gistfile1.rb

  def self.get_user_icon_url(screen_name)
    if screen_name.nil?
      return nil
    end
    open_url = "https://twitter.com/#{screen_name}"
    require 'open-uri'
    begin
      doc = open(open_url)
    rescue
      logger.debug "Can't open #{open_url}"
      return nil
    end
    if doc.nil?
      return nil
    end
    picture_tags = Hpricot(doc)/"a.profile-picture"
    if picture_tags.nil? && picture_tags.empty?
      return nil
    end
    picture_tags.first["data-url"]
  end