Digital Choke Daynotes

Officially Moved

2010-02-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

Pam and I went to the Utah DMV yesterday to get our Utah drivers licenses. We had all the required identification (old drivers license, social security card, a bill with our new address, and a DNA sample) that is needed due to the new federal "Real-ID" requirements. Since those new rules do not allow mail-in renewals, there's more people than usual at the DMV.

Our wait was only about 2 hours. We both had to take an open-book written test. I missed 2 questions, Pam missed a couple more than that. But we both passed, paid the fee, got our picture taken, and left with a temporary Utah drivers license.

This morning started out with a bit of snow, but my clever and diabolical plan of procrastination worked, as the 1"+ of snow all melted off the driveway by about lunchtime.

Still working on the 'sub-stealth' project for the FoodieFeeds site. Making some good progress. Some of the new FoodieFeed sites have interesting tips about food (in particular, BBQ), so am also enjoying visits to those sites.

Stealth Project Turns to FoodieFeeds

2010-02-18T14:34:00.001-08:00

The 'stealth' project has gone public. Actually, the site went live last weekend.

The site is a Food Blog aggregator, called "FoodieFeeds" (http://www.foodiefeeds.com ). It's a joint project between me (the web programmer) and Larry Gaian, an old friend who runs several BBQ-related web sites (the main one is 'The BBQ Grail' at http://thebbqgrail.com . We've worked together on several BBQ-related web sites.

The site is a way to a centralized site of the latest entries from participating Food Blogs. It uses a customized process and databases to build the page. It works pretty well, although sites with Atom RSS feeds are sometimes harder to get the information from. Still working on that problem.

Also working on another stealth project related to FoodieFeeds.

In the meantime, the job search is in progress, but not much action lately. So I keep busy in the basement by working on web site programming. My PHP and MySQL skills are getting better each day.

Stealthy Work

2010-02-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

I've been working on the new web site. Almost ready for prime time; perhaps by Monday. It's been keeping me busy; I am much less of a TV couch potato now.

No significant progress on the job front on my end. Pam did accept a position as the bookkeeper/accountant for a firm in Midvale. It's about the same commute as we had in CA. She will start next Monday.

That means that I'll be doing a bit more of the cleanup around the house. Perhaps even cooking dinners. I've had some practice, though. It was a year ago that Pam broke her wrist and elbow (different arms), so she was pretty much chair-bound for several weeks. I did all the laundry, cleaning (most of it), and soda-fetching. I figure I can handle it again.

And it will get me up earlier so I can take the grandkids to school each morning. The web projects will keep my day filled. And I've got to re-design this blog, since Blogger is taking away FTP transfer. Looks like another WordPress site will be happening soon.

Stealth Project, Jobs and More

2010-02-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a new web site project. It is still in "stealth mode", so can't give too many details. But it's heavy in PHP and MySQL, and will include page view tracking and ad placement/tracking.

The ad tracking part will be built from scratch. I've looked at a couple of open-source ad management systems, but didn't find any I liked. So, I'm making my own.

The project helps keep me busy during the day (and sometimes in the evening). The job hunt still progresses; had a good interview today with a big-time recruiting company. That went well; we shall see.

As for this place: it's run by Blogger software, with data transferred via FTP to my domain host. Got a notice from the Blogger folks yesterday that they will not be supporting FTP posting of posts. So now I need to figure out what to do.

I am leaning towards a WordPress-based site, since I've been working with that for the last 4-5 months, and have gotten fairly good at it, if I do say so myself. It's another project, though, and I hadn't planned on it. I need to get that other project finished and running first.

So, we'll see what happens. Finish the 'stealth project', move this blog to a new front end, and still look for a job. That should keep me out of trouble.

Thinking About BBQ

2010-01-23T20:02:00.000-08:00

Staying low this week. Our family is sharing a mild cold virus. This one is persistent: just when you think you are getting better, you get congested. But it's not too bad. And it was a good excuse for some Baskin-Robins Rocky Road ice cream to soothe a scratchy throat.

