Many of you may be wondering where I have been for the past few months. I had been regularly posting content once or twice a week but then things slowed down to a trickle and eventually to a full stop…
The reason for the slow down in content was that I was invited to be a contributor in a new book about the PowerShell summit which I attended in April; and today I am happy to announce my contribution to that that project is live!
A little about the project
The book was the brainchild of Mike F Robbins, a PowerShell MVP and presenter at the conference. When I had attended the conference, I was amazed to find out that that PowerShell.org was run by a non-profit group called the DevOps collective and they had started using some of the funds to help create scholarships for people looking to break into the infrastructure field. This is an area which is notoriously devoid of a college curriculum. One of the great things about the summit is the chance to meet alot of people and I can attest that my opportunity to collaborate on this book was born from conversations that took place at the summit. I had met Mike Robbins as well as many others at the summit and I had expressed my interest to do more in the PS community. I left the conference feeling really good about all the new friends I had made, but I would have never expected just three short weeks later, I would be asked to collaborate on a book!
Mike wanted to find a way to present the information from the conference and also help out the organization (The DevOps Collective) that produced the show. To quote Mike, “We would create a new book dedicated solely to supporting the OnRamp Scholarship Program. Each contributor would be asked to write one chapter that’s completely independent of the others so that it’s designed to be like a conference in a book.”
As I mentioned earlier, I was asked to participate but I had not spoken at the conference, nor did I have a topic in mind for this book. After some thought, I submitted my topic and starting writing! My chapter is entitled, “Automating Active Directory Health Checks” and is 22 pages of scripts and guidance on how you can build your own set of tools using PowerShell to seamlessly check some of the most critical areas of Active Directory and set those scripts up to run on autopilot.
The book is authored by over 30 different contributors who are subject matter experts in different areas and all (100%) of the royalties from “The PowerShell Conference Book” are automatically donated to the OnRamp Scholarship program through the “LeanPub for Causes” program.
The last two months have been alot of work at times, but it’s been a truly rewarding experience as well as one that forced me to learn my craft even more. I am so proud to be a part of this project for two reasons: the first is that the book help gives back to the PS community. Helping people getting started in this field is something I can relate to and it’s something I try to do at work with my younger colleagues through mentoring. This project helps further that cause. Secondly, I am truly astounded to be part of a collection of so many smart and fantastic contributors.
The list of people who put time into this book is a whose who of people who are helping drive the PS community forward and to be included with that group is just an amazing feeling. This book has a massive (500+ pages) of content and there is no way you could buy this book and not learn something useful. I would love it if you would consider purchasing this book. The content is awesome and the money all goes to a good cause. I make nothing from the sales of the book. I donated my time and knowledge to help the DevOps collective provides opportunities for next generation of sysadmins. You can find the book here: PowerShell Conference Book
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the other authors who also collaborated on the book. They all have been so helpful and encouraging, but more importantly, they all produce blogs with fantastic content that you need to check out! Here a list of everyone involved.
