CausticMangohttp://www.causticmango.com/index.htmlProgramming discussion and software.encausticmango@me.comCopyright 2009 Samuel Ford2011-10-16T20:32:05-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:33:58 -0400I Love You, Xcodecausticmango@me.comiOS2011-10-16T20:32:05-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/i-love-you-xcode.html#unique-entry-id-28http://www.causticmango.com/files/i-love-you-xcode.html#unique-entry-id-28
Pasted Graphic 1]]>Adventures in CoreDatacausticmango@me.comiOSCoreData2011-10-16T15:58:18-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/adventures-in-coredata.html#unique-entry-id-27http://www.causticmango.com/files/adventures-in-coredata.html#unique-entry-id-27
Pasted Graphic

The way you do this, of course, is by adding a numeric "sort" attribute to the entity and sort by it. When you move a row, you renumber the rows by their sort attribute.

If you've ever tried to do this with a UITableViewController using an NSFetchedResultController, you'll no doubt be shaking your head right now because you'll know this leads to very strange results. Do a search online and you'll find tons of detailed advice for how to resolve this "problem".

All of it is wrong. Tragically, comically, desperately wrong. Alway, always, always read the documentation first!

It turns out the cause of the odd behavior is very simple; the controller is observing the entities, recognizing changes, and translating them to table updates by calling the delegate methods. Normally, this is exactly what you want. The table will automatically adjust to changes in the fetched data. Except, if the table itself initiates the change, the two mechanisms compete with each other.

The solution to this strange behavior is simply ignore the delegate callbacks if the changes come from the table being edited. Set a flag in the tableView:moveRowAtIndexPath:toIndexPath: callback and if set, bail out of the NSFetchResultControllerDelegate methods.

Just goes to show you; don't trust the Internet. Especially for coding advice.]]>Revamping The Fox & The Grapescausticmango@me.comiOS2011-04-15T06:24:02-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/c8cf21481405e5c24df4589b842c8389-26.html#unique-entry-id-26http://www.causticmango.com/files/c8cf21481405e5c24df4589b842c8389-26.html#unique-entry-id-26
I just noticed that The Fox & The Grapes has a bug on iOS 4.3. Besides, I really don't like the audio (narration or music). So I'm in the process of redoing them.

Maybe I can add a few features to it, too.]]>Ugh, Web Site Dramacausticmango@me.comCausticMango's Blog2011-03-13T13:56:17-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/ded592d6128db3476ee79730b5aa9099-25.html#unique-entry-id-25http://www.causticmango.com/files/ded592d6128db3476ee79730b5aa9099-25.html#unique-entry-id-25
Nice way to make sure I'll never, ever use them again for anything. Ever.

On the other hand, Hover.com is great. Use them. They don't suck.]]>Converting a PDF to Textcausticmango@me.comCausticMango's Blog2011-02-22T06:35:25-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/convert_pdf_to_text.html#unique-entry-id-24http://www.causticmango.com/files/convert_pdf_to_text.html#unique-entry-id-24
Convert to Rich Text Document]]>Trac + Gitcausticmango@me.comProgramming2011-02-06T07:57:39-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/2726d5027a6dbce470401ce7abc533db-23.html#unique-entry-id-23http://www.causticmango.com/files/2726d5027a6dbce470401ce7abc533db-23.html#unique-entry-id-23
Not a great way to work for day to day development. Se we started using local git repos and pushing/pulling to each other periodically.

That's great, but there's still value in having a remote repo that's always online and backed up and represents the most recent "truth" of the source.

Anyway, I'm rambling. After some poking around, I ran across the Trac Turnkey Linux appliance. I've used Trac before with Subversion and it's a great system for collaboration that's easy to setup, easy to use, and pretty powerful. Love it. This appliance comes preconfigured with Trac 0.11 running on Apache2 with not only Subversion, but Git, Mercurial, and Bazaar, sample project setups for each, and a script for creating new Trac projects and repos in one step.

Pure. Awesome.

Here's how we set ours up. Remember, this is inside a firewall with only trusted contributors. I wouldn't do it this way if it were more public.

1. Download the ISO and use to install a new Ubuntu server VM (512MB, 1 CPU). I elected not to use LLVM because I don't expect to add space (it's a "working" repo, not the system of record). That decision will bite me later, no doubt.

2. SSH to the new server and run "trac-initproject git my-cool-project". This creates a new Trac project named "my-cool-project" along with a matching shared, bare Git repository.

