Dave Amos

Anatomy of the Smallest Towns

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:02:34 -0800

I grew up in what most people in the US would consider a small town; its population was less than 10,000 and it was 45 miles from a larger city. I never thought of my town this way, though,…

Architecture, Fall 2009

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:58:26 -0800

Architecture, Fall 2009:

The task for this term was to design a community center/hostel/pub for fishermen in Newport, Oregon’s largest commercial fishermen’s port. The site was located directly across the street from the…

Corner Stores, Libraries, and Cafés

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:39:24 -0800

Corner Stores, Libraries, and Cafés:

My wife and I often forget something when we make our weekly grocery shopping trip, and usually don’t realize it until we’re halfway through a recipe. Several times, we’ve forgotten more than one…

fuckyeahpublictransit: jwike: The World’s Most Impressive...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:21:00 -0800

fuckyeahpublictransit:

jwike:

The World’s Most Impressive Subway Maps

(via Treehugger)

Photo

Mon, 19 May 2008 20:28:45 -0700

5 Rails Tips I Use All The Time

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:41:15 -0700

Over at Railscasts, they’re holding a contest, and the way to enter is to submit 5 tips for othe Rails developers. I’ve put together two simple Rails-based sites so far, and I consider myself to be a beginner moving into intermediate levels. I’ve relied on tips from countless other developers to make my first two sites happen, and I think this contest is good motivation for me to start giving back.

Here are my tips:

Use raise @variable_name.to_yaml all over the place. It helps you figure out what you’ve got in your variables. I use it my controllers all the time. You can also use the .inspect method.
Use Subversion + Capistrano. I didn’t use this combination for my first site, but I’m running it for my second and loving it. It makes deploying changes to my site ridiculously simple.
Use Slicehost. My first site is adequately hosted at TextDrive (or is it Joyent now?), but I wanted more control in my second site. Slicehost sets up a virtual machine called a slice, allows you to set up your own Linux distro, and let’s you take it from there. I learned a ton about Linux and the true ins-and-outs of hosting a rails app.
Use Textmate. Honestly, I was using a PC when I first got interested in Rails, but I saw screencasts using Textmate and I knew I had to switch. Best decision I’ve ever made (computer-wise).
Use the API documentation. When I first started, I was intimidated by that document, but once you get comfortable, you really see what can be done with Rails. Sometimes I go to find syntax for one method and find another I never knew existed, but works even better.

Fun E-Commerce site

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:39:00 -0800

Fun E-Commerce site

From the “blog” of “unnecessary”...

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:40:23 -0700

From the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks

Video

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:34:53 -0700

Fun at: http://www.odopod.com/sketch/Shell.swf

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:01:50 -0700

Fun at: http://www.odopod.com/sketch/Shell.swf

This giant Lego man was found floating to shore near a Dutch...

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:15:38 -0700

This giant Lego man was found floating to shore near a Dutch resort.

Happy American Independence Day!

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:06:59 -0700

Happy American Independence Day!

Another look at what Web 2.0 is doing to our culture

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:11:40 -0700

Another look at what Web 2.0 is doing to our culture:

Via SvN

The origin and current usage of the word "bubbler".

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:40:05 -0700

The origin and current usage of the word "bubbler".:

I’m glad there’s a wikipedia entry for this — take that people who thought it was funny I called drinking fountains bubblers. :)

Man, this song is catchy.

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:05:26 -0700

Man, this song is catchy.

I love this dialog box

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:04:44 -0700

I love this dialog box

How children lost the right to roam in four generations, via...

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:01:50 -0700

How children lost the right to roam in four generations, via Kottke.

Shuttle launch, from a high-altitude plane. Very cool.

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:00:44 -0700

Shuttle launch, from a high-altitude plane. Very cool.

What does this sign mean?

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:37:27 -0700

What does this sign mean?

"Facetiously, eleven letters long, is the shortest word in the English language that contains all six..."

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:55:07 -0700

“Facetiously, eleven letters long, is the shortest word in the English language that contains all six vowels in alphabetical order.”

- Via Fun With Words