dave astels

Steve Jobs isn’t the only one who can quote Dylan.

… speaking of Steve Jobs and changin’ times… I may be bumping into Mr. Jobs at the local Cupertino Starbucks before long…

Next month I’m heading to California… Silicon Valley to be specific.

After over 3 years of saying “I’m not interested” to Google, I’ve accepted their offer of a position. I’m not sure how public I can be yet about what exactly I’ll be doing… but it will leverage my experience and expertise in Agile Development, TDD, Ruby, Rails, and RSpec.

This change is not without some sacrifices, but we think it’s the right move at this time. One downside is having to end my association with Obtiva… which I have greatly enjoyed. They’re great people and great to work with.

One benefit is that I won’t be having to focus so much on billable hours to cover the bills anymore… so there should be more time for things like RSpec and writing.

I’ve been doing some work with Obtiva for a while. It’s been a good experience for everyone involved, and so we’ve decided to take the relationship to the next level.

I’m happy to announce that I’m now part of the Obtiva team, doing project work and training (primarily Ruby and Rails based).

It was a nice day today. Here’s the view from my desk:

I love working at home.

I am pleased to announce that we are opening our doors as a boutique web application/site development and hosting company.

Dave, who heads up development, has over 2 decades of experience developing software.
He is a thought leader in the areas of Object Oriented Techniques and Agile Software Development Practices.
Nancy, who is in charge of hosting, has extensive experience with web application hosting and server management.
We leverage various state of the art techniques and technologies including OS X, Debian Linux, Ruby, Rails, and AJAX, to name a few.

What’s this mean to you as a client? Solid, high quality applications delivered as efficiently as possible.
Because we can host your application as well as develop it, it’s easy for you to have changes and enhancements made.
There’s only one company to deal with, and our development and hosting are tightly integrated, providing you with the quickest turnaround time possible.

Not only do we use the lastest, most productive technologies available, but we’ve been around long enough to
have a deep understanding of the issues involved in developing and maintaining high quality, robust applications.

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a woman approached him and asked him to sketch her.

After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait.

When she asked the price, he replied “Five thousand dollars.”

The woman was flabergasted: “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

Experience counts. Who do you want developing your applications?

For more information, contact us at info ‘at’ daveastels.com

I am pleased to announce the first of our classes!

Our first class will be on the topic of rSpec and is scheduled for Oct. 24-25. There will also be a one day Ruby Primer on Oct 23 for anyone new to Ruby to get ramped up before heading into the rSpec class (or course.. if you just want the one day Ruby Primer, that’s OK too).

Classes are held at our office in Greenwich, Nova Scotia, in Eastern Canada. There are good air connections to all major US and Canadian cities via Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Boston, Newark, Detroit, D.C., etc. … and even a more or less direct flight to/from Heathrow.

Classes are informal and very hands-on. The goal is to go home with something you can do… not just something you know.

Classes are taught by Dave, the inspiration behind rSpec and one of the committers on the project.

For more information, please contact us: workshops ‘at’ daveastels.com

The Fine Print: Prices in US$. Maximum enrollment is 10, minimum is 5. If enrollment is less then 5 two weeks before the class, we reserve the right to cancel the class and refund any paid amounts (or credit them toward a future class, as the student wishes). Cancellation of a class enrollment must take place by notifying DaveAstels.com. If notification is made at least two weeks prior to the class’s scheduled start date, the student will receive a 100% refund. If cancellation is made within two weeks of the class start date, the student will forfeit 50% of the cost of the class. Otherwise, the full tuition will be forfeited. In any event of cancellation, the student may apply the class fee to a future DaveAstels.com class. In the event that DaveAstels.com cancels a class the student will be notified two weeks prior to the start of the course. The student may apply the class fee that was paid to a future DaveAstels.com class or receive a full refund for the amount that was paid by the customer.

Well, I have the contract in hand so it’s official :)

Well, it’s pretty much official now: I’m a series editor for Charles River Media. We don’t have a final name for the series, but I’m already talking with some people about book ideas.

I am planning to offer a series of workshops at my offices. It’s still very much To Be Determined, but here are a few things:

Topics will include:

• TDD in Java with jUnit
• BDD in Ruby with rSpec
• BDD in Smalltalk with sSpec
• Mock Objects
• Strong OO principles and techniques
• Smalltalk to improve your Object Oriented skills
• Improving your Programming

I’m thinking of having the first during the last half of November. More details as they are nailed down. As well as online information.

The first workshops will probably be 2 days long, although I am thinking of having 3 and 4 day formats for some as well.

Format will be relaxed and casual. Expect some lecture-style sessions, but mostly hands on coding, learning by doing and comparing experiences. There will also be time to discuss whatever issues arise in a friendly atmosphere over coffee, beer, etc. either at a local restaurant or on our own expansive deck (depending on the time of year).

If you would be interested, email me here.

FYI: I just updated my resume: resume.pdf

If you are in need of my services, send me an email: dastels at daveastels dot com