Fly on the wall: “Fix what needs fixing.” 15 Sep 2006
14 comments Latest by 1.618
Toy logo
We got a kick out Simplebits Dan’s version of our logo:
RailsConf Europe
David, Jamis, and Marcel attended RailsConf Europe. Talks they especially enjoyed included Dave Thomas’ about risk (received a thunderous standing ovation)…
Focusing disproportionately on the wrong risks screws you because you don’t fix what needs fixing.
and Kathy Sierra’s…
Tell about something else than Rails that you are passionate about. (started with small laugh probably because crowd had to think hard about what else to be passonate about besides from Rails)…Just changing a few words (like using the word “you”), can increase perception by about 40%. Brain thinks it is in a conversation so it pays attention.
Textmate presentation
Marcel: “i saw some of the best constraint embracing of all time…david realized on the plane that his laptop didn’t have Keynote…so he did his entire presentation in textmate…one tab per slide…all code samples”
Using Camtasia for product video demos
Jason: “Camtasia rocks. You can piece together multiple quicktime movies so you can record them in chunks…same with audio…and you can put transitions between them…this way if you mess up one part you don’t have to do the entire thing over again…and you can save the “project” so you can open it up whenever, make changes, and generate a new movie…You can also record video through your isight and have a talking head down in the corner. Could be useful later…I shoot in Snapz, Apple Animation, highest quality, no compression…then I have to convert that to avi (Camtasia exports .mov but doesn’t import). Quicktime does this easily…And then import into Camtasia.”
Scripting product demos
After “winging it” failed, we’ve resorted to scripting out video demos. The trick: say it first and then write it down.
Gatez’ bling
This Bill Gates photo (bling added by Ryan) led to a variety of responses, including: “Gatez”…”Redmond is WEST SIDE”…”B to the G!”
Music bloggers
Some backlash against “fashionable” music bloggers…
A simple way to get a feature under control
Ryan: “gotta share this technique because it’s working so well…i’m building this registration app…i keep a to-do list in Backpack of the features i need to build…and top of the list today was ‘Make payments toward your balance’…that feature involves multiple screens, rails actions, validations, etc etc…so how to keep it all straight?…i need some kind of map that shows what the screens are, what they include and how it all functions…here’s the really simple format i’ve been using:
…black text is a Rails action…purple is anything worth mentioning that has to be in the screen…and red is user actions, like links and submit buttons…it doesn’t include everything, but that’s the point. it includes enough that i feel like the whole feature is under control, and i can start building it without keeping too much in my head at once.”
Spicy chat
A call went out for LESS spice:
Simplify = gray???
Jason noted the “simplify” button on the left side at rogerblack.com. But all the button does is hide the saturated colors…
Kinda silly. Still, at least there’s some other option besides the “normal” version w/ white text on a red background (which is pretty much the typographical equivalent of “fuck off”).
Zorro Buck
Ryan had more fun with Jamis’ moustache (original pic from RailsConf):
Ryan: “i’d work a fencing saber in there, but you get the idea.”
14 comments so far (Jump to latest)
Joe Ruby 15 Sep 06
Um, yeah, nice mask…
ML 15 Sep 06
Roo, it’s linked up in orig post now (didn’t know where the undoctored version of photo came from ‘till you mentioned it).
Roo Reynolds 15 Sep 06
Thanks Matt.
jkottke 15 Sep 06
I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago and one of the presenters did her talk with Microsoft Word, scrolling down as she went. It was nice…along with the text she was currently referring to, you could see a bit of her previous point and some upcoming ones as well.
SH 15 Sep 06
i can never by the spice i need for _one_ dish
At Whole Foods, and most organic co-op type stores, you buy spices by weight by spooning them in little bags they offer or jars you bring from home. I’m finding that more and more on the West coast this has become the norm since the novelty of it is incredibly attractive to Californians who like to always be doing things differently than everyone else.
Joe Ruby 15 Sep 06
Dear Powers That Be,
It would be totally awesome if, like, videos of the speeches were made available again like they were for the last conference.
You have our gratitude,
Lazyweb
Jake 15 Sep 06
37signals, kings of chicago? no, pitchfork is, they’re just FUD though
Andrew 16 Sep 06
”..This Bill Gates photo (bling added by Ryan) led to a variety of responses, including: �Gatez���Redmond is WEST SIDE���B to the G!�
No way. If you were from Seattle you’d know that Redmond is full-on EASTSIDE. (As in, the East side of Lake Washington…)
Steve R. 16 Sep 06
Re: Spices - the Spice House on Wells st., about 1/2 block south of North Ave. sells fresh spices by weight - get a tsp. if that’s all you need, FYI.
It’s worth a visit just to give your nose a good time, and if you are lucky, get a lecture on why grocery store cinnamon sucks.
brad 17 Sep 06
Actually the best solution I’ve found for those particular spices (rosemary, oregano) is to grow your own. Thyme is easy to grow too. You can grow them inside in a sunny window during the winter, and put them out on a balcony in summer. They’re quite unfussy, just need lots of sun and enough watering to keep them from drying out completely, and rosemary likes to take a shower every now and then in winter. When substituting fresh herbs for dried, use more (at least twice as much). Basil grows really well in pots outside in summer, and there’s nothing like fresh basil.