Hi Leverboy,
Your thread reminded me of Drew Carey's discussion with his buddies about decks. The last time I built a deck, I remember how nice it would have been to have a good laugh about half way through building it. So here's a link I hope will provide you with some inspiration to finish the job!
Apologies in advance to the mods and everyone else if it is too offensive. I will happily remove it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ7Ue5emo6I
Cheers!