Read my latest article: 8 things I look for in a Ruby on Rails app (posted Thu, 06 Jul 2017 16:59:00 GMT)

Stack trace to speech

Posted by Fri, 28 Apr 2006 23:51:00 GMT

16 comments Latest by Linda Mon, 21 Aug 2006 14:09:29 GMT

It must be a Friday.

I got a call about 30 minutes ago from a relay service for someone who can’t speak and needs to use a keyboard to type. So, I accept the call and think it could be a hosting customer, development inquiry… who knows. Immediately, I hear the relay operator say, “I have a stack trace for you.”

I then listened to a woman repeat… character by character... the entire stack trace for an error in a Rails application. I listened… the whole way through… just in case it was a person who needs Rails development.

My developer staff then laughs after I hang up after 20 minutes… and I think to myself… how do I get back at them. o.0

Jeremy signs a book deal

Posted by Thu, 27 Apr 2006 21:37:00 GMT

Someone finally snatched him! Since Jeremy Voorhis started working with PLANET ARGON, he’s talked about how a few publishing companies had contacted him about writing a book on this new fancy web framework… Ruby on Rails. Due to being too busy with PLANET ARGON development projects... he would send them away. Yesterday, he announced that he recently signed a contract with O’Reilly to write Rails in a Nutshell.

Jeremy, Lead Librarian

Congratulations Jeremy!

...does this mean he isn’t as busy with development work? No… it just means he’ll sleep less in the next several months. ;-)

Agile development begins within... continued

Posted by Wed, 26 Apr 2006 22:15:00 GMT

1 comment Latest by RyanA Thu, 27 Apr 2006 01:03:16 GMT

“It is not the strongest of the species that will survive, or most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.”

- Charles Darwin

Last week I posted, Agile development begins within…, which referenced some bullets from the book, Practices of an Agile Developer. Since then, I have taken a little more time to read a bit further in the book. With books like this, I tend to jump forward and backward, so ten leaps further might put me on page two. In any event, I found a few more things that I wanted to point out… and by all means, you should go buy the book.

In Chapter 3, the authors, Venkat Subramaniam and Andy Hunt, discuss some ways to feed your Agile developer brain.

side note: while typing this… a huge bee just snuck in through my office window… where was I…

  • Learn iteratively and incrementally. Set aside some time every day for catching up. It doesn’t have to be long, but it should be regular. Keep track of concepts you want to learn more about—just jot down a note when you hear some unfamiliar term or phrase. Then use your regularly scheduled time to investigate it further.

This is a very important aspect of being a developer in any environment. Otherwise, you’ll end up like that disgruntled guy who has been programming in the same language for 25 years and refuse to use tabs in a web browser. Trust me on this one. There are people like that… and it could be you!

The point that I liked within this is that you shouldn’t just wander off and figure out what it is that you’re not sure about. I believe many people have a tendency to immediately look up at their google search box in their browser and…well… google it.

Don’t! Schedule time to do it… otherwise you’ll end up learning about the Canadian farming industry. GTD it! ;-)

  • _Attend local user groups. _

This is a no-brainer. Find a local Ruby user group… and start going each month. Perhaps your local Ruby user group meets more than once a month. :-)

Disclaimer: I’ve missed the last few meetings at PDX.rb. Bad Robby. :-/

I wanted to post more… but have since decided that it’s probably time for you to just go and purchase the book for yourself. :-)

Adventures in technical book photography

Posted by Wed, 26 Apr 2006 04:48:00 GMT

Jason posted this photo earlier…

Jeremy and I on the Ruby on Rails Podcast

Posted by Tue, 25 Apr 2006 23:35:00 GMT

While at Canada on Rails, Jeremy and I were interviewed on the Ruby on Rails Podcast!

Check it out.

We talked about Rails development, deployment, hosting, and some of our projects… enjoy!

UPDATE There is now a semi-accurate transcript of the podcast. Read it here

Some of it reads weird… :-)

All aboard the Argon Express

Posted by Sun, 23 Apr 2006 17:50:00 GMT

1 comment Latest by David Goodlad Sun, 23 Apr 2006 19:39:19 GMT

People are purchasing their Amtrak tickets for The Argon Express. If you’re interested and haven’t let us know… you better send us an email. :-)

Here is the reservation information:
28 Empire Builder

Portland, OR (PDX) 
4:45 pm 
19-JUN-06

Chicago, IL Union Station (CHI) 
3:55 pm 
21-JUN-06

45h 10m

It’s not too late! ...can you think of a better way to get to RailsConf? ;-)

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