October 11, 2024 - This week’s notables
Don't miss the Artist Talk on October 26th!
Upcoming Events
Mark your calendar and join us at Longview Farm for a series of delightful events! Tucked away in the heart of Chester County's scenic beauty, our farm offers a panorama of rolling hills and stunning sunsets that you won't want to miss. We're excited to welcome you and share these moments—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!
📆 Saturday, October 26th – Join Artist Brian DeProspero for a discussion. Brian will engage with attendees to discuss his inspirations and creative process behind "Satellite Keepsakes," along with his broader body of work. Visitors will have the chance to share their impressions, ask questions, and engage in meaningful dialogue.
📆 November 2nd – December 28th – Join us for the 1st Annual Holiday Exhibit at Longview Gallery. This cozy, market-style exhibition will be on display from November 2nd - December 28th at Longview Gallery. We are partnering with local arts organizations who will select up to 50 artists to showcase their work in this exhibit. Come in, look around, and purchase holiday gifts for loved ones!
📆 November 29th – Our Black Friday Friends and Family Market will feature many vendors in our gallery, selling their handmade, artisan products and artwork at the special “friends and family” discounted rate! Join us to shop around, meet new people, enjoy some snacks, and celebrate our community.
📆 First Saturdays – Step into a world of creativity and community every first Saturday at Longview Gallery, from 5 to 8 PM. Immerse yourself in the latest solo exhibitions, vibe to live music, and savor delightful refreshments. It's more than an event—it's a chance to connect, be inspired, and experience the pulse of the arts scene.
📆 Open Gallery – Longview Gallery is open to the public for visitation every Sunday from 12 to 3 PM.
Infrastructure & Support
At INW, we're enhancing our support system by introducing an easy-to-use method for submitting support requests. Currently, many clients contact technicians via Teams or email, which has worked so far. However, with our team's growth, we need a more efficient approach to manage and allocate support tasks. In the next few weeks, we'll upgrade our on/off-board form to accommodate various support needs. Once ready, we will ensure the form is easily accessible and encourage clients to use it. This will also help integrate the INW support portal into customer interactions. Stay tuned for this exciting update!
Devices
This week, we dedicated considerable time to deploying new equipment for client accounts. On the PC side, HP continues to provide an excellent experience – 5 new ProBook 445s were introduced for an account with outdated Lenovo stock. We’re focusing on upgrading their laptop fleet as warranties expire – in this case, the customer managed to save some costs by utilizing HP’s bulk discount.
Additionally, we continued supporting a recent Teams phone deployment – we set up new Yealink MP56E2 devices for an accounting firm that migrated from 8x8 VOIP telephony services to Microsoft Teams. Apart from minor adjustments to call flow configuration, the transition from their previous provider to Teams has been smooth. Although migrating to a new communication system presents challenges, the intuitive and familiar interface of Teams phone devices helps ease the process.
Finally, we are anticipating the delivery of a ScanSnap device for a client's new satellite office location. For a single-user office where portability is crucial, this device will provide one-touch scan to SharePoint functionality – without having to be connected to a PC, which makes the process so much simpler!
Operations & Growth
We’re almost ready to launch our INW Home Services. Despite some issues with setting up Facebook marketing, we’re excited about this new venture to offer the same friendly and attentive tech support we provide to businesses, now for individuals at home. As technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, we understand not everyone has the time to handle it all, and we’re here to assist! More details to come soon.
Additionally, we're thrilled to announce that The Longview Farm has applied for our first round of funding from the US Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Service. This will help us manage invasive species and establish wildlife and pollinator habitats on the property. An exciting step forward for the Farm!
Information Radiation
As part of our initiative to enhance the customer support experience, we are also planning to make greater use of the Viva Connections intranets we've implemented in client environments, including making this newsletter available on their intranets.
Recent weeks have underscored the critical need for thoroughly documenting the configurations we set up for our clients. Proper documentation enables us to swiftly reimplement a solution we've designed, thereby enhancing our ability to provide quick and efficient support when issues arise. This importance was particularly evident when a client switched answering service providers; it required several failed attempts and multiple reviews to pinpoint that a call forwarding feature was activated on a user account rather than being configured in the Teams Admin Center. Rest assured; we have documented this particularity to avoid future extended disruptions. The takeaway here is clear: always document meticulously!
Bonus Content
Our favorite observation this week was the Aurora Borealis show we were treated to on Thursday night. Did you see it?!
On the theme of cosmic occurrences, we’re looking back to an intriguing discussion we had a few weeks ago – What Time Is It on the Moon?
Exploring the Fascinating World of Lunar Timekeeping
Did you know that time behaves differently on the Moon? Unlike Earth, where a day lasts 24 hours, a lunar day stretches to about 29.5 Earth days! This unique aspect of lunar timekeeping is just one of the many intriguing differences. Due to the Moon’s weaker gravity, clocks on the Moon tick slightly faster, gaining about 56 microseconds per day. This phenomenon, known as gravitational time dilation, is a fascinating concept from Einstein’s theory of relativity.
But why is lunar timekeeping important? Beyond the cool science, it has several practical applications. For instance, it helps synchronize space missions, ensuring smooth communication and coordination between different space agencies. It’s also crucial for scientific research, resource management, and even future commercial activities on the Moon. As we move closer to establishing lunar bases and potential colonies, having a reliable lunar time system will be essential for maintaining routines and productivity.