March 21, 2025 - This week’s notables
Welcoming Patrick to the team and Celebrating the Spring Equinox!
Upcoming Events
Mark your calendar and join us at Longview Farm for the following upcoming events! We're excited to welcome you—just make sure to set your GPS to 143 Cedar Ln. Glenmoore, PA 19343 (avoid Cedar Ridge Ln) for the best route straight to the fun!
📆 Sundays, 12 to 3 p.m. – Join us at the Longview Gallery every Sunday to view and shop from our current exhibition, Wildflower Joy, by Raven George. Check out what we have coming up in 2025!
Infrastructure & Support
Despite it being St. Patrick's Day, this week did not begin on a lucky note. It kicked off with a routine app installation that went awry after we included a BIOS update in the work order. While assisting the end-user, they revealed they had postponed BIOS updates for quite some time. Normally, BIOS updates are advised as they offer extra hardware support, security updates, and enhanced system stability; thus we went ahead with the update. Unfortunately, the 7-year-old laptop struggled with the updates, first losing keyboard functionality and then encountering a complete boot drive failure after a subsequent update. We devised a plan to recover files from the PC and replace the PC. We'll be working with the end-user to rectify the situation.
SharePoint migration challenges were a key point of discussion, with frustration arising from the slow process caused by Microsoft's throttling of connections to migration tools.
In other updates, we are reviewing the expiration of customer equipment warranties and will be advising on replacements where needed. Additionally, we are exploring Copilot Studio to create a Copilot Agent to help a busy law firm manage routine client inquiries. In this instance, we're offering a Microsoft solution rather than a third-party alternative, which carries unknown risks of client data compromise.
Operations & Growth
In Growth & Operations news this week, we're excited to announce that the Longview Farm Creative Team Technician role has been filled, and we're thrilled to introduce Patrick as an official member of the team! Patrick brings a fountain of inspiration and creative talent with him, drawing on his mastery of fine upholstery and background in interior design. Patrick's contributions will be seen and experienced by all around Longview farm as his flair for design is infused with the landscape and infrastructure of the property. Welcome Patrick!
In other growth related news, there are a handful of new migration projects underway that are literally and figuratively taking up INW bandwidth. Ilya has been focused on these projects over the last couple of weeks, and despite some frustrations with the migration tools, the projects are progressing well. In addition to the migration project and the usual help desk support, the INW team has been focused on operational tasks to improve efficiency, including a data clean up in Dynamics and some attention to an improved support case management workflow.
Information Radiation
In lieu of Information Radiation, we're celebrating solar radiation this week and wishing you a Happy Spring Equinox!
As it's also Throwback Thursday, I'm reflecting on my 2015 trip to Mexico, where I experienced the "Descent of Kukulkán" at Chichen Itza.
The Pyramid of Kukulkán captured during the "Descent of Kukulkán" Spring Equinox 2015
The Pyramid of Kukulkán, also known as El Castillo, is the centerpiece of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico. This impressive structure is not only a testament to the architectural prowess of the Maya but also to their advanced understanding of astronomy. The pyramid is designed to create a stunning visual effect during the spring equinox. As the sun sets, the play of light and shadow on the pyramid's steps creates the illusion of a serpent slithering down the structure. This phenomenon, known as the "Descent of Kukulkán," symbolizes the return of the feathered serpent deity, Kukulkán, to the earth.
The spring equinox, occurring around March 20th or 21st, marks a time of balance when day and night are of equal length. For the ancient Maya, this event was deeply significant, symbolizing the rebirth of the sun and the beginning of the agricultural cycle. It was a time to honor deities associated with fertility and renewal. Today, thousands of visitors gather at Chichen Itza to witness this awe-inspiring event and to celebrate the renewal of life and the harmony of nature.