OK. So we're a little light on fieldwork, but slammed in the office so our Dallas office said they could use my crew for a couple weeks to a month. Since we're in Florida, what would you Texas guys think are some of the issues they'll have? They have 20+ years experience so I'm sure they can pick up on the nuances (sp?). Also, they have a 20 hour drive to think about it too......
1) Make sure that English is their second language.
2) Keep a close eye out for the coatimundi if they are in south Texas.
3) Send them with plenty of money for beer! 😛
Pick Me Pick Me!! I want to go a surveying down texas way...
Are you going too, Paul?
Avoid Harry Hines Blvd, Greenville Ave and do not be tempted to enter Central Expressway in route to or from anywhere or you could find yourself in bumper car tag at 70mph.
If you just want to tempt fate head out for the High Five during rush hour and drool along 635.
Loop 12 and Beltline Road are your friends.
A light dusting of snow will shut down travel to anywhere.
Don't be surprised if the corner package store never heard of your favorite beer and most any Liquor store will have makers you never heard of.
Good Luck and enjoy B-)
What's wrong with Harry Hines Blvd.?
You can meet a lot of nice people at the stop lights....:snarky:
AND here's a touristo's guide to "You Know You're In Texas When..."
•You no longer associate bridges with water.
•You can say 110 degrees without fainting.
•You eat hot chilies to cool your mouth off.
•You can make instant sun tea.
•You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.
•The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a bit chilly.
•You discover that in July it takes only two fingers to drive your car.
•You discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window.
•You know the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
•Hot water comes out of both taps.
•You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
•No one would dream of putting vinyl upholstery in a car or not having air conditioning.
•You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m. before work.
•You realize asphalt has a liquid state.
•It's so hot the birds have to use pot holders to pull worms out of the ground.
•It's so hot that potatoes cook underground and all you have to do for lunch is to pull one out and add butter with trimmings.
•It's so hot farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard boiled eggs.
•You only know five spices: salt, pepper, Ranch dressing, BBQ sauce and ketchup.
•You design your Halloween costume to fit over Wranglers and cowboy boots.
•The mosquitoes have landing lights.
•You have more miles on your tractor than your car.
•You have 10 favorite recipes for deer meat.
•You've taken your kids trick-or-treating when it was 90 degrees outside.
•You think sexy lingerie is tube-socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons.
•You can write a check at Dairy Queen for two Hunger Busters and fries.
•You attend a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewelry and your cowboy boots.
•People grumble about Noah letting coyotes on the ark.
•The preacher says, "I'd like to ask Bubba to help take up the offering." and five guys stand up.
•A member of the church requests to be buried in his 4-wheel-drive truck because "It ain't never been in a hole it couldn't get out of."
•When it rains, everyone is smiling.
•The choir group is known as the "OK Chorale."
•The Pastor wears boots.
•Four generations of the same family sit together in worship.
•There is no such thing as a "secret" sin.
•Baptism is referred to as "branding."
•Finding and returning lost sheep isn't just a parable.
•High notes on the organ can set the dogs to howling.
•People wonder, when Jesus fed 5,000, whether the two fish were bass or catfish.
•The final words of the benediction are, "Ya'll come back now, ya hear?"
•It's a common misconception that everything is twice as big in Texas, really, everything is 1.965 times bigger, but we round up.
•It's a common misconception that the women have big hair. In fact this was outlawed in July 1977. There is a task force and they are doing their best to reach every last woman. Bear with us.
•It's a common misconception that JR Ewing still lives here. That was a TV show people! Come on! Chuck Norris, on the other hand, is a real, karate-choppin' Texas Ranger.
•It's a common misconception that we have killer bees, fire ants, gigantic roaches and mosquitoes and other awful insects, tornadoes, hurricanes, and damaging hailstorms. We tend to think of them as a few bitty bugs and a bad hair day.
•It's a common misconception that everyone speaks with a Texas accent. Y'all just don't know what y'all are talkin' about.
The last Florida crew I followed here in Texas had absolutely no idea what they were doing and while I'm sure the pipeline they staked is in the right place, they had zero clue about where the property lines were and because they set corners, with no Texas cap, we turned a picture of the cap over to the board investigator. He indicated that it was a company out of Florida (otherwise I'd have never know what the hell the cap meant). Their corners were 8 to 10 feet out of the property lines, but smack dab in the fence though.
I hope yours are better than the last ones.
Isn't Texas ...
that little state down by Mexico?:-D
-JD-
that's the place..
Directions:
From back east; if you walk west 'til the south wind smells like bull crap, that's Oklahoma.
Turn left into the wind and keep walkin'. When you step in it, that's Texas. :pinch:
The difference between an Okie and a Texan is that in Oklahoma the bull crap is on the outside of our boots.
Disclaimer:
I am the only one in my family that is from Oklahoma. Everybody else was a Texan. I have endured "red-headed-step-child" status since I was born. The only reason I was born up here is because my folks didn't have the gas money to make it to Parkland. So all you Texans don't take my fun-pokin' serious...B-)
Wish them luck.
