Launch an EC2 instance with Amazon Linux.  The current version when I wrote this was:

Basic 64-bit Amazon Linux AMI 

You'll need to make sure port 3000 is open in the firewall, as well.  Make sure you know what "security group" your instance is running with, then in the EC2 Management Console, click on "security groups", select the "inbound" tab, type "3000" in the "port range" field, click "add rule", then click "apply rule changes".  Now you will be able to see your rails site when you get it running.    The firewall changes can be done before or after you launch your instance and take place almost instantly.

installing rails in EC2 under Amazon Linux

Install system-wide development tools:

sudo yum install -y git gcc make gcc-c++

install RVM
- directions here: http://beginrescueend.com/rvm/install/
- make sure to reload your bash profile or log out/log in in order to make rvm work
  - source ~/.bash_profile

rvm pkg install zlib
rvm pkg install openssl

rvm install 1.9.3 --with-zlib-dir=$rvm_path/usr --with-openssl-dir=$HOME/.rvm/usr

rvm use 1.9.3 --default

gem install rails

sudo yum install -y sqlite-devel

gem install sqlite3

and now you're ready to run rails (for development)

rails new joe

cd joe

edit Gemfile with your favorite editor (may need to sudo yum install <editor>) and add


gem 'execjs'
gem 'therubyracer'

anywhere in the file.

bundle install

rails server

This is for using ssh and git with your certificates.. better description coming later.

In ~/.ssh/config, add:

Host gh
        Hostname github.com
        User git
        IdentityFile ~/.ssh/somekey

Now you can do git clone ssh://gh/username/repo.git.

After really wanting to like the Spider holster, I have decided it has to go back.  Because of MY back.

I've always had some back problems and this just brought out the worst of them.  Each time I wore my Spider holster, I ended up with my neck feeling pinched for about 24-36 hours afterwards.  It didn't matter if I wore it on the side or behind.

I can wear a 35 pound backpack for hours and be fine, but having something pulling my hips and spine out of line seems to just wreak havoc on my back.

I hate sending this back, though, because I don't have a better solution to the problem of easy access to a camera.  But I just can't deal with using this.

edit: turns out the problem was my back.  After smoe physical therapy and lots of exercise, I can use the spider holster without much pain.

Spider Holster Review (Update)

After using the Spider Holster for a couple days, I've noticed that it hurts my neck and back. Turns out physics is a cruel master and that having 3-5 pounds hanging off one side of your body isn't what your spine was designed for.

I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it (I'm not even sure if there is a return policy on it), but I have found that it works well if you turn the belt to have the camera directly in front or behind you (like a fanny pack). That way it's not pulling your spine weird directions, it keeps the camera out of the way, and it's quick and easy to rotate the belt to have the camera beside you when you're going to be using it.

I'd also like to note that with a full size camera body off to the side, it's VERY easy to forget how far out it goes and bang it on things. That's another benefit of having it rotated in front or behind, but I found a trick: put your hand on your camera. Your brain knows where your hand is and automatically makes sure your hand doesn't bump into things.

Spider Holster Review

First post (after deleting the test posts from 7 years ago) is about my new Spider Holster as sold here: http://www.spiderholster.com/

For the record this is not a paid/gifted review. I bought this with some money that was sitting in my paypal account that isn't hooked up to any other accounts, so I had to use it on something.

It came in the mail today - FedEx actually delivered a day early - no complaints - and I promptly opened it. Patience isn't my #1 virtue. Open box, remove a bunch of bubble wrap (*pop* *pop*, ok back to the task at hand) and there's the belt in a plastic bag and a surprisingly heavy little cardboard box with the logo.

More on the belt later - what's in this box? Everything else, right? But it's heavy. Taking out the contents, there's the belt hook in a plastic holder and the camera plate and pin in some foam. I took out the belt clip and the first thing I noticed is that it's pretty heavy. The second thing I noticed is that it was COLD. It's about 44F out right now and it must have been on the porch for an hour or too. The thing is solid metal. It's as sturdy as it is heavy. The craftsmanship on this is top notch. It's almost entirely a single piece of metal. The only exceptions are the belt hook and the camera lock/release mechanism. The belt hook is attached via 6 screws. I can't even fathom how they got the lock mechanism in place. It's like it the whole clip was forged around it.

