diff --git a/examples/SimplePlot.py b/examples/SimplePlot.py
index b4dba1ffa850b0bcc54a4f81b8d9e83eda0599f7..921066619fc7e84711e4f7cab9fd9559819ba605 100644
--- a/examples/SimplePlot.py
+++ b/examples/SimplePlot.py
@@ -1,16 +1,10 @@
 import initExample ## Add path to library (just for examples; you do not need this)
 
-from os.path import *
-from pyqtgraph.Qt import QtGui, QtCore
 import pyqtgraph as pg
 import numpy as np
 plt = pg.plot(np.random.normal(size=100), title="Simplest possible plotting example")
-plt.getAxis('bottom').setTicks([[(x*20, str(x*20)) for x in range(6)]])
-## Start Qt event loop unless running in interactive mode or using pyside.
-ex = pg.exporters.SVGExporter.SVGExporter(plt.plotItem.scene())
-ex.export(join(dirname(__file__), 'test.svg'))
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     import sys
-    if sys.flags.interactive != 1 or not hasattr(QtCore, 'PYQT_VERSION'):
+    if sys.flags.interactive != 1 or not hasattr(pg.QtCore, 'PYQT_VERSION'):
         pg.QtGui.QApplication.exec_()
diff --git a/pyqtgraph/graphicsItems/ArrowItem.py b/pyqtgraph/graphicsItems/ArrowItem.py
index 275f9250461dc06e0a64dd06313b714b69cbe0e9..c98ba1279c334a769c49b84aefd662e05180b06f 100644
--- a/pyqtgraph/graphicsItems/ArrowItem.py
+++ b/pyqtgraph/graphicsItems/ArrowItem.py
@@ -16,12 +16,14 @@ class ArrowItem(QtGui.QGraphicsPathItem):
         Arrows can be initialized with any keyword arguments accepted by 
         the setStyle() method.
         """
+        self.opts = {}
         QtGui.QGraphicsPathItem.__init__(self, opts.get('parent', None))
+
         if 'size' in opts:
             opts['headLen'] = opts['size']
         if 'width' in opts:
             opts['headWidth'] = opts['width']
-        defOpts = {
+        defaultOpts = {
             'pxMode': True,
             'angle': -150,   ## If the angle is 0, the arrow points left
             'pos': (0,0),
@@ -33,12 +35,9 @@ class ArrowItem(QtGui.QGraphicsPathItem):
             'pen': (200,200,200),
             'brush': (50,50,200),
         }
-        defOpts.update(opts)
-        
-        self.setStyle(**defOpts)
+        defaultOpts.update(opts)
         
-        self.setPen(fn.mkPen(defOpts['pen']))
-        self.setBrush(fn.mkBrush(defOpts['brush']))
+        self.setStyle(**defaultOpts)
         
         self.rotate(self.opts['angle'])
         self.moveBy(*self.opts['pos'])
@@ -60,9 +59,9 @@ class ArrowItem(QtGui.QGraphicsPathItem):
                           specified, ot overrides headWidth. default=25
         baseAngle         Angle of the base of the arrow head. Default is
                           0, which means that the base of the arrow head
-                          is perpendicular to the arrow shaft.
+                          is perpendicular to the arrow tail.
         tailLen           Length of the arrow tail, measured from the base
-                          of the arrow head to the tip of the tail. If
+                          of the arrow head to the end of the tail. If
                           this value is None, no tail will be drawn.
                           default=None
         tailWidth         Width of the tail. default=3
@@ -70,15 +69,15 @@ class ArrowItem(QtGui.QGraphicsPathItem):
         brush             The brush used to fill the arrow.
         ================= =================================================
         """
-        try:
-            self.opts.update(opts)
-        except AttributeError:
-            self.opts = opts
+        self.opts.update(opts)
         
         opt = dict([(k,self.opts[k]) for k in ['headLen', 'tipAngle', 'baseAngle', 'tailLen', 'tailWidth']])
         self.path = fn.makeArrowPath(**opt)
         self.setPath(self.path)
         
+        self.setPen(fn.mkPen(self.opts['pen']))
+        self.setBrush(fn.mkBrush(self.opts['brush']))
+        
         if self.opts['pxMode']:
             self.setFlags(self.flags() | self.ItemIgnoresTransformations)
         else: