Monday, December 10, 2012

Wings of an Eagle

Karen and I recently enjoyed an anniversary vacation to Hawaii.

We spent several days on the island of Maui, and for one of those days we paid a visit to Hana, the town on the far northeast side of the island.  The road to Hana is considered one of the best experiences on the island.  Some say the best thing is a luau, and some say snorkeling or sailing. 

It turns out they are all wrong. 

This is my story.

At the end of our drive to Hana we found ourselves at the end of the Hana airport runway in the hangar belonging to Armin Engert, owner of Hang Gliding Maui and the pilot and instructor for powered hang gliding flight. 


Armin is a very gentlemanly fellow who took the time to get to know us before the excitement began.  He has been flying for many years and many thousands of hours.  We talked about his "trike", the beautiful little red powered glider.  It turns out to be different from what most think about when they hear the words "hang glider".  His vessel is powered.

Now, you might be thinking about an ultra light craft, but his is actually over the ultra light's 250-pound weight limit.  His 500-pound machine is a two-man, larger engine craft that the FAA allows to be flown for training purposes.  So this was a day for my first flying lesson.

After donning the appropriate (and very cool) leather garb, Armin helped me into the back seat and pushed the vehicle back out of the hangar.  Within moments the engine was roaring and we were off.  Armin sat confident in the front seat, I sat in the back, giddy as a school boy just starting Christmas vacation.



Shortly after takeoff, runway at top right
The runway is quite short and it only took a moment to taxi to the "8" end of the runway.  (Armin explained the 8 on one end and the 26 on the other, referring to 80 and 260 degrees which refers to the runway's compass bearing.)  Suddenly the engine roared to life and we were accelerating quickly into the somewhat gusty wind.  We never came close to the "26" on the other end of the runway; in fact we used hardly any of the runway at all.  Karen barely caught out ascent; with the wind bearing down on us we quickly achieved sufficient lift and were on our way.
 

Armin assured me before the flight that the first 200 feet of air would be the roughest, and he was right.  Within seconds we were well above that first layer and moving higher and higher into smoother altitude.

Wow; what an amazing feeling to be in the open air!  I could feel the buffeting winds on my body as we sliced through the cool air.  Looking down I could see the ocean, and runway already far behind us.

Then the instruction began.  Armin taught me the basics about flying a powered glider.  He explained that the body holding the seats and engine is essentially dangling underneath the wing, and the wind stays pretty well fixed in position relative to the body.  By grabbing hold of the controls (handles on the wing) I was able to "steer" or shift the wing forward, back, left and right.  By moving it into one position it would stay there; thus if I shifted it so that we started to climb, it would stay in that climbing angle, or if I shifted it so that we were moving right, it would continue to move right.  This makes maneuvering very easy.

Armin asked me to fly between two clouds, and then between two more, and then towards one more.  It was an exhilarating experience to be out in the open, flying up into the clouds.  It was just like I had imagined (maybe better) and very similar to many of the flying dreams I have had.



Spinning over the red sand beach



While over the red sand beach Armin demonstrated a tight cornering spin to the happy surprise of the butterflies in my stomach.  We flew over a couple of black beaches and then over land.  Soon we beheld the majesty of a tall waterfall, green trees. Pat Benatar's island home. A few minutes later we were high still, in the cloud layer.


 in the clouds, engine off

As we ascended from below the clouds into the clouds I was able to put my hands out and feel the air change to something misty, dense and cool.   The cloud layer was the smoothest portion of the journey.  Above, below and all around I could see clouds, with occasional breaks through to the land, sea, and clear sky.  At one point Armin then shut off the engine and all I could hear was the wind rushing by and Armin's occasional voice explaining what we were experiencing.  We flew like that as we descended, engine off, air rushing by, and soon we were below the clouds. 

 
As we approached the air space of the runway we circled and positioned to the "8" end of the runway.  Nearing land, Armin restarted the engine.  He explained that with the rougher air it is safer to have the engine running, in case we had to abort the landing.  Otherwise he would have been able to land engines off.  Of course aborting landing was unnecessary, and while the land was coming near much too quickly for my taste, at the last minute Armin adjusted the wind just right and we touched down smoother than I've ever experienced in past commercial jet landings.  

