Talks
Lightning Talks (Day 2)
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Lightning Talks (Day 2)

by Risa Batta, Cory Leistikow, George Apitz, Joe, Marcus Morrison, Ara T. Howard, Doc Norton, Ryan Melton, and Shelby Kelly

The video titled 'Rocky Mountain Ruby 2014: Lightning Talks Day 2' features a series of short presentations by various speakers focusing on tips, tools, and topics relevant to Ruby developers. The sessions are aimed at enhancing productivity, collaboration, and understanding of technical concepts within the Ruby development community.

Key points discussed include:
- Asset Pipeline Tips and Tricks by Risa Batta: Emphasizes the importance of testing Rails applications in production to avoid issues with asset visibility. She advises starting the server in production mode to match development behavior and highlights common pitfalls, such as incorrect asset path references and the significance of observing production configuration settings.
- Alfred is Awesome by Cory Leistikow: Introduces Alfred, a productivity tool for Mac that helps Ruby developers accelerate their workflow by providing quick access to documentation and allowing for the creation of helpful workflows.
- The Human Connection by George Apitz: Discusses the importance of building human connections in the workplace for better collaboration and communication. George suggests incorporating personal check-ins within team meetings to foster relationships.
- Methane Hydrate by Joe: Explains the implications of methane hydrate, a naturally occurring substance that poses both ecological challenges and energy potential.
- State Machines by Marcus Morrison: Highlights the use of gems like 'Wicked', 'StateMachine', and 'Statesman' to improve state management within applications, simplifying transitions during development processes.
- Rails as Static Content Compile by Ara T. Howard: Discusses using tools like Middleman for static site generation, citing its performance advantages and flexibility for developers.
- Teams Decision Making Tools by Doc Norton: Presents methods for effective team decision-making, including 'fist to five' voting, collaboration contracts, and the Six Thinking Hats technique to enhance critical thinking.
- Qtbindings - GUIs in Ruby by Ryan Melton: Introduces the QT framework for creating cross-platform desktop GUIs using Ruby, highlighting its ease of use and accessibility for developers.
- Rocky Mountain Ruby Rap by Shelby Kelly: Concludes the session with a creative rap performance summarizing the event's spirit, emphasizing learning and collaboration among Ruby developers.

Overall, the video showcases diverse tips and strategies intended to empower Ruby developers to enhance their skills, improve team dynamics, and effectively utilize tools for better programming practices.

