Home Graffiti About Sitemap Visual DevWork Email Brian GPG Key

GRAFFITI -- March 21, 2005 thru March 27, 2005 >> Link to the Current Week << Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week Search this site : Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable.     About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.

MONDAY    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
March 21, 2005

0650 - Good morning. Happy second day of Spring. Does that offset this being a Monday? A dreary Monday with Marcia 3000 miles away and two mopey dogs? Yeah, I thought not. But it was just a token effort anyway.

I got the other planter boxes built yesterday, with some effort as the rains came and went (instead of just going away, as forecast). You can see how dreary it was by the time I got to take a picture - for scale, those boxes are 12' by 3', 15" tall, with 27" between each box, so the run is about 40' by 8' wide.

I got Marcia to the aeropuerto on time, then got back and put the next box together. As I was dragging it out into the yard, it started squittering down damp again, so I stopped long enough to get the tools inside. I finished positioning and getting the landscape fabric onto box number four, then went out to get some shopping done. I picked up a few bits of pressure treat I needed to finish up the seventh box (a second strawberry patch for Marcia), and got the dirt and compost ordered and paid for -- it'll be delivered onto the driveway on Friday. When I got home, it had mostly stopped raining, I did email and a bit of browsing till the sun peeked out, around 1400.

As I was finishing box number six, I heard the rumble of thunder from the west. I scurried about and got all the tools back under cover, just in time for fat rain drops to drench everything all over again. So I cleaned up, took that picture, did some laundry, some dishes, played with the dogs a bit and watched the Mummy. Supper was yummy - leftovers of pasta and chicken from Saturday night's supper, bookended by Hagen Das Dark Chocolate/Chocolate bars.

On tap for today is ... Hmmm. I don't know yet. But I'll be back at a reasonable hour to take care of the mutts, and perhaps even get that seventh planter box assembled. Have a great day!

Top  /  Email Brian

Mon    TUESDAY    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
March 22, 2005

0716 - Good morning. I'm whacked. I only had about 45 minutes of light last night to do more final planter assembly, so I didn't finish box number 7. Maybe tonight if the weather holds. Otherwise I may drag all the bits in to the garage ... but I'd rather not as that means I have to drag the finished bugger back all the way around. We'll see. Now, I'm running late (the dogs made me sleep in a little bit), so to work with me. Have a great day!

Top  /  Email Brian

Mon    Tues    WEDNESDAY    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
March 23, 2005

0651 - Good morning ... well, yes and no. It's day one of PyCon, so that's good. The liars had forecasted rain overnight, sporadic today. Instead it's pissing down in buckets right now, and going to continue all day, an inch or more of rain depending on location, location, location. I don't even know why I'm going to bother with a shower, but I'd better... have a great day!

Top  /  Email Brian

Mon    Tues    Wed    THURSDAY    Fri    Sat    Sun   
March 24, 2005

0732 - Good morning. At least I hope so. The weather's supposed to be less squittery today, and hopefully the civil war re-enactment between my gastro and my intestinal won't stage a return engagement, either. Yeah, by mid-afternoon I was an unhappy camper and bailed out of my last session of the day to get home. That was an uncomfortable hour, too. But all's well that ends well, so I can look forward to better times today. I did learn some interesting stuff yesterday, paying close attention to testing and logging frameworks, as well as innovative new uses of Python and relatives. More in my post-show summary entry over the weekend or early next week.

I was reading Smithsonian magazine, where the lead article visits Dayton, Tennessee to re-examine the Scopes trial. Among other things, there was a picture of a "science" professor captioned thusly: ' Harvard-educated science professor Kurt Wise teaches that God created the world and everything in it 6,000 years ago. For him, he says, "Scripture trumps interpretations of physical data" ' Um, no, the politically-motivated writings of some priest-kings who wanted to keep power thousands of years ago have no bearing on actual reality. And if Kurt Wise were teaching in a place where my tax dollars directly paid his salary, I'd work to have his ass sacked. I don't care what he believes... but teaching Creation as a science in a school, and calling yourself a scientist is deeply, deeply wrong, and a grave disservice to students and society.

Evidently another deeply wrong thing would have been eating left over pasta for supper last night. I put the leftovers in the pan, added a bit of water, covered, and put on lowest simmer. 15 minutes or so would have done the job nicely. Then I wander upstairs and started working on my OpenBSD setup getting some more config stuff right, installing a few things from Ports, like Bash and Vim. Hmmm, a funny smell ... about an hour and a half later. So sad, too bad, burnt dinner. I noshed on something light and bland, figuring that was for the best anyway.

