Summary: Windows PowerShell MVP, Teresa Wilson, talks about the top ten PowerScripting podcasts.
Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. This weekend we have a very special guest blogger. You guessed it. Teresa Wilson, aka The Scripting Wife, will share her thoughts with you. Take it away Teresa...
Happy Saturday everyone. Things have been pretty busy here in the Scripting house. I feel like I have not been in touch with you for a while. My apologies. Today's topic is my career as the scheduler for the PowerScripting podcasts, and I want to share my top ten most memorable guests, subjects, or episodes.
As some of you may know, I recently resigned my post as the scheduler for guests for the PowerScripting podcasts. It was a tough decision to make, but sometimes we have to make tough decisions. I will miss the fun and interesting emails I have had with guests, but I also know that I am not going anywhere and I will still be around with the PowerShell community.
I am heavily involved in helping people start PowerShell User Groups and assisting in any way I can to keeping them up and running. I am also the treasurer for PowerShell.org. I am available to assist the PowerShell community. Simply reach out to me!
I got to thinking about the last nearly four years of PowerScripting fun, and I thought you might enjoy some of the highlights of the years. The first guest I scheduled was for Episode 131, and we are now on Episode 275 or so. Therefore, I came up with my ten most memorable guests, subjects, or episodes from the PowerScripting podcasts.
- The very first guest I booked was Sean Kearney. This was on November 11, 2010. (In case you are wondering how I came to be in the position of scheduler...
Jon and Hal had a couple of weeks where they were so busy that they did not have a guest invited to the show, so they just talked about Windows PowerShell between the two of them. My background is in accounting and I am very detail oriented, so I offered to schedule guests if they would provide me a list of names of people to invite. They also said I could make suggestions. Which led me to say, "How about Sean?" - On January 13, 2011, Hal suggested I invite @Beefarino. I thought, "Hmmmm...I wonder who this could be?" So I did my research and tracked down Jim Christopher. At this time in life, I had read a few books that Ed (Scripting Guy) had written and I knew a little bit about Windows PowerShell, but oh my gosh, Jim is so smart. He blew me away. Today, Jim is one of my favorite people, and luckily, I get to see him once a month at the Charlotte PowerShell User Group meetups, with which I help him as much as I can.
- On various dates, we had the unbeatable, Jeffrey Snover on the show. Jeffrey is such an all-around nice guy and interesting person. I love to sit back and listen to him. One of his most endearing qualities is his genuine interest in hearing from the Windows PowerShell community. Things that work, things that don’t, and things in between. He has been the guest by himself when new versions of Windows PowerShell become available. And he has been on the show with the winners of the Scripting Games.
- Speaking of the winners of the Scripting Games, my most memorable are Bartek Bielawski, Glenn Sizemore, and Boe Prox. There are many great people who have been the winners of the Scripting Games, but there is a special story about each one of these guys that make them hit this top ten list.
- Alan Renouf and Steven Murawski have or have had podcasts of their own, so it is always memorable when either of these guys are the guest. Both guys are personal friends and they are amazing in their specialties in Windows PowerShell.
- One of my proudest moments, was while attending TechEd a couple years ago. We were sitting at the Ask the Experts table, which is fun because it is like musical chairs. You have the experts chatting among themselves until someone comes along with a question or simply to say hello.
Hal Rottenberg mentioned to me that he would like to interview a SME (subject matter expert) from Symantec. I stored that info in the back of my mind, thinking I would research it after TechEd, when lo and behold, the gentleman I was conversing with at the ATE table admitted that he worked for Symantec. I was so excited. I told him what Hal was looking for and asked him if he knew who to talk to, and if he could introduce me. I was really amazed when he said it was his team and he would probably be the one to give the interview. Kirk Freiheit is one name and one awesome person, I will never forget. - Don Jones, as most everyone knows, is one of my favorite people on this earth. I am not really impressed with the current actor portraying James Bond in the movies, and I have said many times that Don should be the new 007. Thus, me listing him here in the number 7 slot.
Now I am not being superficial. I am not referring to Don’s physical person, but his demeanor. Don is always a perfect gentleman, and he is always, always willing to help in any possible way he can. He has been a guest on the podcast numerous times, in addition to co-hosting when needed. To me, Don Jones is the true epitome of gracious helpfulness, and he is an awesome guest or co-host for the podcast. - One of the more fun podcasts was on May 23, 2012, when Hal’s Wife and I were the guests. The subject was being a Windows PowerShell wife. There was not much technical information shared, but we had a great time.
- How could I ever forget being able to email with the likes of Mark Minasi, Greg Shields, Lee Holmes, Jason Helmick, Mark Russinovich, and Jeffery Hicks? Some of the world’s top Who’s Who in the IT industry, and I get to say I emailed with each and every one. I also can call them all friends (except Russinovich, but I do have a photo of him autographing my book at TechEd).
- Last but not least, and my very favorite guest is none other than my husband, Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy.
So there you have it. Thanks for the memories, PowerScripting podcast.
~Scripting Wife
Thanks, Teresa. I invite you to follow me on and Facebook. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.
Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy