The Final Countdown

[Nick Plante]

We're only about a week away from the beginning of the 2009 Rails
Rumble build weekend. If you're a contestant, and you haven't settled
on an idea yet or gotten together with your team, there's no better
time then now! Use the spare hours in the week ahead to write some
story cards, think about how your application should work, what tools
you'll need, and how much you should budget for coffee (hint: more
than an average weekend).

We have over 200 teams competing for the top spot this year, which is
by far the largest event we've run to date. We're looking forward to
seeing some really incredible new micro-apps and websites. Some of the
teasers we've been hearing are pretty enticing.

Before we let you get on with your weekend, we also wanted to mention
a few notes that went up on the blog recently, that you may have
missed:

- Rails Rumble WorkShares: Finding a place to work can be tough. If
you're looking for a common location to meet, hack, and compete with
fellow Rumblers, companies in both San Francisco and Boston are
offering space for you to set up shop for the weekend. Check out the
Rumble WorkShare Wiki page for more information and RSVP instructions.
If you're a company looking to offer space to local teams, feel free
to add your information there, too.

http://rumble-workshare.wikispaces.com

- Expert Panel Judges: As you most likely already know, we're running
the voting process a little bit differently this year (see the blog
for more details). Part of our new "hybrid voting system" involves a
panel of web development / startup domain experts, who will be pre-
qualifying entries to select the most amazing applications. The best
of the best will go on to public voting. We've collected an eclectic
group of judges with some impressive credentials. I can't imagine a
group better suited to this sort of thing. Check out their profiles at
following URL:

http://blog.railsrumble.com/judges/expert-panel

Thanks again for being part of the contest, and we're looking forward
to the excitement next weekend! Questions or comments? Find us on
Twitter @railsrumble or via email at organ...@railsrumble.com

- Rails Rumble Organizers (@zapnap, @Sutto, @eshine, @jeffrafter)