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Jim's Journal

jim
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02/28/2008 11:02 #43494

MacRuby
Category: programming
Apple has created a version of Ruby that runs on top of Objective-C.



OK, holy crap. This will be like the only non-objective-c Mac programming platform that's officially supported and hooked into Cocoa from the ground up. The future of Mac apps might just be Ruby, dropping down to Objective-C where you need the hardcore number crunching performance.

james - 03/02/08 22:09
What's a Ruby?
tiburon1724 - 02/28/08 17:58
I have no idea what you're talking about, though I wish I did :(
jim - 02/28/08 12:18
I guess my point was that unlike the scripting bridge, or the java bridge, MacRuby has all the regular ruby objects descending directly from their NS counterparts. So all ruby strings are descended from NSString, etc... just seemed to me like it went a lot further then RubyCocoa or PyObjC, but I'm not as familiar with PyObjC as with RubyCocoa.

Anyways, I just looked at MacRuby for a few minutes at the start of the day and won't get a change to play around with it until the weekend, so my impressions aren't even half baked.
carolinian - 02/28/08 12:11
There's also PyObjC, the python tie-in. I haven't messed with Ruby, but PyObjC was a real PITA to work with, largely because it didn't have the real nice integration with XCode that Objective-C did and because PyObjC programs are structured codewise in a that's totally different from the proper order that Obj-C programmers expect them to be in.

It's also going in the other direction as well. With the enhancements that Apple's made to Obj-C, it's more like a scripting language, e.g. they added garbage collection to Obj-C 2.0 as well as a foreach-ish loop syntax.

In spite of Apple's moves to make Obj-C more like a scripting language, they still haven't included regular expressions in their API. something which astounds me to no end and makes all my scripting friends say "you gotta be kidding me!" When tasked with searching through lots of text for very specific things, it's at that point that non-Obj-C scripting languages provide a definite advantages as a workaround to Apple's stupidity.

Apple introduced the ruby scripting bridge to Leopard and you might have some fun playing with it.

:::link:::

02/26/2008 15:15 #43470

Salt Lake City
Category: life
I'm going to this regional Ruby Conference in Salt Lake city the last weekend in March. I'm staying after the conference to visit with my family (I'm originally from SLC). It'll be nice to see them after 18 months. I miss my Dad and everyone else :)

image

I wish I could go to the Rails Conference in May in Portland Oregon, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards. And by the cards, I mean my credit card is already creaking from the weight of other stuff.

02/25/2008 19:26 #43459

Mini Cooper?
Category: transportation
Paul put this thought into my head last night...

image

They are actually much cheaper then I'd assumed. I thought they'd be $30k plus, but this one is $21k.
jim - 02/26/08 16:08
It's sort of within my budget if I buy it with a 5 year payment plan. I was looking at used Mini Coopers and they are all barely less expensive then new, so it seems like getting a new one would be the way to go.
mrmike - 02/26/08 15:43
They actually BMW's. BMW makes em. I still want one. Too bad my budget set Neon or something bland like that. Minis are awesome and I can actually fit in.
drew - 02/26/08 09:26
I want one.

But if you REALLY want a tiny car with good gas milage, find yourself a used Geo metro. I had one, and I loved it.
jim - 02/25/08 21:10
Thanks :) I have to figure out how to drive manual LOL.
jenks - 02/25/08 21:09
p.s. the guys at the local dealer (Towne) are really nice. I always go for test drives. They let you go out ALONE, and they have a little map of a 'fun' route for you to take.
jenks - 02/25/08 21:07
do it do it do it!

It's actually more or less a baby BMW.

And fwiw- mine (an '03 "S" with ALL the options except their nav system) was about 25K when I bought it new. My brother bought the EXACT same car ('03 S with all the same options) used, in '06, and it was about 23K. Point: they keep their value really well.

