First I generate a rails app:

lappy:tmp bsmith$ rails foo

Then I add restful authentication, using the command listed in the install documentation:

lappy:tmp bsmith$ cd foo/
lappy:foo bsmith$ cd vendor/plugins/
lappy:plugins bsmith$ git clone git://github.com/technoweenie/restful-authentication.git restful_authentication
Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/bsmith/tmp/foo/vendor/plugins/restful_authentication/.git/
remote: Counting objects: 1741, done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (590/590), done.
remote: Total 1741 (delta 1010), reused 1641 (delta 957)
Receiving objects: 100% (1741/1741), 733.93 KiB | 831 KiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (1010/1010), done.

Then I add everything to git:

lappy:plugins bsmith$ cd ../..
lappy:foo bsmith$ git init
Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/bsmith/tmp/foo/.git/
lappy:foo bsmith$ git add .
lappy:foo bsmith$ git commit -m ‘init’
[master (root-commit) f63c7ea] init
43 files changed, 8462 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 README
create mode 100644 Rakefile
…[followed by lots more output]

Then I pushed it to github:

lappy:foo bsmith$ git remote add github git@github.com:benjaminleesmith/submodule_test.git
lappy:foo bsmith$ git push github master
Counting objects: 64, done.
Delta compression using up to 2 threads.
Compressing objects: 100% (56/56), done.
Writing objects: 100% (64/64), 79.32 KiB, done.
Total 64 (delta 10), reused 0 (delta 0)
To git@github.com:benjaminleesmith/submodule_test.git
* [new branch] master -> master

Next, I take a look at the vendor directory that got committed go github:

From screen shots

I assume that the little folder icon with an arrow means that the restful authentication code is being hosted elsewhere… as a submodule maybe? The folder is not clickable, so I can’t see what’s inside… if there’s anything!

So my next step is to pull the project, say for a deployment on another system:

lappy:tmp bsmith$ mkdir bar
lappy:tmp bsmith$ cd bar/
lappy:bar bsmith$ git init
Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/bsmith/tmp/bar/.git/
lappy:bar bsmith$ git pull git://github.com/benjaminleesmith/submodule_test.git
remote: Counting objects: 64, done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (56/56), done.
remote: Total 64 (delta 10), reused 0 (delta 0)
Unpacking objects: 100% (64/64), done.
From git://github.com/benjaminleesmith/submodule_test
* branch HEAD -> FETCH_HEAD

Then… I go searching for restful auth in this latest pull…

lappy:bar bsmith$ cd vendor/plugins/
lappy:plugins bsmith$ ls
restful_authentication
lappy:plugins bsmith$ cd restful_authentication/
lappy:restful_authentication bsmith$ ls
lappy:restful_authentication bsmith$

Yikes! The directory is there, but the contents are missing! I don’t know if this is a problem with the way I added restful auth to my local git repo, or if this is an issue with github. I noticed this when a production deployment was failing saying “uninitialized constant User::Authentication (NameError)” as if restful auth was no where to be found.

It seems less than intuitive to say the least. If anyone knows what’s going on here, leave me a comment please! Otherwise, my fix was to clone restful auth, then remove its git directory. This allowed me to push to github exactly what my local copy contained.

http://benjaminsmithphotography.com/

Photography has been a hobby of mine for awhile, and I have thousands of pictures on Flickr. I’m the first to admit that most of them are utter crap. As I’ve gotten better, the ratio of crap pictures to good ones has gotten better. Still, even out of my good pictures, there’s only a few that I’d like to show to the world as my best work.

So, I decided to build a little Rails app that would show off my best photos from Flickr. I created a Set on Flickr and added my best pictures to it. Then using the Flickr API, my Rails app displays the photos in a nice, clean, professional looking layout (although I think there’s some bugs in IE). I also decided to pull posts from my blog relating to photography, giving the site some nice content as well.

I’m thinking about cleaning up the code and open sourcing it. Maybe even added support for other photo bucket sites and out blogging engines. For now, it makes for a sweet way to show off my photos.

The Clymb is a new deal site that sells outdoor gear, and I got a beta invite! Beta invite, plus cheap gear sounds right up my alley. The site which goes live on Wednesday follows a model similar to woot.com. One deal per week at very discounted rates. They also have a concept of GreenShipping, which is an interesting idea.

The Clymb has plenty of competition. I already monitor steepandcheap, OutDoorDaily, REI’s Deal of the Day, Whiskey Milita, and SpadOut. So we will see how they fair.

If you’re interested in checking out the site and signing up for a beta account you should DEFINITELY use this link: http://theclymb.com/invite-from/BenjaminSmith because if you use that link, and you end up buying something, then I get $10 credit towards my next purchase! And since I don’t have an actual job at the moment, I will need as much free credit as I can muster for new gear!

So now I’m here, on a Monday morning, writing about OpenRain with a heavy heart. OpenRain was one of the most fun places I’ve had the privilege to work. The light hearted atmosphere made it easy to joke and laugh at anytime. The projects were ever changing. I think I worked on five different projects my time there, each one presented its own set of challenges and gave me a refreshing start after coming off the previous project. The schedule was flexible, allowing me to pursue rock climbing and other crazy passions I have in my life that sometimes take more than a normal weekend. And the technology was always changing, I always felt pushed to use the latest and greatest stuff and to stay a little ahead of the game… or innovate and come up with something new.

OpenRain might be my favorite job I’ve ever held. The AI Lab at the UofA is the only place that competes with it. Both of them had many similar qualities… lots of smart people to work with, changing projects, innovating.

