Robby on Rails

I have been sick since I got back from Los Angeles. I’m finally hoping that this is the tail end of that. (coughs)

This afternoon, I decided to start dialing in my new PowerBook. The last one that I had, I didn’t do too much development on, as it was primarily for some simple Rails testing and working on my book. However, after spending the past few months on it, I might as well start using my new laptop for more development work.

So, I’m kicking osx and trying to figure it all out. GCC? Where do I find that? Oh, XCode, Darwin Ports, Fink… so many options.. what is the best setup in your opinion? I’d also like to figure out how to get Open Office installed on this machine.

My girlfriend got a new iBook two days before I got my new PowerBook. So, these are really our first Apple machines. (the one that I had prior to this one didn’t count… I just dealt with it being a cheap laptop that had Word on it… I’d prefer to just pretend that my annoyances with the screen be forgotten… yes, I was the guy in the cafe hitting the screen to get it to display right) heh

I got PostgreSQL installed, but the postgres and postgres-pr adapters are not working. So, I am working through that. So, I find myself working over SSH to a remote PostgreSQL server. (not as efficient for being mobile)

Okay, XCode is finished installing… wish me luck

I was sitting in a LAX terminal this morning on my new laptop, playing with some Rails code, and working on my book as my girlfriend read an article on String Theory next to me.

Out of nowhere, some guy walks up to me with a big grin and says, “Hi Robby!” and sits down next to me. It’s Mr. Derek Sivers, of CDBaby. He was heading to Portland… and I was heading home from my long weekend in Los Angeles. We chatted a bit, he showed me some of his fun PostgreSQL functions and how they were doing the multi-language stuff there. Pretty cool stuff.

Derek was pretty much one of the main reasons why I opted to really give Rails a full attempt. He and I met a few times last winter and during our meetings we talked about programming, postgresql, php, etc.. He made great book suggestions and talked about his cabin trip when he learned Ruby. This was before he decided to redo CDBaby in Rails. When he made the decision, I just had to know what all the fuss was about. Without Derek, there might not be a robby on rails. ;-)

On the flight home, I know that there were at least 2 passengers on the plane who were working on Rails in mid-flight. :-)

Aside from that, I am back home now and have piles of emails to respond to and things to get done. It was great to get a few days away. :-D

Seriously, don’t let them know. They will hurt me. :-)

New 15” PowerBook G4. I need something to work with each day. So, I got a new laptop.

Now, to get copy stuff to it and get ready for my trip to Los Angeles.

My used powerbook finally decided to go out on me. The screen… which was already fairly screwy, decided to go awaol on me last night. I am heading to Los Angeles tomorrow, so I don’t have a lot of time to figure out what to do in replacement. Might just head to the mac store and buy an iBook and use that for a while until I can get that nicer pbook that I want. :-)

David Heinemeier Hansson won an award at OSCON tonight for his leadership of the Ruby on Rails project.

Congrats David!

I am heading to Los Angeles later this week to go to a wedding, Magic Mountain, and a meeting with a client. As my plans were being focused on whether my girlfriend would drive from Portland to L.A. or fly, I wasn’t prepared to make the commitment to sign up for OSCON sessions. We finally bought tickets as I reminded myself that I don’t enjoy sitting in the car for 18-22 hours in the hot summer.

So, aside from the exhibit halls and possibly helping out PDXLUG with the booth that we arranged, I’m not going to be doing much with OSCON. I am however hoping to head over to FOSCON on Wednesday evening. It will be nice to meet some more of the local Rubyists ( I still haven’t made it to a meeting yet…) and people like Matz, DHH, and other Ruby & Rails superstars will be there.

It’s currently pretty hot in Portland. I’m not a huge fan of heat (one of the main reasons why I opted to move out of California 5+ years ago in the first place). If you’re in Portland for the week and want to meet up with me for coffee, a beer, or some good vegetarian food… send me an email. :-)

Welcome to Portland!