regular coding session dedicated to one project?

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Bradley Grzesiak

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Feb 20, 2009, 2:51:11 PM2/20/09
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Hey Railers!

I'm interested in starting up a regular coding session (monthly or semi-monthly to start) where all participants contribute to a single project. The idea behind this is still very anomalous, so implementation is definitely still up for debate. For example:
- We could start a new project or contribute to an existing one.
- The project could be borne from our own ideas, or it could fill a need for a local/global non-profit.
- We could meet monthly, semi-monthly, or weekly (or more!).
- It could be a small project that's nearly complete in one meeting or a bigger project that spans months.
I think it'd be really neat to adapt agile programming for almost everything we do, though I am certainly no expert on it. I'm personally excited to be able to do some pair programming and behavior-driven development with people who actually might know what they're doing. =)

So, let's hear it: brainstorming on all of the points I listed (and more, if you come up with them). Go!

:brad

PS: I'll start: My idea is a google maps mashup-like site that gives bicycle commuters the opportunity to form and join group rides to/from work.

--
Bradley Grzesiak
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http://toleoandbeyond.blogspot.com

* You have received an email from my personal account. Please do not divulge this address to any website (eg: evite, shutterfly, etc). I have another address for such uses; please ask me for it.

Stephen Anderson

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Feb 20, 2009, 3:42:06 PM2/20/09
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Cool Idea!  I'm game!

Here's my idea:   A Rails program for the Madison chapter of Amigos of the Americas.  High school volunteers spend 3 months organizing and making a community project a success in a poor community in Latin America.  Plane tickets, and also materials for projects are paid for by fund raising done by the student volunteers.  Currently, this is an unholy, error prone nightmare involving spreadsheets on a per volunteer basis, high school students losing their lists of who donated what, etc.

The Rails application would be a success with even a partial list of these features:
-database tracking of donors per volunteer (request sent?, money received?, thank you sent?, tax receipt sent?)
-email donation request sending
-form letter printing in PDF
-for donation requests
-for thank yous
-for tax receipts
-taking donations online
-printing tax receipts online
-a fun social network for volunteers to share their experiences & photos with their friends & family who donated, as well as each other
-lots of other improvement ideas you all will surely come up with.

Again, we can start simple, with just donor status tracking, be a success and add one new feature at a time

What do you think?

Thanks!
-Steve-

Bradley Grzesiak

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Feb 23, 2009, 12:05:38 PM2/23/09
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OK, folks. Are Steve and I the only ones who are remotely interested in this?

If anything, we could try to invite some Rails n00bs and pair them up with an "expert"... consider it a good deed for the Rails and Madison communities. =)

And while I have no issues personally with Steve's suggestion of Amigos, if it seems too rigorous or customer-driven for a fun project, suggest your own fun project!

:brad

Colin Alteveer

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Feb 23, 2009, 1:29:09 PM2/23/09
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I would love to chip-in.

I agree with the whole customer-driven aspect perhaps being a bit cumbersome, though it would be good practice for the "real" world. On the other hand, non-car transportation for the commute is a big deal in Madison, and we could probably get some good traction/interest in the project. What about adding bus transportation to the equation (for when it's raining =D)? I don't think Google Transit covers this info, and the mymetrobus.com site is far from awesome. Is this too much?

Abraham Williams

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Feb 23, 2009, 2:07:42 PM2/23/09
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Although I don't think that getting back into Rails is good for my schedule I'm in.

In theory it is possible to write a script to scape the metro site and get that added to Google. As far as I can tell they don't do any verification if it is actually someone official submiting the info: http://code.google.com/transit/spec/transit_feed_specification.html
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Abraham Williams | http://the.hackerconundrum.com
Web608 | Community Evangelist | http://web608.org
This email is: [ ] blogable [x] ask first [ ] private.
Sent from: Madison Wi United States.

Bradley Grzesiak

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Feb 23, 2009, 2:37:39 PM2/23/09
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While I don't mind the apparent consensus for my suggestion =), I think we'd still need to have an official brainstorming and decision on the webapp to make. I don't want to discourage people just because it seems we're on a particular track of thinking... at least not this early on.

As an aside, I was thinking we could use Pivotal Tracker for story/bug tracking... I know Steve is down with that. One cool feature that should be out this week is public feeds for projects: http://getsatisfaction.com/pivotal/topics/i_would_love_a_public_api_for_tracker#reply_819877

Let's plan on meeting for 1.5 hours: the first half hour will be spent brainstorming and voting on ideas... show up with a one-minute pitch (yes, one minute) if you have an idea! The remaining hour will be spent in groups of 2 or 3, independently working on:
- setting up the rails/git/hosting environment
- sketching out model interaction
- sketching out look and feel
- writing up stories for project tracking
- anything else

We'll need to think of a place to meet as well. I'd much prefer somewhere in the downtown area... Barriques off the square, mayhaps?

Contrary to my email about the official Mad-Railers meeting, I will be around next week due to a change in travel plans. If you're interested, please respond with your availability for March 2, 4 or 5 (Monday, Wednesday or Thursday).

:brad

PS: Invite your friends! From the list of TODOs I made, only one is specific to rails so far. And once we get coding, pair programming will fill in any gaps in knowledge.

Jonathan Kinney

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Feb 23, 2009, 3:52:55 PM2/23/09
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I'd be interested in helping out. I'm not sure which dates work yet though as I am in an adult hockey league and that week we have playoffs. Feel free to pick a date without me and if I can make it I'll be there. Otherwise I'll catch up next time.

-Jon Kinney

hani

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Feb 24, 2009, 5:26:12 PM2/24/09
to Mad Railers, the Madison, WI Ruby on Rails Users Group
Yep I like both ideas, Steve's and :brad's
Count me in...
The question is When and Where and how do we start.

hani

On Feb 23, 1:37 pm, Bradley Grzesiak <listro...@gmail.com> wrote:
> While I don't mind the apparent consensus for my suggestion =), I think we'd
> still need to have an official brainstorming and decision on the webapp to
> make. I don't want to discourage people just because it seems we're on a
> particular track of thinking... at least not this early on.
>
> As an aside, I was thinking we could use Pivotal
> Tracker<http://pivotaltracker.com>for story/bug tracking... I know
> Steve is down with that. One cool feature
> that should be out this week is public feeds for projects:http://getsatisfaction.com/pivotal/topics/i_would_love_a_public_api_f...
>
> Let's plan on meeting for 1.5 hours: the first half hour will be spent
> brainstorming and voting on ideas... show up with a one-minute pitch (yes, *
> one* minute) if you have an idea! The remaining hour will be spent in groups
> of 2 or 3, independently working on:
> - setting up the rails/git/hosting environment
> - sketching out model interaction
> - sketching out look and feel
> - writing up stories for project tracking
> - anything else
>
> We'll need to think of a place to meet as well. I'd much prefer somewhere in
> the downtown area... Barriques off the square, mayhaps?
>
> Contrary to my email about the official Mad-Railers meeting, I will be
> around next week due to a change in travel plans. If you're interested,
> please respond with your availability for March 2, 4 or 5 (Monday, Wednesday
> or Thursday).
>
> :brad
>
> PS: Invite your friends! From the list of TODOs I made, only one is specific
> to rails so far. And once we get coding, pair programming will fill in any
> gaps in knowledge.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 1:07 PM, Abraham Williams <4bra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Although I don't think that getting back into Rails is good for my schedule
> > I'm in.
>
> > In theory it is possible to write a script to scape the metro site and get
> > that added to Google. As far as I can tell they don't do any verification if
> > it is actually someone official submiting the info:
> >http://code.google.com/transit/spec/transit_feed_specification.html
>
> > On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:29, Colin Alteveer <altev...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> I would love to chip-in.
>
> >> I agree with the whole customer-driven aspect perhaps being a bit
> >> cumbersome, though it would be good practice for the "real" world. On the
> >> other hand, non-car transportation for the commute is a big deal in Madison,
> >> and we could probably get some good traction/interest in the project. What
> >> about adding bus transportation to the equation (for when it's raining =D)?
> >> I don't think Google Transit covers this info, and the mymetrobus.comsite is far from awesome. Is this too much?
>
> >> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 11:05 AM, Bradley Grzesiak <listro...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >>> OK, folks. Are Steve and I the only ones who are remotely interested in
> >>> this?
>
> >>> If anything, we could try to invite some Rails n00bs and pair them up
> >>> with an "expert"... consider it a good deed for the Rails and Madison
> >>> communities. =)
>
> >>> And while I have no issues personally with Steve's suggestion of Amigos,
> >>> if it seems too rigorous or customer-driven for a fun project, suggest your
> >>> own fun project!
>
> >>> :brad
>
> >>> On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 2:42 PM, Stephen Anderson <step...@bendycode.com
> >>> > wrote:
>
> >>>> Cool Idea!  I'm game!
> >>>> Here's my idea:   A Rails program for the Madison chapter<http://www.amigosmadison.org/>
> >>>>  of Amigos of the Americas <http://www.amigoslink.org/>.  High school
> >>>> listro...@gmail.com
> >>>>http://toleoandbeyond.blogspot.com
>
> >>>> * You have received an email from my personal account. Please do not
> >>>> divulge this address to any website (eg: evite, shutterfly, etc). I have
> >>>> another address for such uses; please ask me for it.
>
> >>> --
> >>> Bradley Grzesiak
> >>> listro...@gmail.com
> >>>http://toleoandbeyond.blogspot.com
>
> >>> * You have received an email from my personal account. Please do not
> >>> divulge this address to any website (eg: evite, shutterfly, etc). I have
> >>> another address for such uses; please ask me for it.
>
> > --
> > Abraham Williams |http://the.hackerconundrum.com
> > Web608 | Community Evangelist |http://web608.org
> > This email is: [ ] blogable [x] ask first [ ] private.
> > Sent from: Madison Wi United States.
>
> --
> Bradley Grzesiak
> listro...@gmail.comhttp://toleoandbeyond.blogspot.com

