diff --git a/history.txt b/history.txt
index 36254c8..d5fd15a 100644
--- a/history.txt
+++ b/history.txt
@@ -4,6 +4,15 @@
 
 * Minor enhancements
 
+== 1.0.3
+
+* Minor enhancements
+  * Removed Validation by default, requires too many structure changes (FAIL)
+  * Added support for instantiation of documents read from database as couchrest-type provided (Sam Lown)
+  * Improved attachment handling for detecting file type (Sam Lown)
+  * Removing some monkey patches and relying on active_support for constantize and humanize (Sam Lown)
+
+
 == 1.0.2
 
 * Minor enhancements
@@ -14,6 +23,9 @@
 * Major enhancements
   * Separated ExtendedDocument from main CouchRest gem (Sam Lown)
 
+* Minor enhancements
+  * active_support included by default
+
 == 0.37
 
 * Minor enhancements
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/extended_document.rb b/lib/couchrest/extended_document.rb
index aac9b42..fe882fe 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/extended_document.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/extended_document.rb
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ module CouchRest
   # Same as CouchRest::Document but with properties and validations
   class ExtendedDocument < Document
 
-    VERSION = "1.0.2"
+    VERSION = "1.0.3"
 
     include CouchRest::Mixins::Callbacks
     include CouchRest::Mixins::DocumentQueries    
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ module CouchRest
     include CouchRest::Mixins::Collection
     include CouchRest::Mixins::AttributeProtection
 
-    include CouchRest::Validation
+    # Including validation here does not work due to the way inheritance is handled.
+    #include CouchRest::Validation
 
     def self.subclasses
       @subclasses ||= []
@@ -48,17 +49,19 @@ module CouchRest
 
     # Creates a new instance, bypassing attribute protection
     #
+    #
     # ==== Returns
     #  a document instance
-    def self.create_from_database(passed_keys={})
-      new(passed_keys, :directly_set_attributes => true)      
+    def self.create_from_database(doc = {})
+      base = (doc['couchrest-type'].blank? || doc['couchrest-type'] == self.to_s) ? self : doc['couchrest-type'].constantize
+      base.new(doc, :directly_set_attributes => true)      
     end
     
-    def initialize(passed_keys={}, options={})
+    def initialize(doc = {}, options = {})
       apply_defaults # defined in CouchRest::Mixins::Properties
-      remove_protected_attributes(passed_keys) unless options[:directly_set_attributes]
-      directly_set_attributes(passed_keys) unless passed_keys.nil?
-      super(passed_keys)
+      remove_protected_attributes(doc) unless options[:directly_set_attributes]
+      directly_set_attributes(doc) unless doc.nil?
+      super(doc)
       cast_keys      # defined in CouchRest::Mixins::Properties
       unless self['_id'] && self['_rev']
         self['couchrest-type'] = self.class.to_s
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/mixins/extended_attachments.rb b/lib/couchrest/mixins/extended_attachments.rb
index 5b5e2b8..970f678 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/mixins/extended_attachments.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/mixins/extended_attachments.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ module CouchRest
   module Mixins
     module ExtendedAttachments
 
-      # creates a file attachment to the current doc
+      # Add a file attachment to the current document. Expects
+      # :file and :name to be included in the arguments.
       def create_attachment(args={})
         raise ArgumentError unless args[:file] && args[:name]
         return if has_attachment?(args[:name])
@@ -52,13 +53,14 @@ module CouchRest
       
       private
       
-        def get_mime_type(file)
-          ::MIME::Types.type_for(file.path).empty? ? 
-            'text\/plain' : MIME::Types.type_for(file.path).first.content_type.gsub(/\//,'\/')
+        def get_mime_type(path)
+          type = ::MIME::Types.type_for(path)
+          type.empty? ? nil : type.first.content_type
         end
 
         def set_attachment_attr(args)
-          content_type = args[:content_type] ? args[:content_type] : get_mime_type(args[:file])
+          content_type = args[:content_type] ? args[:content_type] : get_mime_type(args[:file].path)
+          content_type ||= (get_mime_type(args[:name]) || 'text/plain')
           self['_attachments'][args[:name]] = {
             'content_type' => content_type,
             'data'         => args[:file].read
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/property.rb b/lib/couchrest/property.rb
index dfd5a16..0e2b1a1 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/property.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/property.rb
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ module CouchRest
               base_type = TrueClass 
             else
               begin
-                base_type = ::CouchRest.constantize(base_type)
+                base_type = base_type.constantize
               rescue  # leave base type as a string and convert in more/typecast
               end
             end
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/support/couchrest.rb b/lib/couchrest/support/couchrest.rb
index a0a89e3..e795556 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/support/couchrest.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/support/couchrest.rb
@@ -1,43 +1,6 @@
 
 module CouchRest
 
-  
-  # The CouchRest module methods handle the basic JSON serialization 
-  # and deserialization, as well as query parameters. The module also includes
-  # some helpers for tasks like instantiating a new Database or Server instance.
-  class << self
-
-    # extracted from Extlib
-    #
-    # Constantize tries to find a declared constant with the name specified
-    # in the string. It raises a NameError when the name is not in CamelCase
-    # or is not initialized.
-    #
-    # @example
-    # "Module".constantize #=> Module
-    # "Class".constantize #=> Class
-    def constantize(camel_cased_word)
-      unless /\A(?:::)?([A-Z]\w*(?:::[A-Z]\w*)*)\z/ =~ camel_cased_word
-        raise NameError, "#{camel_cased_word.inspect} is not a valid constant name!"
-      end
-
-      Object.module_eval("::#{$1}", __FILE__, __LINE__)
-    end
-    
-    # extracted from Extlib
-    #    
-    # Capitalizes the first word and turns underscores into spaces and strips _id.
-    # Like titleize, this is meant for creating pretty output.
-    #
-    # @example
-    #   "employee_salary" #=> "Employee salary"
-    #   "author_id" #=> "Author"
-    def humanize(lower_case_and_underscored_word)
-      lower_case_and_underscored_word.to_s.gsub(/_id$/, "").gsub(/_/, " ").capitalize
-    end
-    
-  end
-
   class Database
 
