Resharper Plug

If you are a .NET developer and you do not use ReSharper you are going to get left behind in your field. If productivity were measured in key strokes and mouse clicks I would say that ReSharper has at least quintupled my productivity. I am sure I will rant about it a lot if I continue to write on this blog so I will try to be concise but here is an example to back up my above statements:
Using an object that is in a different namespace

I have an object, lets say BowlingBall, and I want to use it in my new code.
Without Resharper

1. Type the full name of the class 'BowlingBall' in your code block and look for the Visual Studio icon to add an import statement.
2. Wonder why it hasn't come up and get frustrated.
3. Delve into the solution explorer to try and find the class.
4. Finally find the class and see that the person who created it has made an unfortunate typo and that it is actually called BowelingBall - I will leave renaming for another day.
5. Curse the idiot who made the typo.
6. Return to your original code file and correct the typo.
7. Use visual studio to add the relevant import statement.

Around 25 clicks and strokes assuming you know precisely where to find the file and the solution explorer is pinned.

With Resharper

1. Type 'BB' into your code block.
2. Press Shift+Alt+Space
3. Select from the short list of classes displayed (also including BouncyBall and BreadBoard).
4. Laugh at the unfortunate typo and those doing it the manual way.  

About 6 key strokes.

Man Riding a Pig

In clearing out my old files I stumbled across this image which I created to show my flatmate that Britain looked like a man riding a pig. I thought I would upload it in case I need to explain this theory to anyone else.

Wellies

In 2011 we had a lot of snow and rain and in honour of the muddy dog walks a pair of wellies in a rocky road pile of mud seemed appropriate.

Tilly

In 2010 I created a perfect likeness of our pet dog Tilly in cake form.

The Fiesta

In 2009 the cake was another work of art if I do say so myself. Its even got windscreen wipers and door handles, though I couldn't quite manage the registration plate.

The Dalek

I made this cake for my girlfriends birthday in 2008, she likes chocolate by the way! It's not my recipe but one I tweaked having found this fantastic article at Chocablog.com. Is hard to appreciate the size of the cake in this image but to give you some perspective the base (with the maltesers on) is a chocolate sponge cake.

Airbox Aerospace

I have just been reading that the Airspace Aware device is still winning awards nearly 2 years after its launch, the latest being the Honeywell Bendix Trophy for Aviation safety.


It has also won the Royal Institute of Navigation’s prestigious award for Technical Excellence, been recognised by the CAA as an outstanding contribution to flight safety and been credited with a major role in reducing Airspace infringements.


All in all I'm pretty proud of that little project.

Lack of Posts

Obviously it was a really great idea for me to start a blog seeing as I have so much to say!