In moments we were back at the hangar, dismounting.  The fun was over now.  But flying is definitely now stuck in my blood.  For the next few hours it was all I could think about.  I am now dreaming of the next time I can do it, and perhaps one day have a glider of my own.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Al Gore Created The Internet... Save The Children!

We have good kids.  They are smart and funny and good.  A bit weird, too.




And yet as a parent concerned about the exposure my kids have to the distracting and harmful influences of the internet I have felt reticent to allow them open access.  It seems almost impossible to use the internet without wanton, inappropriate influences bearing down on our home.

I'm talking about more than just pornography, although that is the #1 reason. Other reasons? Viruses, spyware, malware, identity theft, coarse/raunchy language, and misleading information about important things (like my religious beliefs), just to name a few. 

We all need access to the internet.  Banking, email, research, social interaction, relaxation and fun...   I want my kids to learn to manage themselves so they can apply those choices to adult life.  Managing our family's access to the internet is about making our home a haven from the outside world.

One option for protecting your family is to buy a yurt, move to the backwoods of Colorado, abandon modern convenience, and live in peaceful solitude.

Another slightly less invasive option is to limit access to the internet.  This includes mobile and private options; the kids have ipods, and those ipods have restricted internet access through settings restrictions and also a protected browser called K9.  The family computers are in open areas.  We stay connected to their digital worlds as much as we can.  I monitor facebook.com.  We limit late-night game play.  I recommend searching and read suggestions on how to manage the internet in your home.  Here is an article along those lines (scroll to the bottom, "Avoid Internet Dangers").

I believe the biggest technical risk is poor internet filtering.

Enter opendns.com.  We've been using this filtering service for years.  What does it do?  It filters the internet by domain name.

Boring technical stuff about domain names and DNS.  A domain name is something like google.com.  When you tell your internet browser to go to google.com, there is a service that has to look up the real numeric address of google.com.  That is called a DNS.  You enter "google.com", and hit enter.  Then the computer talks to your internet provider's DNS, and that returns a string of numbers like "74.125.224.226".  That number is the real address of google.com.

When you change your DNS server settings to use opendns.com, whenever a computer in your home looks up a website (like google.com or lds.org), the opendns.com servers will check to see if that site is allowed to be seen by people at your house.

Now you have control!  You can tell opendns.com which website or categories of websites are allowed in your home.  It has been a wonderful service.  The kids hated it at first, and learned to live with it later.

Recently I began to notice the opendns.com idea has limitations.  A few:
  1. Lack of cross-site control.  Put another way, websites showing other website information.  I can do a search on google.com and return thumbnail images of other sites that are inappropriate.  Even though a pornographic site is blocked from access, some of its images are stored on legitimate search sites.  
  2. Inability to dynamically filter content.  Wikipedia.org is a great reference site, but if you search nude beach or some other questionable reference you'll quickly find yourself reading and seeing worrying material on the same site.  
  3. Inflexibility of whole-site restrictions.  I might want to allow partial access to a site, but the above worries would whittle the internet down to a stubby pencil nib. 
I began searching for dynamic filtering solutions.  It turns out there are few good options for dynamic home filtering, but I did find one that I like very much.  www.pandorashope.com


We've been using our Pandora's Hope router for about a month now and we love it! 

I can put websites into a whitelist (all content allowed), a blacklist (no content allowed), or a greylist (only appropriate content allowed).  If a site is in the greylist, then a page that had "fluffy ponies" and "sunshine bears" would be allowed, but if it had "naked actress" then it would be filtered out (blocked).  It just depends on what page you're looking at.  This means you can still use the website but some content and images are blocked.


