The presentation is set!

[cyberbill]

I talked to the president of the SDAA today and he said he'd write me in on the board meeting on the 9th of Sept.  That gives me a little over a week to polish it up.  If anyone wants to take a look at what I'm presenting, heres the link:  www.lordsofcyberspace.com/astronomy/   It's about as good of a Design Document as I can make for such a thing

Comments

[cyberbill]

The ground at the site is composed of a top layer that is 1-2 feet thick and very easy to dig. Its almost like a really thick layer of dust. Below that is just rocks and its nearly impossible to get through without a backhoe. Seeing as I have to dig a hole that is 7 feet deep... I'd much rather spend the $1000 and get it over and done with in a day without having to kill myself. I haven't checked prices for it and don't want to until I have approval from the board to actually do construction. Once I get approval I'll go through the whole process of finding a contractor to dig the hole and to lay the cement, as well as finalizing the design and doing a cost analysis.

Most people out there lay their own cement, a bag or two at a time. It's not so bad when you only have a 10'x10'x6" pad, but I need ~4 yards of concrete.

For fire protection, the roof is covered in the same stuff that mobile homes are painted with, which has a bit of fire protection. Other than that, if there is a fire out there I'm kinda screwed. Luckily there isn't much out there to burn.

I think the money is worth it. I'll save money because I wont have to drive out to the site and back every weekend, each drive costs about $40 in gas. It also means I can remotely access the site and observe EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK, from the comfort of my bedroom.

I won't get any help constructing the dome, it has to be really accurate and I don't want to be able to blame anyone but myself. :)