3. The URL of the Trac site is http://trac.corp.local/my-cool-project (replace the server name with yours) and the public URL of the Git repository it git://trac.corp.local/git/my-cool-project.git.

4. The location of the actual repo on the server will be /srv/repos/git/git-my-cool-project. It's configured to permit public push, but the permissions preclude it. I threw caution to the wind and just granted a+rw. The only people that could access are people that should access it anyway to permissions don't buy much in this setup.

chmod a+rw -R /srv/repos/git/git-my-cool-project

5. I added some Trac users to /etc/trac/htpasswd (the Turnkey guys setup the server so that all of the relevent config files including project configs are linked in /etc - awesome) so that people could authenticate to Trac. Git doesn't care in this setup.

6. On each development machine, just add the public repo as "trac" and have everbody push their master to it.

git remote add trac git://trac.corp.local/git/my-cool-project.git
git push trac master

7. Finally, edit the Trac wiki with Git URLs and some instructions for how to clone, push, and pull.

Maybe one day we'll go all Git and get github:fi to replace the craptastic VCS we have now. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

]]>New Year's Resolutionscausticmango@me.comCausticMango's Blog2011-01-16T11:11:18-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/c21cd4004e2b4dc960b9757d15f482af-21.html#unique-entry-id-21http://www.causticmango.com/files/c21cd4004e2b4dc960b9757d15f482af-21.html#unique-entry-id-21
  • Post on my site more often.
  • Revisit The Fox & The Grapes app.
  • Finish my puzzle game and get it on both the iOS and Mac app stores.
  • Get NuGet setup at work.
  • Complain more about TFS.

    • You know, it occurs to me I'd really like RapidWeaver on my iPad, especially if it used an iDisk or Dropbox based shared file (or something).
    ]]>    The Right Way to Load a Custom UITableCellViewcausticmango@me.comiPhoneProgramming2010-11-13T08:50:00-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/704813f0be6382b4653113d0356e5d0a-19.html#unique-entry-id-19http://www.causticmango.com/files/704813f0be6382b4653113d0356e5d0a-19.html#unique-entry-id-19
    For example, I needed to load up a custom UITableCellView from a xib created with Interface Builder. If you poke around online, you'll see several examples that involve loading the xib manually and walking down the object graph until you find a specific class. Fragile, brutish, and totally unnecessary.

    The correct way is crazy simple. The xib loader is already expecting to hookup the object graph to the "owner" object (represented by the File's Owner in Interface Builder. If you only use the custom cell in one controller, just expose an IBOutlet for it's class, set your controller as the File's Owner class type, and wire it up in IB.

    Let's assume your custom cell class is called MyCustomTableCellView and your controller that needs it is called MyCustomTableViewController. In the controller's header, add a property like this:

    @interface MyCustomTableViewController : UITableViewController {
     MyCustomTableCellView *customCell;
    }

    @property (nonatomic, assign) IBOutlet MyCustomTableCellView *customCell;

    @end

    Notice I'm using "assign" instead of "retain" because I don't want the controller to take ownership of the cell, just hold on to is momentarily so that the tableview can take it.

    Synthesize the property and then when you need a new instance of MyCustomTableCellView from the xib, use this code:

    [[NSBundle mainBundle] loadNibNamed:@"MyCustomTableCellView" owner:self options:nil];
    cell = customCell;

    Viola, custom cell view loaded painlessly.]]>    Approved!causticmango@me.comiOSiPhone2010-07-26T20:12:32-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/9c9fdfec72bbd8909f851fff23bfb228-18.html#unique-entry-id-18http://www.causticmango.com/files/9c9fdfec72bbd8909f851fff23bfb228-18.html#unique-entry-id-18The Fox & The Grapes, is up for sale in the iTunes store.

    I have no idea if it will even make back the cost to develop it, which wasn't all that much really. It was a lot of fun to develop and I'm certain I'll do more apps for the iOS platform (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch) and probably for Mac OS X, too, since it's very similar.

    Writing software is way too much fun.]]>    My First iPhone App Store Submisioncausticmango@me.comiOSiPhone2010-07-18T10:09:42-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/0fddd13311f60ed5db4c735fedc53685-17.html#unique-entry-id-17http://www.causticmango.com/files/0fddd13311f60ed5db4c735fedc53685-17.html#unique-entry-id-17The Fox & The Grapes to the Apple App Store. Not really sure what to expect, but I hope some people find it and enjoy it.

