Did more decoupling work on the media server

Yesterday, I did some more decoupling work on the Dexter media server. Basically, I added multiple uses of the http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifObserver Design Pattern which means that the timer class and the video renderer class are more decoupled from each other. Also the input class is more decoupled. When timing events and input events occur, they are broadcast to generic "observers" of which there can be an arbitrary amount. Before, they were broadcast to specific class instances which caused undesirable coupling.

I have a new son!

My latest cool project is raising my new son who was born one week ago.

Here are some pictures: hope this works

Time to get upgraded version of Eagle

I've gone back and forth about this for a while but I think I've finally settled on the idea that purchasing an Eagle license is the next step. Unfortunately, this will cost $500. It will take me a while to store up that kind of cash. If anyone wants to donate to help speed the process along, let's talk; I must add a caveat that Dexter remains a "spare time only" project and may never be completed, so there _is_ an element of risk involved.

Mocks for C#

For those who are interested in getting better at unit testing in C#, here is a quick write-up I've made giving some quick recommendations (with example code).

Check it out my quick reference for Rhino mocks.

Almost done

I'm almost done with my utility to prepare files to be backed up. It does exactly what I want. I wonder if anyone else would find it useful :)

Grrrr backing stuff up

Another thing is getting in my way of doing what I _really_ want to do (Dexter): the need to transfer files off my hard drive onto DVD (or other hard drive?). I know DVD is an unpopular choice for doing backups today but it remains a decent strategy for me especially when I am backing up files which other people already have but would still be somewhat painful to recover due to their sheer size.

I've looked for software for Windows that will take an arbitrary directory on my hard drive and optimize the file structure so that it makes the most out of each DVD's space but I've been having a really hard time trying to google for that. There's too much software out there designed to backup DVD movies that gets in my way.

"high priority stuff" revealed

The high priority stuff I was working on was going through the process of finding another job. I have formally given notice to my current employer as if two days ago so now it's okay to publicly announce it. I haven't started at my new job yet so there is still some work to be done but I thought I'd let anyone who checks this blog know what I've been doing instead of Dexter work lately. :o