If I search or access something inappropriate, the page is blocked entirely, like this:
Pandora's Hope - Web page blocking

On the other hand, if the web page is fine but there is an inappropriate link, it will just block that link/image (such as an advertisement, if you choose to block those).
Pandora's Hope - Ad Blocking

For the record, I have no ulterior motives, no stock, no friends who work there... it's just a great product.  It's the greatest filter solution out there, and as far as I've been able to tell, this is the only dynamic content filtering solution for the home that is truly dynamic and protects the entire home, regardless of what device you are using.

One disappointment with our router is that the wireless is much weaker than our Apple Time Capsule.  The range is shorter, the strength weaker, and the response poor.  In fact, the signal is so poor that we reconnected our Time Capsule router and we're using that wireless service instead.   This is very disappointing considering the Pandora's Hope router is brand new, whereas our Time Capsule is about 3 years old.
 Remember, filtering options are just part of the solution.  Great solutions required family discussions, family monitoring, one on one conversations about what is important, limiting time and access, and so on.  Don't leave parenting to filters.  Even the best filtering options aren't perfect.

 But for those of you with kids I highly recommend this product.  Check out their FAQ, and happy surfing!

----------------------
Dec 10, 2012 Update
I have noticed more than one automatic update to my router since the original posting.  I am happy to report a much improved user interface with many features exposed that were previously hidden.  WiFi performance is working very well now.  While I have retained use of my Apple Time Capsule, it is now relegated to our second floor to maximize my son's gaming experience.

I want to say THANK YOU to the Pandora's Hope people and their continued work on improving their devices long after the sale.  Keep the good work comin'!

----------------------
Dec, 2014 Update
I had some problems with my router failing to update. I called tech support and they supplied me with a new one. I am amazed at their service so long after the sale. I notice improvements continue to be made to the software, and my recommendation for this device still stands.

If you click this link when you purchase your router you will send a little bit of love my way.  (Notice this link came long after I became a customer, and I am not in any way affiliated with this company other than being a happy user.)
I want a Pandora's Hope Router!

Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Indian Negotiator

Apparently champagne looks a lot like sparkling apple cider in pretty cups.  That isn't something I had thought about until after my first sip of this pretty bubbly.  Sitting comfortably on the 747, Lufthansa flight, me and the rest of Business Class settling in for a cozy flight from Denver to Frankfurt.  Yuck!

With some embarrassment, I asked the questioning flight attendant for some apple juice instead.  With an understanding nod and a smirk she obliged.

This is how my February trip to India got started.

Chris (my coworker) and I started our journey to India.  After a long but relaxing journey we arrived in Bangalore.  We stayed in a hotel close to the office (the Ibis).  Unfortunately half of the hotel was still under construction.  Which you could hear during the day, including not only the weekends when you are trying to sleep off jet lag but also the weekday mornings.  Lovely.

Kevin arrived to join us about our 4th day in.  He is a coworker also (works for our client).  He missed the Ibis experience unfortunately (haha) but thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Leela.

Bathroom sign at work. Took me some time to figure it out.
The bathrooms in the hotel were large modular units which I assumed were placed  into the rooms by crane, one giant rounded sort of thing that sat in the corner.  Chris had trouble with the shower doors which are all glass and come together in the middle.  There were little round holes in the glass (to be used to pull them open) and narrow openings between the wall and the doors which allowed plenty of water onto the outside floor.  It was this "Motel 6"-like experience that eventually led us to the Leela where we spent the rest of our stay.  Oh, I love you, Leela Palace.

We worked hard during the week.  I spent a lot of time visiting with components of the larger team (which totals to almost 50 people) and discussing the health of our team and plans for the future with my leads.  Girish is my lead there, very talented and someone I respect immensely.  He is also a funny guy and good person at heart, which endears him to the rest of the team.

Chris and I went shopping during one of the first evenings there, walking to a small mall not far from the Ibis.  We found some whitening wash there that got us both laughing.  I guess some Indians feel a lighter complexion is desirable.  I shared this experience with my team and got a laugh. I wonder, if I used that product, would I disappear?



