Ever so often I do a quick scan through the Board Rules just to blow the cob webs out of the brain pan.

Every time I read them I think to myself, fair enough but one of them just rubs me the wrong way.

It is section 14, E, 2b, and regarding descriptions and it states as follows.

"All controlling monuments, noting their physical description, and whether found,
 set or replaced."

Now why in the hell would I do that?

In my opinion if a monument has another number on it I found it and if it has mine on it I either set it or found it.

At the end of the day if a monument has my number on it I own the responsibility, who really cares if I set or found it. Also if I am calling out other monuments in my description I still own the responsibility.

If I would change something about these rules that would be the one.

I am curious how many of you actually make those notations in a perfectly good description? All it does is clutter it up for the layman and also I believe it will create ambiguity for some green horn that still has a hard time properly writing one.

I would love to hear some thoughts on this one.

Peace out surveyors, make it a great week.

I have just not been into blogging lately but today I have been inspired.

I was telling a friend of mine that I was waiting for my new website to be built and then I was going to blog away because it would then be embedded in the site. However as most things go this is taking longer than expected to get built.

On to the topic.

I always chuckle inside when someone calls me says something like " It's an old street" "The lot is a rectangle" "Everything should just work because" etc, because they are trying to let me know up front that their particular job is easy and I should be able to do it for a minimal bust obviously intrusive cost.

I had a guy the other day tell me that his lot measures to the millimeter and I should be able to follow it just as close.

I have been estimating projects lately like they should be. I have broken the tip off of the pencil and am sending out real time professional rates.

I would love to see the look on some of these super cheap Mofo's faces when they get my estimate. Tire kickers is what I call them.

I have always marveled at how it is almost impossible for the Land Surveyor to explain dollar value to a client when all the client cares about is what they own which I am unable to legally tell them anyway. I make this statement in regards to boundary surveys.

The average client only understands cheap. They see us roll onto the site, look around for a while with a stick that has a disc on top, leave flagging and then disappear only to later receive a pdf file and an invoice.

I understand their angst. I really do. Hell I'd be pissed.

So herein lies the big question.

How do we intelligently explain the dollar value of flagging and paper to the client?

It's hard. I always explain it in time. Time seems to be the one common thing that everyone understands.
Before I even hang up with a client on the phone I am emphatic about how time consuming a project will be and the estimate goes out appropriately to follow.
It's true, surveys take a lot of time that we need to be compensated for in a professional manor.

As of late I have been getting professional rates and am loving it. The world is opening again and people such as myself can be paid as they should be.


On to the what not.

A couple of weeks back my Hiper had a horrible accident and broke the face plate among other things. It will not take a charge and needed replaced.
I was getting ready to take a quick run up to Prescott at 4am one Friday and noticed that something was just wrong with the GPS. I plugged it in, flipped it on and had 10% power and it went right to zero in a matter of seconds.
Well hell! I called the client and explained what was up and he was happy because he was running short on time and I scheduled one of my awesome contract guys to jump up there the following week.
I then jumped on the phone with Yon from RDO and went over and saw him. He hooked me up with a loaner and got my Hiper into the hospital. The damage was quite extensive and I carry a blanket policy on my equipment and called my insurance agent, told her what happened and she told me that is was a claim and it got filed and paid and Mr. Hiper will return this coming week. Yay!!!

Enough of that, lets talk about some fun stuff.

I am going to kick some major survey ass this week and then jump over to California next week for Fall Break. Fall Break, is a BS hiatus that the school district created for who knows what so I have decided that leaving for a pre-holiday vacation is the most prudent thing I can do. Thank you SUSD!!!

 Surveying will be here when I return.

Wow! What if it wasn't? What would I do with myself? I do think big picture at all times.

Well that's about it for the moment surveyors. I have had a lot of bloggy type stuff boiling and am going to be back into from here on. Until I lose the luster again that is.

Peace out boys and girls, be safe out there and make lots and lots of money!!!

OK, Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about how I have done business up to now and the important things that need to change.

After taking the seminar I mentioned in the last post I have decided to create a wall between myself and that dreaded word Liability.

Liability is a word that to many surveyors want to absorb and I have always wondered about that. Why??? Why in the world would one want that??

I recently took all of my contracts and map notes and some other doc's to an attorney that specializes in working with surveyors and engineers and have asked him to do a major sprucing of everything.

