# New Microsoft Excel MVP Greg Truby!



## Richard Schollar (Jul 14, 2008)

https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=98F3F229-9392-4931-A16D-46E8FA9A33F9

Congratulations Greg!!!!

Very well deserved and couldn't have happened to a nicer guy


----------



## Andrew Fergus (Jul 14, 2008)

Well deserved Greg!


----------



## Patience (Jul 14, 2008)

Wow! Well done. That is excellent news.


----------



## Domski (Jul 14, 2008)

Many congratulations!!!ray:


----------



## riaz (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations, Greg.


----------



## Krishnakumar (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations, Greg


----------



## cornflakegirl (Jul 14, 2008)

I'm confused. They give MVP for services to topic diversion now?

Congratulations, Greg.


----------



## Richard Schollar (Jul 14, 2008)

cornflakegirl said:


> I'm confused. They give MVP for services to topic diversion now?
> 
> Congratulations, Greg.


 
Actually, rumour has it Greg had to clean Steve Ballmer's pool for a month


----------



## Joe4 (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations Greg!


----------



## Oaktree (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations!


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 14, 2008)

Thanks, guys. I am still rather gobsmacked to see my name on a list that includes the likes of Walkenbach, Chip, Bullen, Bovey, Pope, Peltier, Dalgleish, Kusleika and other giants of our industry. I keep waiting to get a follow up e-mail from Microsoft exclaiming that someone made a horrible mistake and they meant to send me the rejection e-mail instead. 

I'm sure Nate, Zack, Andrew, Tushar, Smitty & Kristy will keep me from gettin' too big for my britches. Well, at least I kinda wish they would! It's been a busy month and I ain't made it to the YMCA too regular and my britches are a big snugger than they were in May... (sigh)


----------



## gingerafro (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations Greg!


----------



## Fazza (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations, Greg. Tremendous news.  Best regards, F


----------



## schielrn (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations Greg.  I know with all the help you have given me it was well deserved.


----------



## Jonmo1 (Jul 14, 2008)

Good Job Gregg, you deserve it.  I know I've learned some stuff from you as well.


----------



## Norie (Jul 14, 2008)

Greg

An email from Microsoft.

Don't you have appropriate spam filters in place to deal with such an eventuality.

Seriously though, Congratulations.


----------



## sailepaty (Jul 14, 2008)

Muchas felicidades from the spanish speaker comunity!!!


----------



## VoG (Jul 14, 2008)

Fantastic news! Well done Greg - richly deserved.


----------



## Smitty (Jul 14, 2008)

Good job!


----------



## Cbrine (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations Greg!!!


----------



## MorganO (Jul 14, 2008)

utstanding accmplishment Greg!


----------



## PaddyD (Jul 14, 2008)

Clap clap....


----------



## barry houdini (Jul 14, 2008)

Greg Truby said:


> I am still rather gobsmacked to see my name on a list that includes the likes of Walkenbach, Chip, Bullen, Bovey, Pope, Peltier, Dalgleish, Kusleika and other giants of our industry.


 
Hey *Gregory!*,

Way too modest I think....you'll fit right in. Congratulations!


----------



## Peter_SSs (Jul 14, 2008)

Fantastic news! Congratulations Greg!  ray: ray:


----------



## Mark O'Brien (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations Greg!

I always knew you had it in you.


----------



## jindon (Jul 14, 2008)

Congratulations Greg!
おめでとう！


----------



## Tom Urtis (Jul 14, 2008)

Way to go G-Man !!


----------



## Stormseed (Jul 15, 2008)

Hi Mr. Greg

I never ever understood what you tried to say in more than half of your "diverted topics" posts, nonetheless others might have grasped it ! I always wanted to say this that you indeed have a strong command over English and which is often sarcastic as it sounds to be 

With all due respect, I wish you many congratulations for your new role.