Some web work the past few days. Been helping a friend with various BBQ-related sites. They are all WordPress-based, and he wanted a common look-feel to all of them. So I used my favorite WordPress theme, customized everything (which is quite easy with that theme), with a minor color change for each of the three sites. I added the necessary widgets, some customized PHP code for a few areas, and they are done.

The sites are:

The BBQ Grail (http://thebbqgrail.com )

MOINK Balls (http://moinkballs.com )

Snouts to Tails (http://snoutstotails.com )

And then there's the WikQUEpedia site (http://wikquepedia.com )

If you have any interest in BBQ (or are looking for some good tips), I'd suggest that you take a peek at those sites. The MOINK Balls look really good. (You'll have to visit the site to figure out what a MOINK Ball is.)

Low Snow Day

2010-01-19T16:51:00.001-08:00

Woke up this morning to about 2 inches of snow on the ground. The snow was a bit soggy, since temps have been warmer overnight - there was a mix of rain and snow overnight.

So, I grabbed a granola bar (oatmeal-raisin), put on my boots and coat, and went outside to shovel off the driveway. My technique is 'push and shove', with a bit of 'lift and throw' at the edge of the driveway. Then walk back to the center of the driveway to repeat. Since the driveway is so wide, there's too much snow to do a push-and-shove all the way across the driveway. So I have a small pile of snow - currently about a foot high - down the center of the driveway.

I got the driveway all cleared off (except for the center pile), did the front sidewalk, and called it 'done'. Went into the house for breakfast and to read the papers.

About mid-morning, it started to clear up outside. The sun came out a bit in partly cloudy skies. At about noon, I looked outside. The snow had mostly melted from the streets, and the neighbor's driveway and sidewalk were clear of snow.

The neighbor hadn't shovelled his driveway today. He let the sunshine and warmer temps do the job for him.

The rest of the day was low-key. Cleaned up the kitchen a bit, worked on my CellarWeb web site (http://www.cellarweb.com ). And that's about it for today.

Stacy and Justin McEwan

2010-01-17T15:12:00.001-08:00

We welcome Justin McEwan as the latest member of our family. Stacy and Justin were married on Friday (1/15/10). It was a great day for the families. A nice luncheon after the morning ceremony in the Bountiful (UT) LDS temple, and an excellent reception later that evening.

Justin has Scottish heritage, so he and his groomsmen wore authentic Scottish kilts regalia for the reception. They looked really classy. Fortunately, I was only required to wear a tux (the story is that my legs were too ugly for a kilt). The reception had soup and yummy desserts, the decorations were excellent.

At the end of the reception, a bagpiper played while they walked out to their car to leave on their honeymoon. The whole day was excellent, although a bit long.

Happy Flu Year!

2010-01-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

The New Year started off with a mild case of a 24-hour flu bug. It was shared from the grandkids. Their whole family got it, I just got a mild case. So I spent New Year's Day in front of the TV, with some quick trips to our 'library' (the small room with a personal fan). Better today, though I am still in front of the TV. Today, the laptop is in use; didn't touch it yesterday.

Christine launched her new blog site "StickyFingerprints" (http://www.stickyfingerprints.com). Some good "mommy blogging" there, including giveaways and cute grandkid stories. Since she has five children under 10 yrs old, there is much opportunity for sticky fingerprints at her house.

Stacy stopped by this morning to get ready for some pre-wedding pictures. She tells me there are 13 more days. She could be somewhat excited. Her husband has Scottish ancestry, so he's planning on wearing a kilt at the wedding reception. Fortunately, I am just wearing a tux.

Post-Christmas-Post

2009-12-29T14:59:00.000-08:00

We survived the holidays, and had lots of fun doing that. It's fun to watch others - especially grandchildren - open their presents. And it's almost fun extracting their toys from the boxes, with twisty (twisted?) ties galore. No Kevlar-reinforced plastic-wrapped toys this year, and no toys that required excessive sticker placement (the Barbie Bus of years past must have had 100 stickers that needed to be applied in just the right spot).

