Hey, I think you got inspired by the (similar) thread I posted (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4079567). It's great to see someone who shares my interests. While I don't have any jobs to offer, I can tell you this: contributing to open source software is one of the best ways to gain experience. (How about contributing to RoR?)

Still, you could get in touch with me - I have some projects that I might need some help with (though I probably can't afford help right now.) If nothing else, we could at least chat for a while :)