Opinion - Point of Beginning

The engineering board in my region that influences and decides on the qualifications for things like becoming a PE or PLS ruled that engineers who work with boundaries and land data could receive their PLS certification without the education requirements that are mandated for everyone else.

by Andrew Gaiennie | November 14, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Reviewing LightSquared

Much discussion has been based on the issue of LightSquared’s bandwidth interfering with the L1 signal from GPS satellites.

by Andrew Gaiennie | October 5, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Good News

Congress is looking to create an infrastructure bank to allow private investors to buy into infrastructure projects. Given the broke state of the treasury, and the 2 trillion dollars in infrastructure costs the ASCE projects will be required in five years, anything the government does that works is a good deal.

by Andrew Gaiennie | September 7, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Information Overload

School only covered so much, I knew, but I had no idea things would be this complicated! GIS, photo modeling, point clouds, business models, it makes my brain feel like someone stuck a blender in my head.

by Andrew Gaiennie | August 17, 2011 | Comments (0)

LightSquared versus GPS

There has been a wide range of comments and opinions on the GPS interference issue related to the proposed LightSquared wireless network. Comments from GPS users, wireless supporters, aviation advocates, and even casinos have been flowing to the Federal Communication Commission in recent months with their support of or opposition to the LightSquared network.

by Josh Foster PLS | August 17, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Professional Development

All surveyors in Louisiana must maintain a certain number of Professional Development Hours (PDH) each year to keep their licenses.

by Andrew Gaiennie | July 20, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Responsibility

Technology and advancement are awesome things, and they are constantly changing how people see and interact with their world.

by Andrew Gaiennie | June 21, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Job Ideas

At my new job I have time on my side, so I get to do a lot of thinking and have a chance to apply my philosophy at work. While I’m excited to have the chance to put all my ideas to the test, I’m also glad to have two engineers above me to keep me inside of what is realistically and fiscally possible.

by Andrew Gaiennie | May 31, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Defining My Blog Title

In a future blog post, I will be getting into the "cyborg" aspect of my blog, which has been about surveying so far. As a preface, I'm going to define what being a cyborg is and how it relates to us.

by Andrew Gaiennie | April 29, 2011 | Comments (0)

Opinion: Why We Need Laser Scanning Standards

There are two types of cooks: Those who follow a recipe as a precise set of instructions, not to be deviated from, and those who look at a recipe as a set of guidelines, a springboard for their next culinary creation. I fit into the second category.

by Laura Crook | April 20, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Answers from the Pros

After attending a recent POB webinar on the basics of laser scanning (several of which are freely available to view through a link from the RPLS.com website).

by Andrew Gaiennie | April 11, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: A Fair Shake

There are always ups and downs to the situations we find ourselves in. While surveying tools have greatly improved, these hard times have given large numbers of professionals the impetus to upgrade their components.

by Andrew Gaiennie | March 17, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: Reading Material

I have always enjoyed reading. I will read books, manuals, pamphlets; anything with words is interesting to me. This means I read a lot of literature that is not directly related to my profession.

by Andrew Gaiennie | February 1, 2011 | Comments (0)

Cyborg Surveying and You: New Year, New Opportunities

This year is a very important year for me: I am officially a blogger for RPLS.com, andI’ll soon be graduating college and finding an employer that I will work for over the nextseveral years consistently—a very big thing when going back and forth between schooland internships.

by Andrew Gaiennie | January 3, 2011 | Comments (0)

Trends in GIS

Deral Paulk, Michael Binge and guest authors share their views on the latest trends in GIS technology and application.

August 8, 2010 | Comments (0)

Opinion: Now is the time to define your role in the NLPD.

Are you involved in the effort to create a National Land Parcel Database (NLPD)? If not, you should be.

by Kyle Souza | July 7, 2010 | Comments (1)

Opinion: Don’t abandon principles when surveying subdivisions.

Few problems faced by surveyors are as common as the discovery of one or more additional iron rods, pipes or rebar in the immediate vicinity of an original subdivision lot corner.

by Kris Kline PLS | April 1, 2010 | Comments (15)

Opinion: There’s No Such Thing as "the Client’s" Line

Why might a surveyor be in a quandary when confronted by a potential client? Let's listen in on some of the statements so often heard from likely clients.

by Maurice L. Schumann | February 23, 2010 | Comments (2)

Opinion: Rethinking Subdivision Design

As the economy begins a slow recovery and subdivision development work again gets under way, it makes sense to reassess the approach to the basic form of land development design. Developers assume that when they hire a land surveyor to subdivide their land, the surveyor will produce the most efficient, attractive and marketable layout. So what is the optimum layout?

by Rick Harrison | January 27, 2010 | Comments (5)

Opinion: It’s Time to Zoom Out

We’ve all heard the story of the blind men trying to describe an elephant. One has hold of a leg and proclaims elephants to be like trees. Another has his hands on the trunk and is sure elephants are like snakes. Another is inspecting an ivory tusk and knows elephants are like rocks. Each has his own perspective, and from that perspective he is right. The problem is that none can zoom out to see the larger picture. The surveying profession is much like this today.

by Larry Phipps, PLS | November 25, 2009 | Comments (7)

Opinion: The Santa Clara Public Records Lawsuit Decision Is Good for Surveyors

A three-year lawsuit to enforce California's Public Record Act (PRA) finally concluded in late August with Santa Clara County substantially reducing the price it charges for its digital parcel basemap. While some surveyors may still argue that their private stash of control monuments is their source of revenue, most today acknowledge that compiling this information in a supervised manner and sharing it benefits everyone a lot more.

by Bruce Joffe, GISP | October 27, 2009 | Comments (1)

Opinion: Embrace Change or Risk Obsolescence

Like it or not, the horizontal and vertical position of parcels that can be determined from the local government GIS is well along its way to becoming a reality. We must take our heads out of the sand and begin to expand our markets.

by Ted Madson | October 14, 2009 | Comments (2)

Opinion: Surveyors Need to Rethink Their Roles

Surveyors traditionally define the boundaries and shape of the land. However, we need to rethink the role of surveying licensees as being the lead professionals for issues dealing with the other uses of the land. As such, we would control the flow of work and fees.

by Ted Madson | September 29, 2009 | Comments (1)

Opinion: What Matters More—Quality or Appearance?

Too many surveyors pay too little attention to the details by which we are judged.

by Larry Phipps, PLS | August 19, 2009 | Comments (2)

Opinion: Surveyors and Engineers Should Be Above Reproach

It is important for everyone in the surveying and engineering professions to understand that the privilege of providing professional services comes with the responsibility of doing so ethically and with integrity.

by Elvin Aycock PE, PLS, PH, ACTAR | August 1, 2009 | Comments (5)

Opinion: Why We Need a National Museum of Surveying

Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." When people ask the National Museum of Surveying, “Why a surveying museum? How boring!”—Einstein’s statement has become our motto.

by Julia C. Langfelder | July 22, 2009 | Comments (0)

Opinion: Why Should I Use Your Company?

Why should someone hire your firm? It’s an important question. Do you have a good answer?

by Larry Phipps, PLS | June 10, 2009 | Comments (0)

Opinion: The Choice of Change

Like it or not, change is occurring in our profession. Are we embracing that change or, like the wagon wheel makers of a hundred years ago, hanging on to what we used to know until we are left hopelessly behind?

by Larry Phipps, PLS | April 13, 2009 | Comments (3)

Opinion: Unlicensed Practice and the Public Trust

Substandard "surveys" hurt our profession. Is there anything we can do about it?

by Cliff Wagner, PLS | March 3, 2009 | Comments (17)