New Box

This past fall I picked up a new personal box for development.

On the local box:

• XCode
• Dropbox - File syncing at it's best
• TextWrangler - A nice text editor.
• KeePassX - A nice encrypted password store.
• Amazon KindleApp

Given my experimentation with Ruby and Python I've also added

- RVM - Ruby Virtual Machine

- VirtualEnv - a similar stack for Python.

These tools allow me to create specific versions of Python and Ruby Apps without polluting the global space. If I need a new set of gems/modules I can cut a new environment to test against. I also don't have to worry as much about conflicts or upgrades of individual packages.

I've also started using Divvy and Evernote. Divvy is a nice little app for slicing up windows and placing apps nicely on the screen. I've started trying to use Evernote to track notes, plans and todo lists across machines.

I just got a new box for work, and I'm setting up most of the same tools. A few additions: I'll be making: VirtualBox and Vagrant for setting up unix environments cheap and easy. Need to look at Puppet vs Chef, but that'll wait for another night.

Where was I again?

Snap my fingers and 6 months gone! It's been a hectic summer. New job has been keeping me challenged, busy and learning. Spent a good amount of time learning ruby, rails and a new ERP platform called Blue Cherry. It's been a hectic ride. Company has had huge growth and lots of interesting growing pains. We're weeks a way from Holiday season, starting with Black Friday and on through Christmas.

So what's next? I've been putting a back burner to my own personal projects for a few months. Time to start picking up some new skills and building some new tools. I want to start building some HTML 5 applications, building a few new iPhone and iPad applications. The new App Store for OSX also sounds interesting. Might be some interesting possibilities. I will try to be a bit better at documenting what I've been learning in this blog or some other places.