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The Ruby Rogues Show logoLast week I got the chance to sit down with the Ruby Rogues to discuss diversity in the ruby community. We covered why diversity is important, how we can increase the amount of diversity, dealing with our own subconscious biases, how to be an ally, and a lot more.

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The Ruby Freelancers Show logoI was asked on to the RubyFreelancers podcast to discuss client red flags with potential and current clients.

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Welcome to the internet, my pretties. You're probably reading this because some shit just went down. Whoa, totally makes you lose your faith in humanity right? Declare the equivalent of moving to Canada via rage quit? I'm with ya. 

So, take a deep breath and let the rage subside a little. What can we do so this incident repeats itself with less frequency?

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I was invited to speak on an episode of the Ruby Freelancers podcast today about client red flags and a lot of conversation seemed to center around what was in my contract.

I have a different contract style than most people: mine is in plain language (no legalese) and I consider it to be a living document. Whenever I have an issue with a certain process or client, I am sure to add language to my contract to insure that the issue won't come up again. I'm a big fan of being up-front with clients so they know what to expect from working with me. What better way to do this in a contract they can read and understand? No surprises makes for happy everyone.

I based my contract off of Andy Clarke's Contract Killer from 24 Ways from a few years ago. As you can see, mine has evolved a quite a bit from its original state, but I definitely recommend taking a look at his and reading his reasoning behind using a plain language contract.

Edit: I forgot to mention: I charge more if a client would prefer I sign their contract instead of signing mine. This allows me to get a lawyer to go over their contract as well as adjust to working more within their boundaries and constraints.

Note: I've removed any personal details and made it as easy for you to copy and paste to use for your own contracts. It is also available on github.

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"We’ve all been there. We’ve been asked to do the impossible, work with the impossible, or finish before anything is possible. In this episode, we talk about how to make the most out of those situations!"

Watch the podcast.

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Migrating Google Accounts

I signed up for gmail a few months after they released it, back when I was using a different name. Since then, I've added another google account using my present name but have been struggling with the fact that some things are in one place and others are in another place. I finally decided this past week to figure out how to move data from one into the other.

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Since I'm without my own computer tonight, I borrowed one and remarked on twitter that I love that I can pretty easily recreate my laptop's basic setup with tools I use anyway. These few easy steps mean that at best I can be ultra portable if need be and save myself from a disaster in the worst case scenario.

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After having been on OS X for 5 or so years, I have collected a bunch of little helper apps that do one specific thing very well. It never fails that I have someone sitting next to me that sees me using one and is thrilled to know such a thing exists. Here is my list of current favorites:

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Mentioned on Ruby Rogues

The Ruby Rogues Show logoTotally thrilled to find out that I was chosen as one of the picks on this week's Ruby Rogues. Super flattering; it's always nice to know that your work is helping other people and being appreciated. Thanks, Rogues :}

You can listen to the episode here.

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