On Saturday we went shopping to a very touristy place, same place I've been to a number of times.  It's a government-owned shop that has local vendors inside that are regulated supposedly.  I bought Karen pashmina scarfs there and Kevin and Chris also bought some as well (they bought many more; I think I'm cheap).  We later learned you can buy them for about half what we paid through Amazon, but then again, they wouldn't have been from India.  On the way out there were street vendors hocking wares.  You know, the kind that rush up and offer you junk.   I bought a map of India for $11 that I thought I would put up in my office at work.
 
I also bought a little round chess set.  I told the guy I wasn't interested but he was insistent, following us all the way to the car.  I paid 700 rupies (about $15) for what had started as a 1400 rupee chess set.  A great deal, I thought!  Then minutes later Chris gets in the car.


"What did you buy?", I asked.
"One of those chess sets", he responded.
"How much did you pay?", I inquired.
Silence.
"How much did you pay?", I repeated.
"400 rupies.", he responded.

Aaargh!  So, it turns out he is a really good haggler.  Time after time he proved this, getting us some great deals.

While in India a van-like car was arranged to take us from place to place (work, hotel, shopping, etc.) but it is quite expensive and requires the driver to wait for us at each stop.  We decided to try our luck on a ricksha and Kevin asked the driver if we wanted to do this, what should we expect to pay for a ricksha ride from the Leela to the Forum mall.  "About 150 rupees", he said.  Apparently only Kevin and I heard this, because the next day when we walked out to the street and found the first ricksha, Chris (who by now I called "The Negotiator") began the haggle.  

Before getting in, he asked, "How much for a ride to the Forum mall?"
Before the guy could answer, Chris suggests, "How about 300?"
"OK!", the man says.

That was one of the sweetest moments of my trip.

So we went to the Forum mall, which is a nice 5 story mall for India.  Nothing compared to those in the U.S. but still nice.  They have McDonald's here but it doesn't serve beef.  They also have KFC and some other chains.  We ate at this really neat restaurant that has a long room designed like the old-time train cars and we ate in one of those booths.  The food was awesome.  I got this drink that was milky and had cardamom and other seasonings in it that I really liked.  The naan there was amazing.  Rotis are also good but more like a tortilla and not leavened. 

Indians eat almost everything with one hand and no silverware, which is pretty difficult since most of their food is like a stew with lots of gravy or sauce. They use one hand to tear off a piece of naan, then they pick up the food with that and eat it.


I also had a pan (or paan?) which is a type of breath freshener.  Aromatic seeds wrapped in a butter nut leaf coated with real silver foil.  You eat the whole thing in one bite including the silver.  It was sweet and good.  I know I've grown accustomed to the food whereas before I was not.  I distinctly remember eating one of those pan's on my 2006 trip at a place called the Samarkand.  It was so nasty, but now that I've had it I enjoyed it.

I had fresh Watermelon and Guava juice while in India, both are delicious.

The Bangalore climate is beautiful.  It is cool weather here with a light breeze and birds singing.  Outside temperature in the morning is perfect for breakfast.  Each day we had breakfast outside, enjoying the birds and weather and good food.

One evening we were taken out to a resort where we were treated to a Bollywood fashion show put on by one of the teams.  They did a wonderful job.  I tried to imagine a U.S. team doing something like this and couldn't quite pull it off.  This is distinctly Indian.  Chris, Kevin and I were the "distinguished guests of honor".  They asked us to come up and dance at the end on the stage.  The three of us felt very silly but had fun.  After this then we had appetizers and drinks and by then my head was hurting quite a bit, but I hung in there.  They had some loud music and sucked us into dancing again, and I was horrible but it was fun... except my head was getting worse.  By 10 I was totally done and growing sick.  Kevin and I left early and we barely made it back to the hotel.  I kept praying to just let me make it to my room before getting sick.  I never threw up and was grateful, but I had a full-on migraine and my stomach was in knots.  I slept fitfully through the night.

The trip home was smooth until Denver, at which point it became rather painful.  It appears our flight arrive a bit late and our departing plane left on time.  Without us.  What was to be a very short 1 hour layover turned into a 6 hour layover.  After a trip that long, a Friday evening in the Denver airport was not on my list of fun ways to spend the weekend.