And the weather cooperated. Some snow before Christmas day (just a couple of inches) to make things look nice. It has been cold, under freezing most days and nights. There's been a bit of fog, so all the moisture in the air freezing on the trees and bushes (and weeds in the surrounding empty lots) did make things quite picturesque.

On the 'looking-for-a-job' front: things have slowed down a bit during the holidays, but had a promising interview last week. Waiting for results of that one; I should know by the end of the week. And there's a possibility of a website development job to keep me busy.

In the meantime, some geeky stuff is being done. I've modified a WordPress site (http://www.thebbqgrail.com ) to include a custom-written hunk of PHP code that displays "Tweets". (A great place, by the way, if you are into real BBQ'ing, as opposed to just 'grilling' on the outdoor cooking appliance.) I've also finished a new blogging site for the oldest daughter. It will go live next week, I think.

A little bit of snow flurrying today. Just enough that I needed to clear off the driveways, but not too much at the moment. More snow predicted for later today and tomorrow. But the snow is new enough (and not very much) for this ex-California native to still think that it's nice to look at, and not too bad to shovel. We'll see if my opinion will change by March.

More Snow

2009-12-08T16:12:00.000-08:00

Another 4 inches last night here, although much more south of us. The result is that I got to use my almost-brand-new snow shovel on the front driveway again. Most of it is now cleared off, except for a patch down the middle between the two doors of the garage. I figured that patch can stay there, since all I need is a clear path in and out of the garage for the two cars.

The snow wasn't really wet, so it was fairly easy to push across the driveway into piles along the edge. I am starting to give consideration for the purchase of a snow blower. Leaning towards a Toro two-stage blower. But I may defer the purchase until I get employment. I have lots of time now for the manual method, but if I start working, the snow blower would be more efficient and more useful before/after work.

The sky is clearing tonight, which means it will be colder than before. Forecasts for a low of 9F. That's pretty cold to this once-California guy.

I mentioned on Facebook that after today's shoveling, I was considering a snow blower purchase. A cousin (who lives in Sacramento CA) said that I should consider moving back to CA. I countered that that was not an option: it would be too far away from the grandkids. And that CA was too dysfunctional. I'd rather deal with a bit of snow.

Snow Day

2009-12-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

We got a bit more snow overnight, so I grabbed my brand-new snow shovel and cleaned off the driveway. There was about 2 inches of very fluffy/dry snow, so it wasn't too hard to clear off my giant driveway (you can get five cars parked side-by-side).

And it looks like our street is very low on the snowplow priority list. In fact, probably not even on the list. There are only six houses on our street, and two are empty. Not very slippery at the moment. Perhaps when there is more snow we'll get a snowplow pass.

Went to "Wally World" today to grab a fiber-filled nylon jacket (they look sort of puffy). They were only $7.00, so couldn't pass up that deal. Also grabbed a knit hat and a pair of gloves. During today's snow-shoveling, I just had a baseball cap, and my ears and cheeks got a bit cold. When I came in, my ears and cheeks were cold. I spent a few minutes in a "Oh, No!" position (hands over cheeks and ears) to help warm them up.

More snow predicted for tonight, but the big part of the storm is in the southern part of Utah. It was a cold one; there was snow in Sacramento overnight, with a couple of inches in Auburn (elev about 1100ft). Much excitement in the old hometown. Around here, we may get another inch or two by tomorrow night, then another storm this weekend.

So far, this California transplant into Utah is still liking the snow. It is sort of pretty outside. And since I don't have to go anywhere if I don't want, I can stay inside and look at it from a warm house.

Snow Day

2009-12-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning to it snowing outside. Got almost 2 inches, then started to clear late afternoon. Still cold, high today will probably be only 25F. More snow predicted for Sunday and Monday.

I suppose I ought to think about a snow shovel. But the front of the house faces south, so any sunshine will help keep the driveway clean. Besides, both cars are in the garage. And I don't really have to go anywhere, so can just stay home.

Worked a bit on the family wiki site. Got some pictures and memories pages finished off while watching the football games.

Cold Enough For You?

