Remnant of a life both long ago and far away

How about an incredibly handy tutorial for getting up and running with Rails 3, Devise, Haml, and even Web App Theme? Yeah, I thought so.

rubyquicktips:

Did you know you can pass a number parameter to Array#first and Array#last?

x = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]

x.first 5 
=> [1,2,3,4,5] 

x.last 2 
=> [9,10] 

This tip was submitted by Alfred Nagy.

I can, however, be a complete idiot. Since I suck at wrapping gifts, I’m going to show you how to make an Awesome Sandwich instead. First, get your prep area good and clean, lay down some protective foil, and prepare your awesome.

Of course, no Awesome Sandwich is complete without a couple slices of wheat bread. Place the awesome between them.

Now that your Awesome Sandwich is assembled, wrap it in foil to ensure maximum awesomeness.

If you don’t already own a bar, you’re probably going to need to go to a bar (I went to Mike’s Sports Page) to procure a clean styrofoam meal container.

Now that the Awesome Sandwich is assembled, wrapped, and packaged, fill out the rest of the package with a suitable side. I’m using “Extreme” Horseradish Pringles.

You’re almost there. Close up the meal container, and do remember to mark the proper recipient so that you don’t get two orders mixed up.

Once you bag it up, you can consider the whole deal to be in the bag.

A conversation with my old man some months back set the both of us to looking for a “new” car for me to drive. Essentially, he was interested in the engine from my truck, a 1999 Tahoe that was a Michigan State Police pursuit vehicle in a previous life, so I told him that if he were to find a car that meets my criteria (older than me, interesting, and better fuel economy than the truck, but still yells “MOTHERFUCKER” when one stomps on the accelerator), I would swap him even for it. He came up with a few that were somewhat near his area (Evansville, IN), but none that were really compelling to me.

Since roundabouts high school, I’ve been trying to get my hands on an early second-generation Monte Carlo. A couple of weeks ago, the means to do so came about in the form of both amazing luck and a chunk of expendable income, and I’ve been dying to stop being the friend that has a truck. I don’t mind helping friends haul stuff, but seriously …

At any rate, I picked up the car yesterday with the help of @danbjorklund , and until we actually got to the Canton Car Connection in Canton, OH, aside from a few pictures on their site, the deal was made pretty much sight unseen. That’s usually a REALLY bad idea, but the guys at CCC are pretty good folk. That said, we had no idea whatsoever that we were getting what we actually did.

This is my 1973 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Between the guys at CCC and my research on it, it appears that just about everything is still original, and it’s a freakin’ beast. The engine is a 175hp 350-4 V8, the tranny is a three-speed auto, the original rally wheels are still on it, and it very much goes.

Get Offa My Lawn

Among the more interesting aspects of this thing are the swivel bucket seats. For those not into cars that were born too late to see such a sight, this is how one slides into the back seat of a vehicle with such.

This is also kinda funky. Either the previous owner (somebody in Oklahoma) or the original dealership included what appears to be a ladies leather handbag that matches the leather of the interior.

I didn’t bother taking a picture of the safety belts, but for the younger crowd, here’s a description: The front safety belts are in two parts. There is a fixed-position, adjustable-length chest belt that latches to the ratcheting lap belt, and the lap belt then latches in much the same way as the cars you’ve been driving forever.

MacGyverin’ It

As is almost always the case when purchasing a used vehicle, particularly one of such vintage, there are a few minor problems with the car. As you can see in this picture, the lamp that lights the fuel gauge and speedometer isn’t functional, and I really didn’t feel like screwing with it on very little sleep over the course of a five-or-six-hour haul back to Michigan.

Yes, that’s a two-dollar flashlight taped to the steering column. Always keepin’ it classy.

Aside from a small exhaust leak (which makes it sound a little less loud than it would were I to install glass packs, which is a distinct possibility), and the need for an alignment adjustment, that’s actually the only functional problem that I was able to detect along the 300-mile drive back home. I was unable to get the cruise control to engage, but was also unaware as to its proper operation (which has been rectified by the nefarious procurement of a copy of the operators manual). The after market stereo that has been installed in it needs replacing and proper installation (the person that installed this one doesn’t appear to have been familiar with the idea of proper grounding), but that can’t really be considered a problem.

Cosmetically, aside from a crease in the passenger-side fender, the body is more or less straight. The paint has seen better days, but a change of color was planned from the start of this venture, so that’s no big deal at all.

The only thing about the vehicle that I can’t stand so far is the fuel tank cap, which is a two-stage fixed prong deal. The second stage is kind of a bitch to get lined up properly, but I’ll get used to it.

All in all, I’m really happy with this thing, and I’m bloody amazed to have made a trip of exactly 300 miles in less than a tank (~17 gal) of fuel.

Seriously enough, I think I know exactly the fellow that this definition is meant to describe:

Asshole Driven Development (ADD) – Any team where the biggest jerk makes all the big decisions is asshole driven development. All wisdom, logic or process goes out the window when Mr. Asshole is in the room, doing whatever idiotic, selfish thing he thinks is best. There may rules and processes, but Mr. A breaks them and people follow anyway.

Check out Scott Berkun’s full article (source, down next to the tags) regarding Asshole Driven Development and other unwritten office methodologies. It’s a hoot, and it’s probably a lot more applicable than your situation than you’ll realize at first reading.

Y’know, even with all the years I’ve been hacking on Ruby projects, I still get these three mixed up on occasion, so this article is really, really handy.