def pad_list(orig_list, pad_length):
    """
    Pads a list with empty items
    Copied from http://stackoverflow.com/a/3438818/3710392
    :param orig_list: the original list
    :param pad_length: the length of the list
    :return: the resulting, padded list
    """
    return orig_list + [''] * (pad_length - len(orig_list))