Sometimes, Rails queries can get long and complicated. Using named bind variables is an easy way to give some context to the query and, when you need to supply the same value to multiple query conditions, can shorten the query parameters.
Cucumber has a relatively new feature that allows you to tag individual scenarios as “should pass” versus “work-in-progress”. Rake tasks are provided that run the two groups of tagged scenarios separately.
The Ruby on Rails built-in inflections don’t handle singularizing words like “business” or “address” correctly. Here’s a quick way to make sure it’s handled in your Rails project.
Describes a fatal error in Rack v1.0.0 that may need to be patched until a new version is released. If you’re seeing a “invalid byte sequence in US-ASCII” error, then read on!
Social media isn’t all about the numbers and it’s not about pleasing everyone. Stopping worrying so much about who is or isn’t following you, reading your blog posts or friending you on various social networks (that I don’t belong to, btw).
It’s about finding people that are relevant or interesting to you and establishing a relationship. Why sift through all the noise to find the relevant chunks? Remove the noise and begin to see things more clearly.
I describe my current process for keeping things relevant. Are you ready? It’s time to start trimming the fat from your social media diet.
Even though there has been a big emphasis lately on building relationships online, it is still important to foster your offline relationships, too. It shouldn’t be about quantity of connections as tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. would train us to believe.
Instead, it should be about the quality of the connections you have with people. Those relationships can be helped by taking time to meet with those people offline and in small groups. I present a specific challenge to you to do just that.
I was taught a long time ago that giving a proper handshake involved only a few key elements. However, I found this ingrained idea about shaking hands challenged recently by an individual who followed a completely different set of rules for giving a handshake.
Afterward, I took a little time to evaluate my thoughts about it, which I document in this article.
On Saturday, August 8, 2009 I found myself in a strange situation: I was one of the only people with a camera at an event called LaidOffCamp Phoenix. Instead of attending the sessions as I’d planned, I spent the day photographing the event. I’ve never photographed an event and I know next to nothing about photography. I’ve had my camera for approximately 2 weeks and the lens for about 2 days.
I share some of the observations I had during that time, link to the Flickr set and ask viewers for their feedback and suggestions on how I can improve as a photographer.
Interesting slides released by Netflix about their current approach to company culture. A must-read for existing businesses and people looking to start a business.
I pose some questions afterward to Phoenix companies and employees.
At a recent Phoenix OpenCoffee Club Meetup, we discussed when and how to bring in additional help for a small business. Specifically, we talked about some of the concerns, timeframe and tips when hiring someone. Some good ideas were discussed and wisdom imparted by more experience business owners.
As a small business owner at Flatterline, I was interested in what everyone had to say on the subject. We have been wrestling with this very topic recently as we look at our potential for growth. I tried to capture the list of things we talked about, but would love some additional feedback from other business owners.
I'm a pragmatist, an idea generator and a doer of deeds that need doing. I may have an unhealthy obsession with pirates and coffee. I also enjoy making work for other people. Get to know me and you'll see what I mean.