Bradley Grzesiak

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Feb 25, 2009, 1:19:27 PM2/25/09
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If you're interested in joining us, you have until 6pm Thursday to declare your availability (on March 2, 4, or 5) to me. After that, I'll choose a date that works best. Why don't we plan on meeting at 7:30 at Barriques off the square (first block of West Washington) on the day chosen? (suggestions for a change of venue still accepted!)

Also, if you have ideas, send them to this list so that you can get better traction amongst the group before giving your one-minute pitch.

:brad
--
Bradley Grzesiak
list...@gmail.com

Stephen Anderson

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Feb 25, 2009, 2:19:44 PM2/25/09
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Hmmm...

I can't make those dates.

I'm substitute teaching on the 5th and want to be as caught up on the materials as I can be.

Sorry,
-Steve-

Colin Alteveer

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Feb 25, 2009, 2:50:22 PM2/25/09
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I have class 2nd + 4th, and family engagements on the 5th. I can offer campfire/basecamp project space if we want to "meet" remotely (ichat or whatever too).

hani

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Feb 26, 2009, 10:47:03 AM2/26/09
to Mad Railers, the Madison, WI Ruby on Rails Users Group
hi all,
I also cannot make the 5th.
I am open to any other dates.
Hani

On Feb 25, 1:50 pm, Colin Alteveer <altev...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have class 2nd + 4th, and family engagements on the 5th. I can offer
> campfire/basecamp project space if we want to "meet" remotely (ichat or
> whatever too).
>
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 1:19 PM, Stephen Anderson <step...@bendycode.com>wrote:
>
> > Hmmm...
> > I can't make those dates.
>
> > I'm substitute teaching on the 5th and want to be as caught up on the
> > materials as I can be.
>
> > Sorry,
> > -Steve-
>
> > On Feb 25, 2009, at 12:19 PM, Bradley Grzesiak wrote:
>
> > If you're interested in joining us, you have until 6pm Thursday to declare
> > your availability (on March 2, 4, or 5) to me. After that, I'll choose a
> > date that works best. Why don't we plan on meeting at 7:30 at Barriques off
> > the square (first block of West Washington) on the day chosen? (suggestions
> > for a change of venue still accepted!)
>
> > Also, if you have ideas, send them to this list so that you can get better
> > traction amongst the group before giving your one-minute pitch.
>
> > :brad
>

