Point of Beginning articles from April 2006

Point of Beginning archives from April 2006

An interesting road ...(editor'spoints)
April 1, 2006... Surveyors have really come a long way. Societal changes, population increases and territorial expansion, regulations and laws, technological advancements and professional evolution have changed the landscape of the profession drastically over...

Traversing the law: January 2006.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2006... I enjoyed reading Mr. Lucas' article and especially the part about the "art of surveying." I have found that this is the most difficult subject to teach new surveyors because I must first convince them that the numbers are not magic! ...

Letters: February 2006.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2006... In slight opposition to the views of Mr. Matthew Mokanyk, PS, PE, of Michigan, I submit: I have given a few presentations highlighting a career in the surveying/mapping field for high school students. I incorporate a short historical...

U.S. Senate recognizes surveyors.(newsline)
April 1, 2006... On Jan. 31, 2006, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution recognizing the accomplishments of surveyors and encouraging support for National Surveyors Week, which was observed March 19-25. The National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS)...

NGS releases L2C policy.(newsline)(National Geodetic Survey)(new signal policy studied)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... In response to recent strides in GPS modernization, NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) released a policy statement regarding the GPS L2C signal on Jan. 23, 2006. Dave Zilkoski, acting director of NGS, signed the memo. The official...

USGS to host mapping sciences job fair.(newsline)(U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mapping office in Rolla, Mo., formerly known as the Mid-Continent Mapping Center, is slated for closure within the next year due to a consolidation of operations at the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colo....

Illinois allows retired status.(newsline)(introduction of a new law, rules and regulations)
April 1, 2006... Effective Jan. 1, 2006, revisions to Illinois regulation law allow inactive surveying professionals to continue to use their professional license designation, followed by the word "Retired." This legislation was introduced as House Bill 900 and...

Calendar of events.(newsline)(Calendar)
April 1, 2006... APRIL 8 SCSPLS General Membership Meeting South Carolina Society of Professional Land Surveyors Blacksburg, S.C. 803/750-7524 www.scspls.com 20-22 ALSA 2006 Alberta Land Surveyors Association...

POB online's February 2006 quick poll: our quick poll in February received a record amount of responses; we'd like to share the following comments with you.(quickpollquotes)
April 1, 2006... "My belief is that the total station can encompass all the listed technologies including GPS (e.g., Leica total station with top-mount GPS). The exception would be HDS laser scanning; however, a laser scanner acts as a total station in that...

Technology transitions: a review of surveying field technology from 1950 to today.
April 1, 2006... Surveying instrumentation for the local surveyor in the United States was pretty much standard at the end of the first half of the 20th century: steel tape for horizontal distance measurement, open frame (steel circle) transits for angle...

Who will survey tomorrow? Examples and resources for improving the fate of the profession.(Compensation and benefits of workers)
April 1, 2006... Dan Collins has had a hard time finding good help. The project manager at Jordan, Jones & Goulding, a firm that operates in the southeastern United States, maintains a staff of more than 500 employees with 30 in the survey department. But he is...

From the field: answering the call for help.(Tim Johnson's opinion on land surveying)
April 1, 2006... When I set out to get licensed in 1995, most institutions of higher learning considered land surveying to be just another trade. Why would any school make it a priority to carry a program geared towards surveying? Today the licensing laws are...

Our changing lands: is our right to land a broken promise?
April 1, 2006... After the United States was established, the real work of writing the country's Constitution began as well as the work to create a government that would serve its people, guaranteeing them certain rights. Although the Constitution was ratified...

A diamond in the rough: surveyors combine technologies to make diamond mining in Canada more efficient and safer.
April 1, 2006... Just 200 km (124 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, Canada's Ekati Diamond Mine, operated by BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., is one of only two diamond mines operating in North America and the first to combine open-pit and underground mining. Its...

Data management with ArcCatalog.(surveyinggis)
April 1, 2006... The zen of GIS is that everything is somewhere, right? And so it is. But we have to be able to find what we want in order to work with it. In GIS, we have powerful tools to help locate and organize our information. A View of ArcCatalog ...

Introducing and integrating new technology.(professionaltopography)
April 1, 2006... When a technology is introduced, those who purchase it need some time to figure out how to use it. Then they need more time to figure out how to apply it in lieu of the technology currently used. And then it takes even longer to figure out how...

Technology in boundary surveying.(thegpsobserver)
April 1, 2006... It's a rare occasion when I write about something other than GPS, but not long ago I was reminded that surveyors should not pay so much attention to technology that they forget the basic principles of surveying, and I wanted to share this...

Autodesk addresses the surveyor's needs with Civil 3D 2007.(thetechnologybenchmark)
April 1, 2006... Civil 3D 2007 is the third release of Autodesk's popular civil engineering software. Now, with the addition of a strong set of survey tools, Autodesk is reaching out to all surveyors. Written in a modern, object-oriented programming...

LDC Inc.(turningpoints)(LDC Industries Inc. announced a change in ownership)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... LDC INC., a civil engineering, land surveying and planning firm located in Mentor, Ohio, announced a change in ownership following the retirement of its former president, James R. Pegoraro Sr., PS, who was retained as a consultant. William C....

