Since my oldest son, Kyle, has been singing a capella music for the past few years, I've become a big fan. A few of Kyle's friends graduated last year and moved on to Ball State University. They've now formed an a capella group there, Charlie's Angels.
The name comes from the fact that the Ball State mascot is a cardinal named............you guessed it.........Charlie. Anyway, here's a shameless plug for them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtXuhpLOxnU
Also, if anyone likes this music, check out Straight No Chaser. SNC started as an a capella group at Indiana University and the group still exists. Anyway, most of the original guys in SNC were recently signed to an Atlantic Records contract and just put out their first CD, "Holiday Spirits". Their most well-known song "12 Days of Christmas" can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8
Hope you enjoy it!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Life with Libby
My good friend, Shelley, has her own blog that she's much better at keeping up-to-date than I am with mine. Being much more computer-experienced than myself, she has her blog arranged by different categories. One such category is titled "Life with Libby" where she writes about her relationship with her brown lab, Libby. Every time I see that category, however, I always think of my 13-year old daughter, Libby. Feel free to browse through Shelley's blog here: http://whatifitdid.com/
The past few days my kids have been on Fall Break and my wife is in New Orleans on business so I decided to take a few days off just to hang around the house with the kids. Now, if you've ever had a teenage daughter, you'll understand when I say that they're not always easy to deal with.
My wife left early Wednesday morning and won't be returning until mid-day Saturday. We've talked on the phone every day and I find it interesting that she asks the same question every day: "How was Libby? Have you killed her yet?" You'll be happy to know that we've actually gotten along very well in spite of her moodiness and haven't had a single confrontation yet. Yes, I'm surprised, too! Hopefully, we're rounding the corner on all this puberty stuff and she'll actually become somewhat likeable in the very near future. Of course, I'm not really holding my breath as my soon-t0-be 15-year old son is still driving my wife and I completely crazy!
And for those of you who are wondering: Yes, we did eat some meals at home. Yes, the dishes have been done. Yes, the house is recognizable. Yes, the kids did get everywhere they were supposed to be. And most importantly, yes we are ready for my wife to come home!
The past few days my kids have been on Fall Break and my wife is in New Orleans on business so I decided to take a few days off just to hang around the house with the kids. Now, if you've ever had a teenage daughter, you'll understand when I say that they're not always easy to deal with.
My wife left early Wednesday morning and won't be returning until mid-day Saturday. We've talked on the phone every day and I find it interesting that she asks the same question every day: "How was Libby? Have you killed her yet?" You'll be happy to know that we've actually gotten along very well in spite of her moodiness and haven't had a single confrontation yet. Yes, I'm surprised, too! Hopefully, we're rounding the corner on all this puberty stuff and she'll actually become somewhat likeable in the very near future. Of course, I'm not really holding my breath as my soon-t0-be 15-year old son is still driving my wife and I completely crazy!
And for those of you who are wondering: Yes, we did eat some meals at home. Yes, the dishes have been done. Yes, the house is recognizable. Yes, the kids did get everywhere they were supposed to be. And most importantly, yes we are ready for my wife to come home!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Going, going, GONE!
I attended an auction a couple of weeks ago. The items being sold were from a competing surveying company that closed it's doors (presumably from lack of work). Going into the auction, I was excited to possibly pick up some equipment at a good price.
However, once I got there I certainly didn't have a good feeling knowing that another surveyor had been forced to sell all his equipment, vehicles, office furniture, supplies, etc. I only stayed long enough to see most of the high-end equipment being sold. Due to the tough economic times everyone is facing, most of these items were going for probably 25 to 35 percent of their real value. I had an idea of buying a lot of this stuff and putting it on E-bay but didn't since I wanted to see the equipment stay in the hands of local surveyors.
I'm still a little torn as to how I should have felt coming out of the auction. Scared because survey companies are going out of business? Relieved that we're still in business? Regardless, it certainly gave me the motivation to work hard to establish new relationships and continue our old ones to insure that work would continue coming in the door.
I guess the whole moral to the story is what we've always heard. Be grateful for what you have now because it may not be there tomorrow.
However, once I got there I certainly didn't have a good feeling knowing that another surveyor had been forced to sell all his equipment, vehicles, office furniture, supplies, etc. I only stayed long enough to see most of the high-end equipment being sold. Due to the tough economic times everyone is facing, most of these items were going for probably 25 to 35 percent of their real value. I had an idea of buying a lot of this stuff and putting it on E-bay but didn't since I wanted to see the equipment stay in the hands of local surveyors.
I'm still a little torn as to how I should have felt coming out of the auction. Scared because survey companies are going out of business? Relieved that we're still in business? Regardless, it certainly gave me the motivation to work hard to establish new relationships and continue our old ones to insure that work would continue coming in the door.
