As sports fans go, we’ve been very lucky over the past few years in Boston. The Red Sox, Patriots, & Celtics have all won championships.
To me, the best part about having competitive teams from your city is the extra entertainment it gives you for weeks or even months. Each round your team advances is exciting and it gives you something to talk about with your friends. The city takes on a certain buzz on game days, and you see lots of people wearing the team’s colors.
Another thing I enjoy about the playoffs is mayoral bets. For example, during the Super Bowl two years ago, New York and Boston were competing. The mayors from each city made a gentleman’s bet:
If the Patriots win, that means Bloomberg will send a delivery to Boston that includes Manhattan clam chowder, pastrami sandwiches, New York pizzas, black and white cookies, New York steaks and a few gallons of lemon ice. And if the Giants claim victory, Menino will send a package with New England Clam Chowder, Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, Boston cream pies, chicken sausages and Brigham’s ice cream.
I don’t know who gets to feast on the spoils, but in the same spirit, thoughtbot and Rails Envy made a bet while at Railsconf in Vegas for the Boston Celtics-Orlando Magic series.
The terms were simple: if the team from your city wins, highlight the other company’s work in your favorite medium. For us, that’s the Giant Robots blog, and for Rails Envy, it’s the Rails Envy podcast.
Unfortunately, Boston’s title defense ended last night as Orlando won the series, taking our dream of having an entire rails envy podcast dedicated solely to thoughtbot down with it. So, without further ado, I present to you the Top 10 reasons you should be listening to the Rails Envy podcast.
10
The production value is far above the usual internet fare, and even some Hollywood fare.
9
Their ability to mangle the names of Rails developers fills a gaping void left by former President Bush. Laughing at people mis-speak is as natural as laughing at a football to the groin.
8
They’re like the Meet the Press of the Rails world: once a week, they hit you in the face with the best Rails knowledge you can find anywhere.
7
They put their money where their mouth is and have the guts to bet on sporting events with other members of the community.
6
They always include a few things on bleeding edge, such as Tokyo Cabinet in their latest podcast.
5
They read RSS and Twitter so you don’t have to, leaving you plenty of time to do neck exercises, increasing the blood to your brain.
4
No fluff, just stuff. They don’t report on the drama in the Rails community. Look through their show notes. It’s all practical information that you can use as a Rails developer. If there’s a technical reason to care, they deliver a level-headed analysis (example: Ruby v. Scala in Episode #75).
3
Much like their city’s basketball players, they are both a frightening seven feet tall. Thank god they mostly work in audio.
2
They frequently highlight thoughtbot’s stuff and came up with an amazing Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots (CRASH!) sound.
1
Gregg and Jason are both guys that seem to really enjoy what they’re doing. They clearly care about the community in both professional and social aspects, and are consistently giving talks, presenting at conferences, etc.