Masteller, Moler, Reed & Taylor Inc.(turningpoints)
April 1, 2006... Masteller, Moler & Reed Inc., Vero Beach, Fla., appointed David Taylor, PSM, as vice president and treasurer, and changed its name to MASTELLER, MOLER, REED & TAYLOR INC. Taylor assists Rod Reed, PSM, president of the firm, in the daily...

Woolpert Inc.(turningpoints)
April 1, 2006... WOOLPERT INC., Dayton, Ohio, promoted Jeff Lovin, CP, to vice president. Lovin previously served as service line director for photogrammetry and continues to oversee photogrammetric operations for the company. Lovin is a certified...

New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors (NYSAPLS) Inc.(turningpoints)
April 1, 2006... The NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYORS (NYSAPLS) INC. presented Robert Smith, LS, with the Meritorious Service Award at the association's annual conference. The NYSAPLS Meritorious Service Award recognizes individuals who...

DigitalGlobe.(turningpoints)
April 1, 2006... DIGITALGLOBE, Longmont, Colo., hired Scott Smith as chief operating officer (COO). As DigitalGlobe's COO, Smith plans and directs all aspects of DigitalGlobe's operational policies, objectives and initiatives.

Bowman Consulting.(turningpoints)
April 1, 2006... BOWMAN CONSULTING, Chantilly, Va., promoted Scott Delgado, PE, to director of engineering of its Alexandria office. Delgado oversees the design and management efforts for numerous urban in-fill development and public works projects serving...

GIS Certification Institute.(turningpoints)
April 1, 2006... As of January 25, 2006, two years after its formal opening, the GIS CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE (GISCI) certified 1,016 GIS professionals (GISPs).

Trimble.(turningpoints)(Trimble Navigation Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... TRIMBLE, Sunnyvale, Calif., acquired intellectual property assets from THE XYZS OF GPS INC., Dickerson, Md. The XYZs of GPS develops real-time GNSS reference station, integrity monitoring and dynamic positioning software for meter, decimeter...

Intergraph Corporation.(turningpoints)
April 1, 2006... INTERGRAPH CORPORATION, Huntsville, Ala., announced Preetha Pulusani, president of Intergraph's Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG & I) division, elected to retire after 25 years with the company. Ben Eazzetta, previously chief operating...

HJW Geospatial.(turningpoints)(long term planning )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... HJW GEOSPATIAL, Oakland, Calif, added Joe Thurgood as vice president of sales and marketing. In addition to his responsibilities for leading the sales and marketing team, Thurgood assumed responsibilities for long-term planning of HJW's future...

Topcon.(new & notable)(Topcon Corp.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... TOPCON announced the CTS-3000 construction total station series, which features onboard software to simplify staking. An extended keyboard enables easy operation and data input; the system software can also be operated with a handheld data...

Trimble.(new & notable)
April 1, 2006... TRIMBLE introduced two new products as part of its Connected Survey Site model--the Trimble R8 GNSS system and Trimble NetR5 reference station receiver with added Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) capabilities. The positioning products,...

Tripod Data Systems.(new & notable)(introduction of a new software)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... TRIPOD DATA SYSTEMS (TDS) announced that Windows Mobile 5.0 replaced Windows Mobile 2003 as the operating system for its Ranger data collector. With Windows Mobile 5.0, comprehensive persistent storage eliminates the need for a RAM file system...

Optech Incorporated.(new & notable)
April 1, 2006... OPTECH INCORPORATED formed Optech Services, a reorganization of Optech's customer support department that offers all Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM) customers 24/7 access to a team of professional Optech service representatives. Also,...

Applanix.(new & notable)
April 1, 2006... APPLANIX is now shipping L2C ready L1/L2 GPS receivers in its Position and Orientation System (POS) products. The POS products are used as a component for the company's air, land and marine integrated inertial/GPS geospatial solutions. The new...

RDV Systems.(new & notable)(Rapid Design Visualization software)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... RDV SYSTEMS released V2006.2 of its Rapid Design Visualization web-enabled tool. The new version enables AutoCAD users to transform 3D CAD data into an easily understandable visualization. Once the RDV user interface is integrated into the...

Industrial Magnetics Inc.(new & notable)(introduction of Magnetic Manhole Cover Lift System)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... INDUSTRIAL MAGNETICS INC. (IMI) introduced the patent-pending Magnetic Manhole Cover Lift System, a new product that allows manhole covers to be moved and replaced quickly, safely and magnetically--by one person. The Magnetic Manhole Cover Lift...

Merrick & Company.(new & notable)(viewing software released)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... MERRICK & COMPANY released its free MARS Viewer, an intuitive, easy-to-use viewing application for LiDAR and associated terrain data. Designed as a lightweight visualization application, MARS Viewer allows users to view and navigate point cloud...

Surveying solutions.(funandgames)
April 1, 2006... Each month we present a surveying problem from the second edition of 1001 Solved Surveying Fundamentals Problems by Jan Van Sickle, PLS. As in the following example, the answer will appear below the problem, in a shaded box. We hope you enjoy...

Vintage ads.(funandgames)
April 1, 2006... Courtesy of The Museum of Surveying. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]