The new ones are cool too. Push button start, bluetooth, blah blah. And the mileage is even better.
jim - 02/25/08 20:09
I am liking it more and more as I read about it. The engine automatically turns off when you are stopped, and then turns back on again when you touch the gas. 37 mpg hwy / 28 mpg city. It's mostly highway between my house and my new work. So it's a peppy little car that's not horrendous on fuel efficiency, and costs only a couple thousand more then the Scion I was looking at.
paul - 02/25/08 19:55
Jenks has one and it is so cute.
jim - 02/25/08 19:28
I just want a tiny car with good gas mileage.

02/24/2008 17:13 #43450

Have to Buy a Car
Category: transportation
This is the car that I'd like to get. I know, I know, everyone seems to hate Scions but I like them.

image

Not that I'll get one, I'll probably just buy an old used Jetta or Camry or Civic or whatever... Need to start hauling my ass out to Amherst for work every day.

dcoffee - 02/25/08 21:14
I like them a lot. Roomy, efficient use of space, easy to park.
metalpeter - 02/25/08 17:09
The thing about that car that I think is that they made for the young kids in college and they (form what I have heard maybe just there marketing) and very costumizable and that is the point of them so you can have the features and color or skins they might even call them there is a really cool one that I think I may have posted a picture of that is very boxy but is covered in white lightning and blue sky on Brynt St.
museumchick - 02/25/08 10:35
That is a really nice looking car.
paul - 02/24/08 21:16
These are the kind of cars I like (e:paul,32328)
drew - 02/24/08 21:02
I like Scions, because they are made be Toyota, but I am liking them less because they are getting bigger and tend to be all about image.

Have you seen the Toyota Yaris? It's my new favorite.

02/21/2008 15:15 #43418

New Job
Category: work
Just got the offer, accepted it. Looks like it's all a go. Thanks for the well-wishes everyone!

Now I'm off to go home and curl up in bed sick. Yuck.

_X_ They Called Me
_X_ They Like Me
_X_ Resume Sent
_X_ Glowing recommendation from Tony
_X_ Iron Shirt
_X_ Pick Out Tie
___ Achieve Sense of Calm and Readiness
_X_ Attend Interview
_X_ Negotiate Salary
_X_ Wait
_X_ Job Offer
_X_ Job Accepted



tiburon1724 - 02/22/08 20:34
congrats!
carolinian - 02/22/08 10:20
Atta Boy! Polish those Rubies.
fellyconnelly - 02/22/08 09:47
a) congratulations!!! like woaaah!
b) i had to read your last comment twice before i realized that was what you actually said.
jim - 02/21/08 22:05
I'm lying on the couch with the Mac roasting my nuts. Yes.
james - 02/21/08 22:03
go to bed?

you are on the couch rockin out with your mac.
lauren - 02/21/08 20:41
Congratulations!!

New jobs are always a little scary, but you know you will settle in soon enough and realize that all your worry was for nothing :)
mrdeadlier - 02/21/08 19:31
Awesome. Congrats! Like Paul said, we will miss you here at the Roz.
libertad - 02/21/08 18:51
Congrats!
drew - 02/21/08 17:43
cool! way to go.
jim - 02/21/08 16:53
AMS - :::link:::

They are converting to a Rails / Ruby shop.

I start part time in mid march and full time at the end of March.
zobar - 02/21/08 16:07
Congratulations! If you don't mind my asking, where are you at now?

- Z
jim - 02/21/08 15:59
Not going to happen :)
paul - 02/21/08 15:57
Congratulations, time to achieve a sense of calm and readiness.
jason - 02/21/08 15:50
Well done, sir. Get some rest.
ladycroft - 02/21/08 15:39
hurray for you!
jbeatty - 02/21/08 15:34
congratulations!
fing - 02/21/08 15:32
Congrats again Jim!
hodown - 02/21/08 15:30
Awesome!!
mrmike - 02/21/08 15:29
Cool. Congrats!