    I updated the web page a little, but I have to say I’m not 100% happy with it. I still think it’s a little wordy, but I think it’s OK for now.

    Next up is a new version that supports the iPad.]]>    Code Complete!causticmango@me.comiOSiPhone2010-07-11T21:25:05-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/4f45b29f98fa99063934eaa03edbb516-16.html#unique-entry-id-16http://www.causticmango.com/files/4f45b29f98fa99063934eaa03edbb516-16.html#unique-entry-id-16
    Spent a few hours today getting the layout and artwork together for the app’s web page. Man, that’s a lot of work!]]>    How Ubuntu Taught Me Not To Fear The App Storecausticmango@me.comProgrammingiPhoneiOS2010-07-01T07:10:06-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/dont_fear_the_app_store.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.causticmango.com/files/dont_fear_the_app_store.html#unique-entry-id-15
    So how could someone who loves open source software and who has contributed to several open source projects take such a counter intuitive position? Shouldn’t I be chanting “Up With Android, Down With iOS?”

    Let me tell you why I’m not.

    It was Ubuntu that taught me. These days, I won’t recommend any Linux distribution other than Ubuntu to someone who isn’t a unix expert and knows what they’re doing. Even those folks should probably think twice before passing on Ubuntu. Don’t get me wrong; RedHat/Fedora, SUSE, et al are excellent, as are the BSDs. But, Ubuntu has a massive advantage; it’s engineered to be straightforward and simple to use for the majority of use cases and is managed by a community that takes the responsibility to maintain that very seriously.

    When you run Ubuntu, the preferred way to get software onto (or off of) it is using the Ubuntu Repository. For GUI users there’s a beautiful app browser that lets you look for applications you might want, see some ratings, and click a button to install if you see something you like. If any updates come out, they’re pushed to you automatically. If you get tired of the app, you can just as easily remove it. This repository is curated; a group of people carefully review anything that goes into the repository to make sure it’s safe, installs cleanly, and so forth before it can be published and signed by Ubuntu. As an Ubuntu user, if you stick with the official repositories, you really don’t have to worry that much about your computer that you’re relying on getting trashed by spyware or malware, your personal data being stolen, your system getting some poorly written piece of crap on that prevents it from shutting down cleanly, running smoothly, or just getting trashed by a half baked app.

    Does that mean Ubuntu isn’t “open”? Of course not, it’s fully open in every way that the word “open” can be meaningfully applied to software. What it makes it is “managed” and this is a powerful advantage to the platform in general.

    Contrast that with the Windows platform. Even though I can install anything I want onto a Windows machine (and many come with tons of crap preinstalled on them), this doesn’t make Windows an “open” platform. In fact, it’s about as closed as they come. Rather, it makes Windows “unmanaged”. This, to my estimation, is a major failing of the Windows platform and why it is so often the vector for viruses and exploits that have done massive harm to the community at large.

    How does this relate to the emerging mobile platforms, Android and iOS? Is iOS really “closed”? Well, it’s based on many open components like BSD, SQLite, WebKit, LLVM/GCC, and hundreds of libraries many of which Apple donates to the open source community and others it activity contributes to. There are open source applications available from the “closed” App Store, like Colloquy. Conversely, Android is also based on similar open components, but like iOS most of the apps that run on it are “closed”. So what’s the difference?

    One big difference between the two is that iOS is, like Ubuntu, a managed platform whereas Android is, like Windows, for the most part unmanaged. If you use an iPhone or iPad you can be certain that the primary conduit for installing apps is being managed by a party with a vested interest in keeping is safe, reliable, and reputable. This might mean some hackware isn’t available or you can’t browse to some random site and click the “download” link to install an app, but it does mean that your system is as safe and reliable as you can reasonably expect it to be.

    If you do get some app that you want gone, just delete it. You system won’t become littered with half installed bits of broken apps that make it run slowly or cause weird bugs. In a way, your device becomes what us techies call a “production” device. This word has a special meaning in the tech circles because it means a device plays a critical role that someone or something is depending on. It’s locked down from casual modification. New software and updates are applied in a considered manner, and efforts are taken to prevent it from experiencing downtime or sluggish behavior.