Chris and I got to know each other on this journey, and that was honestly the best part of the trip.   Our time together showed me that he is a funny, well-balanced man who I respect tremendously.

p.s. Incidentally, this is the trip the caused me to miss Valentine's Day and the Super Bowl.  (My job later cost me most of Mother's Day in flight to Florida, a bad move all around considering I missed two chances to express my love to my Love this year...)  For all of you traveling guys out there, I recommend against this.

Superbad. Superdad.

I went to India in December, 2010. 

While this is somewhat of a retrospective post I want to share a few things about the traveling part of this trip.

The people of India are awesome and I had a great visit getting to know the team.  The client joined me in India during my second week and it was a great visit.  My team of 30 (at that time) showcased some cool stuff and what our team has been doing.  I love my team!  But for this post I am not focusing on work.

I discovered bitter lemon.  This is not a fruit but is actually a delicious drink made of quinine and the lemon pith.  Yes, it's rather bitter.  I read that quinine can help treat malaria (how convenient that I was on my way to India) but in large doses can cause Cinchonism.. sounds pretty nasty.  So while the ingredients might remind you of terrible illnesses or might read like an assassin's cocktail, this is in fact the best drink ever made.

Then is also when I discovered Business and First Class flight.  ("So THAT'S what they do up there!")  Having made several flights to India, I was looking forward to this class and it was awesome.  In Business class I had my own "pod" with a tv and lots of space, and more importantly a seat that folded nearly flat and horizontal, giving me a chance for some good shut-eye.

First Class (which I took from Germany to the U.S. on one leg) on the 747's is in an exclusive 2nd floor section.  It is a notch cooler in that you also are given free jammies and lots of coddling, and   When we landed, for example, I was slow to pull my things together and the non-First Class people were disembarking already. As I was then escorted down the ladder the flow of people was stopped for my sake so that I could make my royal exit in luxurious peace.  I learned later that first class involved lots of caviar and champagne, but apparently I slept through the caviar, and I was not fated to meet the champagne until my February 2012 trip (future blog).

While I was on the return flight I was perusing the available movie choices and having a hard time finding a movie that was appropriate for a clean-cut Mormon man.  German culture (Lufthansa) tends to disregard movie ratings which makes identifying a clean movie option even harder.  So where I could normally disregard rated R movies and yellow flag the PG-13's, I was somewhat in the dark here.  Eventually I found my way to the Family Movies section and selected a movie I had not seen and that I knew was clean....


Despicable Me!
While most are drinking their wines and watching their grown-up whatevers, picture if you will a (nearly) 40-year-old man, sitting in Business Class, eating his pasta, sipping a citrus-y lemon drink, headphones on, laughing out loud at a wonderfully funny Disney film.  Yeah, I got strange looks.  Even from the flight attendants.

But I didn't care.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The garage ceiling has a brown stain.

We bought our house in Gilbert in the late spring of 2010. 

 As the proud new owner of our Gilbert home and the backyard pool (my first pool), I paid the Leslie pool guy to come out and show me the ropes.  He spent an hour talking through all the important considerations for keeping a beautiful, well-maintained pool. 

A week later, newly armed with the knowledge of a veteran pool guy, I decided to back-flush the pool's filter.  Back-flushing is done to remove the dirt and debris from the pool's filter to prevent it from becoming over-clogged.   

To back-flush the pool you have to pull and turn a lever to change the direction of the water flow through the filter.  It flows water in the "wrong" direction, pushing all the collected dirt and debris at a high rate of speed, out of the filter and through a large floppy 2" hose.  The pool service man explained this to me with care.  He showed me the sewer drainage entry point in the front yard where the hose was to release all the dirty water. He gave me a "L" shaped piece of PVC pipe and suggested I use that for the end, but I figured I would just push the hose down the pipe and it should be fine.

