Creating a *nix configuration file

For someone who spends so much time in linux, but not so much time on the same box, I need a way to automate the usual setup tasks every time I spin up a fresh install. I will need to write a script and store it somewhere offsite where it can be quickly accessed through the command line, like in a github repo. Lets figure out how to do this:

Fist lets make a list of all the configurations that I would want to automate with this script:

  1. SSH server — of course.
  2. Vim configuration preferences  — manually configured by creating .vimrc file, mind you.
  3. dev goodies ( python, ruby, etc )
  4. Standard updates
  5. what else is there… ( will return… )