    After nearly three decades of developing software for and using a computer regularly it’s really sunk in to me that your primary computer is a production device. It needs to be reliable and safe. Downtime or poor performance hurts you. Even having to do mindless and unnecessary maintenance on it (like cleaning out busted uninstalls or worse, wiping it and restoring it) is counterproductive.

    Whether accidentally or intentionally, Apple seems to have gotten this resoundingly right with iOS. Google and it’s advocates haven’t figured it out, yet. I hope for the sake of the next generation of computer users, they do.]]>    Very Slick Side Tent for my VWcausticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-06-28T20:22:59-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/cool_side_tent.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.causticmango.com/files/cool_side_tent.html#unique-entry-id-14Bus Depot have come up with an absolutely awesome looking and completely redesigned side tent for the VW camper line. They call it an “Add-a-Room,” I think, but whatever you call it, it looks killer.

    I may be nuts, but I’ve already but my order in. On our last camping trip we were really in need of some kind of screen enclosure and having an extra room that hooks right up to the camper sounds perfect. Hopefully it’s not too heavy or bulky to carry or so difficult to setup it becomes impractical.

    My own attempts at rigging up a side enclosure were not so successful (and I probably wasted about $100 in the process, doh!).



    Tell that doesn’t look cool.



    I think I’ll try rigging the A/C up to the zippered, screened vent in the front and mounting it in the luggage rack. That should probably cool the interior better and maybe even some of the tent, too. I may get one of their kits that adds a second room to the interior and back along a chemical toilet; that way the only thing we’d need from the campground is the shower.]]>    The VW California (*not available in California)causticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-06-16T19:53:11-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/vw_california.html#unique-entry-id-13http://www.causticmango.com/files/vw_california.html#unique-entry-id-13@JayHill2000), who seems to do some promotional work with or for VW in the UK.

    As it turns out, VW actually still makes campers in the spirit of the venerable Campmobile. How did I not know this? It seems that Daimler took over Westfalia in 2001 and effectively shutdown the VW-Westfalia partnership. In 2003, VW introduced their own line of van conversions called the California Beach and California Tramper based on the Transporter van.

    It has all the best features of the original pop-top campers, with two beds, one up and one down, a fold out table, sink, propane stove, and fridge, closet space, rotating front seats, and an awning all modernized and in some ways improved (there are a picnic table and chairs that tuck away into side and rear doors).



    Of course, the cruel irony is that they aren’t available in the USA. I guess because the Transporter van is no longer sold in the USA.

    It seems we’re left out of a lot of cool camper designs over here, because Westfalia still makes slick campers based on Mercedes (this one, too) and Ford (oh, the ironies never cease) designs. Even Renault is in the game with the Trafic Generation.

    Meanwhile, we’re stuck is huge, expensive, impractical, ugly, gas guzzling behemoths.]]>    Camping Trip #2: Deer Flies!causticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-05-27T20:44:44-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/camping_trip_two.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.causticmango.com/files/camping_trip_two.html#unique-entry-id-12


    Their bites hurt like lances and make you bleed. They kept us confined to the camper when we were back at camp. We had an awesome camp site and a great setup, but couldn’t really use it. Well at least the activities at the campground were a lot of fun for the kids.



    It seems like bugs were the theme on this trip. On the way up and back we got blasted by love bugs. So bad, in fact, it seemed to gum up the radiator and made the Moose overheat while idling at a rest stop.



    One really cool thing we tried out with some success is a small, 5000 BTU window A/C. It mounts pretty easily into the driver’s window with a simple nylon strap to hold it in place. I got a cheap, $10 shower curtain to block off the gaps around it and secured it with some small neodymium magnets. Kept the inside of the camper a comfortable 72 or so degrees. Actually got a little cold at night. Word to the wise about neodymium magnets; these are the hard liquor of magnets. They aren’t frilly little sweet, frou-frou drinks with a wedge of pineapple you get in a girly bar. These are single malt, Scotch whiskey served neat. These will hurt you.