So what happens next? I really wish I knew. I think today I’ll go visit Erin at her kindergarten class, drop by the unemployment office, update my resume, and start trying to find another job. After today, I have no clue what the future holds. Keep your fingers crossed for good things!

ANYWAYS… during the first few hours of being excited about Google Wave, I decided to write a “Gadget” which would embed a Flickr user’s latest images into a Wave. It was super easy to write. Gadgets are basically JavaScript and HTML wrapped in some XML. So whipping up a Rails app that fetched Flickr images via the Flickr API and rendered some HTML to display them was cake. I deployed the Rails app/Gadget to heroku… check it out here: http://flickr-wave.heroku.com/

There seems to be some bugs, for some reason after embedding the Gadget and reloading the wave SOMETIMES it won’t load the Gadget. I don’t know why… and I probably won’t worry about fixing it unless I start getting excited about Google Wave again. Ohh well, check out the source here: http://github.com/benjaminleesmith/Flickr-Wave

What happened to that nice blue sky?…

Sorry Eddie, your face looks like it was consumed by a black hole…

So what do you do? Well… usually I adjust my exposure so you can see the climber, maybe slightly under exposed. Then I’ll do my best to crop as much of the over exposed sections out later. Like so…

It’s not horrible, but it’s not great either. A better solution is to expose the photo for the background, then add a flash into the mix to light up the climber. I’ve just started doing this with limited success so far:

It’s not wonderful yet, but it’s getting there.

The best place to buy cheap climbing shoes, hands down, is the REI garage sale. Here in Phoenix, both of the REI stores have bi-annual garage sales where anything that was returned gets sold as ridiculous prices. Slightly used shoes are sold for $20. Almost new shoes are sold for $40. Now, when I say slightly used, I mean VERY slightly… you can tell they’re used, but they have probably 90% rubber left on them. And when i say almost new, I mean you cannot tell they were ever worn.

I’ll pick up 5 or 6 pairs of climbing shoes for the price of one new pair. You can’t be super picky on brands or models, but sometimes you’ll luck out with pairs of Katanas or Muiras. Most of the time, I’ll get lots of Evolv Evos and Deifys which I am totally happy with for the price!

All you need is two 48 inch (or 120 cm) slings.

From personal anchors

Tie three overhand knots in one half of each of the slings.

From personal anchors

From personal anchors

Put locking carabiners on the last loops.

From personal anchors

Feed the other end of the slings (the biggest loop) through your harness in a girth hitch. Make sure to feed it through both the leg and waist loops.

From personal anchors

From personal anchors

…and you’re done! Clip the biners to you gear loops and you’re good to go.

From personal anchors

Tips

• Use two different color slings, it makes it easier to tell the right personal anchor from the left.
• The slings will have a small hard sewn section which creates the loop, try to get this sewn section in the biggest loop but as close to the first knot as possible. This will keep it out of the way.
• Use small locking biners, when clipping the anchors you want to have as much space as possible.
• Use biners with key lock noses, this will make unclipping snag free which is nice when you’re trying to get onto repel.

Tonight, from 7-10 a group of ASU Interior Design student will be holding an event to raise money for victims of domestic violence. It’s a climbing event held at the Phoenix Rock Gym. It should be a fun. I’ll be there taking pictures, and a friend of mine will be DJ’ing. If you’re looking for something to do tonight and you want to boost your karma points, you should stop by. Here’s more details:

Climb for a Cause!!!

Rock climb for Chairity as your complete entrance fee will raise money for victims of domestic violence!

4th year Interior Design students at
Arizona State University:
- create a chair that encompasses the mission of The Family Advocacy Center while promoting awareness of domestic violence
- builds a chair that is inspired by an artist or artistic movement
- raise money or use donated supplies/services to build the chair The chairs will be auctioned off in Spring 2010 at the annual CHAIRity gala where all proceeds benefit The City of Phoenix Family Advocacy Center

The chairs will be auctioned off in Spring 2010 at the annual CHAIRity gala where all proceeds benefit The City of Phoenix Family Advocacy Center

September 26th
7pm – 10pm
Phoenix Rock Gym
1353 E. University Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85281

only
$ 5 without gear
$ 10 with rental gear
Cash or Check accepted only

Enter raffle and win!

For more information contact Elena Reiche
602.460.6704 or email ejreiche@asu.edu

I bought this strap to use with my 40D. I was shooting a lot of bouldering competitions and was playing with holding a remote flash in one hand and the camera with the other. I got some great shots, but the trouble was, I couldn’t really operate the camera with one hand. For example, after shooting a couple of frames, I would want to switch to playback mode and review the images. I found I couldn’t press the “play” button with the hand holding the camera. So I was left juggling the camera and the flash.

I thought that with this strap, I would be able to completely hold and operate the camera with one hand. Unfortunately when you have your hand in the strap and the camera is completely hanging off one hand, you CANNOT reach any of the buttons. You can BARELY reach the shutter release button. The problem is the camera hangs down, leaving your thumb way above any of the buttons. If you want to press any of the buttons on the camera, you need to hold it with your other hand.

As you can see, none of my fingers are anywhere close to the buttons they need to reach! The only way to use the camera, is the same way you would with any other strap: hold the grip, and use both hands.

Once I came to the realization that this strap was nothing special, I immediately removed it and went back to using the stock strap that came with the camera

Here’s some more pictures for anyone who’s interested: