[mhahn]

solid list, I would also add that it is extremely useful (I would argue necessary) to use vagrant (http://www.vagrantup.com/) to manage your development environment.

[misiti3780]

this is actually on my todo list, i saw this video by zac holman a while back:

http://zachholman.com/screencast/vagranception/

and have been meaning to mess around with it ever since