Homespun Green

I might be recycling this blog soon.  (Funny concept, that.)  The "green" theme would still apply, but in an entirely different context.  Hmmmm.

a few sample database tables

I'm first & foremost an IT guy, if you didn't know, and the closest I get to an area of specialty is database development.  I've done lots and lots of work with the enterprise version of Microsoft SQL Server 2000, but it's high time I got familiar with newer versions, and SQL Server 2005 is really where it's at right now.  The MS version sequence actually goes like this: SQL Server 7.0 (which nobody uses anymore), then 2000, then 2005.  There's also 2008, but this latest version doesn't have nearly the market dominance of 2005.
 
Anyway.  I'm currently doing self-study in preparation to get my MCITP certification as a SQL Server 2005 database developer, pretty intensively.  So really, if I get a little punchy after hammering at it all day, nobody's really surprised, right?

table detail

weather badge

...since it was still so nice out, and since I found a leftover can of Thompson's which I'd forgotten I still had, I went & slapped a coat of sealant on the lower deck too.
 
NOW I'm done for the day.
 
P.P.S. -- it doesn't look overcast.

capper rail is DONE

I added some crossbracing between the joists along the far edge, underneath the planking, so the railing would be less wobbly.  Then I measured, cut, fitted, attached & stained the last of the capper hand rail.  Then, I put everything away, including the extension cord, which had spent the whole winter outside, tied to the planking.  It's gotten a bit faded.

the end

OK, truth be told, the LOWER deck still needs some work.  It's still just a platform for the staircase, with no railing.  Also, the stain didn't weather the winter so well, down there, but at least everything's solid and level.  Those are projects for another day.  But the UPPER deck, shown here, is now complete.  At last!

Just a quickie note... I've been researching commercial properties today, for the purpose of turning into community workshop space, as part of the Twin Cities Maker group.
 
Some photos here.

So I've got a little bit of salvaged (but nice) oak and maple to play with, besides the rough waferboard & plywood I've mentioned before.  Still noodling about what to do with it.  Lamp?  Small decorative shelf unit?  End tables?

OK, it's not finished, but it's at least half finished.  The first set of material for the 2010 Calendar has been submitted to the publisher and, for the moment, I have a breather.  A short one, to be sure, due to the upcoming holidays & family plans; still, I'd like to see what I can do before I get busy with other things again.
 
Question is, what do I start on?  Can't finish the deck; it's well and truly Minnesota Winter now (drifting snow, 8 below, happy Christmas, ho ho ho).  Don't feel ready to dive into all the freehand table-saw work that my recent lamp design would require; all those tapering lines, y'know.  Got no shortage of other ideas, no doubt, but what might actually fit into maaaybe a week of super-chilly daytime-only garage work?  ("Daytime" because we need to keep an actual car in the garage at night, see, so we've got one ready for Le Schmoop's morning commute.)
 
What to do, what to do...