I totally agree with Murphy, I feel much less safe working along highways, which I have been doing a lot of recently. Today I had to survey a bunch of targets along I70, and recently had to scan a bunch of bridges on I90. Every Monday I have to run a high accuracy traverse along another section of I70 that is down to one lane each direction (the inside lanes). That makes it sound easy, but the traverse is in the median and the points being monitored are on either shoulder, so i have to cross the single lanes multiple times. The median is too wet and soggy to drive, so we drive the shoulders and have to go out to the median to setup the total station. Fortunately it is an SX10, so once it is setup I can sit in the vehicle on the shoulder and turn angles from there. Takes a lot of time to get a good shot across a single lane of interstate highway due to the slow moving truck traffic.
The latter project is actually very interesting, a mining company is doing long wall mining under the road, so we run mobile lidar once a week. To support that I have to run the traverse each week between points on stable ground at the ends and assign coordinates and elevations each time to the mobile lidar targets. The area being undermined has dropped about 5 feet so far, and there is horizontal movement as well of about 1 foot. Of course that wreaks havoc with the pavement. Big cracks can appear overnight and cause large bumps until they can shut down traffic for a bit and repair it.?ÿ
Back when I did a lot of climbing in the northwest the saying was that when just two guys rope up it means you'll never have to die alone.?ÿ
Years ago I was on site in the South Island, working on a hydropower project. One Sunday I went fishing in the Lake (naturally occurring headwater), from memory harling for land-locked salmon. Caught a couple, released them as they were no more than a couple of pounds each. Then decided to change possi, which entailed getting around a steep cliff, with the easiest route being to wade (shorts and ankle boots) between beaches, through crystal clear water that was up to mid thigh level. I'm sure someone said the water was a constant 10 degrees Celsius all year around, but maybe it was colder than that, even though it was mid summer and the air temp was a daily 25 degrees Celsius. I was in there for no more than two minutes, and no joking, the pain of the cold gave me an overwhelming urge to actually cry, a very odd feeling, and to this day I wonder at the suffering people must go through when the fall in cold water without protection.
John,?ÿ just another calculated risk surveyors take.?ÿ I would do same but would not ask someone else to do it for me.
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Many times as party chief, it was my job to head into whatever situation with crew looking on and acting as support to drag me back if it was too much to handle.
I've waded miles thru waters not over breast deep along Black Cypress Bayou in warm weather and waited until sloughs froze over along Sulphur River to survey across the ice to maintain along the boundary.
We do what it takes or else hand the job off to somebody that will jump in and do whatever it takes.
Worst day ever was staking on US 59 thru Queen City while a Blue Norther was in full force and temps had dropped into the teens with a gale force north wind that was practically blowing us down with ice forming and ground freezing. We were the only people visible and outside doing anything that day. No traffic and no other contractors on site. It was a work or be fired, should have simply gone home, sat by the fire and told the boss to stick it and went solo the next day..............lessons learned.
Don't take a risk that you don't know the outcome before jumping in.
"... I feel much less safe working along highways ..." Amen
I am northern cold weather duck hunter spending every fall/early winter breaking ice to get those last northern mallards. Experience and perseverance can keep you safe in tricky situations.
Steve?ÿ
As someone who used to water ski almost all year round in chicago...
<p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/reaction-1zSz5MVw4zKg0">via GIPHY</a></p>
Many times as party chief, it was my job to head into whatever situation with crew looking on and acting as support to drag me back if it was too much to handle.
I've waded miles thru waters not over breast deep along Black Cypress Bayou in warm weather and waited until sloughs froze over along Sulphur River to survey across the ice to maintain along the boundary.
We do what it takes or else hand the job off to somebody that will jump in and do whatever it takes.
Worst day ever was staking on US 59 thru Queen City while a Blue Norther was in full force and temps had dropped into the teens with a gale force north wind that was practically blowing us down with ice forming and ground freezing. We were the only people visible and outside doing anything that day. No traffic and no other contractors on site. It was a work or be fired, should have simply gone home, sat by the fire and told the boss to stick it and went solo the next day..............lessons learned.
Don't take a risk that you don't know the outcome before jumping in.
"Don't take a risk that you don't know the outcome before jumping in."
Good advise, but impossible in reality!
4 ex-wives later...
I used to do this out?ÿof a Jet(Death) Ranger 3, except we were on the side of the mountain, with the skids pushing against it whilst we shimmied back to the cargo hold to retrieve the gravity meters, all the while realizing that if the pilot needed or wanted to he'd pull in the collective and take off with or without us on the skid.?ÿ?ÿ
I'd still do that again rather than get married again, especially to my ex-shrew, i mean exwife....?ÿ 😉
(http://m.youtube.com/watch?v%3DbQdVHnS_TyQ&source=gmail&ust=1551293357382000&usg=AFQjCNGlBfTaTwzbRXgILGjCnNrJSeStf w">youtube.com/watch?v=bQdVHnS_TyQ)
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@ Loyal
We do what we know we can and with everything else we rely upon natural and learned abilities.
Have had my share of stepping on turtles, snakes and who knows what in the local swamps and I doubt that will happen again unless it is a do or die situation.
My leaping gnome days are in the past and relying upon a staff to cross this world is becoming as natural as taking my ATV everywhere to save walking and use that energy to dig up the next monument or control point and setup equipment to record the location.
If you want to see something completely dangerous, check out scoop shovel racing.
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I used to do this out?ÿof a Jet(Death) Ranger 3, except we were on the side of the mountain, with the skids pushing against it whilst we shimmied back to the cargo hold to retrieve the gravity meters, all the while realizing that if the pilot needed or wanted to he'd pull in the collective and take off with or without us on the skid.?ÿ?ÿ
I'd still do that again rather than get married again, especially to my ex-shrew, i mean exwife....?ÿ 😉
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More like this.?ÿ Exactly like this actually.?ÿ I hated this and loved it simultaneously:
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Wow. ?ÿThat got my heart thumping this morning.
Being from Fl I would have subbed it out. I ain't going in water unless its 75 degrees or above.?ÿ ?????ÿ
I've done plenty of work in swamps in Florida. I prefer the ice to worrying about gators.?ÿ
I remember one time wading through waist deep water in western Palm Beach County and seeing a half eaten wild pig. I will say that I never came face to face with a big alligator, but I was always worried. I have seen plenty of small ones, though.?ÿ
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I've done plenty of work in swamps in Florida. I prefer the ice to worrying about gators.?ÿ
I remember one time wading through waist deep water in western Palm Beach County and seeing a half eaten wild pig. I will say that I never came face to face with a big alligator, but I was always worried. I have seen plenty of small ones, though.?ÿ
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I'll take dodgy Helo rides with green blade tips over submerged unknown alligators.?ÿ Both over my ex wife.?ÿ 😛