In order for all of this to work, the hose had to reach the drain.  But it turns out the existing hose was too short going around the outside of the house.  Being clever and cheap, I found a way to make my way to the front of the house and into the drain by routing it through the garage side door and out through the front of the garage, avoiding the need to go around the house corner and cutting off about 20 feet of needed hose.  I pushed the end of the hose down the drain a good 18 inches and returned to the pump at the back of the house.  Satisfied, I turned on the pump, and smiled as I saw the hose swell and imagined very dirty water flowing it's disgusting way down the hose, through the garage and into the drain. 

Then I noticed a small bead of water streaming its way straight up
Through the garage
from the bulging hose just 20 feet away.  I ran toward it for a closer look and was shocked to see it wasn't alone.  dozens of similar holes were shooting in all directions.  Now in a panic I started to run along its length toward the front of the house.  As I entered the garage I was mortified to see a few extra large streams jetting in several directions, some hitting the ceiling, some hitting as-yet-unpacked boxes, some hitting me.  I looked out through the garage door and saw the end of the hose like a living thing, a snake possessed, thrashing itself left and right against the ground, filthy water flowing in all directions. 

I ran to the end of the hose, grabbed it Crocodile Dundee-style, dashed to the drain and tried to stick it down in, not thinking about how the water flow the forced it out of the hole was not about to change its mind. 

The drain
At this moment several thoughts hit me all at once.
1. I should never have tried this alone
2. There is brown water flowing all over my moving boxes- many filled with books, my garage ceiling, and floor
3. The shut-off was almost 100 feet away


The ceiling spots
This is when I remembered to laugh.  Soaked and newly schooled in the art of pool care, I ran back to the pump switch and set it to the "off" position.  I ran back to the garage, and with a smile and a chuckle, ignoring the slowly ebbing flow of nasty water down the driveway, set my attention to cleaning the garage.


Yes, this would be funny later, but I might as well enjoy it now.  It was all I could do. 

The garage ceiling still has a brown stain. 

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Three Layer "Bonk" Bed

Now that we've moved into our home in Gilbert I thought it would be a good idea to build a bed for the girls. Well, that was the thought in April, about 9 months ago. Our Gilbert home is smaller than the one in Katy and that meant the girls have a chance to share a bedroom. Since we didn't have a bunk bed or other means for them to share sleeping quarters, they've been sleeping on mattresses on the floor while I build their bed. And FINALLY! It's finished.


For those who are interested, here is what it took. I want to thank my Dad for spending a few days helping me develop the concept and put together a majority of the components. I couldn't have done it without him, so thanks Dad!!

My Design

This bed is something I designed after trying in vain to find something on the Internet that was roughly equivalent.  I wanted a full-sized mattress on the bottom bunk and a twin on top.  The options in the store and the plans I found weren’t quite right.  We saw options we liked but not the whole package.  My wife saw on Amazon.com a bunk bed that featured cubicle storage on the end of the bed that doubled as stairs.  We saw a simple frame design in another bed that we borrowed.  I liked the idea of keeping the existing twin mattresses and so the trundle bed underneath was born. 
These are not the best-written instructions, but hopefully it will give you the inspiration you need to build your own.  Please let me know if you have any questions, and have fun!
The Bed
These are three bed frames stacked vertically with two end pieces, each made of two legs and a support beam.
Legs/Ends Design
This is as simple as it looks.  3 boards affixed with two bolts at each crossing.  So this means 4 bolts to each end.  The cross beam is for structural support (keep it from wobbling).  I affixed these cross boards on the “inside” or facing the bed because I didn’t want it to get in the way of the cubicles and I thought it looked better.



One End (double the quantity of this parts list to get both ends made)
Part
Quantity
Dimensions
Notes
AA
2
2” x 6” x 80”
The legs
AB
1
1” x 6” x 40 ½”
Support beam
Hex bolts
4
3/8” x 3”
2 bolts for one AA/AB union, and 2 for the other AA/AB union
Flat washers
8
3/8”
One on each head end of the bolt and one on each nut end.
Lock washers
4
3/8”
One goes on the bolt just before each nut.