I want to separate myself as much as possible from liability and paint a very clear picture of the clients responsibility and liability in every engagement. 

I also want to make it abundantly clear that I am not a design professional. I have never designed nor will I ever design anything.

One major point I want to be very clear on is the fact that I can never tell a client what they own. That is a matter of title. I am a professional evidence producer and everything I do is merely an opinion and should be verified if they choose to do so.

There a several other points that am having him work on, those are the most prevalent.

I am through taking responsibility for things that a Land Surveyor should not.

On to another topic.

I have made a solid decision to switch to Micro Survey. I am finished with Auto Cad.

I got a call the other day from a really cute girl trying to get me to update to C3D. I politely told her that C3D is a solution for Civil's and design professionals and I have zero use for a program that I will only use 10 percent of.

She was nice and I decided to let her work me up a cost anyway and upon receipt firmly decided to switch software and I gave her a written punch list as to why.

This coming year is going to be a whole new ball game for this kid. I have a new company name, a soon to be released web site, a solid marketing plan in place and a plan for new equipment and most important a forecast that dictates things are becoming normal again. 

Peace out surveyors.

Last Friday I took a seminar on Title vs Survey issues and boy am I glad I did.

The content as always was a little dry but I learned a metric shit load about title issues.

The main reason I took the particular seminar is because I am involved in a problem that was created by an RLS that worked for me several years ago and yes of course my name is on the map.

What happened is this. He did a land division and prepared what may or may not be a bunk legal. I am yet to reach a conclusion. All of the line work is perfect etc.

He later amended it but the descriptions remained the same.

The description was recorded, map filed, the monuments were set, walls were built etc. The buyer assumed he was getting an acre.

Long after the RLS was gone from my company they came back for another amendment and I personally did it and inadvertently fixed the descriptions. 

Now here is the crazy part. They never got title insurance on anything. The buyer had it but our client never got it because they owned it outright.

Problem: Buyer loses property to bank, a new guy buys it from the bank with the assumption that he is purchasing the property within the walls, he has a title policy.

The new buyer being diligent gets a survey done and discovers that that deed is that of the old split and that the seller had never adopted the second amended. All of the monuments reflect the lot split but the deed does not and now he thinks he owns an additional 1/4 acres.

I received a call from a very cool surveyor telling me what was going on. He said our survey was awesome and all of the monuments hit really well. I explained to him that they obviously never had any title work done, he agreed and I thanked him and waited for my client to call.

Well we all know what happened when the client called. Of course they are thinking this is our fault. I promptly told them that this is a matter of title and the buyers company was responsible.

I will tell you that making an angry person believe that someone as glorious as a title company man could make such a huge mistake is almost impossible.

It sure is fun owning a business!!! Just one hoot and holler after another.

Well we had a meeting. I put my insurance company on notice. We spoke a few more times and I am yet to hear anything else.

What I did tell them is if they decided to try and sue me for any reason the insurance company would sick some big bad wolf of an attorney all over them, he will prove that they were remiss in the issue, he will prove it is in fact a title issue and he will drive their legal fees through the roof and all I will have to do is meet my deductible.

They also threatened to turn me in. I told them they could but it would do them zero good to do so. I am thinking they are of the mindset that kind of thing is public like the ROC and it would in some way hurt my biz because anyone can have a look for marks. 

Now these people are very niece and amiable and I hope it stays that way. I told them I would help in anyway that I can but my hands are tied until they sign a release stating that they will not sue me. 

We will play the waiting game now. I have a feeling it will all work out to their benefit. That is if they follow proper protocal.

I never cease to wonder about the operations and efficiencies of the different municipalities.

The thing I marvel at the most is the utter lack of communication between the separate departments and also the utter inability to make a decision.

Now I understand that a city employee is prohibited from telling you how they think something should be done and they are tied to city guideline, however a little extra effort to point a citizen in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

I am wondering what causes these poor people to become absolute minimalists? I am sure that they start out ambitious but something at some point sucks the life out of them and they bend into a lifeless wet piece of paper.

I have had some great experiences with most city folk, but unfortunately as humans we have a tendency to focus on the less than good times.

The two I deal the most with are Phoenix and Scottsdale. For the most part I have great success and really like everyone I deal with, but ever so often I get that curve ball that throws it all into a tail spin.

I can only imagine the shit that gets blown at these people on a daily basis. 

