8.29.2007

Live Blogging MATC ROR Course Class 1.1

Setup rails, with an emphasis towards the Windows boxes made available by the college, using InstantRails or more sophisticated means if we were so inclined.

Created Databases by hand and also using phpMyAdmin.

Basic overview of MVC Framework.

Create a controller:
ruby script/generate controller main

"Controllers are non-destructive which is nice"

Created [Rails_App]/app/controllers/main_controller.rb

In Rails Actions are methods of a controller.

Everything that rails does is built on the philosophy of convention over configuration.

8.07.2007

Ugh, Race Report 8/3 & 8/5

It was a weekend full of ups and downs at the race track. Although mostly downs, the car stalled on the starting line, again. This was resolved by setting the idle up. My thinking was that the idle was already up really high but, what I was noticing was the idle speed with the choke engaged.

So, with a half-lap handicap I wound-up in fifth place after dodging several spinning cars. Or at least one spinning car many times. ;) Andy had his hands full and as my experience can attest once you feel like you are behind you try harder, you push, and you usually do worse. Some of my best races were ones I just didn't have any hope of winning and happened to be the last man standing.

Friday night, 5th place.

Sunday was the Sun Prairie Lion's Club Great American Race special. The back-ups always make an appearance and also race for points. This race went even worse. We got almost 3/4 of a lap in when George Wachuta running in the low groove slid up into my groove. We touched and then released and this sent me broadside across the track where I was collected by another driver. I wasn't able to finish the race and I had a flat tire.

I think they scored me in 7th, we'll find out at payout on Friday.

Those are all downs, you say? Where are the ups? Well the Lion's Club race usually has time to kill built into the schedule. We were able to take the Back-up division out qualifying. Fastest time, on a non-ideal track, was by me. I turned a 17.091 second lap. That is an average speed of 52 MPH according to this lap speed calculator. There is more there too, I could turn a faster lap under better conditions.