Joe Fiorini

Source unknown.

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:48:31 -0400

Source unknown.

IM from my dog

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:01:15 -0400

IM from my dog

An Introduction to Ruby on Rails

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:46:07 -0400

View more presentations from Joe Fiorini.

Talk I gave at the Cleveland Web SIG on June 19, 2010.

Photo

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:14:14 -0400

There’s been a rumor going around on Twitter: In...

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:05:40 -0400

There’s been a rumor going around on Twitter:

In ‘BTTF’ Doc Brown sets the time clock in the Delorean to a day 25 years in the future, today is that day.

As this clip proves, not only did he never enter such a date, but “25 years into the future” (as he states as the time he wants to visit) would have been Oct. 25, 2010. Mattel: you may have another 5 years to perfect the hoverboard, but step on it!

"The […] “TETRIS” game is a simple game […], and soon becomes monotonous and boring."

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:51:05 -0400

“The […] “TETRIS” game is a simple game […], and soon becomes monotonous and boring.”

- Nintendo’s Dr. Mario Patent

Intro to Ruby on Rails Links

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:38:00 -0400

Cleveland Ruby Brigade

http://www.meetup.com/ClevelandRuby

Installing Ruby

RVM – Ruby Version Manager (Mac OSX/*Nix only)
Windows fork of RVM
Windows Alternate - look for 1.9.1 RubyInstaller

Media

Documentation

Agile Web Development with Rails

http://pragprog.com/titles/rails4/agile-web-development-with-rails

Rails 3 in Action

http://www.manning.com/katz/

Two worlds collide. Not only am I a Rails developer, but...

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:19:43 -0400

Two worlds collide. Not only am I a Rails developer, but I’m also a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuk. Put the two together and you have the makings of a great keynote! Can’t wait to watch.

gary:

Railsconf 2010 keynote

A little bit of cursing here so I am so sorry for that but if u get through that and really listen I think you might enjoy this talk! Whatya think?

HTML5 Video on the iPhone

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:52:41 -0400

I said I’d update when I made my HTML5 video demo play on my iPhone. Well, today is a sweet day. Thanks to the good people at PandaStream, I was able to get it working. The key is twofold:

The video must not only be encoded H.264, but it needs a QuickTime supported container type. This works fine with FlowPlayer (the Flash player we’re using).
The video’s extension must be mp4 or mov. Even with the correct encoding and container, it cannot be flv.

One interesting thing to note: on the iPhone HTML5 videos do not play in-browser, but open up QuickTime instead. They do play in-browser on the iPad.

If you happen to be using PandaStream for encoding (which I highly recommend), or if you encode videos with ffmpeg and libavcodec, check Panda’s documentation for the encoder settings you need.

Oh happy day!

Designing Code

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 12:29:17 -0400

Designing Code:

Steve Smith gave a great talk at Great Lakes Ruby Bash on designing code. Not MVC vs. MVP vs. insert your architecture here, but applying visual design techniques to your code. This was very poignant for me with my recent interest in learning visual design. I try to make my code as easy to look at as possible. Steve gave some extremely useful advice such as:

clean up other team member’s code when you have trouble following it
name variables and methods positively
- avoid words like “inactive”, “not”, or “disallow”
always consider the user experience of your code

In my experience, the most useful technique Steve mentioned was something I like to call “code by wishful thinking”. When I start writing new code I

write the code as I think it should be implemented
stare at it for a minute or so
modify until the API I’ve created would make sense to someone coming in to this view the first time
implement the methods called from my view in models, presenters, or controller

I’m not perfect at this, but it’s a practice I try to follow when writing new code. Check out the slides from Steve’s talk and start improving the design of your code today!

HTML5 Video iPhone/iPad Roundup

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:28:00 -0400

Looking to do HTML5 Video on the iPhone/iPad? Here are some resources that I’ve found today that may help. I’ll admit, I still don’t have a video playing on the iPhone, but I’m working on it; and I’ll update here when I get working. In the meantime, enjoy!

Safari HTML5 Audio and Video Guide (Official Documentation)

Notes on HTML5 Video and iPhone (Jonathan Stark)

Exploring HTML5 Media Elements for iPhone Safari Web Pages (Wrox Publishing)

and finally a general guide to HTML5 Video:

Video on the Web (Dive into HTML5)

Programmer optimism, and the "Death March"

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:52:52 -0400

Programmer optimism, and the "Death March":

Mark knows what he’s talking about here. This is a great description of the “garbage in, garbage out” that leads to the failure of many IT projects (of course by failure I mean over estimate, over budget). Agile solves this problem by expecting that the outputs of the estimation process will continue to be refined throughout the course of the project.

Toyota's Journey from Waterfall to Lean Software Development

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:45:00 -0400

Toyota's Journey from Waterfall to Lean Software Development:

Toyota is known for their manufacturing process. People have studied and emulated it for years. Recently Mary and Tom Poppendieck brought it to software development.

I assumed Toyota used their reknowned manufacturing process to write the software for their vehicles. Henrik’s article proved me wrong.

My favorite quote from the article:

My conclusion after the trip was “well, now I know that there’s at least one company in the world that can succeed with the waterfall model” and I decided to stop bashing the waterfall model as hard as I usually do. Now, however, with all the problems Toyota are having, I’m starting to reconsider.

ilovecharts: brownpau: everytime you make a powerpoint edward...

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:00:00 -0400

ilovecharts:

brownpau:

everytime you make a powerpoint
edward tufte kills a kitten
(dataviz via heeeraldo)

Yes. Another Backup Lecture.

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:00:00 -0400

Yes. Another Backup Lecture.:

If you aren’t backing up regularly, read this. If you are backing up regularly, good for you. Now go read this.

Advertisement for 37signals new book, Rework, that was too funny...

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:05:00 -0400

Advertisement for 37signals new book, Rework, that was too funny not to pass on. Rework is 288 pages of simple yet powerful advice stated simply. Recommended to anyone who runs a business or works for one.

Teamicide (not to be confused with Teamocil)

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:06:00 -0400

Teamicide (not to be confused with Teamocil):

One team’s experiences after dropping agile in favor of a more traditional process. Excellent proof that an agile process is more than the cowboy programming many believe it to be.

Lean Dog Agile Explained

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:46:21 -0500

Lean Dog Agile Explained:

Jon Stahl’s slide deck shows how his company delivers quality products quickly and efficiently. He is a master at embracing the limitations inherent in software development (difficult estimations, vague requirements, uneducated customers). Lean Dog proves that you can have speed and quality, you just need to plan for both.

fallenrogue: mnmal: designeriphone: “Good design means never...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:53:02 -0500

fallenrogue:

mnmal:

designeriphone:

“Good design means never having to say “Click Here”.

Rework: the Business Book from 37signals

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:02:57 -0500

Rework: the Business Book from 37signals:

Their first book, Getting Real, was about building web-based software. Their new book continues the less-is-more theme and teaches how to build and run a business. Bucking conventional “wisdom”, Rework has great potential for the freelancer/small business owner.