Git Branch on the command prompt

It is sometimes very useful to know the git branch you are working on right from the command prompt. You can do this by editing the ~/.bashrc file.



This will show up a prompt which looks like this and fails gracefully when you are not on a git repo.

vagmi@deepthought:~/work/testproj[master]$ git checkout new_feature
Switched to branch "new_feature"
vagmi@deepthought:~/work/testproj[new_feature]$ cd ..
vagmi@deepthought:~/work$

This saves a lot of "git branch" when you are coding.

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Liquid and Sinatra

Liquid is a templating language used when you need safety for your templates. I was planning to build a CMS and Liquid fit the needs of a templating library really well. I also like Sinatra for its simplicity. Unfortunately, Sinatra did not have support for liquid yet so I went ahead and built one. You can get that from my liquid topic branch on github.

There are few significant changes that you need to care about when using liquid instead of ERB or HAML.

• None of the local members or class members declared will be available in your template


• The locals hash is respected even for the layout.


• You have to use {{ content }} in your layouts, instead of yielding.

And finally a "hello world" sinatra app with liquid.



Do let me know if you like it.

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Star wars a cappella video

I just have two words for this. Bloody Brilliant.

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Lets build something already

Have ever had the feeling that when you wanted to get started with something, something else had to be done first. If you are a lone hacker banging out code, you are probably fine as you know what you are building. You do not ever have to write it down. But in teams it is vitally important that everyone knows what they are actually building.

This is where product managers and project managers come in. They are supposed to have a holistic view of where the project is and where it is heading to. They are the communication hubs who deal with all sorts of information about a project and protect the team as virtual filters. The team then gets information from a single source. But you might ask what happens when there are multiple project managers and product owners but no developers in a planning meeting. The meetings tend to be something like this.



Fortunately, there is an easy way to deal with this. Get building something already. It is far easier to figure out if the presented solution fits your needs than to speculate on how it would look like. So to all the teams that are suffering from this analysis paralysis, this is my advice. Stop discussing and start building.

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An interview with Ayn Rand

Objectivism is very relevant, especially in today's context.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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A video on the monetary system

Apart from the conspiracy theory part in the end, this is by far the best explanation of the current monetary system.

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India, say hello to Corporate Greed

I was browsing the net about the Satyam fiasco when I saw this. What infuriated me were the comments on the blog. They are asking people to stick to the company. This is the time the talented people should extend their middle finger and say FUCK YOU to the management. Make sure you enunciate that properly. It works best if told in groups. Tell it with enough intensity to make them die in shame.

Stay with Satyam... Are you crazy?? Jump the ship now. Don't commit a career suicide. If the man had an ounce of dignity he would not have jeopardized the life of so many people. Indians do not have social security. If a guy in India does not have a job, he is literally on the streets.

Ramalinga Raju was sure as hell not maintaining family accounts. The CFO, other senior managment and the financial/controlling staff would have known this. I am sure PWC would have spotted this and would have been duly silenced. Corporate Greed has entered India.

If you are a good programmer, you would not have joined Satyam in the first place. But if you are there, jump now. You may not get a raise, but what the hell. You can get out of the depressing situation and have a chance a save your soul.

The following days to come in an organization like Satyam would be extremely depressing and would be enough to demotivate a motivated soul. It would be full of bureaucracy where mediocrity will reign supreme. Sounds like a fun place to work?? Hell no. If you you are a rockstar coder, this is your chance.

Get out of the hell hole now.

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