This is the blog of Brasten Sager, a software engineer, Mariners fan, guitarist, haphazard philosopher.
As an existing example of what I was talking about in my last post, check out the website for TenPod (also in Portland). TenPod is a ‘creative-services co-op’. So, a broader scope than the software co-op idea, but the concept is the same. 10 people, 10 separate businesses, in a common space. Brilliant.
TenPod - Creative-services Co-Op
I wasn’t planning on moving, it just worked out WAY too perfectly. Jessica and I went apartment shopping, in preparation for our marriage in March. The original plan was for me to find an apartment to move in to in February. Until then I would move most of my stuff into storage so I could repair my condo enough for renters. So we went and checked out a complex in Juanita Village. It was AWESOME. And financially it was a steal to pick it up now. So we signed the lease last night! I will try to get some photos of the area, which is amazing, but for now I have a couple phone-cam shots of the apartment:.jpg)
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Consider this quote, from Paul Graham:
During the Bubble, a lot of people predicted that startups would outsource their development to India. I think a better model for the future is David Heinemeier Hansson, who outsourced his development to a more powerful language instead. A lot of well-known applications are now, like BaseCamp, written by just one programmer. And one guy is more than 10x cheaper than ten, because (a) he won’t waste any time in meetings, and (b) since he’s probably a founder, he can pay himself nothing.
I’ve spent the last five years of my career working on a project where we built our own Object/Relational Mapping framework.
Pity me.
So you can imagine my glee upon getting Ruby on Rails’ ActiveRecord up and running… WOW. But the thing I find so amusing is all the chatter I hear about how ActiveRecord is really only good for new database schemas, and not currently existing ones. So I tried it out. I set up a Ruby on Rails webapp that utilized a fairly complex database schema. I had to add a line of code to most of my model classes (the schema uses singular table names instead of plural), as well as add a couple other optional attributes to my associations… so I ended up with. So I ended up with an extra 5 or 6 lines of code.
Maybe I’m missing something, but that’s still fantastic. At this point, I’d happily recommend RoR for use with existing database schemas. In my case, it turned out to be a great way to compare two ORM methods against the same schema.
... the rain is gone[1]...
I get it. I understand Ruby on Rails. I love it. Ajo and I have been working on a couple small projects to get our feet wet. I had “the moment.” If you’ve switched to Ruby recently, you know what moment I’m talking about. I’ve started two or three more projects in RoR now. GrowNext, an ERP-type system for greenhouses (purely a personal project to stretch my abilities, for now)... I’ll also be working on BrastenAndJessica.com, a site dedicated to my upcoming marriage… And I think I’ll begin working on replacing the current DellRumors.com with a RoR-backed site. Programming Happiness!
Amy Hoy recommended a book to me[2] called Don’t Make Me Think. After picking it up and reading the first few chapters, I’m recommending it to you. All about web design and keeping the users happy. It’s fantastic and a very well designed book, which makes sense if you think about it.
Also, there’s an elderly lady sitting behind me here at the coffee shop coughing every 5 seconds. I have no desire of being patient #1 in some bird flu pandemic. :(
[1] – Figuratively. I live in Seattle, the physical rain is currently fully present. [2] – Amy Hoy did not actually recommend the book directly to me.
Relevant Links
Ruby On Rails – The Next Big Thing in web dev. DellRumors.com – A joke, and a poorly maintained one at that. Slash7 – Amy Hoy’s blog.
WhatCounts’ David Geller writes about a coffee company in the Seattle area who’s mission is to harness the power of free markets to ultimately serve the poor.
Brilliant!
Coffee drinkers, check out David’s post, as well as Pura Vida. If you’re NOT a coffee drinker, consider starting. :)
Relevant Links
Great Customers... – David Geller’s post about Pura Vida.
Pura Vida Coffee – 100% charitably-owned coffee company.