Bring Your Art to Work

The workspace is the perfect place to ignore when one is seeking inspiration. Monitors replace framed pictures, gray walls replace color, and the ongoing trend of minimalism can turn the office into a person that looks presentable but has nothing to say. I, among others, can be guilty of this complacency in reasoning the scenic background of my laptop as art.

It really gets the juices flowing…

It really gets the juices flowing…

To contrast this, I have tried to be more aware of ways to spice up the visuals and comfort of the office. I mounted a cheap guitar on a wall, display a continuous stream of 4K national park footage on the break room monitor, and even purchased an artsy mug rack online (it barley counts I know, but small steps). My incremental steps recently evolved into an established one with the contracting of artwork by a local artist, and family friend, Chloe Gale.

After a quick tour of the office, and a rambling description as to what we were looking for, Chloe was armed with the appropriate amount of vagueness to create something great. In a couple of days, she shared examples of paintings that seemed to align with our descriptions followed with a rough sketch of what she envisioned.

The example piece and the mockup

The example piece and the mockup

Following our approval of her mock-ups, Chloe transformed the rough sketches into the impressive paintings below. All of them reflected the vibes we were going for in the office, the local beauty of Oregon, and something a little more inspiring than my computer’s background image.

Strategically placed across the office (note the coffee mug holder)

Strategically placed across the office (note the coffee mug holder)

From the team of Ablesoft, thank you Chloe!

 
Picture7.jpg
 

2020 A Year Reviewed

In reviewing the past year as a business, there are several measures to pour over in answering the question ‘How did we do?’. Metrics around revenues, margins, costs, customer satisfaction, and marketing activities can be tracked, compared, and are easy to obsess over in the pursuit of understanding whether progress was made. Yet, like many facets of life that are measured, the answer can easily feel empty without the broader context beyond the numbers. An excellent GPA is a worthy accomplishment, but its value diminishes when compared the story of the student who is also working to pay for schooling, has family commitments, and is participating in extra growth-oriented activities. 

This year brought many changes for the Ablesoft team. Outside of the life altering pandemic and shift to remote work came others. Others such as:

  • Ablesoft families grew with the pregnancy of a first child, an engagement, and another bringing twin foster-children into their home.

  • Careers shifted, as two new team members joined on in the Summer.

  • Homes were bought, moved into, and rebuilt due to termite damage.

  • Families were reinforced by our employees’ increasing adoption of personal duties at home with little ones and parents.

Many changes, but none of them reflected on Ablesoft’s balance sheet or income statement. 

According to our metrics, as a company we did make some strides on improving. We were fortunate to gain stability in a time where stability is hard to come by. Despite the many changes, we were able to continue our pursuit of new technology and improved methods of serving our customers. 

Yet, when thinking about our progress in 2020, our balance sheet won’t serve as the ultimate measure of our success. Rather, it will be the endurance, accomplishments, and stories of the ASI team that will define our success in 2020.   

From the team of Ableosft, we wish you a highly successful 2021 and look forward to being a part of that success.

Picture1.jpg

A Short ‘Tail’ of the Intruder

Sometimes, even the most state of the art security systems cannot prevent the unexpected from happening. Both physical and digital break in attempts are common for small businesses, leaving the occurrences of these violations as a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’. 

This week, Ablesoft experienced a break in. We left it to our top employee to investigate and identify the culprit. Here is that story:

Just Like Maverick at Entre’s Tech X (video)

As an adult, rarely do moments exist when it is found acceptable to dress up and live out the actions of your childhood hero. Halloween is claimed to be an outlet for that opportunity, but in truth, it is reserved for dreamy children and outfit wearing adults that don’t take the get-up too seriously. Or at least pretend not to. 

Acknowledging this, the team of Ablesoft, like many adults, is left suppressing their childhood dreams year round. That is, unless an opportunity strikes. An opportunity such as Entre’s Virtual Technology Exposition. With a theme tied to the 2020 Top Gun movie (now to be released 2021) the employees of Ablesoft geared up with jumpsuits, aviator knock-offs, and fake dog tags to become top notch fighter pilots.

Depicted above, the various team members of Ablesoft living out their dreams of being pilots.

Depicted above, the various team members of Ablesoft living out their dreams of being pilots.

