the two alexs

Hey everyone,

We’re very excited to announce the release of Koala 0.9!

This version adds several useful new features:

• OAuth#parse_signed_request, to handle Facebook’s new authentication scheme
• A GraphCollection class to provide paging support for the GraphAPI#get_connections and #search methods, something previously very awkward (thanks to to jathedrummer for the great contribution!)
• A #get_page method to easily fetch pages of results from GraphCollections
• Support for a :typhoeus_options key in TyphoeusService#make_request’s options hash to control the Typhoeus call (for example, to set :disable_ssl_peer_verification => true)

And fixes several bug fixes:

• Exchanging sessions for tokens now works properly when provided invalid/expired session keys
• All paths provided to HTTP services start with leading / to improve compatibility with stubbing libraries
• If Facebook returns nil for search or get_connections requests, Koala now returns nil rather than failing with an exception

Full documentation is available on the Koala wiki.

If you have any suggestions for the next version or have found any bugs, let us know!  Our current plans include:

• Support for multipart uploads (event images, for instance)
• Allowing requests for public data to use http rather than https, where possible.

If you’re not already on the mailing list, check it out — it’s a great place to ask questions, and we’re always happy to help.

As always, thanks to my co-developer Chris Baclig and to everyone at Context Optional for their invaluable help!

Best,

Alex
http://github.com/arsduo/koala

A series of short blog posts about our life in Germany.

October is nearly here, and everywhere in Munich you see signs of fall: changing leaves, kids going to school, stores filled to the brim with Bavarian garb.  Yes, it’s that time: Oktoberfest is nearly upon us.  As a first-timer, I’ve learned a lot in the last few weeks, and in the spirit of the season, here’s a short guide to the vocabulary of the Wiesn.  (As I understand it, at least.)

Wiesn

Wait, the vocabulary of the what?  Turns out that here in Munich, the word Oktoberfest plays second fiddle to Wiesn — that is, Wiesen, that is, the Theresienwiese, the field on which Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen was married to Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1810.  Their union occasioned the very first Oktoberfest celebrated, and since then that same field has hosted the annual celebration.  (This year’s marks 200 years of Oktoberfest — w0ohoo! — though not actually the 200th fest thanks to wars and other unhappy instances.)

Here in Munich (and possibly beyond) the word “Wiesn” has come to stand for the entire festival — Oktoberfest, its location, and all the stuff that the festival entails.  So, for instance, traditional Bavarian dress — lederhosen, dirndls (womens’ dresses), the works — are sold at Wiesn Outlets (or Wiesn-Trachten Outlets, see below).  Newspapers talk about Wiesn stories and the price of beer at the Wiesn.  People ask if you’re going to the Wiesn, make plans to check out the Wiesn tents, dread going downtown during the Wiesn crowds.

So it’s correct to say “Sunday, we’re waking up to get in line for the Wiesn by 7:45.”

Wiesn in everyday life: "yes, this meetup is during the Wiesn"

"Wiesnfeeling...only longer!" (after-Oktoberfest party)

Wiesn-gear

Wiesn Stories

Trachten

Everyone knows the stereotypical Bavarian, clad in lederhosen and leather shoes and topped with a Tirolerhüte.  One of the most surprising things I’ve discovered here in Munich is that people actually wear trachten in real life, not just at Oktoberfest.  After a while, you stop noticing when you pass guys in lederhosen walking down the street (especially downtown) or go out to a bar and sit near a table of girls decked out in their dirndls.  (The hats, though, not so often.)

Come Wiesntime, you can find trachten everywhere — from everyday fixtures  like Galleria Kaufhof, Karstadt, and H&M to the Trachten outlets that spring up like Spirit Halloween Superstores all over the city.  The outlets are neat places, filled to the brim with every variation of Bavarian clothing.  The one in the city was packed packed packed, run by an over-the-top staff dressed in trachten and serving free prosecco to loosen the mind and and open the wallet.

At first we thought trachten was something only Germans wore, and that it would seem ignorant or even patronizing for us to wear them.  To our pleasant surprise, though, it seems that foreigners wearing trachten is considered neat — a nice compliment to the interest and vitality of Bavarian culture.  Between various outlets, we’ve each picked up a fairly complete outfits: lederhosen, socks, shoes, and shirt.  Come the Wiesn, we’ll be wearing them.

Trachten on Sale

Trachten on Parade

Payoff

You made it through this post.  You deserve a reward.  Behold!

More pictures soon