Blog | nscampfire.com | Chris Walters

Snazzier (?) AppCode

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 21:39:24 +0000

At the recent and wonderful NSConference, I spoke to a number of developers who either hadn't tried AppCode, or if they had, dismissed it immediately because it doesn't use native UI.

My first reaction was - hmm "non-native UI probably shouldn't be enough of an issue to instantly dismiss it, given all the other cool stuff it can do." But then I thought, well, I don't like the ios7 UI very much - to the point of it putting me off using my iPhone lately since some hipster designers vomited light contrast pixels onto a white background in the name of usability. So if somebody recoils at the thought of non-native UI in a developer tool, I guess I can relate - beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what works well for some doesn't for others. But I digress.

The point here is to show that AppCode can be tweaked to look similar to Xcode - for some degree of similarity. Whether that similarity goes far enough to satisfy those who really want native UI is unclear but here are some screenshots that show how I've customised my AppCode (and how I like it to look), along with how I've configured my color scheme and fonts in Xcode. And hey, if you don’t like my Xcode, well tough - it’s mine dang it!

A Tale of Five Droids - All less than a ton (c-note!)

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:41:59 +0000

For an Android project I’m working on I wanted to have a selection of test devices without having to spend a fortune. To keep costs down, I went to the Geekbuying website and purchased a variety of phones, ranging from very cheap to cheap. I paid customs/import duty on these devices, but no shipping charges since Geekbuying was offering free shipping at the time I placed the order. The only criteria I had was for WiFi and no separate charger - i.e., chargeable via the USB connector. I didn’t care about RAM, 3G/4G, etc or CPU speeds.

I have to say that these phones all represent tremendous value for money, and I’d probably even use the top two (Zoppo and iPegTop) as a day-to-device if I didn’t already have one. All of them offer dual SIM slots; two are dual-core and the other three quad-core CPUs. The screens on the very cheap devices are definitely not the best, but wait til you see the price! Perfect for testing or for giving to a less demanding user who just wants some basic functionality without spending a fortune on the latest from Apple or the top-end Droids.

Fire in the Hole! (Super Spicy Toad in the Hole)

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 09:33:25 +0000

For this weekend’s brunch themed Capsicana Twitter cook-off, I made a super-spicy version of the classic “Toad in the Hole.” Instead of normal sausages I used Spicy Bath Pig Chorizo, and with loads of chillies including three dried bhut jolokia, this dish was far from bland.

Surprisingly this dish won the cook off, and I say that because there were so many outstanding entries. Take a look at them by searching for the hashtag #CapsicanaCookoff.

Already looking forward to the next cook-off. They are a ton of fun, you should enter!

I used the batter recipe from Pamela Gwyther’s “Best of British Cooking” and then assembled a cast of terribles to mix in. The result was pretty darn fiery but not intolerable - I think the stodgy batter resisted the pepper onslaught quite well.

Choosing a cooking container

Measuring the flour

Selecting the spices

Bath Pig spicy chorizo - toad of the day

No habaneros at the shops

Dried bhut jolokia

3 dried bhuts for heat

Some Japanese chilli flakes

Chipotle mora for depth and amazing aroma

The dried chillies (including some piquins)

Fresh chillies, roughly chopped

All ingredients ready to go

In position - ready for the batter

Batter poured in

After baking, remove egg cups

The reveal - after eggs baked in for another 10 min

Zapier Integration List (as of 26 December 2013)

Fri, 27 Dec 2013 16:18:34 +0000

I went to look at the list of API providers that Zapier supports and found that I hadn’t heard of many of them. So I did a quick exercise and did a very, very quick visit to each of the service providers. I captured the URL and a brief description of the services, and tried to categorize them by my own notion of what they do. I made a spreadsheet to capture this info. If you have any suggested changes, please let me know (or if you think I should use a different format, etc.). For what it’s worth, the file is in my public documentation repository on Github, so feel free to fork away, etc.

A list of API's supported by Zapier. Taken from their status page and then did a very brief lookup to find out the URL and create a brief description of the service:

https://github.com/chwalters/PublicDocs

Burritos Del Mar

Sun, 17 Nov 2013 18:56:28 +0000

Burritos del Mar

This month’s entry in the http://www.capsicana.co.uk/capsicanacookoff

Guajillo sauce - mix guajillo powder, some grated cheese, chopped garlic and onions with sour cream and let rest in the fridge for an hour or so.

