Matthew Bass

This year’s Ruby Hoedown is happening in Nashville again on September 3rd and 4th. I’m really looking forward to attending. The quality of the talks combined with the smaller attendance size makes for some great hallway conversations. Last year’s Hoedown was at the Opryland hotel which was a stellar venue. I have seriously never seen such a large hotel. Unfortunately, it can’t be used this year due to the recent flooding. But the new venue, the Hilton Downtown, looks really nice as well. As before, the Hoedown is completely free (as in beer) and talk proposals are currently being accepted. Are you going?

“Secrets of Effective Nomading” was a lightning talk I was planning on giving at this year’s Ruby Hoedown. Due to my flight arrangements, however, I was unable to give the talk in person. I made a video recording instead. It’s about six minutes long.

If you’re not familiar with the concepts behind nomadic programming, you might want to read my introduction before watching the video.

By the way, the Hoedown itself was fantastic. This is the third year Jeremy has run the conference and the presentations were top-notch. By far the best yet. The venue (the Opryland in Nashville) was also quite pleasant, if a little on the expensive side. The expense was worth it, though, if only to hear Jim Weirich present on a source control system that sounded a lot like Git, but wasn’t!

And of course, the nearby mall complete with movie theater and Bass Pro Shop was just the icing on the cake. (C’mon Raleigh, when are we gonna get a Bass Pro Shop? Charlotte has one.)

BarCampRDU 2009 took place last weekend, and was a rousing success (as usual). I heard several attendees comment that the presentations outdid last year’s camp.

One of the highlights for me was attending Nathaniel’s talk about startups. It was a longer version of the talk he gave at Ignite which was perfect for me since I was unable to attend Ignite. I was also intrigued by a round-table discussion about developing applications for the Palm Pre. The primary reason I haven’t switched to the iPhone yet is because I adore Sprint’s phenomenal coverage area. I’m not willing to “downgrade” to AT&T at this point. The Pre looks like it could be a nice alternative. The jury is still out though, because Curtis mentioned in a hallway conversation that Sprint is planning on introducing a phone that runs Android later this year. Hmm, decisions, decisions.

I also really enjoyed catching up with some folks I hadn’t seen in a while. Who says geeks aren’t social? By the end of the day I was pretty worn out from all the “socializing” being done. I made sure to get my own presentation in early though, which was a change from last year. I pitched a talk about nomadic programming and jumped on the first time slot in room E, a favorite. The turnout was much higher than expected. I enjoyed sharing some of my own experiences with nomading and hearing what other people had been up to.

If you’re not familiar with nomading, my previous post on nomadic programming is a great introduction to the concept. Essentially, it’s the idea that getting out of the house or the office and to a coffee shop or co-working location has numerous benefits, including enhancing your productivity and providing fresh networking opportunities. I shared a few of my favorite nomading locations, including The Wake Zone. I also ran through the inventory of my “go-bag:”

• Power strip/block w/surge protection
• Wireless mouse (Bluetooth is ideal)
• Headset w/boom mic (for Skype and music)
• EVDO connectivity (Millenicom is my recommendation)
• Laptop (preferably a Mac!)
• Cables for connecting to an external monitor
• Water bottle (keepin’ it cool)

I do plan on writing a follow-up to my original post about nomadic programming. Expect to see something later in September. Something I think we all should do going forward is communicate our nomading plans via Twitter. Make sure to use the #twitter hashtag when you do. Twitter has been the best way for me to coordinate co-working trips with fellow geeks. Chris has said that there really should be an app that makes this easier. Hmm, interesting idea! Anyone want to run with it?

By the way, make sure you’re following me on Twitter. C’mon, you know you want to.

In conclusion, I continue to find BarCamp to be, far from a waste of time, a great way to reconnect with a group of geeks I don’t see very often, and also an invaluable educational resource. I always pick up something new when I attend. And who can resist free T-shirts and food? If you’ve never been to BarCamp before, you should definitely consider subscribing to the blog and attending in 2010. You won’t regret it.

