The Dream of Being a Bona Fide Mycologist

This is a special episode from RailsConf 2023 Atlanta, where we’re having a Ruby Community Podcast LIVE!  Today, we have on the panel Brittany Martin, Co-host of The Ruby on Rails Podcast, our very own Jason Charnes, and Paul Bahr, Audio Editor from Peachtree Sound, who edits over a dozen tech podcasts. We also have some great guests joining us: Aaron “tenderlove” Patterson, Irina Nazarova, Justin Searls, and Britni Alexander, who was selected by the audience to be our fourth guest. Today, our guests share some stories about who they are and what they do, give shout-outs, and answer questions from our audience.  Hit download now to hear more! 

[00:04:30] We start with Aaron “Tenderlove” Patterson, sharing the origin of his nickname. 

[00:06:05] Since Aaron has switched companies over the years, he tells how his job has changed a lot, and how he spends one hundred percent doing open source at Shopify. 

[00:08:05] A question from the audience comes up on what Aaron is looking most forward to working on this year. He mentions some spoilers. 

[00:10:38] Since Aaron has been working Ruby and Rails for so long, Brittany asks if there’s ever been a community that may have tempted him to leave. His answer is no.  

[00:11:44] Aaron leaves us with a shout-out to Mushroom Hunting since he is a mycologist.  

[00:12:46] Our next guest is Irina Nazarova, co-founder of Evil Martians, who tells us she had a dream that Brittany would invite her on a podcast. 

[00:15:44] Irina explains that consulting allows them to understand user needs, which they use to build useful tools.

[00:16:44] She explains the open source products they build are a byproduct of consulting work, and they allocate resources to work on them once they show traction.

[00:18:44] The focus here is on startups and if she recommends Ruby and Rails to startups. 

[00:19:51] An audience question comes up for Irina on how does Evil Martians foster the environment for a great company blog? She tells us about her great editors and the blog articles that bring value to the company. 

[00:21:23] Irina makes a shout-out for people to support Ukraine during the war.

[00:23:18] Next, we have joining us Justin Searls, co-founder of Test Double, and Britni Alexander, former employee at Mailchimp. They introduce themselves and tell us a little bit about what they do. 

[00:27:48] Justin discusses his favorite talk he’s given, “How to Scratch an Itch.”

[00:29:14] Britni tells us her ideal job and her struggle to balance being kind and direct. 

[00:30:05] Justin tells us about an upcoming project called, N.E.A.T, which is focused on discussing ways to make software better that are not related to technology. 

[00:32:15] Britni talks about what her ideal job would be. 

[00:33:05] We hear about the RubyKaigi conference in Japan and Justin’s plans to attend and report on it. 

[00:35:30] Britni gives a shout-out to her friend Eileen for being her friend, and Justin expresses his gratitude for the opportunities and connections he’s gained through the Ruby community. 

Moderator:

Brittany Martin

Panelists:

Jason Charnes

Paul Bahr

Guests:

Aaron Patterson

Irina Nazarova

Justin Searls

Britni Alexander

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• Jason Charnes X/Twitter