You can assemble this now, or it might be useful to assemble these once the bed boxes are affixed to the legs (as pictured here).  This would allow you to position the support beam optimally to ensure a square and level bed.  If you’re going to wait, then don’t drill the holes for the bolts until you are ready.



Bed Frames
As the diagram shows, the bed is a 4-board frame with a supporting structure for the mattress. The support structure starts with 1”x2” boards which then support cross-members, which then support a thin particle board sheet that provides a consistent base for the bed.  (This is important since the mattresses I used are not box spring style; they need a “box” to lay in.)


Trundle
We start with the trundle bed and will have to repeat this parts list for the top bunk, then bottom bunk, with slight adjustments for each.
Part
Quantity
Dimensions
Notes
O
2
1” x 6” x 40 ½”
End boards
P
2
1” x 6” x 77 ¼”
Side boards
Q
2
1” x 2” x 75 ½”
Support rail for side boards
T
2
1” x 2” x 38 ½”
Support rail for end boards
R
7
1” x 3” x 40 ½”
Cross-member supports for the plywood insert
S
1
? x 40” x 76”
This is the plywood insert.  The width is up to you but think thin.  I believe I picked the thickness around 3/32”. 
V
4
¾” x 1 x 6”
These are the “rails” that affix to the end boards – two for each end board and provide the raised separation from your floor.
Sliders
4 (1 pack)

These are a pack of plastics rectangular sliders that affix via adhesive to the bottom of each rail.  You might need to adjust the shape and size of your rails to match the sliders you purchase.

First build the large box with parts O and P.  Then affix parts Q and T to the bottom edges of the box.  Then attach the 7 “R” boards, 1 at each end and then the other 5 spaced evenly across.  You can use a nail gun for all of this work; take care to keep things as square as possible.  Finally, insert the plywood and nail it down to the cross members; this is your last change to make the box square.


Looking at the top bunk from below.  You can see the 1”x2” support board that the cross members are nailed down onto, and the large particle board they are resting on.



Top Bunk
Next build the top similar to the trundle.  All dimensions and parts are the same, except we remove the rails.  We will add separators in the bed assembly phase.
Part
Quantity
Dimensions
Notes
O
2
1” x 6” x 40 ½”
End boards
P
2
1” x 6” x 77 ¼”
Side boards
Q
2
1” x 2” x 75 ½”
Support rail for side boards
T
2
1” x 2” x 38 ½”
Support rail for end boards
R
7
1” x 3” x 40 ½”
Cross-member supports for the plywood insert
S
1
? x 40” x 76”
This is the plywood insert.  The width is up to you but think thin.  I believe I picked the thickness of around 3/32”. 

Bottom Bunk
Next build the top similar to the trundle.  All dimensions and parts are the same, except we remove the rails and we add the separators (part “U”).
Part
Quantity
Dimensions
Notes
W
2
1” x 6” x 55 ½”
End boards
P
2
1” x 6” x 77 ¼”
Side boards
Q
2
1” x 2” x 75 ½”
Support rail for side boards
Z
2
1” x 2” x 53 ½”
Support rail for end boards
X
7
1” x 3” x 55 ½”
Cross-member supports for the plywood insert
Y
1
? x 55” x 76”
This is the plywood insert.  The width is up to you but think thin.  I believe I picked the thickness of around 3/32”. 


Bed Assembly
After bolting together the two end pieces and after the top and bottom bunks are built, it’s time to put them together.  You will need the hardware and separators (part “U”) which will slightly widen the distance between ends of the bed.  This will allow the trundle bed to fit more easily underneath.
Part
Quantity
Dimensions
Notes
U
4
1” x 6” x 5 ½”
These are separators that are inserted between the box and the legs at one end.  I put them on the end opposite the cubicle stairs.  (2 for the top bunk, 2 for the bottom bunk.) The purpose is to provide space so that the trundle bed will have room to slide underneath.
Hex bolts
8
3/8” x 3 ½”
Longer bolts are needed to accommodate the spacer (part “U”) end
Hex bolts
8
3/8” x 3”
This is for the end closer to the cubicle stairs
Flat washers
32
3/8”
One on each head end of the bolt and one on each nut end.
Lock washers
16
3/8”
One goes on the bolt just before each nut.



