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Today Aspenware announced a new User Experience practice. We've created an intro that you can watch here 

or from the website at aspenware.com/experience. Our team is already working with a number of businesses such as New Belgium Brewing, Vail Resorts, eCollege, COPIC, Xcel Energy and others. We are formalizing something we have been doing for some time.

Aspenware's vision statement is "Create Amazing". It is simple and pervasive. We create amazing software. We also work hard to ensure the entire experience of working with us is amazing.

Our formalization of a User Experience practice stems from our passion for craftsmanship and significant market trends. We enjoy creating and are energized by the positive exclamation we receive from the people with whom we work. But our move is also driven by what people are buying.

1. People expect a great technology experience at work.

Remember when business users were ok with bad software? We didn't enjoy it. We tolerated it. Often we spent millions of dollars on large systems that could be classified by three letters (CRM, ERP, PLM, etc.) but took years and millions of dollars to implement. The average tenure of a CIO has plummeted to something close to 2 years. No one has the time to wait for ROI.

We now expect intuitive and targeted applications, accessible from anywhere, and on any device. We expect solutions in weeks or months. We expect to bring our consumer devices to work and use them. We are blurring the lines between personal and professional. We are demanding well-crafted software.

2. Modern businesses encourage their people to create. 

We have been programmed to believe that the white collar worker is supposed to show up to a cube-based factory from 8 to 6 with a lunch in the middle. We clock in, attend meetings, check off our tasks and check out. Occasionally we get to sing happy birthday or hang out for a few beers after work. We strive to make the soul-sucking monotony tolerable.

However, we are not robots. We ache to create meaningful things. Increasingly, our customers recognize this shift, and when embraced, the speed at which we are able to collaborate and build is unprecedented.

3. We want better service from best-of-breed services companies.

Traditional technology services companies work like a factory. They develop messages to hook you, queue you up, weight your importance, work to get you to sign large non-performance based contracts and load you up with butts-in-seats on a dollar-per-hour basis. They all say they have the best processes, people and sample work.

Steve Jobs was quoted as saying, "I noticed that the dynamic range between what an average person could accomplish and what the best person could accomplish was 50 or 100 to 1. Given that, you're well advised to go after the cream of the cream. That's what we've done. You can then build a team that pursues the A+ players. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players."

This holds true for services companies as well. Quite frankly, most services companies are full of B and C players. Size does not equate to results, in fact, there is a higher probability of negative correlation. Our customers are looking for high levels of innovation and collaboration in addition to amazing software. They get better service, because they hire better people. 

We have embraced these trends, formalized a practice that encourages collaborative software creation and drives amazing technology in the enterprise through high-performing teams. I am very proud of the team we have assembled and look forward to creating more amazing things.

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Q: “Have you been forced to accept compromises?”

“I don’t remember ever being forced to accept compromises, but I have willingly accepted constraints.”

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A Portrait of Christ from Jeremy Cowart on Vimeo.

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Before pictures here: http://joshswihart.com/my-new-project

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80's lugged steel Bianchi Squadra frame w/ new powdercoat and stickers.

2010 Campy Chorus 11sp

Brooks Swallow

DT Swiss 240s

Cinelli bar and stem

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via Baron Wells

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Yesterday I learned that someone I know has earned enough money to retire. My immediate response was jealousy. I compared myself with them. I placed the value of their achievement and legacy over my relationships and the remarkable place and time in which I live.

I watched this video today.

The speech reminded me of the debate surrounding Amy Chua, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother". I haven't read the book - only excerpts and interviews. The discourse surrounding the means of child rearing is polarizing. Perhaps the means isn't so binary. At face value, the Chua premise is the antithesis of vulnerability. But it does seem that the approach includes significant investment and interaction. It also bucks against our notion of entitlement pervasive in American culture.

What is skewed is the definition of perfection. Is perfection technical? Perhaps yes, if that is the goal. However, I can write a novel that is, or close to, technical perfection in structure and the manner in which the story is told. But if the novel doesn't reach the heart, is it perfect? On the flip side, a poorly written novel will fail to provide a platform on which it is possible to touch people. Among its other themes, the Black Swan covered the struggle between technical perfection and art. It did it well.

The pursuit of excellence in my craft is fulfilling. It is also empty when I am too comparative and calculating. It becomes the exultation of myself and focused on my dominance over others. It is empty and ultimately self destructive. My excellence only becomes creative when I am vulnerable. It only becomes meaningful when it is shared.

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Melody gave me a gift - a three-day weekend alone with my books, computer, thoughts and God. For me, riding solo every once in a while is good for the soul. For the voyeurs:

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For a Denvurbia chain, this place is just about right

Chicken Vindaloo and a Kingfisher

Acupressure

Selflessness is a little chutney

While an interesting take on the history of Christmas, I believe this fails a number of fact checks. Though, I'm not sure.

Truths:

Imogen

Having a point of view is important. Sharing it gives it life. Mine is wrapped in textures, drama, understanding, love, tactility, creation, emotion, faith, expression and dedication. At least I want it to be.

How to buy a dress shirt

Coffee tables

Hershey Bars (2) : Frozen. Joy.

Toasted Head pairs nicely with Hershey's in Denvurbia

The Corrections (thanks Tomeos)

We are subject to the mob though it holds no true power.

The Trinitarian Faith (thanks Kevin) This is especially true of me: "We do not seek to understand what we believe, Augustine used to say, but we believe that we may understand." But I am perplexed that we continue to attempt express the inexpressible even though we know it to be so. It is a sign of our madness.

I will be superhuman in four hours starting.... now. As I'm alone, I'll need to wait a bit longer for incredible sex.

Learn how to spell HTML5

"We must travel across lonely and rugged terrain, through isolation and silence, to reach the magic zone where we can dance an awkward dance and sing a melancholy song." 

Pablo Neruda who is Chilean is not to be confused with Fernando Pessoa who is Portuguese. All of their names look alike. After all, Pablo sounds just like Fernando. But in reality, Pablo is his Czech name, which is odd as I'm unaware of the Pablo Czech name day. His real name is Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, which looks nothing like either but is far more poetic. And besides, their writing looks nothing alike. What was I thinking?

I like Bill Murray. I like bikes. Yes I do.

IMG_0718.MOV Watch on Posterous

These friends were my only company for the weekend. They ran along with me while I rode my bike. I stopped to try and get a little video. If you watch closely, at about 20 seconds in, you can see them just to the right of the berm, left of the tree. Then they were gone and I was riding solo again.

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