00:00:12 Hello everyone! It’s great to see you all. Today, we’re going to stop, collaborate, and listen. Risa is here with a new presentation that will help clarify some confusion surrounding asset pipelines. I have some tips and tricks for all of you.
00:00:37 This presentation is especially aimed at junior developers and those new to Rails. So let’s jump right in. Tip number one: Don’t do this! It’s important to remember that if you do it wrong, you can open up quite a can of hurt.
00:01:03 As developers, you might think you know what to do, and you start typing 'rails s' or 'rails server' in your console, then you click on localhost:3000 to see your website. On the console, everything looks great, and the background image renders.
00:01:35 But then you deploy to production, and what happens? You’re suddenly asking, 'Where’s that awesome background picture I saw in development?' Well, that’s because you need to test locally in production.
00:02:14 As a Rails support engineer, I often hear people say their assets are broken, and a common reason is that they didn't test locally in production. It’s crucial to do that! Start by running 'rails s -e production,' which allows you to see the same behaviors in production as you would in development.
00:02:54 Also, it's essential to understand the difference between development and production environments, especially in your configuration files. In development, assets are compiled on the fly, while in production, they’re expected to be pre-compiled.
00:03:33 If you experience any issues, make sure to check your production.rb file. Specifically, look for this line: 'config.serve_static_assets = true.' This tells your server to serve assets from the public assets folder, making sure they’re accessible.
00:04:04 Next, tip number two involves CSS and images. If you’re not particular about CSS, it’s crucial to understand how to correctly reference asset paths. Use helpers like '_path' and 'url_path' to ensure files are found correctly in the asset pipeline.
00:04:53 For Rails 3.2 users, a great tip is to add a gem to your Gemfile that speeds up asset pre-compilation. This way, it won’t re-run everything every time, only executing new changes, thus providing a faster build process.
00:05:37 Hopefully, you learned something new today. Don’t forget to give yourself a high five or share one with someone else. That’s what I have for you today.
00:05:59 Hi everyone, my name is Corey. I'm a recent G School graduate, and I’m here to talk to you about something awesome – Alfred. For those of you not familiar, Alfred is a productivity application for Mac that can enhance your workflow.
00:06:30 I was amazed by how useful it is, especially when I started using it with Dash for easy documentation access. I can type in 'rails' and pull up documentation instantly, which is a huge time-saver during development.
00:07:02 Alfred also allows scripting, which I found incredibly helpful while studying Ruby. I created a small Alfred workflow that enables quick access to different gems, simplifying the process of adding them to my Gemfile.
00:07:44 There are tons of workflows available online, so if you’re interested in productivity tools and enhancing your Ruby development experience, I highly recommend you check out Alfred.
00:08:05 I want to talk briefly about the human connection, sparked by Pamela's talk on company culture. When facing tough situations, it's essential to establish a human connection with your coworkers.
00:08:28 Imagine your first day on the job; you’re excited but nervous. If a coworker is harsh about your mistakes, it creates a negative experience. In contrast, if colleagues have built a connection beforehand, they’re more inclined to help you out, turning a challenging moment into a learning opportunity.
00:09:09 Simple exercises can transform the workplace dynamic. Perhaps, every day during team standups, take a moment for personal check-ins, allowing each team member to share a bit about themselves.
00:09:51 There are many resources available that focus on building connections within teams. The Matrix Leadership Institute based in Boulder and the book 'Software for Your Head' by the McCarthy group emphasizes these connections.
00:10:30 I’ve applied these methods within my own team, which resulted in a closer-knit group and more successful problem-solving. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about this approach.
00:10:59 Thank you! Now, I’m excited to see everyone! I’m a QA engineer, and I wanted to briefly discuss something interesting - methane hydrate.
00:11:13 Methane hydrate is an ice-like substance that forms in the ocean, consisting of methane trapped in water molecules. This substance has significant implications because it holds vast reserves of natural gas but also poses environmental challenges regarding climate change.
00:12:43 As it releases methane into the atmosphere, it can contribute to global warming, creating a feedback loop that increases greenhouse gas concentrations.
00:12:52 Moreover, there are ethical and ecological considerations regarding its extraction. If we focus on methane hydrate energy, it could hinder the development of sustainable energy alternatives.
00:13:14 That’s my bit on methane hydrate. My name is Marcus Morrison, a developer at Life.Church. I worked on an annual review tool aimed at streamlining the performance review process.
00:13:55 In the review process, different stages include self-reviews, leader reviews, and action plans. I explored various ways to manage transitions between these states effectively.
00:14:26 I found several gems: 'Wicked,' which allowed thinking outside typical state handling; 'StateMachine,' and 'Statesman,' which offered features like history tracking and guarded transitions, helping manage state more effectively.
00:15:06 In summary, my experience with these gems has been enlightening. They enhance how you manage state transitions in Rails, simplifying your implementations.
00:15:46 Hi, I’m Ara Howard, the founder of a web and mobile agency called Doo4. I want to talk to you about the significance of static site generation using Ruby.
00:16:16 Using tools like Middleman, we build static sites that deliver performance and flexibility, making it easier for designers to create sophisticated responsive designs without limitations.
00:16:47 We’ve done a lot of work with static sites, and they've proven scalable and efficient for high-traffic demands, managing heavy loads without issues.
00:17:08 By thinking outside of traditional methods and creatively using Ruby frameworks, we’ve enhanced static site generation to an extent that meets rapid development needs efficiently.
00:17:40 I’m Doc Norton, Global Director of Engineering Culture at Groupon. I usually give a two-hour workshop, but today, I’ll summarize key points in just a few minutes.
00:18:05 First, we need to focus on simple team decisions. Implementing 'fist to five' voting can streamline decision-making, enabling teams to express levels of support or hesitation.
00:18:45 When facing more complex challenges, developing collaboration contracts can help structure team input. These contracts clarify who has the authority to make decisions and which team members need to be consulted.
00:19:25 Finally, the Six Thinking Hats method encourages teams to think critically by approaching problems from various angles, facilitating productive discussions and consensus.
00:19:50 Let’s talk about QT bindings. QT bindings allow Ruby developers to create desktop GUIs using the QT framework. It's cross-platform and easy to install and use.
00:20:05 If you’re looking to develop applications in Ruby with a GUI, I encourage you to check out QT bindings on GitHub, which can greatly enhance your development capabilities.
00:20:29 Hi everyone, I’m Shelby, and along with my teammates, Luke and Peter from G School, I’d like to share something special we created during our time at the conference.
00:20:53 We decided to wrap instead of presenting, and although we lacked visuals, we brought backup dancers to make our performance more engaging.
00:21:06 So, here goes nothing!
00:21:14 (rap performance...) We’re at Rocky Mountain Ruby, learning things from speakers and also having fun basking in the lovely Colorado sun. The event has begun; the speakers and sponsors are here. They're not monsters; they're code conquerors, sharing their knowledge on programming. So let's grab some gems, not the sparkly ones, but the ones that will enhance our installations. It’s all about collaboration while our applications thrive. Everybody in the theater writing Ruby, that’s the key, enjoying every single moment in this fantastic conference atmosphere. Everyone here knows the power of Ruby, making great projects come alive. So let's celebrate together!
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