[d] enclosed in brackets chaotic perfectionist for hire

I posted this on plurk, but wanted to open it up a little more.

Any suggestions on a 1st sock pattern...? I'd like to do toe-up, and have two skeins of Järbo Garn Mini Raggi and size 3 dpns (if that helps).

In looking around, I've seen a lot of different patterns. The part I'm stuck on (which is pretty much how things go for me) is the casting on for the socks. Do I use Judy's magic cast on? Or this one on wiseNeedle?

Once I've figured that out, I think I'm just going to do plain stockinette through to the heel and standard ribbing through to the top. They're for me anyway (my wonderful wife got the yarn and needles for me), so I thought I would start simple... and toe-up, unless there's a compelling reason to start cuff-down instead.

Now that I think about it, any suggestions for the pattern, cast-on, heel, or other parts would be greatly appreciated. I've heard that socks are an addictive project, but I'm willing to find out how true that is.

This is a loaded question, I know.

What system should I use to manage content?

There's a new project I'm working on, and I need to find a CMS to use. It's for someone that needs a photo gallery for projects they do (carpentry/ finish work, etc.), as well as provide contact and company info.

I'd also like to have a calendar available so he can show his availability for work, and maybe plan out jobs that come in.

Any thoughts?

So far, I'm setting up ModX to use. It's quick and easy to get going, and the admin side is pretty easy to use (for me, anyway). Not sure how it is with a gallery, although they have a few to choose from.

PHP preferable, and should be able to be hosted at godaddy.com. There's ModX, and Drupal, and several others out there which could work out ok... I just want to make sure that it's easy for the user to update - he should be able to add/ upload pictures with metadata (date, location, quick comment about the job), as well as change around what's already there.

Thanks to anyone who helps out... I'll update as things progress.