    Met some other camper van owners this go around, too! They had an awesome 70’s style, green popup Westfalia. They just used fans to keep cool and said it worked fine. We also met the cool couple that run Spotted Manatee. Hey, guys! Let me know if the email is still busted!]]>    Camping Trip #1: Success!causticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-04-10T09:30:45-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/camping_trip_one.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.causticmango.com/files/camping_trip_one.html#unique-entry-id-11

    Fort Wilderness


    I have to say, Fort Wilderness is an awesome campground. It’s a little pricey as campground go, but you get a lot for it. The grounds are beautiful. The facilities are immaculate. The bathrooms, showers, and laundry are clean and modern. The two or three general stores have a decent assortment of supplies, extras, and trinkets. There’s lots to do for kids. Every night is an outdoor movie that beings with a singalong and marshmallow/hotdog roast. There are many playgrounds, pony rides and a petting zoo, horseback riding and hay rides, paddle boats and wave runners to rent on the main, large lake and canoes to rent on the many streams that run through the grounds. Two nice pools, one with a water slide and splash park, too. There are restaurants on the grounds, too.




    Bring your bicycles -- it’s a very bicycle friendly park. You can take the buses that circle the grounds or rent a golf cart, but I say save your money and bring the bikes.

    The Camper


    Having actually lived in the camper for a few days straight with four people, the most obvious thing to say is it’s small. You really see how small it is when you’re in a campground dominated by massive land yachts. Funny thing is, I noticed that none of them had a really comfortable looking “patio” area (or whatever you call it). Consequently, they were pretty much closed up all the time and you rarely saw anybody by them. I guess everyone was inside watching TV or something.

    It became clear just how small the camper is when we got stuck inside for about an hour or two when an afternoon thunderstorm came through. It stayed pretty dry in side, but we did have to shut the side door when it started coming down for real. There’s a gap between the body and the awning that permits rain to drop in behind it and drop on the carpet, so we had to shut the doors. The vents in the pop top are mostly protected by the overhang, so we kept them partially open.



    Now that we’ve spent some time in it, even though I’ve never had or camped in a Westy, I have a feeling they are a better design than the Country Homes Camper conversion, which is what The Moose is. There are quite a few little things that would make the camper more practical that it seems like the Westfalia Vanagons have figured out. Or maybe the grass just looks greener over there.

    On the plus side, it’s actually kind of fun to drive with lots of space for traveling with kids. The fridge works great. On A/C, it’s cold enough to make ice and hold enough food to feed our small tribe for a few days.

    The Fix It List


    We did discover some things that are either broken or so impractical that they need fixing.
    • The radio quit working after I got it back from the shop. I suspect a short or blown fuse, but haven’t found it, yet.
    • The P-trap in the sink leaks.
    • The external power outlets are in exactly the wrong spot. When the seat folds out, it slides right over the outlet, bending or popping out what ever you had plugged in. Fortunately, at the last minute I had thrown in an old power strip with a 90 degree plug so I could at least leave that plugged in.
    • I really need to replace the missing table. I think I see why they took it out (you can’t extend the bed without removing it), but it needs a table.
    • Always travel with extra matches, aluminum foil, and various sized plastic, zip-top bags.
    • Always travel with a battery booster and charger! I managed to accidentally drain both the main and auxiliary batteries the day we were at Animal Kingdom. Fortunately, the park attendants had one.

    The Lessons Learned List


    After just one trip, I’ve learned a few valuable lessons and figured out some things that will make future camping trips more comfortable.
    • I need to install the swivel seat adapters for at least the passenger seat. Without it, the front cabin is essentially useless while parked.
    • The main entry needs a curtain of some kind. There are two coat hanger knobs that would make a decent curtain rod if you stretched a rope or bungie across it.
    • The awning is great to have, I’m glad it’s there, and it would make an awesome extra room if I can somehow enclose it. I’m thinking the QuikShade walls would be almost perfect, clipped to the awning and anchored with some kind of weight.
    • For warmer weather, a small window A/C looks like it would fit perfectly in the driver’s window.
    • For cooler weather, a small electric space heater would be a good investment.
    • If I can enclose the awning, it might be a good idea to rig up a curtain and get a portable toilet. Running back & forth to the comfort station with the kids gets old.
    • The picnic set we used it too big for the small space. I really need to get a smaller set of plates/cutlery.
    • I need a folding pot/pan or something. I took along a 7” skillet (the smallest one I had), but it was too big to stow anywhere.
    • My speedometer is way off, logarithmically off. When I’m doing 35, it says 45. When I’m doing 50, it says 80. When I’m doing 65 (which is pretty much the upper limit), it says 90. I could really use a tachometer, too, since I can’t really hear the engine that well any more.
    One big project I’d like to undertake is to redo the back seat. Turns out it’s not an original Vanagon rear bench at all. Likewise, even though it’s full width, the far left is unusable because of the sink and even extended to a bed that portion is useless because of the back cabinet. I’d really like to find or fabricate a rear bench from a Westfalia and add in more cabinet space and maybe a Westfalia style swing out table.
    ]]>    App Store, Here We Come!causticmango@me.comiPhoneProgramming2010-03-14T14:54:53-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/app_store_soon.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.causticmango.com/files/app_store_soon.html#unique-entry-id-10concept-to-app-store-in-one-week hit, but my first commercial iPhone app is getting really close to ready for submission to the app store!]]>Adsense ... Mehcausticmango@me.comCausticMango's Blog2010-03-14T22:05:12-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/no_more_adsense.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.causticmango.com/files/no_more_adsense.html#unique-entry-id-9how obnoxious they can be about it I figured it wasn’t worth pissing off the few readers I have with it.]]>Off to the Camper Van Doctorcausticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-03-06T09:50:41-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/off_to_the_van_doctor.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.causticmango.com/files/off_to_the_van_doctor.html#unique-entry-id-6Road & Race, found from a positive review over at the Full Moon Bus Club) and asked him to give the Moose a once over.