Top  /  Email Brian

Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    FRIDAY    Sat    Sun   
March 25, 2005

0701 - Good morning. I'd blocked out from last year's PyCon just how tiring it is to be around so many people who are so bloody smart and apparently tireless, to boot. It's actually a lot like being at work, as NFR's engineers are a stellar bunch, but at PyCon there are more than 400 of them milling about. It's not a sales show at all - just a straight technical conference and I think my brain is going to explode. Oh, and in other lovely news, the 9 yard load of soil and compost is dropping in the driveway sometime today ... probably just before the next rainstorm comes in. I'll probably end up coming home early to get it mixed and at least some of it wheelbarrowed out to the planters. I'd best be getting going... just as soon as Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) finishes playing. Have a great day!

Top  /  Email Brian

Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    SATURDAY    Sun   
March 26, 2005

0950 - Good morning. A testament to the wonders of ibuprofen, I am moving today. After a half-day of PyCon yesterday, including very interesting keynote by Greg Stein of Google (he's also chairman of the Apache Software Foundation, a contributor to Subversion, etc, etc.) I bailed out and came home to a light drizzle and a driveway full of dirt. I let the dogs out in the back yard for a moment while I got changed. Then I started mixing the front of the pile (leaf compost) with the back of the pile (top soil) using my rototiller, and barrowing loads back to the planter boxes. I basically kept at it for 4.5 straight hours, until the light began to start failing (it was hard to tell, as it was a dark, overcast day to start with). I mixed and shifted nearly 7 yards of material by the time I was whacked for the day.

Not too shabby. I've more to say about PyCon, but that'll wait until tomorrow or Monday, as I need to get the rest of the driveway cleared, get some shopping done (I think one of our regular stores is closed tomorrow for Easter), and other stuff before Marcia hits the tarmac at BWI tonight at 2130. Have a great day!

Top  /  Email Brian

Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    SUNDAY  
March 27, 2005

1108 - Good morning. Marcia's home, we've all done the happy dance, and all is right with the world again. Oh, and the dirt is all done, too. I got the last box finally assembled, soil/compost mixed and in each planter, and rebuilt a couple of other planting beds as well. I also got out once and picked up twelve 3 cubic foot bags of red-dyed shredded cedar mulch. I got out again and did the package-store shopping, since they're closed today. There've been several questions about how I built / designs for the planters. Since I didn't draw anything, or write anything, I'll try to post-document it here...

First up, materials: These quantities of wood are for ONE planter, 12 feet long by 3 feet wide by 15 inches deep, lengths do NOT include saw allowances (your circular saw makes 1/8" of wood disappear with each cut, neh?). All wood products are ACQ Pressure Treated wood rated for outdoor use. Mine actually said for "above ground" use, I figure ONE side is above ground,

• Corner posts: (4) each 4"x4", 15" long. (cut from a single 8' 4x4).
• Main sides: (4) each 2"x8", 12' long, and (4) each 2"x8". 3' long. (uses five 12' 2x8).
• DecoTrim/stability: (2) each 2"x4", 12' long, and (2) each 2"x4", 3' long, (uses three 12' 2x4, some leftovers)
• Fasteners: I used 3" #8 square/phillips drive coated for use with ACQ lumber, found in the decking section. (note, for the number of planters I built, I went through (1.5) five pound boxes of fasteners).

I assembled thusly (see corner detail image below assembly list) - note that all screws were set by pre-drilling holes, then setting the screw. This prevents most wood splits. Additionally, I set all the screws at a moderate angle, not straight into the wood. In places where I have screws "in a row", as when fastening the 2x8's to the corner posts, I alternate angles back and forth to make a stronger joint. Finally, ACQ lumber is not good to aspirate - *DO* wear a dust mask and eye protection while making all cuts.

