Pelargir

Teascript is my latest Rails application. It’s scheduled to go live in mid-September. You can read more about it in the original announcement that I posted a few weeks ago.

Beta testing for Teascript begins next week. I’m looking for a dozen or so people to help sanity check the application before I unleash it on the public. (I already have 8 signed up.) As a beta tester, you would receive full access to the product starting early next week.

While I’m not requiring anyone who volunteers as a tester to send me feedback, it’s much appreciated! Interested? Shoot me an e-mail at matthew AT teascript DOT com and I’ll add you to the list.

Yes, it’s time for another Microsoft rant. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that these rants are usually quite justified (unlike some others I’ve read).

How long should it take to create an e-mail template? Go ahead, take a guess. Five minutes? Ten minutes? Twenty?

Try 45 solid minutes!

Before I sat down, I thought to myself, “Self, how hard can it be to create a template in Outlook 2000? Sure, it’s older software, but it’s Microsoft, right? Made for the average computer user.”

Whatever. I gave up and had to just copy and paste my layout into a new e-mail. I suppose I’ll have to do this each time I need to use this particular design. Very frustrating. It seems that the deeper into Outlook you dig, the worse the user interface gets and the less things make sense. I found some VERY wacky things in there under the templating and forms menus. Quite frightening.

This makes me want to switch to a different e-mail client. Any suggestions?

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” — Douglas Adams

It’s always good to hear some positive news for a change. Three fisherman lost at sea for over nine months have been rescued. Read the full story at MSNBC.

Have you ever done a code review? Most developers haven’t. It doesn’t seem to be a regular practice in many parts of the software industry, yet by ignoring the importance of code reviews we miss out on the benefits that they can provide.

My friend and former co-worker Sri has written an article about code reviews that was published on java.net today. Here’s a teaser:

Need to be sure your program really runs right? Oh sure, testing’s a part of it, but so are code reviews. Sri Sankaran argues that research and experience prove that a standardized, effective code review process mitigates costs and produces better code.

Coming from an agile development background, I’ve participated in several code reviews myself. Properly used they can be an effective way to ensure that the software being shipped is solid, and that the team is on the same page when it comes to standards and organization.

Read the full article at java.net!

Check out Lifehack’s list of resources for entrepreneurs. It’s an incredible collection of useful sites and blogs with advice ranging from how to start a niche business to how to maximize your Google AdSense income. I’m at the stage right now where I’m trying to learn as much as possible about what successful entrepreneurs have done to actually be successful. A resource like this may be the closest I can get without actually shadowing someone.

Last night’s meeting of the Raleigh-area Ruby Brigade set another record for attendance: 44 by Nathaniel’s count. This is 14 more than last month’s meeting. Incredible!

This was another first for the group in that we were meeting at Red Hat’s headquarters on NC State’s centennial campus instead of our old location at the Brier Creek Panera Bread. This is the same building that BarCamp was held in a few months ago. It’s a VERY nice facility. Open wi-fi, convenient restrooms, and a red motif that goes nicely with the whole Ruby thing.

Last night’s presentation was given by Stuart Halloway and Justin Ghetland. They introduced their new Streamlined framework to the group, which can be described as scaffolding on steroids. Maybe that’s too simplistic, though. I saw their original demo at RailsConf in June, but they were able to go into more detail tonight which was nice.

Nathaniel made several announcements before the presentation began:

• There is a Southeastern Regional Ruby Conference in the works. More information to follow soon.
• A Ruby hacking night is being organized. This will probably take place once a month on Wednesday at our old meeting location, Panera Bread.
• The raleigh.rb mailing list is the happenin’ place to be. Join up!

What, you say you’re not a member of the Brigade yet? There is no excuse not to be. Sign yourself up and start hobnobbing with the ever-growing crowd of local Rubyists.

I recently finished reading Mastering Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the popular Guerrilla Marketing series. It was a good read. The book was broken up into 12 chapters and about 100 individually-numbered sections, each containing information about a certain aspect of guerrilla marketing. Topics ranged from planning to online marketing to technology to economizing.

Levinson’s plan makes sense to me, but the organization of the book didn’t. Each numbered section didn’t have any kind of descriptive header, so I had to guess at what topic the section would focus on. Levinson’s instructions for creating a guerrilla marketing plan weren’t very instructional. They didn’t follow a logical, step-by-step pattern. This is more of an idea book than anything else, but the ideas he has are very good.

One quote that I found particularly encouraging is this:

There is no need to hit a home run the first time you’re at bat. A single will do, then another single, then another, one following the other — none grandiose, but each bringing you closer to your goal.

Speaking for myself, I’m in “single hitting mode” right now. I’m almost to first base and will shortly be setting my eyes on second and digging in.

If you’re looking for specific tips on marketing your business, look for a different book. If you like big-picture ideas, are wondering how to put the customer first as you market, and want some encouragement in your new business venture, it would be worth your time to check out Mastering Guerrilla Marketing.

Paul Duvall of NFJS fame just posted an excellent three-minute video demonstrating how to download, install, and use CruiseControl for Java. Having used both CruiseControl and CruiseControl.NET, I can say that this is one of the most concise tutorials I’ve seen for a geek who already knows his stuff, but needs a few hints to help him along. Check it out.

My new consulting business, Adeptware, is in its second month and today I got slammed. Phone calls and e-mails with potential clients, a trip to the bank to get my new DBA forms copied for my accounts, an evening planning session with the calendar, installation of a new domain name and web site for a client, etc. My rhetorical question is this: how does one handle such days? A day with barely any time to breathe. A day in which I’m happy to have new business, but wondering how to fit it all on my calendar. I don’t expect an answer. Tomorrow will most likely be dead, except for the Ruby Meetup which I’m hoping will be packed again like it was last month. I’m beginning to think that’s just the way it goes for us self-employed chaps.