    I mean, I want to do a lot of the work on it myself, but I’m an auto mechanic newbie so I’ve got to be realistic. I figured it would be good to at least know what I’m up against, right?

    They found quite a few things in need of repair, the biggest being a leak in the coolant reservoir under pressure at normal operating temperature. Oh, and two busted shocks (I suspected that). A broken pin/bushing on the shifter (well, I kind of knew that; second gear likes to play hide & seek). And a cracked alternator bracket and a loose belt. And dry rotted tires with a completely inappropriately sized spare. And a few leaky vacuum lines. And a disconnected OXY sensor. And a rattling catalytic converter. And, of course, the leaky gas tank.

    Good news was that the engine and transmission are mechanically sound. No oil leaks or other serious issues.

    So the Moose is staying a few nights at the doctor’s shop. Funny; I miss it already.]]>    Mystery Partcausticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-02-28T11:38:21-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/mystery_part.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.causticmango.com/files/mystery_part.html#unique-entry-id-5
    ]]>    Seat Belts for the Kidscausticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-02-28T08:51:42-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/seat_belts_for_the_kids.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.causticmango.com/files/seat_belts_for_the_kids.html#unique-entry-id-3
    This was a good chance to upgrade to three-point seat belts using an upgrade kit from GoWesty (I’m getting the feeling these folks are going to be getting a lot of my money).

    Installing the three point belt is pretty easy, but you do have to cut a hole in the lining. The instructions say you can find the factory mount point by feel -- well, that’s technically true if you know what you’re feeling for. I actually had to stick my hand behind the lining by pulling off the weather stripping in the back and carefully peeling back the lining. You’re looking for a rather large circular indentation in the insulation about the size of a 50 cent piece. If you push in you’ll feel a round, plastic slug in the mount point. I took a few snapshots with measuring tape to show where it is.



    From that point, it’s just a matter of unscrewing the slug and screwing in the new belt mechanism, like so:



    Just in case you were uncertain about whether the universe has a sense of humor or not, even this simple installation turned out to be a challenge. The first hangup was a missing bolt. When the original seat belts were removed the bolt for the lower mount point was discarded. Of course, none of the spare bolts from the kit fit, either.



    The second hang up was the mount point for the replacement receiver. It was seized up enough that it broke my 1/2” ratchet wrench. Well, it was a cheap piece of junk, anyway. Plus, my metric set didn’t quite go high enough; it stops at 13mm and this bolt is 17mm. The imperial 11/16” was close, but not close enough for a seized bolt. A couple hours soak with WD40 and a trip to the auto parts store for a breaker bar and 17mm socket and they popped right out.



    While I was at it, I replaced the bolts with eyelets so I can mount car seats with a pair of carabiners hooked into the latch straps. I don’t know why I kept the old belt hangers; they’re really just in the way. I’ll probably pull them back off.



    The last upgrade was the permanent muffler bracket. A perfect fit, almost. The bracket should mount with two bolts but the exhaust pipe is in the way. :-| I had to rotate the bracket and just use one bolt. It’s a pretty solid construction; hopefully it will hold well enough.


