Playfulness at Work: a Real Serious Message(tm) with Ruby as the Medium

"Playfulness at Work"--does that mean "bringing play into the workplace" or "the way playfulness works?" Both, actually. Seven years after _why wrote "Wearing Ruby Slippers to Work," it's time to don the entire Ruby-encrusted tuxedo and storm the workplace. We'll discuss ways to keep work playful (and as a side effect do better work), including:

• Dealing with crusty data formats and protocols in a lighthearted way
• Scripting other people's software (whether they know it or not)
• Sharing your code with co-workers without annoying them
• Deploying your programs to honest-to-goodness paying customers

And because no Ruby discussion is complete without a bit of armchair sociology, we'll do some hand-waving about the importance of play to the mind and to the team.