The fun did not stop there. Along with the attire, the team also got their kicks meeting new IT enthusiasts, talking technology, and getting to present in one of the many virtual break-out sessions. 

See below Eric and Ben’s presentation on ‘avoiding the danger zone’, and rising up to the demands of a virtual workforce.

Note: Revisions to the opening were made to avoid major legal consequences.

A presentation by Eric and Ben Bruns on enabling your virtual work force with applications to avoid the 'danger zone'. Originally presented at Entre's 2020 F...

A House Divided

At the beginning of the MLB season, the team of Ablesoft welcomed a pleasant distraction from the year disrupted by COVID. But what began as a good spirited, mutual excitement for the sport quickly degenerated into an environment of competition. This became particularly clear the day that loyalties were displayed in full of our 'MLB' themed call.

To be candid, it had never been a secret as to which Chicago baseball team was supported by whom, but with such lopsided standings between the teams it made little difference. Everything changed this year. The Cubs started out of the gate red hot, and the White Sox are beginning to reap the benefits of their three (or ten depending who is asked) year re-build. Now, as we are heading into play-offs, the break room is featuring more games on the TV, winning streaks are being mentioned on calls, and tensions are continuing to build.

 
Picture1.png
 

To be candid, it had never been a secret as to which Chicago baseball team was supported by whom, but with such lopsided standings between the teams it made little difference. Everything changed this year. The Cubs started out of the gate red hot, and the White Sox are beginning to reap the benefits of their three (or ten depending who is asked) year re-build. Now, as we are heading into play-offs, the break room is featuring more games on the TV, winning streaks are being mentioned on calls, and tensions are continuing to build.

Could this be the year that the White Sox and Cubs meet in the World Series? Not likely, but we will enjoy the ride along the way. Hopefully, the NFL season will provide us a shared team to bond over, or possibly jointly ridicule. Until then, the Ablesoft team wishes you great start to Fall. May your teams drive more cohesion in your household than ours.

Author’s Note: The Ablesoft team is back to being unified following the first round playoff eliminations of both the Cubs and White Sox. Though, it is the shared disappointment of Chicago baseball which brings us together.

Go White Sox.

Go White Sox.

Choosing Your Family

“You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family, an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't.”
-
Harper Lee, Author of To Kill a Mockingbird Author

In most circumstances, I am not one to challenge the renown quote of an American Literature Icon, especially when at risk of looking 'right silly'. However, Harper Lee failed to consider the state of family-owned businesses when speaking to the inability to choose family members (particularly ones in software). I may have no choice but to tolerate my Dad's stressful antics, criticisms from my brother, and attempts of sheltering from our primary investor (and my mom). But occasionally, I get to be a part of the process in bringing on a new team member and growing the family. 

Picture3.png
 

Harper Lee provoked into deep thought in considering the exception of family owned businesses in choosing family (imagined by me).

 

Recently, Ablesoft has brought on two developers to aid in our goals of supporting customers with creative solutions delivered on a personal level. One as a full-time developer, the other as a part of our intern program.

 
Andrew

Andrew

Edgar

Edgar

 

Andrew has been a long-time developer, building and supporting applications from banks to manufacturers across his career.

Entering his Freshman year at Rock Valley College in pursuit of a Computer Science degree, Edgar has been building applications for the past two years and has joined on as our intern. 

To read more about the team, click (here).

Ben + Hanna

Ben + Hanna

Though not a developer, or particularly comfortable with computers overall, Hanna recently accepted my proposal to become a member of the immediate Bruns family, and ultimately an extension of the Ablesoft family as well. 

As the new members are settling in, we are excited by Ablesoft’s path forward in continuing to grow the family. Something I think Harper Lee would even appreciate.

—Ben

Ablesoft’s Home Invasion Pt.2

As the world remains cautious and the Summer season is coming to pass, the Ablesoft team is continuing to invade each other's homes with our daily Microsoft Teams check-ins. Fortunately, the call hiccups including setup woes, spotty internet connections, and abrupt pauses to avoid talking over each other have subsided with time, but the surprises have not. Below is a glimpse of some of those surprises, and observations, over the past few months.

New Avatars

Facing the turmoil of a working mom with two children at home, Lisa, our head of design, is continually in a balancing act. Team meetings may feature her kids’ eager requests to say hello, wrestling matches, or simply using her as a chair to gaze into the camera. Recently, it was discovered that these meetings were having another impact on them as well. Below, Lisa is introducing a new companion of their household who is also named "Noel" (the President of Ablesoft), courtesy of her two sons. The team all agreed that the Noels shared many similar characteristics.