     alias :delete_old! :delete!
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/typecast.rb b/lib/couchrest/typecast.rb
index aada42e..0e8097f 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/typecast.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/typecast.rb
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ module CouchRest
 
       def typecast_value(value, klass, init_method)
         return nil if value.nil?
-        klass = ::CouchRest.constantize(klass) unless klass.is_a?(Class)
+        klass = klass.constantize unless klass.is_a?(Class)
         if value.instance_of?(klass) || klass == Object
           value
         elsif [String, TrueClass, Integer, Float, BigDecimal, DateTime, Time, Date, Class].include?(klass)
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ module CouchRest
 
         # Typecast a value to a Class
         def typecast_to_class(value)
-          ::CouchRest.constantize(value.to_s)
+          value.to_s.constantize
         rescue NameError
           value
         end
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/validation/validation_errors.rb b/lib/couchrest/validation/validation_errors.rb
index 7b7da0b..a1ce372 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/validation/validation_errors.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/validation/validation_errors.rb
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ module CouchRest
       cattr_writer :default_error_messages
 
       def self.default_error_message(key, field, *values)
-        field = CouchRest.humanize(field)
+        field = field.to_s.humanize
         @@default_error_messages[key] % [field, *values].flatten
       end
 
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/validation/validators/format_validator.rb b/lib/couchrest/validation/validators/format_validator.rb
index fa61212..f15c7eb 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/validation/validators/format_validator.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/validation/validators/format_validator.rb
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ module CouchRest
 
         error_message = @options[:message] || ValidationErrors.default_error_message(:invalid, field_name)
 
-        field = CouchRest.humanize(field_name)
+        field = field_name.to_s.humanize
         error_message = error_message.call(field, value) if error_message.respond_to?(:call)
 
         add_error(target, error_message, field_name)
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/validation/validators/length_validator.rb b/lib/couchrest/validation/validators/length_validator.rb
index ec80dff..04c3ce0 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/validation/validators/length_validator.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/validation/validators/length_validator.rb
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ module CouchRest
 
         # XXX: HACK seems hacky to do this on every validation, probably should
         #      do this elsewhere?
-        field = CouchRest.humanize(field_name)
+        field = field_name.to_s.humanize
         min = @range ? @range.min : @min
         max = @range ? @range.max : @max
         equal = @equal
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/extended_doc_attachment_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/extended_doc_attachment_spec.rb
index 98dc86b..30f94dd 100644
--- a/spec/couchrest/extended_doc_attachment_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/couchrest/extended_doc_attachment_spec.rb
@@ -68,6 +68,19 @@ describe "ExtendedDocument attachments" do
       @obj.create_attachment(:file => @file_ext, :name => @attachment_name, :content_type => @content_type)
       @obj['_attachments'][@attachment_name]['content_type'].should == @content_type
     end
+
+    it "should detect the content-type automatically" do
+      @obj.create_attachment(:file => File.open(FIXTURE_PATH + '/attachments/couchdb.png'), :name => "couchdb.png")
+      @obj['_attachments']['couchdb.png']['content_type'].should == "image/png" 
+    end
+
+    it "should use name to detect the content-type automatically if no file" do
+      file = File.open(FIXTURE_PATH + '/attachments/couchdb.png')
+      file.stub!(:path).and_return("badfilname")
+      @obj.create_attachment(:file => File.open(FIXTURE_PATH + '/attachments/couchdb.png'), :name => "couchdb.png")
+      @obj['_attachments']['couchdb.png']['content_type'].should == "image/png" 
+    end
+
   end
 
   describe 'reading, updating, and deleting an attachment' do
@@ -96,7 +109,7 @@ describe "ExtendedDocument attachments" do
       reloaded_obj.read_attachment(@attachment_name).should == file.read
     end
   
-    it 'should se the content-type if passed' do
+    it 'should set the content-type if passed' do
       file = File.open(FIXTURE_PATH + '/attachments/README')
       @file.should_not == file
       @obj.update_attachment(:file => file, :name => @attachment_name, :content_type => @content_type)
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/extended_doc_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/extended_doc_spec.rb
index f138d4b..e03f1a1 100644
--- a/spec/couchrest/extended_doc_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/couchrest/extended_doc_spec.rb
@@ -164,6 +164,25 @@ describe "ExtendedDocument" do
       doc.run_after_save.should be_true
     end
   end
+
+  describe "creating a new document from database" do
+
+    it "should instantialize" do
+      doc = Article.create_from_database({'_id' => 'testitem1', '_rev' => 123, 'couchrest-type' => 'Article', 'name' => 'my test'})
+      doc.class.should eql(Article)
+    end
+
+    it "should instantialize of same class if no couchrest-type included from DB" do
+      doc = Article.create_from_database({'_id' => 'testitem1', '_rev' => 123, 'name' => 'my test'})
+      doc.class.should eql(Article)
+    end
+
+    it "should instantialize document of different type" do
+      doc = Article.create_from_database({'_id' => 'testitem2', '_rev' => 123, 'couchrest-type' => 'WithCallBacks', 'name' => 'my test'})
+      doc.class.should eql(WithCallBacks)
+    end
+
+  end
   
   describe "update attributes without saving" do
     before(:each) do