Regards- Stormseed


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 15, 2008)

Stormseed said:


> which is often sarcastic as it sounds to be :wink:


<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

Gee willikers, I hope I’m not quite hitting “sarcastic”. I generally aim for something falling around ironic or satirical; on a good day with a bit of a tail wind perhaps even reaching pantagruelian. But I would hope my acerbity of my prose falls well short of lampoonery or sarcasm. :wink:


----------



## Joe4 (Jul 15, 2008)

> Gee willikers


Greg has also been known to use a lot of slang, which must give our non-native English speakers fits when they try to translate it.  Heck, I am a native English speaker, and sometimes I can't tell what the heck he is talking about either!


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 15, 2008)

Joe4 said:


> Greg has also been known to use a lot of slang...


 
I prefer to think of it as mining the depths of American culture. _[sniffs haughtily]_ I actually debated between "gee willikers" and "yumpin' yeehosiphats". I selected the former because I believed it yielded more of a "Leave It to Beaver" feel. And while the latter better expresses shock, it seemed a bit too Yosemite Sam.  (Well, that and I love to keep Erik looking through his dictionary. :wink


----------



## Jonmo1 (Jul 15, 2008)

I think it was you Greg that said "Vlookup is Zoolander Challenged" in a thread a while back about why vlookup has the colref argument.  That was hallarious.  Though I didn't catch it right away...


----------



## Oaktree (Jul 15, 2008)

jonmo1 said:


> I think it was you Greg that said "Vlookup is Zoolander Challenged" in a thread a while back about why vlookup has the colref argument.  That was hallarious.  Though I didn't catch it right away...



It sounds like something Greg would say, but that one was actually Gene's:

http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=322319&highlight=zoolander


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 15, 2008)

Oaktree said:


> ...but that one was actually Gene's:


 
Correct.  I *wish* I could take credit for that one.  I thought it was a brilliant quip.


----------



## pgc01 (Jul 15, 2008)

Congratulations Greg! Well deserved!


----------



## sailepaty (Jul 15, 2008)

Greg Truby said:


> (Well, that and I love to keep Erik looking through his dictionary. :wink


 
You can be sure that he is not the only one, me included.


----------



## Jonmo1 (Jul 15, 2008)

> It sounds like something Greg would say, but that one was actually Gene's:


 
That's what I get for not using the search tool...


----------



## Stormseed (Jul 15, 2008)

> Gee willikers, I hope I’m not quite hitting “sarcastic”. I generally aim for something falling around ironic or satirical; on a good day with a bit of a tail wind perhaps even reaching pantagruelian. But I would hope my acerbity of my prose falls well short of lampoonery or sarcasm



where do you get these words from, Mr. Greg ?  I see them, forget about hearing & understanding them, for the first time in my entire life. I reckon, you excel in Literature as well


----------



## Oaktree (Jul 15, 2008)

Stormseed said:


> where do you get these words from, Mr. Greg ?



I think "words" should be in quotes


----------



## Joe4 (Jul 15, 2008)

> I think it was you Greg that said "Vlookup is Zoolander Challenged" in a thread a while back about why vlookup has the colref argument. That was hallarious. Though I didn't catch it right away...


Okay, I'm dying to know...

I assume that this is some reference to the "Zoolander" movie, which I did not see.  
Could someone explain the reference (I hate not understanding good jokes!)


----------



## Oaktree (Jul 15, 2008)

> I assume that this is some reference to the "Zoolander" movie



Right.  Ben Stiller plays the title character, Derek Zoolander, a male model.  One of Derek's faults is that he's not an "ambiturner" because he can't turn left (as models only turn to the right at the end of the runway).


----------



## Jonmo1 (Jul 15, 2008)

Zoolander was a model, and his weakness was that he couldn't turn left when walking the runway as a model. He could only turn right. Yes it's rediculous, but that's the movie...

Vlookup can't read from right to left, only left to right, therfor it's Zoolander Challenged..

It's really a hallarious reference.


----------



## Joe4 (Jul 15, 2008)

> Right. Ben Stiller plays the title character, Derek Zoolander, a male model. One of Derek's faults is that he's not an "ambiturner" because he can't turn left (as models only turn to the right at the end of the runway).