I guess the whole moral to the story is what we've always heard. Be grateful for what you have now because it may not be there tomorrow.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Embrace The Pace
I had the good fortune of spending a weekend away with my wife a few weeks ago so we decided to head to Nappanee, Indiana and stay at a bed and breakfast. Nappanee has a large concentration of both Amish and Mennonites - thus the town slogan of "Embrace the Pace".
When we made the reservations at the B&B, the inn owner asked if we would be interested in attending a dinner hosted by an Amish couple. She noted that she had set this up for others who were staying at the inn and always ones to try new experiences and learn of other cultures, we very quickly said yes.
We arrived at the house at about 5:15 and met the owners, Mose and Etta. Mose took us on a buggy ride down the county road in front of their house. I was lucky enough to sit up front with Mose. Having grown up in a rural area myself, I was able to have a conversation with Mose about farming, raising livestock, etc.
Once we got back from the buggy ride, we were welcomed into what I can best describe as a pole barn with a poured concrete floor. In the corner was a kitchen where Etta was preparing a very large meal. She had fixed chicken, ham, potatoes, vegetables, bread and way more food than any of us could have eaten in two meals. Not to discredit my mother or my wife, but this may have been the best homemade meal I've ever had. Then she brought out the two desserts and the three pies.
After the meal was over, Mose asked if we had any questions about the Amish and their beliefs and traditions. Mose and Etta answered every single question we had and probably would have stayed longer if my wife and I (and the other guests) hadn't felt like we were keeping them from other things they needed to be doing with their family.
I certainly came away from our dinner with Mose and Etta having a different idea of the Amish faith and, more importantly, the reasons for these beliefs. I have to wonder sometimes if they might not have a more fulfilled life being out of the "rat race" that the rest of us English people (as the Amish call us) have become accustomed to.
I know that the next time I feel that my life is getting a little crazy running kids around, working and being involved so much, I'm going to take a deep breath and think back to my evening with Mose and Etta and "Embrace the Pace".
When we made the reservations at the B&B, the inn owner asked if we would be interested in attending a dinner hosted by an Amish couple. She noted that she had set this up for others who were staying at the inn and always ones to try new experiences and learn of other cultures, we very quickly said yes.
We arrived at the house at about 5:15 and met the owners, Mose and Etta. Mose took us on a buggy ride down the county road in front of their house. I was lucky enough to sit up front with Mose. Having grown up in a rural area myself, I was able to have a conversation with Mose about farming, raising livestock, etc.
Once we got back from the buggy ride, we were welcomed into what I can best describe as a pole barn with a poured concrete floor. In the corner was a kitchen where Etta was preparing a very large meal. She had fixed chicken, ham, potatoes, vegetables, bread and way more food than any of us could have eaten in two meals. Not to discredit my mother or my wife, but this may have been the best homemade meal I've ever had. Then she brought out the two desserts and the three pies.
After the meal was over, Mose asked if we had any questions about the Amish and their beliefs and traditions. Mose and Etta answered every single question we had and probably would have stayed longer if my wife and I (and the other guests) hadn't felt like we were keeping them from other things they needed to be doing with their family.
I certainly came away from our dinner with Mose and Etta having a different idea of the Amish faith and, more importantly, the reasons for these beliefs. I have to wonder sometimes if they might not have a more fulfilled life being out of the "rat race" that the rest of us English people (as the Amish call us) have become accustomed to.
I know that the next time I feel that my life is getting a little crazy running kids around, working and being involved so much, I'm going to take a deep breath and think back to my evening with Mose and Etta and "Embrace the Pace".
Friday, September 5, 2008
Assumed Bearings
Yes, it's another survey-related blog today so if you're looking for an update in what's going on in my life, you can skip this one!
We just finished a boundary survey project here in the office. In all the deeds except for one, the same bearing system was used. The descriptions appear to have been used for quite some time, so the basis of the bearing system could not be determined but the deeds were tied into two section lines so they were easily established.
Anyway, the other description appeared to be written by a large firm here in Indianapolis. The first call from the point of commencement was described as "South 87 degrees 11 minutes 35 seconds West (assumed bearing)". Since we had used GPS to establish the location of the section corners and lines, I checked to see what our bearing was on that line. Guess what? It matched exactly to the "assumed" bearing!
I had kind of wondered why, if someone was assuming a bearing, they'd assume South 87 degrees 11 minutes 35 seconds West. Normally, we're not that good at guessing directions in the field so we probably would have assumed due west.
I guess the point of my post today is this: NOT EVERY BEARING BASE IS ASSUMED! If you established the bearings based on published coordinates, say so. If you established the bearings based on record descriptions from adjoiners' deeds, say so. If you established the bearings based on GPS observations, say so. It certainly makes it much easier to retrace your steps if we know what was used to establish your survey.
We just finished a boundary survey project here in the office. In all the deeds except for one, the same bearing system was used. The descriptions appear to have been used for quite some time, so the basis of the bearing system could not be determined but the deeds were tied into two section lines so they were easily established.