I am a very chill person and I am thinking that's why I get along with most that I encounter because I am always respectful and grateful for the help even if the result takes me in circles.

I know dealing with the public is tough especially when you get a belligerent numskull in front of you breathing hate.

I also know that everyone is different and piling all of you into the some category is massively inappropriate. Sometimes a guy just has to bitch a little.

So hey city employees. I am here so say thanks for doing a job that I would never be able to do.

Keep up the good work.

So there I am yesterday morning in an intersection in a quiet residential neighborhood that is not quite ghetto.

I look up and here comes a cop blazing down the street. He passes by me, stops jumps out of the Tahoe, draws his weapon and points it at a guy in a car that is in a driveway.

Needles to say I immediately vacated said intersection and went behind my truck in case gunfire ensued.

The cop holstered the weapon and grabbed him and dragged him out of the car while the guy (a great big white supremacist looking fella) proceeded to scream like a little girl. It was actually sad.

By then two other cop cars had arrived and the suspect was subdued and the friend on the front porch was being spoken to by one of the cops.

Exciting? Kind of in that this happened at 5:30 am.

So I was going around a block doing a boundary. I get to my lot and this old guy from next door (Nick) comes out and talks to me for a bit. He keeps an eye on things and the property that I was surveying was vacant. Great guy, he even let me go into his yard.

I was asking him about some of the neighbors because I had to trace some adjoining monuments and he told me that I should probably watch out for the guy on the other side of the subject, that his kid is a heroin addict.

I looked at him and asked if I should lock my truck. He chuckled and said "he's to dumb and to slow to steal your stuff, he's just unpredictable".

Comforting?  WTF?

All in all the job went smooth and I actually made some money on it even with the results of survey that I had to prepare. I'll wait to file it until I have a few to do.

Keep your eyes open out there surveyors. You never know what might land on you.

OK Boys and Girls I am back on the air wave.

You want to know the worst thing about coming back from vacation? COMING BACK!!

Much has changed for this kid over the last month or so. I have been working on several projects (not all revolving around surveying) and yes working on survey things to.

I have gone and changed the name of my company. I am now the proud owner of "Arizona Surveyors Incorporated".

You may be asking yourself why on earth did you change the name?

Simple. Marketing and SEO. That is the only reason and the old name is that of a dead guy. (I think I mentioned that before.)

So now I have a lot of work to do revolving around the new name. First is bank accounts and informing clients and vendors. Second is a website.

The website is something I am jazzed about. This site will be built on new technology using word press and this blog will be embedded in the site itself.

My dusty old RJR site is just that, old and dusty. I will be letting it go into the cyber sky shortly.

Out with the old and in with the new.

I hold a philosophy that when a person becomes to comfortable they will stagnate and fall behind. In many ways I have done that in my equipment and technology. Mixing it up and changing is key to my life.

Cash flow and billings are on the rise again, so I will now blast like a big red rocket of love into the forward motion. I will be an unstoppable machine with a constant increase flowing my way. Business will expand and things will fall back into place.

Then will it be good enough? Good enough never crosses my mind. No matter how good it gets it can always get better. No, it's never good enough.

In case any of you though I did this job for the glory? Ha!!!!! You would be incorrect.

OK. Much is coming on this blog. I have a lot of cool survey things to talk about and also a lot of biz.

Stay tuned!!

OK. It's summer again. This is the time of year when my mind really starts to wonder off to places other than work.

I obviously still have a lot of kid in me.

All I want to do is hang at the beach or anything that has nothing to do with surveying.

Yes business is really starting to pick up and I have some people moving (mostly on construction) and May has been a great month even though I can't really remember any of it, oh and with all kinds of other distractions happening, I still managed to crank some great receivables.

Biz is good and getting a lot better.

OK, now here I am again back in summer mode. Yes I am going to the beach. It's a must. My mind is already there and I am grinding the days and doing it well until I get there.

I am on a blog hiatus until Mid July. By then I should have all kinds of interesting things to spout about. I have been doing a lot of thinking about content and have a lot of things to write about.

Until then I hope the following photos can be as influential on you as they are on me. They truly make life worth living. I have a little something for everyone.

Peace out surveyors. Make it a great summer. Be sure to play a lot, love a lot and whatever you do please remember that there is a fun loving kid in you too.

How many of you got that envelope from Leica Geo Systems with the words "For your eyes only" stamped on it with the special email invite to check it out?

