HOLY COW! I put the level to the pier and it registered level. I figured I'd screw something up, you know, being an author and all, not one to get his hands dirty in concrete and better with words that conceptual engineering stuff ... but it came out LEVEL! This only means one thing ... if I can do it, you can. So far, my total cost of the pier is a LOT less than $100. This will be updated as I continue on to mating the telescope to the pier...as Tom Petty says ... the mating is the hardest part ... LOL!