On to the camera plate. Thankfully, it's much lighter, since this is what has to be held up with your arms. I'm hooking this up to my Canon 5D Mark II with battery grip. I remember seeing in the movies (they're much more informative than the little booklet that comes in the box - in fact the booklet says to watch the movies) that there is a hex wrench embedded in the system somewhere. Ahh, there's the end of it poking out. It took a second, but the way to release it is to PUSH. It's kind of small, so it ends up being a little sharp and painful to get out with your fingers the first time. Later, it's not so bad. The tool has a rubber coating over part of it that is used to keep it from slipping in and out. With that out, I took to attaching the plate to the camera. Having watch the movies, it was clear that there are ridges on the plate that need to be against the front of your camera. If they were sitting on the bottom of the camera, it seems like you could easily damage your camera when screwing down the plate. Taking care to have it lined up (not hard if you know to look out for it), I easily attached the plate to the camera. Now for the pin. There are 5 choices as to where to put the pin. It's not clear what the decision making process should be. Turns out the hole furthest out on the arm with two holes looks like the right spot for having it on your right hip with the lens facing backwards. With that attached, it's time to try on the belt.

The belt is functionally a huge strip of velcro with the size determined by how long it is when it's folded down on itself. It came out of the box sized for maybe a 36-40" waist. The fit here is critical, so I'm guessing just about everyone will have to resize it to themselves. Having watched the very good videos on the website, I know what to do: Take apart the velcro, put it on and cinch it tight, and then put the velcro back down. Turns out it's not quite that easy. There are two loops on the belt that can slide around to keep the velcro in place or hold a loose end (we're getting to that) down. It's quite difficult to get the belt out from under these. Eventually I got the belt apart, put it on and sized it. I took the belt back off, making sure not to lose the size, and went to put the velcro back together. Turns out that for a 32-34" waist, there's quite a bit of leftover velcro. This was addressed in the movies (did I mention that they're really good?). You have to fold the end back down against itself and pull one of the loops up to hold that part down. Not the most elegany thing, but it seems to be working fine.

It takes a while to get this set up the way it needs to be but as long as you're only doing this once it's no big deal. If you were going to go back and forth between two different sized people (the belt really needs to fit well to be comfortable and safe), you'd just want to get a second belt.

Oh, gotta put the clip onto the belt. You slip it down over the belt and then attach a bungee cord built into the belt over and into a couple hooks and you're done. It's wiggly, but I tried pretty hard to slide it off while hooked up and it wasn't having any of that. It seems like the attachment is plenty good enough.

Final step: putting it all together. Now with the hook on the belt, the belt on me, and the camera set up, it's time to put the camera onto the belt. Needless to say I'm taking some precautions here. I slide the camera on. *click*. Try and pull it back off. *rattle* *rattle*. It's not coming off. Slide the little release up. Off comes the camera. Very smooth. Camera goes back down. How well does this little lock thing really work? *RATTLE* *RATTLE*. It's not coming out. One of my worries was accidentally putting the system in "unlocked" mode accidentally while releasing the camera from it's lock. Turns out it takes a "normal" amount of pressure to release the camera but quite a bit to leave it unlocked. There's also a metal on metal clink when it unlocks.

Another selling point mentioned on their website is the 3-point release system for the belt. Basically it's your normal plastic clip (though pretty solid plastic) where you squeeze it to release - but with a third spot to press in addition. I played around with this for a while and realized how it really works. Of the 3 buttons and pressure, pick any 3 and it will release. Push all 3 buttons and it releases quickly and easily. Push any 2 of the other buttons and apply a bit of force in the right directions and it will come apart pretty quickly, too. All that said, I'm not worried about it accidentally coming off.

Standing up with the camera on your waist is decent. The camera still weighs a bit and with it being off-center, it does torque your body a bit. However, it's not nearly as bad as having it on your neck. Also, it doesn't flop around nearly as much when you move as when it's hanging around your neck.

Last thing. On the website it's mentioned that you can wear the belt under your shirt. While this is true, the belt isn't really all that comfortable. It's a bit scratchy. That's not the issue here, though. The issue is that the metal from the belt clip is exposed on the back side of the belt and BRRR it's cold for a few seconds when you put it on!

Overall, I'm very impressed and would recommend the Spider Holster to anyone who needs to carry a large heavy camera around on a regular basis.

Pros: Very well designed and made. Works as advertised.

Cons: Heavy and the belt can't be easily resized.

Overall: 9/10 stars. Highly recommended.