2009-12-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

Really cold outside - for this California native. High today was about 30F, right now (9pm MST) is 15F. Went out to the garage to get a bottle of water, and the water was just as cold as it would be if refrigerated -- temp in the garage is 44F. Quite refreshing. Supposed to be 10-30F the rest of the week, with maybe some snow by Monday.

So, the plan has been to stay inside. Didn't get a whole lot accomplished today. Did some research on Mediawiki and Drupal techniques. Poked around the job boards, but nothing interesting available.

The advantage to staying inside today - Pam made some Snickerdoodles and Chocolate Crackles cookies. Most of them went to the grandkids' house, but there were enough left over for me.

Grandparent Job Hanjo

2009-12-01T19:36:00.001-08:00

It was "Grandparent's Day" at the grandkid's school today. So we went to the school with Happy Meals in hand and had lunch with the three oldest. They thought that was pretty cool. I thought that the chairs in the lunchroom table were too low. Afterwards, we treated them to a book at the "book fair", and then took Max home to spend some time at Grandma and Poppa's house (that's us).

I had an good job interview today for an interesting position. The interviewer was a fellow geek. We talked a bit about my experience in network systems (I have a lot of it from the 23 years with the previous employer). It ended on a quite positive note. We'll see how this one turns out.

Then over to the Social Security office to get a replacement SS card. Only had to wait 1/2 hour, and then was done. A stop at the local music store to return a banjo instruction book. I bought it in CA on the last trip, but it was for a five-string banjo, and mine only has four strings. Apparently, there's a difference in how you play the two types. They didn't have a four-string book, so I'll have to dig around the innertubes for one.

The Grandparent Job Banjo

2009-12-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

School Lunches and Jobs

2009-12-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

58

2009-11-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

A good day today. Started out with a phone call from a recruiter with a very interesting job. It would be my first choice, if offered. We'll see how this one progresses.

Then Christine and the grandkids came over. They had each made me a birthday hat, and I got some homemade chocolate covered marshmallows. They were great! We all watched some Disney shows - their favorites whenever they come over. We have a good supply of 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' and 'Handy Manny' (among others) on the DVR. It's fun to watch them interact with the shows.

They left about lunch time, so Pam and I went out for lunch, and then stopped at Wally World for a few things. While finishing checking out, I got a phone call from a potential employer about a web programming position. Talked with him while sitting out in the parking lot. It was a nice day outside - clear but cold (temp about 40F).

Then home for book/computer/TV. For dinner, I fired up the BBQ on the back (covered) porch, which has nice lighting - helpful, since it was full dark by then (and only 33 degrees). But the steaks were great.

Some more working on the computer in front of the TV. Pam went out and got me a three-scoop banana split from the local Artic Circle. That was yummy while watching TV.

So, a nice day. As for that number up there: my philosophy is that I have to grow old, but I don't have to grow up.

So there! Nyah-Nyah!"

Catching Up

2009-11-13T15:24:00.000-08:00

I have been keeping busy, although lazy at times.

I'm working on a couple of web sites for some friends. One is for a non-profit advocacy organization, and the other is for fans of BBQ. Neither is ready for prime-time yet, although they are getting close.

But they have given me some experience working with a couple of different platforms. One of the sites is based on WordPress. It uses the excellent Atathualpa theme, which allows you to customize just about every aspect of the 'look' of a site. I used that theme for the site I did for a niece (LeAnn's Designs, a custom jewelry e-commerce site at www.leanns-design.com ). It has the WP e-Commerce add-in, along with a few others. I think it turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

So one of the current projects is also based on WordPress. I had originally built it with a simple CMS (Content Management System) that I wrote in PHP. The site owners wanted a way to post new content, and I determined that the easiest way would be to convert it to WordPress. I built a test site at my CellarWeb place (www.cellarweb.com , which is also WordPress-based) and they approved the new design. So I have spent the past couple of days moving the content to their hosted site (on a new host, so as not to interfere with their existing site). Learned a few tricks on how to move WordPress content from one domain to another that worked quite well. The process of moving the content took less than an hour.

The other site is based on MediaWiki, which is the open-source software behind Wikipedia. I've been working with a variation of the base 'Monobook' theme (the visual look behind Wikipedia). The client wants the Monobook look, but with the addition of a header and footer, and some advertising area on the right side of all pages. A bit of PHP and CSS, and I was able to demonstrate that for him. Right now, the content is being slowly updated, and I am waiting for some graphics to add to the theme. Once that is done, I'll move the theme over to the actual site (which is still in 'stealth' mode).

There will eventually be paid advertising on that site. I've been looking at some open-source ad server software, but haven't found anything that I like yet. I've tried out the "OpenX' ad server software, but am having problems getting that to work. Support for my problems has been less than stellar. I'm thinking of a simple PHP/MySQL-based application that I may write myself.

So the web programming projects are keeping me busy, although not bringing in any actual income. I look at them as learning experiences that I may be able to convert into actual clients.

And I am keeping indoors. The weather this month has been mostly pleasant, with temps in the 50-60 range and mostly sunny. It's turned colder since yesterday; I think today's high is only going to get to 41 (all temps in F). The weather dweebs are predicting a bit of snow for Saturday, but not more than an inch on the valley floor here in Utah. And that will probably melt after a couple of days.

But I have been contemplating about snow. I got a nice pair of snow boots yesterday. I am not sure about snow removal equipment. I am inclined just to get a nice snow shovel for the little bit that I need to remove. The front of our house faces south, so there will be some solar-based snow removal. Both cars are in the garage. One of the neighbors said that he never shoveled his driveway. He just opened the garage door, and powered his way out to the street through the snow. When he got home, a similar power push up the driveway was all he needed to get into his garage.

And my thought is that if it is snowing enough, I'll just stay home. Being retired means that I don't have to go anywhere if I don't want to.

But I think that I will need to get some sort of snow shovel. I was looking at them at Home Depot yesterday, and note that there are several styles. Being a California native, this purchase will be new to me.

So, do I get a snow shovel with a straight or curved handle? Should the blade be metal or plastic? Or will just a plain flat garden shovel be enough? Don't know -- looking for advice.

Snow and flies

2009-10-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

The whole family (plus one potential family member) came over for Sunday dinner to celebrate Lucas' (2) and his Dad (Jared, 29F) birthdays. The usual noise and rowdiness from the grandchildren ensued. Two of them are recovering from mild flu cases (slight temperatures, a bit of coughing), but seem to be better today.

We had some BBQ steak (cooked on the back patio in 50 degree sunny weather), with pasta salad and garlic roasted red potatoes. All was yummy.

A mostly quiet day today. I had an interview for a system administrator position this morning; it went well, so we'll see how that turns out. This afternoon was mostly relaxing, watching a bit of TV while using the laptop.

There are a series of storms coming, with a cold front. The weather dweebs are forecasting a couple of inches of snow tomorrow and Wednesday. That will be a new experience for us. And I don't have a snow shovel or snow boots. My plan is to stay inside.

But there was this fly that had been bugging me all afternoon. It would buzz a bit around your face, then fly off. Flies are hard to see around here; we have brown furniture, dark cherry cabinets, and dark granite counter tops. So it's difficult to see the flies when they land.

I needed a plan. I grabbed the flyswatter, sat back down in the recliner, and patiently waited for the fly to reappear. It took a while, but he eventually ended up on my foot.

I carefully aimed the flyswatter, and took a mighty swing.

And during the swing, my hand hit the arm of the recliner (which has some padding, but wood underneath). Hit it hard.

The good news is that there are no broken bones in my hand.

Also good news: the fly is no more.

Last Mow

2009-10-16T14:37:00.001-07:00

The lawn is mowed -- last time this season, I'd bet. Getting cooler around here, and they turned off the irrigation water supply that is used for the lawn sprinklers (happens every year about this time around here).

The mums around the pergola are dieing off due to the colder nights. But the pergola does have some orange Halloween lights. And with a few drifting spider webs flying around just help the look.

Been working on the e-commerce site, doing some final tweaking of the settings. It's mostly done; all the products are input, pictures are ready. Just need the final word from the site owner to get it transferred to its home domain.