Cubicle Stairs

Incomplete cubicle stairs pictured above.  Each box is assembled but not yet attached, and not trim or support boards are in place.
This consists of 4 horizontal boxes with dividers at 14” increments.  For stability, a horizontal 1x3 backing board is attached at the back top of each box.  (You can see them in the design here).  It’s important when putting this together to be consistent on the 14” measurement so that the box above lines up with the box below. 


Main Stairs

Part
Quantity
Dimensions
Notes
A
16
½” x 18” x 14”
All 4 large boards for the top box and the verticals for the other boxes
B
2
½” x 18” x 28”
Top and bottom pieces for one box
C
2
½” x 18” x 42”
Top and bottom pieces for one box
D
2
½” x 18” x 56”
Top and bottom pieces for the largest box
E
1
1” x 3” x 14”
Backing board for top box
F
1
1” x 3” x 28”
Backing board for next box
G
1
1” x 3” x 42”
Backing board for next box
H
1
1” x 3” x 56”
Backing board for bottom box
I
5
Square bracket 18” lengths of trim
“L” bracketed edging/trim to protect little legs from getting scraped on the boxes; also adds a nice slip guard and look (See note on shortening these in the handrail comment below)
J
4
¾” x 18” lengths
Small thin edging for the bottom stair face of each box to add a nice look (See note on shortening these in the handrail comment below)

Build each of the 4 boxes one at a time.  The vertical boards fit inside the top and bottom boards for each box. Having someone help you position each vertical board is really helpful.  I also found it a huge help to use a pneumatic nail guns to speed up the process and tack the boards together until screws can be affixed at discrete points.  I found the ½” boards to be sufficient, but the engineer inside of me would rather have used ¾” boards for better stability.  I’ve learned that over-building just makes the furniture heavy and not pretty or more useful.
Take care to square things up before you start nailing or screwing; I found it difficult to get the pieces square later, even with the help of the 1” x 3” back-support boards.
Stair Rails

Part
Quantity
Dimensions
Notes
K
4
1 ½” x 1 ¾” x 30”
These are actually from a 2”x4” board split length-wise down the middle with a table saw.  You could do the same with 1”x1” boards but these seemed straighter, and I already had 2”x4” boards on hand.
L
1
1 ½” x 1 ¾” x 52”
Hand rail (again from the 2”x4” board split length-wise)
M
1
1 ½” x 1 ¾” x 17 ½”
Horizontal top rail, again from the “2x4” board
Hex Bolts
8
3/8” x 3”
Used for the vertical handrail posts, holes are drilled near the top and bottom of each box piece where the rail is affixed.  See picture for a better idea.
Hex Bolts
3
3/8” x 3 ½”
These affix the hand rail to the vertical posts
Hex Bolts
1
3/8” x 5”
This is needed where the top vertical post, the horizontal rail and the diagonal rail come together in one joint
Flat Washer
24
3/8”

Lock Washer
12
3/8”

Nuts
12
3/8”



Because of the trim used earlier I was forced to dado cuts into the vertical handrail posts.  You can avoid this by making the trim shorter so that it doesn’t get in the way of these posts.  If you did it the way I did, you will have to do something similar to the above picture.  Not a big deal if you have a dado kit for your table saw, or you can use a chisel set or probably some other means.  I recommend shortening the trim to skip this step.


Stability
Once fully assembled, the cubicle stairs should be mounted at two points to the bedposts (legs) to improve stability and ensure the stairs and bed stay well connected. 
Part
Quantity
Dimensions
Notes
N
2
1” x 3” x 2”
This is just a block used to separate the stairs from the leg but still allow them to be affixed.  See picture above.
Hex Bolts
2
3/8” x 3 ½”

Flat Washer
4
3/8”

Lock Washer
2
3/8”

Nuts
2
3/8”