justin․searls․co

XOXO's COVID Policy

XOXO is back for one last festival this August. Having always wanted to attend, I was about to buy a ticket when I thought to click through to the COVID policy mentioned in their announcement e-mail:

All XOXO participants are required to wear a high-quality mask at all times while inside Washington High (including Revolution Hall, Show Bar, and all common areas inside the venue), the reserved area for Park Pass holders in the tent, as well as at any festival event on our schedule where masks are required.

I knew XOXO was frequented by hipsters, so I'll grant that an all-N95-all-the-time policy in late-2024 is decidedly vintage.

Park Pass holders will have access to reserved seating in the tent at Washington High Park, a large, shaded, well-ventilated space for viewing the simulcast of our main stage programming. Park Pass holders are required to wear a high-quality mask at all times while in the reserved seating area.

Even outdoors, too? Pass.

It feels to me like wifi SSID passwords shouldn't be masked-by-default with asterisks or whatever. Whoever the hell is going to shoulder surf you typing in your wifi password is probably somebody you'd want to give the password to.

59 likes · May 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM UTC

Zamami Island
See with all my spots…

So Aaron and I spent a couple days touring Okinawa after RubyKaigi 2024 wrapped. In particular, we were both eager to escape the urban environments of Naha on the main island, so we hopped on the fastest ferry out of town, the Queen Zamami (whose reservation website evokes some real Angelfire nostalgia).

Once you get there, you probably want to rent a bike or an electronic scooter (referred to as kickboards here) to get around the island, because the island's a bit too large to comfortably walk around—especially on a warm day in direct sunlight. To the east and west are beautiful beaches—though we both preferred the tranquil blue waters of Furuzami beach. On every corner of the island, there sits an observation deck (希望台) atop the nearest mountain, and they offer some truly breathtaking views.

Speaking of, here are some of those views:

I also cut a quick one-minute video of the island, for your audiovisual enjoyment:

Anyway, if you're ever on Okinawa's main island, you really should save a day to ferry out and back to Zamami. Definitely worth seeing. 🏝️

The XZ Utils backdoor taught me to be cautious about handing over maintenance of
open source to others, but now what the hell am I to do with OSS I don't want?

States should pass safe haven laws that allow developers to swaddle their code
in a basket and leave it at a fire station without fear of repercussion.

3.7k likes · May 21, 2024 at 7:03 AM UTC

Extremely impressed @tenderlove and I managed to spend a day at the beach—even swimming—with zero supplies or preparation and the next day I can't find a single grain of sand in my shoes or my bag. S Rank

1.8k likes · May 20, 2024 at 1:48 AM UTC

RubyKaigi 2025 is heading to Matsuyama

Incidentally, Becky and I just visited Matsuyama for the first time a bit over a week ago, so I was surprised (and delighted!) when RubyKaigi's head organizer Akira Matsuda announced that next year's event will be held in Matsuyama from April 16-18, 2025.

If you've never been, Matsuyama resides in Ehime prefecture, which is on the island of Shikoku, just southwest of Japan's main island. It has one of the most cherished castles in the country atop a mountain at the center of the city and which is accessible by a continuously running cable car. It's also home to Dōgo onsen, which is considered to be the oldest hot springs bath in the country (and one of several inspirations for Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away). Additionally, it's famous for its massive and varied mikan (Japanese clementine oranges) crop—Becky and I got to sample a smattering of varieties from a store that had dozens of local citrus juices on tap, via cute little faucets.

Getting to Matsuyama isn't so bad either. From Osaka, it's about 3.5 hours by train, and a special rapid "Shiokaze" train service runs to Matsuyama from Okayama, making it an easy transfer from the Sanyo Shinkansen.

If you've ever wanted to visit a hot springs resort, or get a glimpse of daily life in a more remote Japanese city than the most well-known tourist destinations, I hope I'll see you next year!

[Translator's note: yama means mountain]

I'm going to take a stab at recording a podcast from Japan now that RubyKaigi has finished. If you have any curiosities about what's coming up in Ruby 3.4 or questions about the conference, email them! podcast@searls.co

1.7k likes · May 18, 2024 at 4:06 AM UTC
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