One of the oldest production web applications i’ve ever built is still happily running mission-critical operations for a small distribution company. I’ll be the first to admit that it is a bit of a mess of different “eras” of code – some of it is even still running classic ASP, which is being slowly (i.e. over a period of years) but surely replaced with PHP5 code. One thing i’m sure about though is that to rebuild the system entirely using something like Django would take months, if not years. So it is is destined to stay as PHP, and therefore as long as it is running and i’m involved with it, i’ll still be writing PHP. I’m fine with this, PHP runs half the internet, was written specifically for the internet, is easily learned and is improving as a language all the time. PHP is a fully Object Orientated language these days, but judging from a recent thread on the underscore mailing list, the perception of PHP remains as warped as ever in the eyes of “proper” programmers!
I’ve managed to sort a couple of things this year that have been missing from my life – firstly, i’ve been doing a bit of mobile working from my camper van office, and secondly i’ve joined a band, after a hiatus of ten years! My last band (Braxton Hicks) was a 9-piece Acid Jazz/ Funk/ Soul band, this new band (name still undecided) is a 3-piece surf-rock trio. We’re still getting a set together, but will be looking for gigs soon!
Although this is far from a professional job, it’s a massive improvement on the brush painted grey primer, rust streaks and patches Rocky had a couple of weeks ago! There are a few more spots to do, and it could do with another coat in places. In the picture above it doesn’t look too bad – but the close up it’s a bit of a patchwork of different shades of white. Hopefully however the work i’ve done will keep the rust at bay for another year or two, at which point we might get a professional to sort it out and change the colour.
More importantly, we can now get on with the summer adventures!
So Rocky has now passed his M.O.T., but after picking him up from the garage I only drove a few metres before attacking him with a drill-mounted wire brush!
When we got Rocky at the end of last summer I spent a few weekends sanding and treating rust patches before painting on some anti-rust primer, with the intention of spraying on a top-coat of enamel paint at a later date. Then winter thoroughly set in and it has been too cold and wet to do anything eversince, and I knew the rust would come back through.
Luckily i’ve now got some space in a friends warehouse for a week or two to store Rocky undercover overnight, so I can work on the bodywork and get it out of the rain/ overnight dew.
I removed the flap that covers the sliding door rail, to reveal the worst area i’ve found so far on the van, and the cause of the annoying rust streaks that appear over the rear wing. Everywhere else has turned out to be not too bad considering – a few small holes, but nothing that a bit of filler won’t sort.
The rear bottom panel is also in a bit of a sorry state, as well as being rusty I think it has been pranged at some point.
One day we’d like to get a full professional respray, including proper restoration and panel replacement where necessary. We haven’t got the budget for that right now, so i’m relying on the fact that Rocky is currently a patchwork of different shades of white to allow me to touch up areas myself with a rattle spray can.
Love this photo of a T25 being used as a mobile stage by US band Half Blonde. Their music isn’t bad either!
I’ve actually just started playing bass in a surf rock trio – I wonder if/ how long a couple of small (60 watt) guitar amps will run off a leisure battery with an inverter?
Does your camper have a WTF switch? Rocky has three – two on the dash and one on the outside of the wardrobe. Having a vehicle several decades old means that various modifications have been made by previous owners, that aren’t necessarily documented.
I’ve managed to work out what two of my WTF switches do – precisely nothing! No mystery wires attached, their one-time purpose lost to history. The third, a small toggle switch near the heater controls, still remains a mystery – it also has a mystery LED next to it – the LED is sometimes on, sometimes off, but the switch has no effect on this, and no other noticeable effect on anything else.
I asked on a web forum if anyone had any idea what it might be for – sarcastic suggestions included “next door’s doorbell?”. I haven’t had the opportunity to test that theory yet!
Of course i’ll never really know until i’ve removed a few bits and pieces and traced the wires to see where they go. I suspect it might be related to the leisure battery, but that’s a guess, so one day I will work it out. Until then I haven’t got a clue WTF it is..
