The Geoholics

Episode 076 - Concerns of Younger Surveyors - Chapter 1

This is podcast gold! The guys were joined this week by Farrah Etcheverry, Zach Hogan and Adam Marmolejo to discuss just some of the concerns that "younger" surveyors have about the land surveying profession. We touched on how to make land surveying more appealing to the younger generations, the value of formal education vs hands on experience, importance of getting licensed vs not getting licensed, how to educate the public on the value land surveyors provide, trade vs profession, and how time and technology is going to affect the future of land surveying. We also learned that the earth is safe from the Apophis asteroid for at least another 100 years! This was also the maiden voyage of the new Diamondback Land Surveying Studio making it even more fun than usual. If you want to get a warm fuzzy feeling about the direction and future of land surveying this is a not to be missed episode. We were honored to have the opportunity to chat with these three influential "younger" surveyors! Music for this episode by The Sex Pistols!

Episode 075 - Dennis Hollenbeck & "Bochito"

We're going to Baja! We were joined this week by none other than the one and only Dennis Hollenbeck. Dennis is the driver of record for Team H12:1 and "Bochito"! Team H12:One is the result of a Dream, and a Vision. Their goal each year is to participate in the Three Main Score Races in Baja Ca, the San Felipe 250, The Tecate Baja 500, and the Grand Daddy of them all...the Baja 1000. Their car of choice is the VW Stock 1600, class 11 as can be seen in the Movie Dust 2 Glory. H12:1 team members come from the US and Mexico with a mission to create a race team of Christian believers and friends to benefit the unfortunate woman & children of Casa Esperanza located in Baja California, and to look for opportunities to share and serve the communities that they race in. Find out more at https://www.teamh12one.com/. PJ is moving...BS is coaching, and DD is banking more good karma! Music for this episode by Pink Floyd!

Episode 074 - Future City w/Jake Williams

What a great show! We were joined this week by Jake Williams the Program Coordinator of the Future City Competition. This competition has been around for nearly 30 years and Jake was a competitor well before he became the Program Coordinator. As a result, he was able to provide the full spectrum of perspective for Future City. We discussed not only the history of the program, but also what it entails, who can participate, how it is judged, how we as professionals can get involved and what is in store for the future. Heck, we even talked about Dungeons & Dragons! PJ bought a boat...BS & TLK provided dinner and DD is a degenerate gambler! Music for this episode by Cage the Elephant!

Episode 073 - Fred Brown

The boys were joined this week by Fred Brown, a true surveyor that has been working in the profession for over 40 years. Fred is proud to be the Director of Operations for Golden Field Services, Inc. (GFSI). GFSI specializes in providing professional services for the pipeline, power and telecommunication industries nationwide and has been doing so for over 25 years. We discussed what makes GFSI unique, the direction these vulnerable industries are heading and the challenges surveyors face when working in these projects. Fred has surveyed in most states of the United States as well as for several years overseas in the Oil & Gas and Mining & Metals Industries. Needless to say, he has some great stories, a few of which he was kind enough to share with us. Music for this episode by Midnight Oil!

Episode 072 - Field Notes 101

What an awesome panel! We were joined this week by Philip Adams, LS, President/CEO of Adams Surveying Company, Ryan Swingley, LS, Geospatial Manager at ESP Associates and Phil Fedor, LS, Project Manager at Bowman Consulting. Combined, these three gentlemen bring close to 100 years of experience to the stage! Our topic of discussion for this episode focuses on field notes. Field notes are arguably the most important component of any survey/mapping related project. We had a spirited conversation touching on WHY field notes are important, WHAT needs to be included and HOW field notes differ from project to project. Music for this episode by Rose Colored Eyes!

Episode 071 - The G.O.A.T.

We raised the bar to new heights with this episode! Thats right...the G.O.A.T...Chris Anderson, the King of Coopers Hill, joined the boys to talk about his journey to becoming the greatest cheese rolling racer of all time! The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill, near Gloucester in England. Participants race down the 200-yard-long, 40-degree hill after a round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down it. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. Chris is a record setting 22-time winner of the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling Race and has lived to talk about it. Be sure to check out the Netflix documentary named We are the Champions, which covers Cheese-Rolling at Cooper's Hill and you can see Chris in action for yourself! Music for this episode by The Proclaimers! DO NOT FORGET TO EMAIL THE 4 FEBRUARY PODWARDS TO INFO@THEGEOHOLICS.COM BEFORE 530PM MST THIS TUESDAY (3/2)!!!

Episode 070 - "Surveying with Robert" Martin, PLS

Join us this week as we virtually build the "model" Survey Crew Chief for the 21st century with Robert Martin, PLS. Robert is a 30+ year veteran of the land surveying profession having performed a variety of surveys across the country. His diverse skillset, particularly on the field side, makes him the ideal person to provide input on the archetypical Survey Crew Chief. We start from the first day on the job and step by step develop the perfect path for anyone wanting to make land surveying a successful career. Don't miss this enlightening and spirited conversation! Be sure to check out the "Surveying with Robert" YouTube channel and www.surveyingwithrobert.com for additional tips and tricks that will make you a better surveyor. Music for his episode by 38 Special!!

Episode 069 - Dr. Tony Nettleman, PLS

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to go to court over a property dispute this is the episode for you! Dr. Tony Nettleman, PLS is a Land Surveying Engineer and Attorney that has been practicing for over 20 years. He is the President and Owner of Nettleman Land Consultants and the Director of the Nettleman Institute of Surveying Engineering (NISET). We discuss all things property disputes including individuals litigating the ownership rights of a property (land title), the location of the ownership line that separates them from one (land boundary), one’s right to use the land of another (easements), and even riparian (water) or littoral boundaries. Other discussion points such as standards of care, professional duty, phases of a dispute, and choosing/being an expert witness are touched on as well. PJ pays his debt to Huddy and DD shares another "give to get" story. Music by Carolina Blue!

Episode 068 - Construction Staking 101

Yet another value-adding episode for all to enjoy and benefit from! Brandyn Jones, LS is the owner of Benchmark Surveying & Consulting. Jason Rogers is a Project Surveyor for Bowman Consulting. These two have close to 50 years of construction staking knowledge and wisdom between them! We discuss the inherent challenges of this challenging way to make a living including the importance of contract language, risk mitigation, safety, communication, control, field notes, communication, quality control, as-builts and communication!!! We even talked about the qualities of a true "professional" construction surveyor and why the heck companies feel the need to race each other to the bottom by providing these services for pennies on the dollar. Zach "Indiana" Gooch is the winner of January's listener prize being a $100 Amazon gift card! Become a Geoholics Patron, subscribe to the Geoholics YouTube channel and stay tuned for some exciting news!!! Music by Jefferson Starship.

Episode 067 - Davy McDowell, PE, COO NCEES

Who knew?!?!? Who knew that The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) has been around since 1920? Who knew that NCEES develops and scores the FE, PE, FS and PS exams for engineering and surveying licensure? Who knew that you can setup a MyNCEES account to conveniently track your professional licenses and continuing education hours? Who knew that there is a NCEES Surveying Education Award that recognizes surveying/geomatics programs? Thanks to Davy McDowell, PE, the COO of NCEES, we learned all there is to know about these things and so much more! Be sure to email the 4 podwords for January BEFORE 5pm MST Tuesday 2/2 to info@thegeoholics.com! Music for this episode by Styx!