Dude We're There at Rails Rumble 2009

Sometimes, there is no room for perfection. I think this is true for most first iteration web applications. This past weekend, I got together with three other Ruby on Rails developers to take a shot at the annual Rails Rumble competition. It was an experience that I shall never forget.

The idea behind the Rails Rumble is to develop a web application from the ground up in only 48 hours straight using the Ruby on Rails framework. Only the planning stages can be done before the start of the competition, such as deciding what the application is going to consist of and who is going to do what, but no digital assets of any kind are allowed. In the weeks leading up to the Rails Rumble, our team came up with quite a few ideas for the Rumble. Some were our own, and others were ideas solicited from our family, friends, and co-workers. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to create that feeling of excitement that makes the development process so much more fun. Only a day or two before the competition, we on an idea that we would pursue. That idea is now called Dude We're There.

Dude We're There is an online travel tool that simply connects you with nearby friends and events during your travel. Have you ever gone on a vacation or a business trip and learned only days after returning that you missed a good friend who was in the area at the same time. Maye you missed a cool event that was only a few miles down the road while you were there? Well, we are here to help. Although we can't take you back in time to meet up with that friend and attend that sweet event, we can help you avoid the same mistakes in the future. Here's what you do. Log in, invite your friends, enter your future destinations and the dates, and we will tell you which friends will be in the area and what events will be happening around you while your are there. It's that simple!

The initial feature set was a little less than we had hoped for. For example, you can't easily see friends near you while you're NOT on travel. Also, you can't import destinations from your calendar, which is somewhat important. And, we do not yet give you the option of email notifications. However, you can import your Google or Yahoo contacts to make it easier on inviting your friends. Aside from the features, we need to rethink the design and lay off the "dude" references quite a bit. So, while there is much work to be done, it is well underway to being a very useful app.

After the weekend, we ended up with quite a few lessons learned. This was, after all, our first Rails Rumble. Here are a few:

First lesson: It is imperative that you either pick an idea and start planning well before the start of the competition, or that you pick an idea that is so dead simple (and useful) that you could code it in your sleep and concentrate on the design and user interface.

Second lesson: Staying awake as long a possible to get as much done as possible will reflect negatively on your work if you are not accustomed to staying up that late. The better option would be to just go to sleep and wake up refreshed and with a clear mind.

Third lesson: Make sure that all developers are on a level playing field when it comes to Ruby version, etc. This especially matters if you're freezing certain gems in your application.

Fourth lesson: Don't just assume that a plug-in or gem has no bugs in it. We ran into a problem with GeoKit that took a bit of time to fix, which brings me to my next lesson.

Fifth Lesson: Do everything you have to do to prevent yourself from stalling on the unimportant. If it's not important, make a note of it and MOVE ON!! This is really a life lesson, but this is not a life post, so I won't get into that here.

Overall, the weekend went well. We got a lot done, and we learned a lot. Most of it boiled down to planning ahead. Hopefully, someone will learn from our lessons... us included. So start thinking up ideas now for next year, and keep your ear open for random clues to ideas out in the real world.

Top 5 Reasons to Keep Track of Yourself with Google Alerts

If you have any kind of web presence, it is extremely important to keep track of yourself. Google offers a great tool called Google Alerts, where you can enter a search term and be notified when Google runs across (or rather crawls) those terms. Enter you name, nickname, business name, website, and dog's name, and see who's talking about you (or your dog).

By the way, tracking yourself is only one of the many things you should track using Alerts.

Top 5 Reasons to Keep Track of Yourself with Google Alerts:

1. It's fun to see how popular you are (or are not).
2. You should thank others for their compliments.
3. You should have a chance to defend yourself (or your dog).
4. You should know who your sneezers are.
5. Because it's free and easy!

What other good reasons can you think of to track yourself using Alerts?

Increase Productivity with Speed Reading

One of the biggest time wasters that many of us struggle with is reading. For myself, reading is a large part of my job and life. I read technical books and articles to find solutions to the problems I'm working on or to keep up with recent technologies and ideas. I read software code to find bugs, learn new and better ways of writing applications, or to familiarize myself with an application in order to add more code. I also read books and blogs to learn more about my interests, to better myself, and to keep up with the things going on in the world around me. Therefor, by increasing my reading speed, I take a great step to maximizing productivity and enjoyment. Does your situation sound similar?

Think about this. If you read an average of three hours per day, and you double your reading speed, how much extra time will you have each week? Over TEN extra hours per week! The average work day is only 8-9 hours. That is quite a gain. Now think about how much time you would save if you increased your reading speed MORE than double. Well, it is possible.

If you are truly interested in increasing your reading speed, whether it be for saving time or simply reading more books for enjoyment, Tim Ferris has recently released an article, Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes, where he explains the method he uses to help others achieve great gains in their reading speeds. Personally, I had to try it. C'mon, it's free! And the most you can lose is 20 minutes of your time.

I took 20 minutes and gave a good-faith effort to follow his instructions verbatim. My base rate was calculated at 210 words/minute, which I thought was surprisingly low. It's actually within the 200-300 WPM that he calls average for the US. After the hand full of practice exercises, which took me just under 20 minutes, I calculated my reading speed at 420 WPM, exactly double my original calculation. That's pretty impressive.

Understand, however, that you will only maintain your reading speed if you continue practicing your speed reading techniques and reading regularly. Eventually, it will become a habit.

Let me know your experience with speed reading.

The Hardest Part: Getting Started

"The hardest part is getting starting. " We've all heard it many times before. No matter what you're getting into, whether it be a new business or job, a new sport or hobby, or even blogging, getting started is the hardest part. I have a very strong belief that this is a mental barrier, as are many other barriers.

On that note, I will be starting my new blog here. It will be the voice of Chadwick Johnson. ChadwickJ.com will be my stage for spreading ideas that I believe are worth spreading. I will help others to improve their lives and the lives of others, and show everyone that life can be enjoyed and used for good at the same time. I will discuss a great number of different things, from general ideas to specific subjects that may only interest a hand full of individuals. My interests will be revealed through my many blog posts, but some of them include business, entertainment, food, lifestyle design, music, religion, travel, web design, and web development. Yes, those are just a few of my many interests. As I add more posts, you can find out more about my interests by using the tag list on the side. I am a life learner, and plan to share with You much of what I have learned and experienced.

The platform that I initially chose for my blog is Google's Blogger. I am a big fan of Google, which I will go into more detail later, but the main reason I chose Blogger was because it was quick and simple, and my number one excuse for not starting a blog before was "I don't have the time." Problem solved. Don't waste time rolling my own. Get it done.

So, here it is. I hope you enjoy what you read, and use it to improve your life and others.