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October 2 - Meetings, Grading and Pews

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Another Status Meeting in the Church - A week ago Sunday the second status update meeting was held at the church. While there were some assembled pews, they were all in the sanctuary, and not in the dining hall where the meeting convened. So, everyone that wanted to sit had to bring their own chair. In the picture, Bob is standing but not because he failed to bring a chair. He wanted attention so he stood up in the front to give his status update. After Sam reported on the finances discussion ensued about whether or not to increase our self imposed debt ceiling. While the church could be 'completed' without the increase, some desired items like an epoxy sealed kitchen floor would have to be deferred. The congregation agreed to up the debt limit. Sam stated that the bank is fine with the new debt ceiling. Sam also said the projection stand in the picture is only temporary. With the current projected spending, we will still not have a completed kitchen so the eagle-eyed shoppers ...
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July 31 - Non-construction Notes

The Chuckwagon - 
Many have brought food, drink and goodies to the building site to keep the workers well nourished, properly hydrated. This particular Saturday, Miranda Hillukka brought out a full meal, served buffet style from the back of the van. It has been said that an army runs on its stomach and the same is true of construction crews. On behalf of all the workers, a hearty thank you to all who have served in this capacity. Your efforts are much appreciated.

Spaceman Spiff -


Spaceman Spiff, aka Randy Forstie, has brought his quad-copter mounted GoPro camera to the building site to record flyover videos of the project. One of his aerial view pictures was included in an earlier post. This fascinating technology allows him to fly the drone (a quad-copter) at heights up to 400 feet. The on-board camera records video which can be viewed concurrently with the headset goggles as pictured. Randy allowed me to experience the view of flying above the trees while keeping my feet planted firmly on the ground. He has not yet allowed me to operate the remote control of the drone.
Randy plans to periodically record flyover videos and make them available for viewing. He has started a YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/tOuUcZXePGM. This link is also available on the right side of the blog. Apparently those links only show up on the web based blog and not when viewed on a mobile site. Check out the video and come on site to get buzzed by Spaceman Spiff's drone.

The quad-copter drone.



Cranes - 
According to the construction calendar, August 22 is the first date when a crane will be employed on the job site. However, last week already, I noticed several cranes across the road who looked like they might be looking for work. I tried to interview one or more to ascertain their intentions but they declined to make themselves available for such a discussion. Maybe we could just leave a couple of employment applications in the hay field on the other side of the road.



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