Well I did and I have to tell you that Leica did a great piece of marketing with that.

I immediately went to my computer and typed in the address and waited with anticipation as the page loaded. I sat there just wondering what it could be???

Then the anti climax thing occurred. It was an invite to Vegas to check out their new shit that is being released next moth. 

I have to admit I was a tad pissed off. I have such a huge imagination that I was sure that this was it, my life was about to change as I know it and off to the races I was going to go like a bullet at 3000 feet per second. However that did not occur.

Now I am sure if I decided to make a sudden change to Leica all of that would come true but those chances are small.

So here I am again on a Sunday with that haven't done my homework feeling and I am facing down a Monday unprepared and all alone. Yes that's right boys and girls a modified version of one of my favorite quotes from Eddie Spaghetti.

OK, enough of all that. I have something much larger to discuss.

A week or so back I went and met with a guy about designing my new website. 

I really liked this person, he was professional, well spoken and cut through all of the BS and set me straight about what was what. It was absolutely refreshing to have someone tell me the truth and tell me I do not need an lot of unnecessary stuff.

The guy told me he would get me a cost by end of day or no later than the afternoon of the following day. That was a Thursday.

I did not hear anything from him until Monday afternoon. Not even a message telling me he was running behind or anything.

Needless to say this person lost my account even though I liked him the best. His cost was very good and he was a pretty awesome guy.

So now I am curious how that kind of thing seems to have become the norm in business?

When did it become OK not to communicate when we are in the age of ever rising forms of communication?

Yes, ever so often people are going to drop the ball myself included. The difference between me and others that I have observed in, is that I tell the person that I dropped the ball and then politely ask if they still want me to do whatever. It just happens, but I have noticed this particular trend as of late and frankly it is very irritating.

I know I can only speak for myself and conduct business the way I think it needs to be done, however when I need something, I usually need it right then or at least a call or message.

It is a curious thing this new way of doing things. Yes I know the world can never stay the same and I would never want it to. I love change, but this one I am having a hard time swallowing.

Make it a great week surveyors.

Ever notice how you can shoot some monuments and so can 10 other people and they will all come up with different results?

I am of the opinion that it is impossible to take any measurement without a certain degree of error.

Remember the old days as an eyeman when you had that old crew breathing down your neck while you were rapping angles with the good old T2? There were times when I would rap 10 different sets because the mean closure was not good enough.

Fortunately I was honest. I used to be so good with these angles that I could give a false reading so the crew chief would move along. It's all simple math when you think about it.

Which brings me to the point of all of this.

Today's newbies have zero clue what it really means to measure. They will never know a chain for what it really is, they will most likely never rap angles and most likely never run 3 wire levels. Yes there are some exceptions depending on where they work and what they are doing.

So my questions is what will became of the basic fundamentals of survey measurements? 

Is the robot or total station more accurate than the GPS? I think absolutely in verticals. Horizontal who knows? I will tell you that I often use steady sticks with the gps, especially when obtaining control and I let it cook a little longer, at least 30 senconds.

There was a time in my life when all we did was run level loops all day long. Yes that's right youngsters loops.

The guy that I spoke about a couple of posts back Howie went to some on site welders and had them make these turn plates that were made of 3/8" steel with bolts in the top and those were the turn plates that we toted from station to station and then back again and again. They had 3 angled legs, were 6 inches tall and then the bolt and were about a foot by a foot and we would drop them and then stomp them in. They weight about 20 pounds each.

We ran some tight stuff and if we checked in over 5 thousandths we did it again. Why? I'm not sure.

I am wondering if the newbies know how to read a rod to the thousandth or if they even know to rock the rod? I'm sure some do.

When I was with Howie he made us use a calibrated deluxe rod bubble and only a 2 section wood rod.

I am wondering how many know how to run levels up and down hills and keep the turns balanced?
Simple. You and the rod man stay exactly 100 feet apart and parallel on the slope and work your way up and down.

Anyone pre 90's probably knows this.

I find it amazing that different companies can shoot the same section with the same character in monuments and come up with significant different results. Tenths, not hundreths. I actually think part of it may be an incorrect grid to ground scale factor. But who knows. It could just be a case of lazy head up ass.

So what is actually happening to measurements? Are they improving though technology or getting worse from button pushers that have zero idea of the basics?

It's a good question.

What say you??

Make it a great week surveyors.