Epic Banality

Even the people who like me think I’m an asshole. Perhaps not all the time and perhaps not irredeemably, but the people close to me tend to think I’m too negative and vicious from time to time, leaving the impression that I either like being miserable or enjoy viewing everything in life through a needlessly dark lens. This couldn’t be further from the truth though. In fact, I always state that I’m not a pessimist, I’m just a realist. I’d like the world to be happier and more charitable. I’d like to really believe in someone else and think, “Yeah, this guy we just elected is going to bring change and he’s going to be different than all the other polished turds in government.” I really would like all of us to “just get along.”

Make no mistake though, I’m still a realist. We don’t get along. There are serious irreconcilable differences in the world that no amount of kumbaya is going to solve. The people in power didn’t get there by being kind, understanding or good. They got there by immersing themselves in the dirtiest of games and came out on top. Some wear that distinction proudly and others—like our current president elect—have an image so potent it actually distorts the reality around them.

Optimism is fine, just so long as it doesn’t get in the way seeing things as they are. And no Pollyanna, reality is not matter of perspective and looking on the bright side does not make the abyss that is life any brighter. It may change how we deal with things, but it doesn’t change things. Looking too hard for the best in something often blinds us to the worst and that’s dangerous. There’s a reason it’s generally the kindest and the most optimistic that make the easiest targets for people who like to take advantage of others.

I digress though. I could have summed up the point I wanted to get across in the last three paragraphs by saying, “Contrary to popular belief, just because the world is a bitter place, doesn’t mean I delight in that.”* With that said, let’s move on to my current grievances.

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I was talking music to Golbez when he was in town a couple weeks ago and he pointed me in the direction of SomaFM. I’ve been listening to Lush a whole lot while working the past few days. Awesome, awesome stuff.

I’ve spent most of my off and on coding life with web development of some sort. First it was IDC files, which later transformed into ASP. Then I kicked the Microsoft habit and went with PHP. I did a little time with Python and Django after that then tinkered briefly with Rails. What I learned during my time with Rails is that I really, really like Ruby. I also learned that I was far less enamored with Rails. I don’t like a framework that’s too opinionated.

For the past two weeks I have been devoting a considerable amount of free time (and thankfully, some work time) to playing with Merb. This appears to be just what the doctor ordered. I’m lucky enough to be a Johnny-come-lately and I happened to start just after Merb hit 1.0. One thing that Merb is lacking though is documentation. So, I figured that as I go, I’ll write down my questions and when I answer them, I’ll write those down too. Hopefully, this helps some people out and serves as a reminder for me.

First off, if you’re new, here are some resources that have really helped me:

• Merbivore: All you need… nil you don’t.
• DataMapper: Although Merb is ORM agnostic, the stack uses DataMapper by default and if you’re beginning, I suggest sticking with it. (Mind you, I plenty of other reasons for using DataMapper!)
• Merb — RDoc API Documentation: Don’t miss this. I missed this the first few days until someone on IRC pointed it out to me. This is not an ideal starting place, but as you get going it’s a good reference. (Duh. It’s RDoc.)
• Merbunity: It’s not exactly teeming with information right now, but there’s enough and it’s sure to grow as time goes on. Its tutorials aren’t bad.
• MerbCamp Videos: Watch these. Some of the performances aren’t exactly Academy Award winning, but there’s a lot to glean from these.
• The Merb Google Group: The guys on this list have been very friendly and have answered all my questions thus far. The discussions are also worth reading and it’s a good place to search for answers. The core devs are also on the list and are quite active.
• The DataMapper Google Group: I’m not as familiar with DataMapper as a project as I am with Merb, but I can say this group is also friendly and has been very helpful.
• Katz Got Your Tongue?: Yehuda Katz’s blog. He’s the current maintainer of Merb and appears in the MerbCamp videos and is quite active on the Google group.
• Brainspl.at: Ezra Zygmuntowicz’s blog. This is the guy that got Merb started so, you know, his blog is probably worth taking a look at.
• The Merbist: Matt Aimonetti’s blog. He’s one of the core devs. He also appears in MerbCamp videos and he’s also a regular on the Google group.

There’s also #merb and #datamapper on irc.freenode.net which haven’t been as nice as #django was, but they can be helpful in a pinch. (I prefer the Google groups for both projects.)

There’s nothing super secret about any of this, and it’s been posted elsewhere, but hey, it can’t hurt to have another place to find this stuff if you’re a budding merbivore. Also, let me state, that my experience with Django and even my limited work with Rails really helped. Merb does follow some of the same patterns and conventions as Rails.

Let me add, if you’re interested in picking up Rails or Merb, make sure you have a decent understanding of Ruby by itself first. I strongly suggest against trying to learn Ruby as you learn Rails or Merb. I started with “The Pickaxe Book” which I can’t say I’m in love with, but it does the job. If you’re not a new programmer and are simply coming to Ruby, you might want to just swallow The Ruby Programming Language, I enjoyed it a lot.

Anyway, as I tinker I’ll write document my questions and their solutions. I make no promises that any of my methods are best practices or that I’m some kind of Merb, DataMapper or Ruby wiz. I’m not. However, given enough time, I could be I suppose.

For better or for worse, I have a feeling my writing will become increasingly boring and technical for a while.

Do I suck, or what? I’m barely hitting an entry a month! The trouble is, I’ve been writing more code than English lately. I think I’m going to make an effort to write more of the little things as they come about. So, between now and my next rant or coding tips (which I might post later today) here’s a tidbit.

Right around 1:15pm every day, K.L. calls me on her break and we have what we’ve come to refer to as conversations covering “crucial” topics. Sometimes it’s as simple as how the work day is going or whether one of us is experience stomach bubbles (referred to now as “boob-lays”). Other times, I get gems like this which I typed as best I could as she was saying it (though it’s not a perfect quote):

I get that the eyes on the owl at Hooters are supposed to be jugs, but what’s with those colors? It’s just not appetizing. The thought of having orange outside the jugs and then the middle beige, it really isn’t appetizing. I don’t know how anyone could look at that owl and be like, “Ooooo… Hooters!” Maybe I should paint my jugs like that. And then you’ll see in real life that that color just isn’t enticing.

As if I needed solid proof that bright orange “jugs” weren’t my cup of tea. Although, I admit, they’d be better than no jugs at all!