2020 Update!

After 13 years, it was time to redo the geodesic dome.  Part of the reason is that Sarah is leaving home for college in the fall, and this would be our last time to relive our father-daughter project of her early childhood.
The original plan was to build the dome in September 2019, around the time of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  The original dome had never been pronounced a "kosher" sukkah, but I thought it had a certain spiritual energy to it and it did encourage socializing outdoors!

Sarah helping the build, 13 years later!
Note that gophers have been having their way with my lawn!

Therefore I produced a new set of bamboo poles and glued hundreds of eyelet rings.  The hardest part of the new production was probably renting a miter saw from Home Depot; I have since acquired one for the home. I attempted a solo build over two hot afternoons of a 5/8 3V dome.  I started popping rings off the poles and got frustrated and quit!
Thinking more about this, I realized that I could leave off the bottom row of the dome and make I guess a 4/8 (1/2) 3V dome with fewer struts and less overhead reaching, so that became the new plan.  The target was to build in April for Earth Day.
Why Earth Day?  I don't consider myself much of an environmentalist but the dome seems fitting for that moment.
This time, the build would be a project for two. The quarantine slowed all of our schedules down to the point where a build was feasible.  We chose a fresh April morning during spring break.
The build this time only took about 2.5 hours.  We built one "level" at a time. There were only four levels.
The dome doesn't look like much as it's being built.  The two mantras of building the dome are 1. The just keep swimming mentality, don't worry too much that it looks terrible as its being build and 2. Don't make the ties too tight initially because the rings will pop out of the bamboo.
We tightened the loose spots after the structure was complete.  There are still a few cave in spots.
The project went a lot better with help, and making a less ambitious dome made the project go faster. The final height of the dome is around 7 feet.
Distancing means no way to enjoy being in the dome with family and friends, but at least social media offers a way to show the handiwork.  Yay math!
Sukkot 2020 here we come!