Aloha
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
initially submitted something along the lines of “how to be a fashionable ruby tester”
i didn’t get a response at all, but I really wanted to go to hawaii
so i figured i’d send something completely off the wall, seth got back to me within 24 hours.

atmos.org / @atmos / atmos@atmos.org
http://github.com/atmos
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
i learned linux about 10 years ago.
i’ve been comitting to open source for the last 8 years or so, sourceforge since 2001...
i did not win a high altitude open karate championship, i just found that medal.

rspec webrat
sinatra
passenger
integrity datamapper
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
these are the tools i use as a ruby hacker, all of them are open source, on github.
testing is evenly split with other libs that contribute to delivering code.
thank you @dchelimsky, @brynary, @aslak_hellesoy, @bmizerany, @phusion_nl, @dkubb,
@godfoca

open source &
independent hip hop
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrielynn/1817195121/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
they’re both pretty dude saturated.
both are underdogs, the business people pat you on the head and tell you to go play in traffic.
“selling platinum artists and building global partnerships, that’s where the REAL money is” ...

context
rappers & labels
hackers & companies
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onkel_wart/3514652575/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
how they did it and why i like it more than what you see on techcrunch.

communities
they create
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stjc/355427133/in/set-72157594476216069/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
how creating things organically allows you to remain in control of your ideas

participation
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelgermain/1256439153/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
how to choose a nickname or a persona
why traveling is so important to professional development
inspiration through collaboration
hustling

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lant_70/3441405150/
Returning ...
Text
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
we have GREAT jobs, what can we give back?
mentoring, free access to your work, a self sustaining ecosystem.
what kind of environments can we create for the next wave of open source hackers?

Indie Labels
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
doom is 12+ years now
living legends is going on 14 for some members
rhymesayers is pushing 15

Not On a Boat
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
no t-pain, no boats.
no simple path for distribution.
there is no radio air play, DIY marketing.

tell
you
a
story
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
this was me when I was 15, it’s the canadian embassy in washington DC.
i got to travel through skating as a teenager.
i went to a hip hop/punk rock show, the first time i went to an atmosphere show.

Minneapolis, MN
Rhymesayers
Slug
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
slug is a leader, he’s more or less the public face of rhymesayers
my online persona comes from a group he’s a part of, Atmosphere

Murs Los Angeles, CA
Living Legends
Rhymesayers
Definitive Jux
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
murs is a collaborator
he cross pollenates

The Grouch
Maui
Oakland, CA Living Legends
Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
collaborator, positivity
10+ years independent
Living Legends, the crew he’s a part of is an amazing collective

Brother Ali
Rhymesayers Minneapolis, MN
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
padawan -> jedi -> mentor
what’s the first thing you need to be a hacker or a rapper?

Identity
http://www.flickr.com/photos/filtran/3656916218/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
who are you when you participate in open source?
it’s not your myspace or facebook accounts, hackers have github accounts and own domains!

DOOM
•Metal Fingers
•Danger Doom ( w/ Danger Mouse )
•Madvillain ( w/ Madlib )
•King Geedorah
•Viktor Vaughn
•MF Doom
•Doom
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianconnolly/73450927/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
DOOM is a rapper that has continued to publish things under different names over the years.
i like that he got creative, metal fingers on beats, metal face on rhymes

_why
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
why is an awesome example of an open source persona.
he just disappeared one day, never to be seen again. left countless memories with us.
i hope _why comes back as another persona, but we’d probably never know

http://www.flickr.com/photos/videoplacebo/2476230102/
personas can be superheroes
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
be a troll, a savior, a leader, a collaborator.
a whole lot of hard work, and it’s growth.
in a year or two you can be the kid rockin’ their underwear on the outside.

crew
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasexplorer3128/137712897/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
a lot of that growth can be accelerated by finding a crew of quality people
couldn’t help but use something like this growing up in a military family
crews excel in teamwork, and teamwork is....

http://fuckyeah4chan.tumblr.com/post/192239314/via-juiceinabox
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
find people that you enjoy working with.
a group of people teaching and learning from each other.

Living Legends
• Mystik Journeymen
• The Grouch
• 3 Melancholy Gypsies
• Bicasso
• Asop
•50 albums
•300,000 units sold
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
formed slowly over 10 years or so.
shipped a ton, mix and match on different projects.
not stupid rich but they have more support than ever.

What’s an Open Source Crew?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
might be your local user group, this is boulder.rb.
couple of friends contracting together, this is a good way to start looking for income.

Tender
Lighthouse
Countless Plugins
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
entp is an interestingly similar collective.
active reload launched lighthouse, got consumed into ENTP.
if you write ruby web apps i’m pretty sure you’ve used something that came outta that
incubator.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciaranj/2100790386/
gimme the loot
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
so I know who I am. I got my crew with me. i’ve been practicing!
we have some open source stuff on github.
I need to survive, how do we make money?

hitting the road
http://www.flickr.com/photos/deppi/237977864/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
go meet people in real life, people who don’t live anywhere near you.
you’re going to need to.

two conferences a year
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
the personal connection you make with people at conferences trumps twitter, irc, message
boards.
“but railsconf is like 700$ how on earth do you make it happen?” don’t go.
attend more intimate conferences, the rubyhoedown was free, mountain west isn’t too
expensive.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eelssej_/413385838/
open arms
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
I work at Engine Yard, they couldn’t work sending me here into the budget.
Cory Shaw graciously offered to take me in for this conf. Mahalo, that meant a lot to me.
if you a nice person you’ll be surprised who will take you in.

two tours a year
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
every spring and fall Rhymesayers hits the road, they’ve always got merch
even for the loyal fans who’ve been going for years.

