sub BUILD {
  my $self = shift;
  my $properties = $self->cfg;
  foreach my $prop (keys %$properties) {
    # check that the property doesn't already exist as a method
    croak "Server config file property '$prop' clashes with existing method. Aborting." 
      if ($self->can($prop));
    # create new method
    $self->add_singleton_method( $prop => sub { $properties->{$prop}; } );
  }
}