1. Long sides: On a flat surface (concrete pad is good), lay out two of the 15" 4x4, parallel, about 12' apart. On those, lay two of the 12' 2x8, sides butted together, ends even with each other and just covering completely the 4x4 corner post. Using a square, make sure corner posts are reasonably perpendicular to the long edge of the sides. Use 3 or 4 screws per 2x8 (depending on cupping) through 2x8's into 4x4 corner post. Go to other end, position corner post and square it, fasten as before. Repeat for second side.
2. DecoTrim: Set circular saw to 45° angle, maximum depth, and trim ends to make a nice angle. Do not shorten board, 45° cut should terminate at existing end of board (make end look like a stake, observe image below for a better view).
3. Fasten DecoTrim centered over seam between two 2x8 boards. This will prevent most dirt spillage if seam attempts to open as wood dries. I put spare 4x4 lumber underneath most of the length of the seam to have a firm surface to brace the sides while I was fastening. First center trim approximately, then use a tape measure to center precisely at one end (I found 5.625 to be a good measurement from edge of trim to edge of 2x8. Fasten with two screws, one into each of the 2x8 boards, approximately 1" past the 45° cut. Then correctly center the other end, and fasten similarly. Measure for centering in the middle of the 2x4, adjust and clamp as necessary until the rest of the fasteners are in place. At approximately one foot intervals from one end to the other, alternate setting screws into first one 2x8, then the other.
4. End panels: Here, we'll pre-construct the ends before attaching to the corner posts. Cut 3' lengths of both 2x8 and 2x4 (four and two each, respectively). Make the DecoTrim 45° cuts at the ends of the 2x4 lumber. Lay two 3' lengths of 2x8 long edges abutting. Center the trim piece and fasten as with the long sides. I used three pairs of screws, one pair at each end and one in the center, for this operation. Repeat to make other end piece.
5. Assemble planter: I used spare blocks of 4x4 to raise the planter pieces off the concrete and balanced the first long side on edge. I brought the first corner piece into place, and used bar clamps to hold everything in alignment while I fastened the end (6 to 8 screws, as before) to the proximate surface of the corner block. I did NOT overlap the end of the 2x8 from the long side. I brought the other long side into play, and assembled the end to that corner post. Then at the other end I repeated the process.

Cool. Now you have a 200 pound planter. Do you have on strong buddy, or a couple of other friends around. Good backs? Okay, then get the planter into place where you want it. If you are working alone (as I was), then use a hand truck at one end, and a spare length of 2x4 as a skid. Drop the box onto the skid at one end, apply the hand truck at the other end, and drag the box along until you almost run out of skid. Raise the skid end of the box on a spare 4x4, and reposition your skid for the next pass, Repeat until the box is in position.

You pre-leveled the landing spot, of course. After the box is in position, I flipped it over onto it's back, then using a staple gun, attached landscape fabric, to reduce weed/grass intrusion into my planter. If you've got raw dirt under your box, don't bother with that step. Flip the box back into position, fill with soil/compost to taste (about 1.3 cubic yards per box, and you're ready to plant. Building 7 planters took me about 12 hours. Mixing and moving 9 yards of fill took me about 7 hours. YMMV. I hope this helped if you wanted to build something that looks kind of like what I built. Or make something up for yourself.

How many lives did Iraqi Freedom cost us this week?

• Spc. Jonathan A. Hughes, 21, of Lebanon, Ky., died March 19 in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV.
• Pfc. Lee A. Lewis, Jr 28, of Norfolk, Va., died Mar. 18 in Sadr City, Iraq, when his patrol was attacked by enemy small arms fire.
• Sgt. Paul W. Thomason, III, 37, of Talbot, Tenn., died Mar. 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
• Spc. Francisco G. Martinez, 20, of Fort Worth, Texas, died March 20 in Tamin, Iraq, as a result of enemy small arms fire.
• Lance Cpl. Kevin S. Smith, 20, of Springfield, Ohio, died March 21 as a result of hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
• Spc. Travis R. Bruce, 22, of Byron, Minn., died March 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an enemy mortar round detonated near his guard position.

My thanks to our fine soldiers!

Now we've got more shopping and other stuff to do. I must admit, that when Marcia woke up this morning and said she was sore and stiff, I just laughed until I fell over. Then I told her I would order in another 9 yards of soil for her to move about the yard. Then we could talk about "sore and stiff". We did sleep quite late, until about 0930, a stellar performance in self-control from the dogs. They're good girls. We, however, are going to have less fun, getting to bed early enough to wake up at our normal weekday time. Ah, well. Such is life. Happy Easter if you so celebrate, and have a great day!

Top  /  Email Brian

Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week

Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

All Content Copyright © 1999-2011 Brian P. Bilbrey.


Except where otherwise noted, this site is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.