Ignite Raleigh looks quite interesting. It’s essentilly a conference made up entirely of lightning talks. Voting is now taking place on submitted talks. The top 10 will be given on August 5th.

I submitted a talk titled 3 Secrets to Effective Nomading. Check out the description and, if you feel it’s compelling and would want to hear it, please consider voting for it.

And by all means, if you have an idea for a talk, submit it!

Jared Richardson just posted a series of interviews in anticipation of the upcoming RubyRX/AgileRX conference taking place in Reston, Virginia in September. In my interview we discuss iPhone development, MacRuby, Git, and testing frameworks.

I’m really looking forward to presenting again at RubyRX. I’ll be giving two talks this year. Git with Ruby will explore the Git source control system and how Ruby can take advantage of it. In Which Ruby Testing Framework Should I Use? we’ll briefly examine several leading testing frameworks and study the pros and cons of each. You’ll leave fully prepared to pick the best framework for your next project.

Let me know if you’re coming to the conference this year and we can link up in Reston. If you haven’t registered yet, what are you waiting for? RubyRX is a chance to network with the best and brightest developers in the area, and hear from thought leaders like Andy Hunt, Rich Kilmer, Joe O’Brien, and Chad Fowler. It’s a great way to keep your skills sharp in a down year.

The date and venue for BarCamp RDU 2009 have been decided upon and registration is now open. Register early to ensure you have a seat. This is the fourth year of BarCamp and it just keeps getting better every year. The variety and quality of presentations last year was incredible. The price of admission (free) is certainly nothing to balk at. I’ve really enjoyed attending in past years. This is a great learning and networking opportunity so be sure to mark your calendars for August 8th. See you there!

Are you a Ruby developer working in the Triangle? Are you registered for the RubyRX conference next weekend? If not, hop over to the Terralien blog to find out why you should come, then get registered!

The talk I’ll be giving at RubyRX is titled “Homesteading: The New Entrepreneurial Model.” Many years ago a community would come together to help a neighbor get started building a house. They’d all pitch in, knowing that when they needed help, those same friends would come to their aid as well. This model of community self-sufficiency has been recycled in the software world.

In this talk we’ll discuss how I’ve been using the homesteading model to build products with Ruby, and how others are doing the same. You’ll get enough of a grounding to move forward on your own, or help someone else while you learn more.

We’re going to have a great time at RubyRX. If you’re not planning on attending RailsConf or RubyConf this year, this may be your only chance to experience some expert teaching on Ruby. Best of all, it’s right in your backyard. Don’t miss it!

Raleigh’s first RubyCamp is coming to Red Hat on October 18th. This is a similar format to BarCamp in that the presentations are pitched the morning of the conference, and attendees self organize the remainder of the day. Relevance will be running their popular Refactotum workshop in the morning. The conference is free, but attendance is capped at 200 so visit the wiki to grab your spot.

BarCampRDU 2008 came and went. It was quite enjoyable. There wasn’t as much grub as last year, but I thought the topics were more interesting.

I gave a talk on pair programming during the afternoon. It really became more of a group discussion, which was exactly what I was hoping for. Some attendees have requested the slides so I’ve attached them to this post as a PDF.

The slides have been edited somewhat. I gave this same presentation at Agile ITX last month and it was an hour and a half long. I had to cut out a few things for BarCamp. But the central ideas are still there.

I’ll be speaking at the Agile ITX conference in Reston, Virginia on June 27th. My presentation is titled Pragmatic Pair Programming and is based on the many diverse pairing experiences I’ve had over the past six years. Mention pair programming in any crowd of programmers and you’ll get two responses: adoration or outright hatred. Why is pairing so controversial? Does it have any tangible benefits? That’s what we’ll be exploring together. Agile ITX is shaping up to be a great conference with many top-notch presentations. I’m excited about getting the chance to participate. Hope to see you there.