Ever have to work somewhere...

"Eloquence is a painting of the thoughts."
-Pascal

What can you say ... the dude hates trains ...

We're having the same debate in Florida.

Back in the period 1993 to 1999, I worked at a firm that did preliminary design for a MagLev train, that was going to be built in the median of the NY State Thruway as a demonstration for future development.

It never happened, the costs are enormous.

Besides, the state legislature couldn't find anyone who wanted to get to Albany faster.

I did a very quick calculation and came up with $20,000 per rail foor for the proposed California train. Or $1,000,000 per 50 feet. At least somebody will make some cash.

It might not be trains but rather his land will be divided in two with a track that can't be crossed between the parts. If that was going to happen to my farm I wouldn't be happy at all.

Pretty frequently, maybe not with such a large banner, BUT almost nobody wants to see whatever development is going to follow the surveyor, NIMBY.

Most days, dealing with the unfriendly public is much harder than the actual work.

Maybe I see a lot more than normal since almost all of my work is aerial mapping and LiDAR control, large aerial flights usually proceed something being built and investigated and many of our clients are big bad public agencies and often the control and mapping cover a much broader area than just where something is going to be built, the public doesn't understand any of this and therefore aren't happy to see me.

SHG

That is probably 100% correct assessment of the situation.

SHG

I had a large boundary I was doing. I was staying in a resort town in an older hotel run by a lady from one of the northeastern states.

She asked me what I did and I told her I was a surveyor.

Then she went on a rant about how every time a surveyor showed up where she was from things got torn up and the land got split and was that what I was doing?

I said no mam the guy I working for is desubdividing.

Then she wanted to know what that meant.

Well, he's taking a number of ranches and combining them into one really big one and that’s what I’m doing.

She said that’s just terrible-no one should own that much land. Oh well, can’t please some people.

I made the mistake once of mentioning we were flying a large area (all on BLM ground) for a proposed wind farm lease area. This happened while checking into an old dumpy little hotel in this small desert town that had no other place to stay, I was instantly not very popular (seems nobody wanted a wind farm, crazy thing is it was over a ridge from town and wouldn't even be visible BUT was going to ruin their views), learned to just keep very vague about what I am up to if asked after that project. No idea if it was ever even built.

SHG

Humm,I just worked on a mine that was on the other side of a ridge from a new wind farm on BLM lands, although there are a few motels so it's probably a different wind farm. People weren't all that happy with this wind farm either. They can be an eyesore, they sure wanted the mine though.

There would be some local gain from the operation of a mine, wind power, with their subsidies are a net loss of wealth locally and the profits leave, much of it overseas. I like wind power, the kind that has proved it's self for over a hundred years. If every home owner would get a small mill, a bank of battery's to store power for when the wind does not blow. Supplement it with solar panels on the roof in a low wind area and get off of the grid. I would favor having a one time payment of 1/2 the cost of a legitimate system capable of producing 80% of a homeowners needed power demands, be some penalties for not using and maintaining the system to it's full potentual which could be tracked by the consumption of power from the grid, a computer could get that job done probably by using existing billing software.
jud

Working on a survey project does not make the surveyor an advocate for it. He's earning a living doing what someone needs done. No different than a taxi driver hauling corporate yahoos out to own the world. It's what we do. It's not what we are all about.

"Go Eat Sheep and Die"

[sarcasm]@#$@^^% Cattleman's Association. They're nothing if not dangerous. [/sarcasm]

Shad?

> Working on a survey project does not make the surveyor an advocate for it. He's earning a living doing what someone needs done. No different than a taxi driver hauling corporate yahoos out to own the world. It's what we do. It's not what we are all about.

Thankfully, most of the people I have run into understand that point precisely. The very root of what we are doing is protecting the public, albeit in the form of accurate appraisal mapping.

The last thing I want passing me at 200mph is a train.

The room it takes to install a safe system under on the book regulations will be too great of an impact on the present public and wildlife lifestyles.

It works in China because its population depends upon it.

Ours depends upon cars and trucks.

0.02

> ... learned to just keep very vague about what I am up to ..

Q. "Whatcha surveying for..?"

Me. "18-50 an hour".

Question (often asked): "What are you surveying for?"
Me: "I don't know, I'm just the surveyor, they don't tell me much"

(9 times out of 10 I know exactly what is being planned)

Question (often asked): "What are you surveying for?"

Me: $9/hour and no benefits 😉