Fall Has Fell

2009-09-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the high was around 87. Today, the high was about 49. Yesterday, mostly sunny. Today, cloudy and rainy. With snow in the mountains.

We live about 4200 feet, snow level was around 5000 feet. There were 5-11 inches of snow in the mountains. They do look nice in the distance.

Stayed inside today; too cold to do anything outside. Besides, I have declared the pergola project finished. Yesterday, I installed the top corner braces, finished spreading the shredded bark, and started final cleanup. That will be finished tomorrow; it's supposed to clear up a bit, but still stay cold.

But, some excitement -- I did see a few snowflakes outside. I suspect that there will be more in the coming months.

Pergola - Done!

2009-09-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

The pergola now has flowers around it. Mostly mums of different colors, and some purple asters, including the two in the pots in front. On the right is a miniature Scotch pine (I think), which will be the outdoor Christmas tree we'll decorate each year in honor of Jason.

There is a four-outlet AC box in back of one of the back posts. We are thinking of some landscaping lights back there; I want to get some LED-type on a timer. LED lights are harder to find, but they will be very 'sippy' of the AC.

I am also thinking of some corner braces at the top of each post for a bit more support for windy conditions. We've had some 40-45mph winds with a couple of storms this summer, so perhaps the support is a good idea.

This project is done. Some minor cleanup, but that can wait. Got a college football game to watch.

Pergola Plantings

2009-09-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

The pergola project continues. Last week I got the 12x12" red pavers installed. Lots of knee work, which in my case is difficult. I've been a 'sit-at-the-desk' guy for a long time, and haven't had any requirement to do any outside work until we moved here. But I've got lots of spare time now, so the pergola project has kept me busy.

This morning we grabbed the truck from the Jensen's, and wandered over to J&J Nursery. Great place, and since it is nearing the end of the growing season here, there's lots of stuff on sale. Since the first frost hits usually here about mid-October, we needed to get any plants in quickly so they can get established before the frost.

So we grabbed about 15 mums of various colors, and 10 purple asters. Those are both perennials, so we're hoping they survive the winter here.

I took four of the asters and planted them on either side of the pergola. The mums were positioned to the left of the pergola, between it and the future garden area. I laid down some weed-blocking fabric, cut holes for the plants, and got everything in the ground. There's some shredded bark to be placed around as ground cover. We didn't get the plants until a bit after lunch, and I got finished with the planting about 6pm (there were a few Kool-Aid breaks in there).

The result looks pretty good. Tomorrow I'll spread around the bark, clean up the materials a bit, and take some pictures.

I have also been working on a few new web sites. One site is a 'play' area for testing out designs. I've installed a couple of WordPress sub-sites, and a simple and complex ecommerce add-ins. The result is almost ready for viewing by the masses.

I also have installed a Drupal sub-site so I can compare the features and customizability of it and WordPress. Haven't come to any conclusions yet, as I am still working with both.

And I am working on a new site for a niece-in-law, who makes custom beaded jewelry. Right now, it's WordPress-based, with a WP ecommerce add-in. That's still a work in progress. I got a big file of product pictures this morning via my FileHurl site (absolutely free no-size-limit file transfer at www.filehurl.com ). I'll grab a dozen or two of those for the ecommerce product area.

But at the moment, the muscles (especially legs and knees) are a bit sore. And there's some good new shows tonight to watch.

Pergola Done

2009-09-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

Finished up the pergola today, attaching the top vertical boards. Here's a picture, looking out to the empty lot in back of us (there's lots of empty lots around us at the moment).

I had been contemplating how to get the spacing correct on those boards. I knew the width of the top rail (119 inches), and the width of the boards (2x6 inches). After some test runs, I figured out the front overhang (12 inches on the top edge; the edges have a 30 degree angle cut).

