Maybe my advice was too short. I was just willing to encourage him to try. Obviously it takes very long to feel really comfortable with a language, but it should not take very long to be able to develop some simple application as he is asking for. Sure that app won't be programatically and algorithmically perfect but it may work as a first start.
I, for one, think if you were persistent and started with a ruby tutorial, you could indeed make an MVP in a few weeks effort!