[26 Mar 2010 ]
Connecting to multiple databases<br / > from Ruby on Rails

A recent challenge I faced while working on our product was a requirement that surfaced from a potential client who asked that they be able to use our web-based application as-is, but host their own data internally (in other words, run their own database separate from the one all of our other clients share).
My initial thought was to set-up a second sub-domain (lets call it www2.myapp.com) pointing to our rails application and add a “before_filter” to the ApplicationController that could detect which request.host was being used, and connect to the …

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[5 May 2009]

I can’t help but comment on the Tom McCoy article on Interaction Design being a dead-end job.
Interaction Design is certainly no more weak a profession than Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Photography, or any other creative profession. Any single individual could take it upon him or herself to circumvent using a professional and do the work on his or her own using off-the-shelf tools, hacks or just *winging it*.
Frankly I think his blog post is shameless FUD used to gain “link” attention… and Cooper should know better.
I believe all professions evolve …

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[6 Nov 2008]

I was utterly shocked to read of Chrichton’s death today, and I couldn’t help but wonder what his own feelings on the matter might have been.
Regardless of whether or not you have enjoyed his books, it is clear his life exploration has always been at the limits of science and imagination through his writing.

What would he ask in this case?
If I were him I’d ask: What progress has medical science made in the fight against cancer?
I can’t help but sound ignorant and pessimistic here, (and I encourage you to comment), …

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[26 Oct 2008]

How much would you be willing to pay to instantly quit smoking? Think about it carefully, the maximum sum of money, to walk away from cigarettes for good.
I was at the birthday party of a colleague of mine, who proclaimed that his “birthday resolution” was to quit smoking. All of us within earshot of this statement, instantly rolled our eyes. Countless times have we witnessed our friend’s quitting attempts, and countless times have we heard the excuses for his eventual relapse.

Almost daring him to quit, I blurted out my challenge: …

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[21 Oct 2008]

Guerrila Design is something Felix and I have been kicking around as a marketing / sales strategy for a while. While his posting (which you should read) has a slightly sour antic about it, I definitely think he’s onto something.

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[16 Oct 2008]

Our little social experiment VoteTheQuote [ www.votethequote.com ] has launched!
We’ve been dedicating a few evenings to this little project of hours,
and it is finally ready for public consumption!
It’s a pretty simple concept, we hope you like it.