Anyway, the other description appeared to be written by a large firm here in Indianapolis. The first call from the point of commencement was described as "South 87 degrees 11 minutes 35 seconds West (assumed bearing)". Since we had used GPS to establish the location of the section corners and lines, I checked to see what our bearing was on that line. Guess what? It matched exactly to the "assumed" bearing!
I had kind of wondered why, if someone was assuming a bearing, they'd assume South 87 degrees 11 minutes 35 seconds West. Normally, we're not that good at guessing directions in the field so we probably would have assumed due west.
I guess the point of my post today is this: NOT EVERY BEARING BASE IS ASSUMED! If you established the bearings based on published coordinates, say so. If you established the bearings based on record descriptions from adjoiners' deeds, say so. If you established the bearings based on GPS observations, say so. It certainly makes it much easier to retrace your steps if we know what was used to establish your survey.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Selling time
Many times on forums regarding land surveying services, I hear surveyors complain about not being respected as a professional in the same way as doctors, lawyers, etc. Unfortunately, we've put ourselves in that position because we're not pricing our services based on the value of our service but rather on the amount of time it takes us to complete a project.
Let's say that you've got an illness that requires a medical specialist to treat. The other option is death. The value of that service? As they say in the commercials - priceless! Relating that to the surveying business, if a survey is needed to close a real estate transaction or the deal falls through, the value of that service should be priceless as well, right? Nope, now that we've got GPS, robotic total stations, the best software and fastest hardware money can buy, we can complete a project faster and base our fees on that reduced time.
Let's say that my tw0-man conventional crew rate for last year was $100/hour (for the sake of me being able to do the math easily) and that my rate as a professional land surveyor was also $100/hour. Let's also say that it takes that crew eight hours to complete a project and twelve hours for the analysis and drafting. That's a bill of $2,000 to my client. This year, however, I'm going to keep up with inflation and raise my crew rate and my rate to $105/hour. To keep up with "big boy" surveying firms, I decide I need to buy GPS equipment for $20,000, subscribe to a VRS system for $5,000 per year and upgrade my CAD package for $8,000. With all of this technology, we can now complete a job in the field in half the time and my analysis and drafting can be done in 2/3 of the time. So for my $33,000 investment, I'm now billing $1,260 to my client for the same project that I billed him $2,000 last year.
Let's go back to the doctors and lawyers. There have certainly been advances in technology and surgical procedures to reduce the amount of time necessary for a doctor to complete a procedure. Attorneys have most certainly reduced the amount of time necessary to research cases by use of the internet instead of poring over books in the law library. When was the last time you remember a doctor or attorney lowering their fees?
We need to stop selling our services based on time but rather on the value of our service to the client.
Let's say that you've got an illness that requires a medical specialist to treat. The other option is death. The value of that service? As they say in the commercials - priceless! Relating that to the surveying business, if a survey is needed to close a real estate transaction or the deal falls through, the value of that service should be priceless as well, right? Nope, now that we've got GPS, robotic total stations, the best software and fastest hardware money can buy, we can complete a project faster and base our fees on that reduced time.
Let's say that my tw0-man conventional crew rate for last year was $100/hour (for the sake of me being able to do the math easily) and that my rate as a professional land surveyor was also $100/hour. Let's also say that it takes that crew eight hours to complete a project and twelve hours for the analysis and drafting. That's a bill of $2,000 to my client. This year, however, I'm going to keep up with inflation and raise my crew rate and my rate to $105/hour. To keep up with "big boy" surveying firms, I decide I need to buy GPS equipment for $20,000, subscribe to a VRS system for $5,000 per year and upgrade my CAD package for $8,000. With all of this technology, we can now complete a job in the field in half the time and my analysis and drafting can be done in 2/3 of the time. So for my $33,000 investment, I'm now billing $1,260 to my client for the same project that I billed him $2,000 last year.
Let's go back to the doctors and lawyers. There have certainly been advances in technology and surgical procedures to reduce the amount of time necessary for a doctor to complete a procedure. Attorneys have most certainly reduced the amount of time necessary to research cases by use of the internet instead of poring over books in the law library. When was the last time you remember a doctor or attorney lowering their fees?
We need to stop selling our services based on time but rather on the value of our service to the client.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Political decisions
I don't normally talk about politics or religion but we were having a discussion at work on Friday about the candidates for president and where they stand on important issues.
For the most part, we decided that we really didn't know exactly what the candidates stood for other than change. Obama keeps talking about needing change from the policies of the current administration. Now with McCain choosing Sarah Palin for his vice-presidential candidate, their message is now that of change, too.
So my question then becomes this: what exactly are the issues that are important to the voters in the U.S. and are the majority of the voters really informed on the issues?
For the most part, we decided that we really didn't know exactly what the candidates stood for other than change. Obama keeps talking about needing change from the policies of the current administration. Now with McCain choosing Sarah Palin for his vice-presidential candidate, their message is now that of change, too.
So my question then becomes this: what exactly are the issues that are important to the voters in the U.S. and are the majority of the voters really informed on the issues?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)