Toasted bhut jolokia pumpkin seeds - toss the seeds in olive oil and salt and toast gently in a skillet. After start to swell pull them off; rest then add bhut jolokia powder and mix well. Take care with the powder!

Poach a cod loin and a “fruit of the sea” seafood packet (squid, mussels, and prawns) gently in white wine, garlic, onions and a dash of cumin. Set aside. Cook rice and add black beans, more garlic, onions and a dash of salt. Mix seafood, rice and beans together to form the filling for the burritos.

Soften large flour tortillas in a pan (or very briefly microwave) to make them easier to roll. Fill the tortillas and roll. Add to slightly greased baking tray. Bake in the oven until heated through.

Heat guajillo sauce in saucepan but don't boil it. Add a bit of cheese to thicken.

Creamy Crab Quesadillas with Pear and Mango Salsa

Sun, 13 Oct 2013 19:39:22 +0100

aka "Having fun on Twitter!"

Today I made creamy crab quesadillas with pear and mango salsa for the monthly "#capsicanacookoff"

Filling

To make the creamy crab filling, I used a tin of Costco fancy crab meat that I had in the fridge and mixed it with 1/2 a container of Philadelphia cream cheese, adding the equivalent of 2 cloves of garlic - I used puree, powder or minced fresh garlic would also work. Add a finely diced medium red onion, and fresh coriander to taste. After I mixed up the filling I added some grated cheddar and mozzarella to the mix until I had a nice thick consistency that was still spreadable. Salt and pepper to taste, I didn't think it needed it!

Salsa

I had a fresh pear from the tree in the garden, and I thought it would taste nice in a salsa. So at the supermarket I picked up some mango, six mixed chilli peppers (including a scotch bonnet!). All of the chillies, another small red onion and 1/2 dozen cherry tomatoes were finely chopped and spritzed with lime juice and loads of fresh finely chopped coriander was added.

Clueless WTF Sauce (2nd batch)

Sat, 05 Oct 2013 16:12:20 +0100

Since I was unable to attend the Bath Chilli Festival I was determined to make another batch of chilli sauce. After my experiment was reasonably successful last time I tried to capture the recipe as I went along for the latest batch. I was hoping for a higher yield (more sauce) but 36 chillies only makes a small hot-sauce sized bottle. Guess if I want to make more next time I'll need to double the recipe or figure out a better way to get the liquid out of the mash.

Step 1. - Start with 36 fresh chillies - 18 Jalapeño, 18 Scotch Bonnet

Step 2 - blend the bonnets and some tomato passata and balsamic

Step 3 - Blended Jalapeño next, same liquids as the bonnets

Step 4 - blend garlic powder, onion powder and onions with a splash of Lea & Perrins, balsamic, dark soy, honey and Ribena (the honey and Ribena didn't make it into the photo)

Step 5 - Combine in a shallow skillet or saucepan

Step 6 - Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes

Step 7 - Simmering in the pot

Step 8 - Let mixture cool and then strain to isolate liquid

Step 9 - Not much sauce is recovered, but it is thin

Step 10 - Reduce liquid by half adding a splash of cider vinegar

Step 11 - The paste from the mixture is set aside for kebab night

Step 12 - Reducing the sauce

Step 13 - After reduction has cooled, pour into a clean bottle

Step 14 - The results, ready for the label

Coding Guidelines from @RichardBuckle

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 08:16:20 +0100

(Updated to permalink on 24 Aug 2013)

Richard Buckle (@RichardBuckle) has written up his coding guidelines for Objective-C. IMHO they are well written and appreciate the guidance by example, along with a discussion of when he believes it is ok to bend the rules a bit. Hopefully this will be a living document and Richard can add more over time.

Like all these things, YMMV but I say thanks to Richard for sharing them.

Link:

http://sailmaker.co.uk/files/Coding_guidelines.pdf

NSConference 5

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:34:38 +0000

Hey

Just a heads up to let you know I'll be heading to NSConference 5. Looking forward to it.

iOSDevUK

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:05:04 +0100

Tomorrow I'm off to @iOSDevUK for the first time, hope the weather is good for the 4.5+ hour drive from the south to Aberystwyth.