Bradley Grzesiak

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Feb 26, 2009, 11:06:13 AM2/26/09
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OK, the fates have decided not to go with any of the dates I initially selected. How about we try a weekend? Please respond with your availability/preference on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. We could meet at any point during the day, as far as I'm concerned. Not too late, though, because some people may want to stay longer and continue working.

:brad
--
Bradley Grzesiak
list...@gmail.com

Stephen Anderson

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Feb 26, 2009, 11:11:57 AM2/26/09
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10 am Saturday, March 7th works, as does 10 am the 8th.  Saturday's my first choice.

-Steve-

Stephen Anderson

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Feb 26, 2009, 11:13:08 AM2/26/09
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Any time works, actually.  10 am is just a suggestion...

Colin Alteveer

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Feb 26, 2009, 11:53:55 AM2/26/09
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Crunch-time at work, that means work on weekends =(. I would be happy to participate remotely if possible.

hani

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Feb 26, 2009, 12:31:26 PM2/26/09
to Mad Railers, the Madison, WI Ruby on Rails Users Group
Hi Guys...
I am good doing it on the weekends, but not before 12:30 on
Saturdays... Previous ongoing engagement...

One thing that we may want to consider( depending on broadband access
by all ) is to do a virtual meeting using Skype or some other
technology.

I listen to Leo Laporte of 'twit.tv' and that is how he does all his
interviews and I think most of them use their web cam to have video
conference.

We may want to flush this out tonight and see if it will work, If
anybody is interested, I can bring my big portable with my hook on web
cam.

Just an idea....

Hani

On Feb 26, 10:53 am, Colin Alteveer <altev...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Crunch-time at work, that means work on weekends =(. I would be happy to
> participate remotely if possible.
>
> On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 10:13 AM, Stephen Anderson <step...@bendycode.com>wrote:
>
> > Any time works, actually.  10 am is just a suggestion...
>
> > On Feb 26, 2009, at 10:11 AM, Stephen Anderson wrote:
>
> > 10 am Saturday, March 7th works, as does 10 am the 8th.  Saturday's my
> > first choice.
> > -Steve-
>
> > On Feb 26, 2009, at 10:06 AM, Bradley Grzesiak wrote:
>
> > OK, the fates have decided not to go with any of the dates I initially
> > selected. How about we try a weekend? Please respond with your
> > availability/preference on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. We could
> > meet at any point during the day, as far as I'm concerned. Not too late,
> > though, because some people may want to stay longer and continue working.
>
> > :brad
>
> ...
>
> read more »

Colin Alteveer

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Feb 26, 2009, 4:10:59 PM2/26/09
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I am all for this. These days, my remote presence is pretty much all I can offer.

Bradley Grzesiak

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Mar 5, 2009, 9:00:07 AM3/5/09
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Holy crap, it's Thursday already.

Let's do 1pm on this Saturday at Barriques on the square. We can try to setup remote presences... perhaps an IRC room or skype chat.

Remember to show up with suggestions!

:brad

Chris Johnson

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Mar 5, 2009, 9:17:38 AM3/5/09
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Speaking of IRC is there a channel for Madison area Railers? Or would anyone be interested in starting one?

-Chris

Nathan Sutton

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Mar 5, 2009, 9:37:29 AM3/5/09
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#MadRailers on irc.freenode.org

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Bradley Grzesiak

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Mar 7, 2009, 12:14:41 PM3/7/09
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Just a reminder... we're meeting at Barriques on the square at 1pm today!

Be there, or be an equilateral right quadrilateral!

:brad
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