The Prince Of Swords

Here is proof we were at RailsConf2006 in Chicago! That would be us guarding the door at DHH’s keynote representin’ with Fanatical Support!

RailsConf 2006 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

It’s like Linux, only beautiful. Jobs was dead on, it makes me wanna lick it!

This weekend I started setting up my Rails environment. The first step was getting Subversion working. Setting up the client was simple then I played with svnX and pulled some of my code down. Coming from the Windows world I’d forgotten how addicted to Tortoise I was and went in search for the Mac twin. SCPlugin looked promising but even after installing XCode Tools to compile it from source, and trying a new version of mach_override for MacTel use, I failed. Not a big disappointment, I haven’t tried to compile anything in about 7 years so it was kinda fun to go back a Linux shell and dink around.

I also played with Locomotive for Rails which looks nice, but I’m going to install Rails the long way just to go through it. I’m using the tutorial on hivelogic.com.

So far I am in the full pursuit of happiness. Thanks MacBook!

My new iPod (aka MacBook) just arrived. At first I wasn’t going to open the Amazon box, but I couldn’t resist. Then I wasn’t going to open the Apple box. Damn! Will….is….so….weak. My precious! Must just touch my precious! So solid. So rounded corners. So sexy. So black.

Seriously! I have to re-skin a web app and was making good progress. I must not boot up the MacBook. I must wait. I must take my time and read “Mac OS X: The missing manual”. I must focus. I must pretend the MacBook isn’t here. I must pretend that the MacBook is not ready without the 2G of RAM that is on the way. What a dilemma! It’s just a laptop. This is ridiculous.

So once you’re in the Mac cult do you have to get a tattoo? Is there a secret language or handshake? Do I have to wave at the Mac people I pass by? Have I now been irreversibly changed?

Go Amazon, it’s my birthday.
Go Amazon, it’s my birthday.

The following items have been shipped to you by Amazon.com:
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Qty      Item                           Price  Shipped  Subtotal
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Amazon.com, LLC items:
   1     Apple MacBook MA472LL/A 13...  $1,499.99      1  $1,499.99

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So much for getting work done this week!

I love buying stuff from Amazon because I get the instant gratification of the purchase and then the surprise of it showing up on my doorstep a few days later since I will have forgotten about it by then.

Items shipping soon:
Delivery estimate: June 14, 2006

• 1 of: Apple MacBook MA472LL/A 13.3″ Notebook PC (2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)-Black

I think it is time to change everything again.

Sometimes I have really good ideas in the shower. Sometimes I think in the pool. I didn’t have a good way to capture those notes and trying to keep paper dry is doable but it usually means trying to get to a towel to dry your hands before you can grab an index card and write.

In a some book I’d read someone referenced using a diver slate which is a small rectangle that provides two erasable writing surfaces for a carbon pencil. I found a company that makes a 45 page notebook in the same style.

Solution:
Dive Rite Dive wRites Underwater Notebook

There are also companies like Rite in the Rain that makes waterproof paper in various formats (notebooks, loose leaf). Combine them with weatherproof pens like the Fisher Matte Black Bullet Space Pen and you are free to write in any condition.

I went with the diver slate for now since it is erasable and I just need it for temporary capture. A weatherproof notebook could be useful for long term writing in inclement weather or just to reduce the damage of coffee spill related incidents.

A friend pointed this game out. Looks interesting.

Deflexion