That's a nice idea, teknocholer.
As it turned out, I found a guy selling Johnson double-eyes for the gate stancheons for 14 bucks each. I can now anchor unobtrusivlely among the orthodontists and pharmaceudical company reps.
Otherwise, I think I'd have copied your solution.
Incidentally, I found a place called us cargo control that sells shackles cheap, in case you're interested:
http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Rigging-Supplies-Hardware
John V