When compiling from source, I never know which configure flags to use to optimize the compilation for my environment. Assume the following hardware/OS:
I usually just go with
./configure --prefix=/usr/local
Should I be doing anything else?
You might want to check those few options out, which may be required by a Ruby On Rails environment, in which case they should be compiled. Just make sure the directory corresponds to your current settings.
--with-openssl-dir=/usr --with-readline-dir=/usr --with-zlib-dir=/usr
I recommend mixing in a few packages from Debian Unstable feeds. They tend to be pretty stable, despite the name. They're also very up to date.
I always use Debian packages. Compiling from sources can break your development environment during libraries conflicts and such problems are hard to detect.