 
Noel, visibly excited to be recognized by Lisa's children in gnome form. Eric disappointed with the lack of a yard decor avatar.

Noel, visibly excited to be recognized by Lisa's children in gnome form. Eric disappointed with the lack of a yard decor avatar.

 

Workspace Envy

Remote meetings have enabled a variety of 'office setups'. Attended from bedrooms, kitchens, garages, and even outdoors, the key to the home office is being comfortable, mildly isolated, and if possible, having a decent view. Michelle, our head of Marketing, created the optimal work environment which includes all the major elements. Nestled in her basement, Michelle's home office features a beautiful view of Oregon forestry featuring visits by her occasional wildlife friends.

 
Picture2.png
Picture3.png
 

Deer, wild turkeys, and friendly squirrels are known to stop by to say ‘hello’ in Michelle's working environment.

New Skill Development

What started as an excuse to cook outside, blossomed into the realization of a new calling when Alan took up the art of smoking. From coals, to wood chips, to a full smoker upgrade, the team of Ablesoft has witnessed Alan's ascension to that of a grill master. Ribs, pork hunks, and even bacon wrapped pineapple have all found a role in Alan's play of smoked foods. Unbeknownst to him, he has earned himself a new role as Ablesoft's 'head of catering’ for our future office cookouts. 

The art of smoking is embraced by all in the Arian’s family. The reasons as to why are depicted above.

The art of smoking is embraced by all in the Arian’s family. The reasons as to why are depicted above.

Recent office space adjustments have brought the ASI team back together once again. Which means for now, the daily check-in theater will have to be postponed. Despite the entertainment value they may bring, the team remains quite alright with the new setup.

ASI: Your Own Personal Microsoft Decoder

Ablesoft team sifting through the Microsoft announcements on technology.

Ablesoft team sifting through the Microsoft announcements on technology.

Though obscure in the eyes of the Microsoft behemoth, as a company that develops software using their technologies, Ablesoft is best served by paying attention to what technological vision they are touting. Like Ralphie and his use of the Ovaltine decoder in the Christmas Story, the Ablesoft team needs to decipher the cryptic technological messages sent out by Microsoft to decide what direction we are headed in developing programs for our customers.

Sometimes the message at the end can be underwhelming…

3.jpg

My apologies for the Christmas-themed reference, but the metaphor could not leave me.

Once armed with the 'decoded' message, it is necessary to simplify and depict it from our perspective. Why? For one, it brings more clarity to our own business for programmers and non-programmers alike to align towards. The second, it gives customers a better idea of what goes into making the products we deliver. Although they may not understand how to make the dish, they at least will have a better understanding of the ingredients to better appreciate it.

Below is our first crack at laying out our decoded results and adopting them into our development process. Here are some of the high-level ideas behind it:

ASI+Standards+%26+Generators.jpg

Customer
This portion represents the magic which happens between Ablesoft and our customers. It is here where we work together to define the unique business requirements that dictate what the application is supposed to do. Also, it is where the interface of the application is developed whether web based, desktop, or cross platform for the customer.

ASI Core
The core exists to get programming projects up and running quickly. So Instead of each project starting from scratch, it is here where pre-built components by Ablesoft are incorporated into a variety of projects to avoid 'recreating the wheel' for each application.

Microsoft Technologies
The .Net framework was created in the early 2000's under the same principle that drives Ablesoft to develop the 'ASI Core' - to speed up the process and quality of programming by re-purposing pre-built code created. But, as technologies evolved and the requirements of applications changed over the years, Microsoft created multiple programming languages and frameworks to support web-based, desktop, and mobile applications. Now, their vision is to begin consolidating the once disparate development technologies down into a shared framework that can be used across devices. This is called .Net 5 and symbolized in the chart below:

4.png

Although this write up may generate eye rolls from programmers for its simplicity, or readers irritated by the untimely Christmas Story reference, it is a necessary risk to take. So, when it comes to the future of your company's applications written with Microsoft technologies, consider us as your own personal decoder. Hopefully, our decoded message from Microsoft is more helpful than Ralphie’s.