    ]]>    Ah, Quiet!causticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-02-26T07:08:06-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/ah_quiet.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.causticmango.com/files/ah_quiet.html#unique-entry-id-2
    Ghetto Hanger

    After starting it up and driving it around town the difference outstanding. She went from so loud and obnoxious even the Harley guys were giving me dirty looks to smooth and quiet!

    The other improvement I was eager to install was my homemade awning leg. After lots of research, it seemed I was not likely to find and exact replacement for my missing awning leg. Country Homes Campers, the people who did the original conversion when it was new, were nice enough to point me to the company that took over for the original manufacturer, Dometic, but they needed specific part numbers which were nowhere to be found.

    I was nearly resigned to replacing the awning outright or having a custom leg made at a local aluminum supplier and metal works when I ran across a $10 1” aluminum strut at Lowe’s. A few measurements and a half hour with my hacksaw later I had nearly perfect replacement fabricated.



    The final two upgrades were a new turn signal socket (thank you, eBay!) and a cool hitch for my bike carrier from GoWesty that took all of 15 minutes to install. She’s nearly ready for her maiden trip.



    This weekend the three-point seat belt conversion and the permanent muffler bracket go on along with some shopping for gaming gear. I might try to fabricate a fold up table to replace the missing one, but I’m not sure.


    ]]>    The Adventure Beginscausticmango@me.comVW Camper2010-02-12T08:50:41-05:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/the_adventure_begins.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.causticmango.com/files/the_adventure_begins.html#unique-entry-id-1
    I remember lusting after a Type 2 Westfalia back in the early eighties that looked just like this one. As I recall, the engine ran (just), the rust wasn’t too bad, the interior was functional if not pristine and when I took it for a test drive I wanted it badly. But the seller was asking something like $2,500 which might as well have been $1,000,000 to me at the time.

    Fast forward 20 years or so and I needed to find an affordable beater to replace a lease that was about to be turned in. I got the bright idea that if I could find a functional camper that wasn’t in imminent need of major engine or transmission repair it would be good experimental replacement for the lease. I had six months left on the lease, more than enough time to get the camper on the road and try it out for a bit. I figured in the worst case, if it didn’t work out I could sell it for about what I paid for it. No harm, no foul.

    Enter “The Moose”, a faded brown 1984 VW Country Homes Camper Vanagon in great working condition. I had a local VW guy check it out and when he gave it the green light I was sold. There were some paperwork delays that essentially had it parked for two months (lesson: make sure you know what you’re doing when buying an out of state used car), but that’s all cleared up and she’s my beast free and clear.

    The Moose

    Lucky for me, basically everything works. Sink, water tank and pump are fine, propane tank and stove in good shape and working, DC/AC fridge gets ice cold, pop top intact with no rips, upholstery is fine and even all the curtains but one (on the sliding door) are present and accounted for.

    That’s not to say it doesn’t need any work. I’ve already fixed a few small things like the gas assist lifters on the rear hatch and windshield wipers. The most significant repairs are one I knew about and one I discovered recently. The muffler was missing when I bought it though the rest of the exhaust system is intact. The first time I filled it up with gas I found it has a common malady of nearly all Vanagons, a leaky vent pipe on the gas tank.

    Turns out both are relatively easy and comparatively inexpensive repairs. So, the parts are on order and one of these weekends soon I’ll be installing it.

    She’ll basically be road worthy at that point and I want to schedule our first family weekend camping trip in late February or March. There are plenty more upgrades and minor fixes I want to do over the next year, too.

    By the way, a huge, awesome “Thank You” to the community of camper enthusiasts out there. I almost freaked when I realized I’m missing the muffler hanger bracket and you can’t get those from parts shops any more. I found a site that makes stainless steel replacements. Awesome!]]>    A Man of Actioncausticmango@me.comAutomator2009-09-14T13:48:04-04:00http://www.causticmango.com/files/man_of_action.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.causticmango.com/files/man_of_action.html#unique-entry-id-0love Automator. I use it all the time, whenever I might have written a script in Python or bash or banged out a C# app (in Windows) to do something.

    One of the things that's missing in the default Finder actions is a rename action that can do more complex, pattern-based replacements. So, I fired up Xcode and tried my hand at banging out a new Action and turned out to be fairly easy.

    Ideally, I wanted to use regular expression search and replace patterns, but I couldn't quite figure out how to adjust the dynamic load path for the embedded framework (RegexKit in this case). So, I punted and went with a very simply, wildcard based action.

    Give it a try, you might like it.]]>