But how to space them? Then I remembered watching an episode of "This Old House", where they talked about how to space the balusters (vertical boards) of a porch railing. After some Googling, I found a discussion of the process to figure out the spacing for stair rail balusters:

Determine the max clear area allowed by code (4" locally), add the width of
baluster. Then divide that number into the length of railing to receive
balusters. Round up that number to the next whole number.Place your tape in
lower start corner (back off half the width of a baluster to start). Pull the
tape to the end plus half the width of a baluster. Remember that whole number-
move the tape diagonally (holding start point) up until you can get a number
that is a multiple of that whole number. Then mark at the multiple number. Use a
level to transfer number up. This should divide the balusters so that the space
between is slightly less than required by code & be equal. Place another
mark half the width of the baluster to one side of the center line mark so you
can see where to place edge of baluster. Check that you did it right. Example:
So if you have a 4" clear space and 1 1/2" balusters, you can use the 6" mark
when the tape is stretched on the diagonal based on a multiple of 6" x rounded
up whole number from the length divided by 5 1/2". Start 3/4" before calculated
start and 3/4" past end.

Got that ? Me either.

So I found this page http://www.virginiarailingandgates.com/calculations.asp with a baluster spacing calculator. I knew that I had 16 rails, so I added played with the numbers until I got the result of 18 top rails (including the end one, which I wouldn't install). That gave me spacing between each rail as 6 inches.

So I cut a scrap piece of wood to 6 inches to be my spacing template. I placed all the railings with their proper spacing, then used another piece of scrap cut for the overhang length on the back side. I got all the railings 'dry placed', and then looked at it from all angles to make sure that it looked good.

All was well, so up the ladder with the 2 1/2 inch deck screws, the cordless drill, hammer, and my wood spacers. I started on the back side to practice my fastening technique. My plan: one screw on each side of the rail, angled down into the support rail. And I used the hammer to help get the screw started.

The technique worked, so I continued on the back side, using the wood spacers to get the proper spacing and overhang. I did notice that I should slightly offset each screw from the center; if you don't, the second screw hits the first one and the wood will split a bit.

Once all the back end screws were done, it was off to the front. I just needed the 6 inch spacer board, more screws, and a recharge of the cordless drill battery (note to self: next time, charge the battery overnight, although waiting for a recharge gives you a nice break from your hard labors).

So the pergola phase of the back yard project is done. Next phase is prep work for the brick pavers underneath.

Not only did I finish the pergola, I also gave the back yard it's first mow since the sod was installed. A nice professional diagonal mow, with once around the edge.

And that was enough for one day. I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the shaded back porch, doing a bit of reading, and watching the jets from Hill Air Force Base fly by on their way to the training range on the other side (west) of the Great Salt Lake. Temps in the high 80's, but a little breeze made it pleasant.

Stain Master

2009-09-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

More work on the pergola today, after a trip to the lumber yard to pick up eight more 2x6's. I've been looking at the structure as it exists: currently four posts set in concrete, and the 2x6's fastened to the top of each post. Each 2x6 has a 30 degree triangle cut. I got that by measuring 2 1/2 inches from the end, then cutting on that diagonal. The long edge of the 2x6 is at the top after the cut. The 2x6's are fastened to the posts with two galvanized lag bolts.

I've used 'construction common' redwood, which means that there are knots in the wood, but they are 'tight' (not open). The color of the wood is red and lighter color, although the posts are full red color. I had been thinking that I needed some sort of stain or protection against the wood weathering to a gray color. So I got some semi-transparent stain in a 'honey' color at the local "Wally Worlds" (that's what people call WalMart around here).

Todays' task was therefore cutting the top boards to 100 inches, so there is a 14 inch overhang on either side of the top, then cutting the 30 degree angle on each end. Then I applied the stain to all of the top boards and the posts and rails. I am letting them dry and will install them next.

Except: what would be the proper spacing for 16 rails mounted vertically across the top of the pergola (the width is 119 inches)? It would be similar to figuring out the spacing on stair balusters (them's the vertical boards on a stair railing).

And I know the answer on how to do that. Which you will find out in the next post. And there will be pictures when it is all done.

In the meantime, it's time to mow the newly sodded back yard. The sod has been in place for two weeks, so it is time to start mowing it. So that is also on the agenda for tomorrow.