EPs of current work
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
have examples of what they’ve been working on.
each of those squares is a CD. used to fit on a card table.

releases of current work
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
when you meet other hackers, show them what you’re working on, even if you’re not too
proud of it.
figure out what other hackers are struggling with, passionate about.
if you meet people and you’ve got things to share....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dollymixtures/299311799/
strangers might have
work for you
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
charge people a fair amount, be nice, communication is extremely important.
open source persona can be disconnected from the people who pay you normally

collaboration
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
the grouch pairs with a dude from the living legends named eligh (LA -> Oakland).
i pair program with halorgium (tcs), we kick ass but it took practice (CO -> NZ).
while pairing is hot, there’s more to collaboration than just pairing.

MURS
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
mixing and matching with whoever he vibed off of, continued growth.
worked with definitive jux, rhymesayers, living legends, who knows else. 173 tracks on my
laptop.
“i’m all about good music, people and progression.” -- murs

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffhester/165316370/
collaborate with strangers
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
defunkt/wycats - not only collaborate, they don’t stick to one language.
promiscuous programmer, not just who you work with but what you work in.
One kid is working on digging a whole, next thing you know 3 more kids you don’t know
show up to help

mentoring
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/76202401/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
where do you draw the line between consulting, collaborating and helping someone out?
especially when they show natural talent?
how about helping people for free?

Slug
Rhymesayers
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
this is a shot from 2002 in washington DC.
this was a little bigger than the first show, may 150-200 people this time.
five years means longer travels and a few more fans.

http://www.doomtree.net/about/
Doomtree
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
kind of a mixed bag, there’s a girl, some white dudes, a pirate in the back left
P.O.S was my first introduction to doomtree when he opened for atmosphere

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stolt45/303728799/
P.O.S
Doomtree
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
a little different than slug but all he needed was to get on.
he’s got a punk rock background that’s transforming to something in between.

Brother
Ali
Rhymesayers
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
the opening act was killer, a heart felt accappella of ‘bedroom window’, a big albino dude.
until he starts rapping... and that was 7 years ago.

Brother Ali
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
hip hop live with ghostface and rakim.
he’s a headliner now, and he’s getting HIS friends on.
that dj in the back has been there the whole time, his name is bk one.

people who show promise
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/76202401/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
help them understand the solution?
help them clean up the mess associated with them trying to implement a feature?
help them learn how to test that use feature?

Thoughtbot
hoptoad
suspenders
shoulda paperclip
clearance
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
they’re independent and maintain a SOLID blog.
they give back and do things like poker tournaments when a conf is in vegas.
nick quaranto (qrush) was their intern, he does cool shit, have you seen gemcutter?

Corey
Haines
http://www.coreyhaines.com/images/corey_and_sue.jpg
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
he’s been hacking forever
he’s on pair programming tour

http://fuckyeah4chan.tumblr.com/post/202709041
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
personas, crews, hustling, collaborating, mentoring.
i’ve done multiple iterations of this successfully.
l made a personal connection with ezra at railsconf 2006 and ended up at Engine Yard.

we’re already doing it
(ass kicking)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
gregory brown, seth ladd, jeremy macanally.
entp, hashrocket, thoughtbot, corey haines.
kicking ass is getting over the fear of failure.

Github
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31679616@N08/2960047774
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
i can’t say enough good things about github.
i was sad to see them leave EY but i’m so stoked to see them thriving.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaderlab/1975179984
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
10-15 years from now, and ruby is a thing of the past.
and we look back on how things changed when we were waist deep in it.
open source allowed people to build little empires of their own over time w/o investors.

Be Smart About Investors
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
roll the dice on those stock options, buy a place in hawaii when you cash em out... if it pans
out.
if you need to take money, do it wisely.

Ice
Cube
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
they did it without doing a complete 180º
in his defense i’d be ready to bail on LA gang violence too.

Atmosphere @ Red Rocks
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
it takes years, regardless of whether or not you take funding.
choose wisely, your work/company/software reflects on you as a hacker and as a
professional.
let’s stop being indentured servants to other people and let’s do it ourselves.

Atmosphere @ Red Rocks
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
8300+ people at red rocks amphitheater for an atmosphere show.
there were about 40 at the show i saw 11 years ago.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcr/1392656919/
Organic
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
organic communities, like the foods, don’t leave a bad taste in your mouth.
they’re filled with passionate people that care about their craft and doing what’s “right”.
in the long run, those are the kind of people i want to surround myself with.

Mahalo
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Mahalo Seth for such an amazing conference.
talk to the closest person next to you that you don’t know.
ask them why they’re at aloha on rails, i bet you won’t regret it.