Thank you!

Very clever reference!


----------



## gingerafro (Jul 15, 2008)

Taking this thread off topic is surely the biggest compliment yet!


----------



## Joe4 (Jul 15, 2008)

> Taking this thread off topic is surely the biggest compliment yet!


It was the least I could do!


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 15, 2008)

Stormseed said:


> where do you get these words from, Mr. Greg ? I see them, forget about hearing & understanding them, for the first time in my entire life. I reckon, you excel in Literature as well





Oaktree said:


> I think "words" should be in quotes


Believe it or not, I actually did a little research before using the term. I originally spelled it "geewhillackers", but that returned only four hits on google. Google suggested the "gee willikers" spelling, which yields 26,100 results. 

And I do occasionally read literature from the 19th century, which does help boost one’s vocabulary and exposes one to a greater variety of prose than one gets reading contemporary writings. However I am sure hatman could put me to shame.

And yes, Joe’s diversion is appreciated. Would not three pages of naught but “attaboys” be tedious? I would be incensed if this thread had stayed on topic the whole time.


----------



## gingerafro (Jul 15, 2008)

So close to a 'Googlewhack' with the 'geeewhillackers' search!  Such a shame.

Another source of vocabulary expansion is PMQ's.  This stands for Prime Minister Questions and is an opportunity for members of parliament to put questions to the PM (funnily enough).  It can somtimes be a little boring but when there is something interesting or contentious to debate, it involves members of the house deriding each other without actually swearing.  The word play can be brilliant at times.  I'm sure the highlights can be accessed via the BBC.


----------



## cornflakegirl (Jul 15, 2008)

Greg Truby said:


> Would not three pages of naught but “attaboys” be tedious?


 
Tedious, but not necessarily deleterious to your ego, surely?


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 15, 2008)

For some reason every time I see “deleterious” the phrase “honest, Officer, I had no idea...” springs to mind. Must remind of “delict” or “delinquency” somehow.


----------



## Von Pookie (Jul 15, 2008)

I can't find a  mention of 'gee willikers' (or any other spelling), but this page may prove of interest to you, Greg 

http://www.word-detective.com/


----------



## HalfAce (Jul 15, 2008)

Hey, congratulations Greg! I didn't even know you were up for this.
(Guess I oughta spend a little more time on the board than I have been lately.)
Good job man, well done!


----------



## NateO (Jul 15, 2008)

Congratulations, Greg! 

Another MrExcel member joins the dark side!


----------



## erik.van.geit (Jul 15, 2008)

Greg, Wow!
You are indeed a popular guy: see how this thread got to 6 pages in less than 2 days!!


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 15, 2008)

Thank you, Erik. But more importantly, how many words did I make you look up?


----------



## RichardS (Jul 15, 2008)

Joe4 said:


> Greg has also been known to use a lot of slang, which must give our non-native English speakers fits when they try to translate it.  Heck, I am a native English speaker, and sometimes I can't tell what the heck he is talking about either!



I would hardly describe some of Greg's post as native English. That said, I like the style he uses at times. You can almost hear Hucklebery Finn talking.


----------



## erik.van.geit (Jul 16, 2008)

Greg Truby said:


> Thank you, Erik. But more importantly, how many words did I make you look up?


I gave up long ago 
(Important family things to solve)


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 16, 2008)

erik.van.geit said:


> I gave up long ago
> (Important family things to solve)


 
_[sniffles, looks dejectly downcast, scuffles feet and mumbles]_ Well, I s'ppose that's okay. I mean, I reckon ya had ta grow up and leave the nest some day... 

_(In truth it's more than OK! I'm glad you found someone to walk life's paths by your side. If she is as kind as yourself, you'll have a terrific ambulation through the quotidian in the coming years.)_


----------



## fairwinds (Jul 20, 2008)

Late but warm congratulations!!


----------



## andrewman (Jul 21, 2008)

How to become MrExcel MVP?


----------



## barry houdini (Jul 21, 2008)

Greg has just become a Microsoft Excel MVP. He was already a MrExcel MVP, the two are not the same.

See here for Nate's explanation of the two


----------



## andrewman (Jul 21, 2008)

Dear Barry,

Thanks!

I just want to become MrExcel MVP.

How can I do now?


----------



## DonkeyOte (Jul 21, 2008)

Be the best you can be, learn what you don't know and share what you do.  I'm sure there are few MVP's who would say there learn nothing from this site even now...the beauty of Excel is the variety of solutions, the skill is learning the most efficient... 

IMHO there are some people here with just a few hundred posts who warrant the MVP tag based on their continued excellent offerings / insights... at the same time there are plenty of us (myself included) who have a few thousand posts who would definitely consider themselves above the average user but most definitely not MVPs.

Let's not hijack this thread, this is a tribute to Greg's superb achievement - so congratulations Greg!

Luke


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 21, 2008)

andrewman said:


> I just want to become MrExcel MVP...How can I do now?


Start here here which will eventually lead you back to here. Tracy's (starl's) initial response to hatman pretty much explains it. :wink:


----------



## andrewman (Jul 21, 2008)

Dear Greg Truby,

Thank you!


----------



## Stormseed (Jul 22, 2008)

andrewman said:


> I just want to become MrExcel MVP
> How can I do now?


 
If the MVP recognition was a degree with a "certificate", I would have achieved it ages ago


----------



## SydneyGeek (Jul 22, 2008)

Greg, congrats! 

Absolutely deserved!

Denis


----------



## shades (Jul 24, 2008)

Congrats, Greg!  I have been traveling so much, this has been my first opportunity to see the good news. 

It is great to have an MVP right in the KC metro area!! 
(Even though I no longer use Excel; in fact, I no longer work in business/industry)

Rich


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 24, 2008)

shades said:


> It is great to have an MVP right in the KC metro area!!


Thanks, Rich.  How's the new job going?  And actually, I'm the Johnny-come-lately in KC.  Chip has been an MS MVP since 1999!


----------



## shades (Jul 24, 2008)

I am traveling about 80% of the time. I love the work, but the schedule does get hectic. I returned Monday evening from a flight to San Diego plus Costa Mesa, now I drive tomorrow to North Carolina, then West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and back home - all in 9 days. Then St Louis for 4 days, back home, then Minneapolis 3 days, Ames 3 days, then in September I begin serving as interim pastor (230 miles one way), plus a 3 week trip across Montana, ND, Minnesota, leading three seminars and preaching at four churches.

Whew.... I am tired just writing this...


----------



## Fazza (Jul 25, 2008)

Greg,

What is different for you with the MS MVP?

Interestedly (!) curious, Fazza


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 25, 2008)

Fazza said:


> Greg,
> 
> What is different for you with the MS MVP?
> 
> Interestedly (!) curious, Fazza


 
Fazza,

Here is a general overview of the MVP program that describes the program and the benefits much more complete than I could hope to do. 

https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/

As for my personal reaction - it's pretty darned . I'm still trying to familiarize myself with the technical resources they put at one's disposal. The Excel MVP's have been very friendly and welcoming - though I'm still pretty much a wallflower (hard to imagine, ain't it).


----------



## hatman (Jul 25, 2008)

Greg Truby said:


> However I am sure hatman could put me to shame



Pish-posh!  I'm simply a geek who earned the dubious moniker of "Walking Lexicon" when I was in High School.  You, Greg, on the other hand, have a gift for homey prose to rival Mark Twain.  A certain turn of phraseology that makes your posts fun and interesting to read even when they happen to embody a tangential divergence from the topic at hand.

And a big Congratulations on your new appointment .  I heartily agree with the others who have already stated that it is well deserved.  Not sure if I have adequately expressed my heartfelt thanx for all of your help on my own quest to expand my Excel skillz.  Every time I thought I had a feel for your skill level within this community, you have always managed to pull out (and expound in great detail upon)  some esoteric bit of knowledge, thereby demonstrating just how understated your skills are.

(I wish I had been able to offer my congratulations earlier in this thread, but we had a little trouble with the Oxygen Generator when we tried to power it up on the ISS on the 11th (during my VACATION) that caused me to basically be sequestered in a little room all last week as we tried to work through what was causing the problem, and how to move forward and get the thing turned on.)


----------



## cornflakegirl (Jul 25, 2008)

hatman said:


> we had a little trouble with the Oxygen Generator when we tried to power it up on the ISS on the 11th (during my VACATION)


 
How rude of them to want to breathe while you're on holiday!


----------



## Greg Truby (Jul 25, 2008)

hatman said:


> (I wish I had been able to offer my congratulations earlier in this thread, but we had a little trouble with the Oxygen Generator when we tried to power it up on the ISS on the 11th (during my VACATION) that caused me to basically be sequestered in a little room all last week as we tried to work through what was causing the problem, and how to move forward and get the thing turned on.)


 
That, Paul, is what I call a thumper of an excuse. Consider yerself fully pardoned. Go getcherself a nice big slice of blueberry pie (if you don't have any pie in the fridge, I'm sure you have blueberry _something_ around the house). 

And it's been a while, but if I'm remember correctly, that make you Gary Sinise then. Correct? And the implication of your post is that they didn't let you take your holiday on the ISS


----------



## hatman (Jul 25, 2008)

Greg Truby said:


> That, Paul, is what I call a thumper of an excuse.  Consider yerself fully pardoned.  Go getcherself a nice big slice of blueberry pie (if you don't have any pie in the fridge, I'm sure you have blueberry _something_ around the house).
> 
> And it's been a while, but if I'm remember correctly, that make you Gary Sinise then.  Correct?  And the implication of your post is that they didn't let you take your holiday on the ISS



I wouldn't really care to take my holiday on the ISS (suspiciously few blueberries available up there).  Actually, I think I would qualify as one of Ed Harris' flunkies, being that I'm on the ground rathe rthan flying as part of the crew.  Then again, since my presence is currently off-screen (everything accomplished from a conference room outside of Hartford CT, rather than in the flesh at mission control in Houston) I would probably be better termed Key Grip, or even Best Boy.

As for blueberry something, we've been rained out the last week or so (almost 10 inches), so my blueberry stockpile is mighty scarce.  I'm looking forward to picking a gallon or so this afternoon.  YUM!


----------



## riaz (Jul 25, 2008)

Greg Truby said:


> Start here here which will eventually lead you back to here. :wink:


Trust you to hijack a thread set up to congratulate you.  Add King of the Hijackers to your title too.


----------



## andrewman (Jul 25, 2008)

Anyone can refer me to become MrExcel MVP?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## DonkeyOte (Jul 26, 2008)

Andrew, if only it were that easy


----------



## andrewman (Jul 26, 2008)

If you think you can, you can.

If you try, you will have 50% chance. Otherwise....

Do you agree?


----------



## erik.van.geit (Jul 31, 2008)

andrewman said:


> Anyone can refer me to become MrExcel MVP?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


wasn't the link that Greg posted helpful
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/


----------



## Jaafar Tribak (Aug 3, 2008)

Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by *Joe4* 

 
_Greg has also been known to use a lot of slang..._




</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


> I prefer to think of it as mining the depths of American culture. _[sniffs haughtily]_ I actually debated between "gee willikers" and "yumpin' yeehosiphats". I selected the former because I believed it yielded more of a "Leave It to Beaver" feel. And while the latter better expresses shock, it seemed a bit too Yosemite Sam. (*Well, that and I love to keep Erik looking through his dictionary*. :wink


 

Although,we, non-native English speakers resent you for depriving us of the fun to retaliate your witty sense of humor and should join our voices together in a campaign to demand a ban on the use of slang, I can’t afford to miss this opportunity to thank you for your friendly & warm personality, your insightful Excel contributions and for making this web-site a real pleasure to visit !

All the very best and many *congratulations* to you. 

Jaafar.


----------

