Matthew Bass

The last day of RubyConf is now almost over. It was a seriously great conference. As I mentioned previously, I’ve never been to a RubyConf before so I didn’t know what to expect. I’m glad I went. It was great hanging out with some seriously smart people. Several of the presentations went clear over my head. Several were quite entertaining. Most were incredibly intriguing. The Google Summer of Code talks were all excellent. Nice job, guys. It’s great hearing about what other folks are working on. Not only does it make me want to dig into their code, it also makes me want to keep hacking on my own projects. David, Chad, and Rich, thanks so much for coordinating this. It was a blast.

Oh, and before I forget, yes, I do have more pics. Actually, MANY more pics. But they’ll have to wait. I’m in Lousville, it’s late, I’m tired, and I’m on vacation. If you’re lucky, maybe I’ll post these once I get back to Raleigh. And I don’t want any questions about why I’m not using Flickr and tagging them, by the way. This is the way I like doing it, and just like Matz is the benevolent dictator of Ruby, I am the benevolent dictator of my blog. Well, maybe not dictator. King, maybe. President. CEO.

The second day of RubyConf 2006 dawned with snow on the ground. This isn’t unusual for Denver in late October, but it’s special to me since snow is a much rarer element in North Carolina, even in mid-January. The talks have been fascinating so far. Some have been more relevant to me than others, of course. Nathaniel gave his talk a couple of hours ago, drawing parallels between the way Ruby was built and the way businesses (such as Terralien) can/should be built.

Matz answered questions from the audience last night. Here’s a pic:

Here’s another pic showing what the crowd looked like last night:

Due to where I was sitting, this reflects about 75% of the room. In case you were wondering, yes, the hotel is swarming with geeks. I’ll have another update and more pics coming tomorrow, hopefully.

“Duty is ours; results are God’s.” — John Quincy Adams

I’m off to RubyConf 2006 tomorrow. I used to live in Colorado so I’m looking forward to returning to the area and exploring some old haunts. I’m also looking forward to hanging out with other Ruby geeks and hear Nathaniel’s talk again (he gave it at last night’s Ruby meetup). This will be my first RubyConf. I’m psyched.

“The name of American must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism. With slight shades of difference, you have the same Religion, Manners, Habits, and political Principles. …

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.

“In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.”

— George Washington