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Here are two wallpaper options for Windows PowerShell enthusiasts that use an iPhone. These were made for the iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s models. Be sure to click the image to open the full size version (640 x 1136) before saving it.

If you don’t want an image behind the apps and folders on your home screens, then use this wallpaper that doesn’t have a PowerShell logo but uses the same color.