I hope your Dallas office puts a Texas crew member with them. That goes a long way with getting your out of state crew acclimated to Texas way of working.
> Their corners were 8 to 10 feet out of the property lines, but smack dab in the fence though.
You mean every fence does not automatically make a property line? Say it ain't so.
Our friend from Wisconsin would have a stroke and die ... if he hadn't already done so a couple of years ago. RIP Richard Shout.
Larry P
> Avoid Harry Hines Blvd, Greenville Ave and do not be tempted to enter Central Expressway in route to or from anywhere or you could find yourself in bumper car tag at 70mph.
>
> If you just want to tempt fate head out for the High Five during rush hour and drool along 635.
>
> Loop 12 and Beltline Road are your friends.
>
> A light dusting of snow will shut down travel to anywhere.
>
> Don't be surprised if the corner package store never heard of your favorite beer and most any Liquor store will have makers you never heard of.
>
> Good Luck and enjoy B-)
Loop 12 is not your friend, trust me. Everything else Mr. Harris has said is true.
Yeah. the issue of caps came up and we decided NOT to put our Florida caps or disks in the ground....We'll use our companies TX stuff....
It can't be that bad, just a few new walmart sites....
Have the locals do all the boundary decisions. Focus your crews on everything else.
that's the place..
I was born in Enid, OK but moved to Texas as fast as I could!
I just love how "Big Survey" operates. Construction staking is one thing - varies little across the country I'm sure, but sending crews to work in another State?!
I'm sure they'll be well supervised by a RPLS in responsible charge too...
If they're coming to do boundary work, my advice is "I-20 East".
First you must learn to pronounce the city name. It is DAL-LUS, or DAA-LIS depending on if you live inside or outside LBJ Freeway.
Make sure to update your basemap on your vehicle GPS on a weekly basis. Any older and it is obsolete. If in Denton, Collin or North Tarrant Counties and your GPS has been updated today, then it is already obsolete.
Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Dallas has its own version of traffic rules... "Hold on and pray."
There is no such thing as a dangerous high-speed chase in Dallas . We all drive like that.
All directions start with, "Get on Beltline," which has no beginning and no end.
The morning rush hour is from 6 to 10. The evening rush hour is from 3 to 7. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning.
If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended, cussed out and possibly shot. When you are the first one on the starting line, count to five when the light turns green before going to avoid crashing with all the drivers running the red light in cross-traffic.
Construction on LBJ is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment. We had sooo much fun with that, we have added I-35E and the downtown "Horseshoe" to the mix.
Engineers are concerned that with the lifespan of the sun being estimated at about 4 billion years, construction on the previously mentioned highways will have to be finished in the dark.
All unexplained sights are explained by the phrase, "Oh, we're in Fort Worth !"
If someone actually has his or her turn signal on, it is probably a factory defect.
Car horns are actually "Road Rage" indicators - and remember, Texas has concealed handguns..
All old ladies with blue hair in a Mercedes have the right of way. Period. And remember, Texas has concealed handguns..
Inwood Road, Plano Road, NW Highway, East Grand, Garland Road, Marsh Lane, Josey Lane, 15th Street, Preston Road all mysteriously change names as you cross intersections (these are only a FEW examples). The perfect example is what is MOSTLY known as Plano Road . On the south end, it is known as Lake Highlands Drive, cross Northwest Highway and it becomes Plano Road, go about 8 miles and it is briefly Greenville Ave, Ave K, and Highway 5. It ends in Sherman ...
The North Dallas Tollway is our daily version of NASCAR. The minimum acceptable speed on the Dallas North Toll Road is 85 mph. Anything less is considered downright sissy. It also ends in Sherman.
If asking directions in Irving or SE Dallas , you must have knowledge of Spanish. If in central Richardson or on Harry Hines, Mandarin Chinese will be your best bet. If you stop to ask directions on Gaston or Live Oak, you better be armed... and remember, Texas has concealed handguns..
The wrought iron on windows near Oak Cliff, Vickery Meadows and Fair Park is not ornamental!!
A trip across town east to west will take a minimum of four hours, although many north/south freeways have unposted minimum speeds of 75.
It is possible to be driving WEST in the NORTH-bound lane of EAST NORTHWEST Highway . Don't let this confuse you.
LBJ is called "The Death Trap" for two reasons: "death" and "trap."
If it's 100 degrees, Thanksgiving must be next weekend. If it's 10 degrees and sleeting/snowing, the Fort Worth Stock Show is going on. If it has rained 6 inches in the last hour, the Byron Nelson Golf Classic is in the second round (if it's Spring) - and it is the Texas State Fair if it's Fall.
If you go to the Fair, pay the $15.00 to park INSIDE Fair Park . Parking elsewhere could cost up to $2500 for damages, towing fees, parking tickets, and possibly a gunshot wound. If some guy with a flag tries to get you to park in his yard, run over him.
Any amusement parks, stadiums, arenas, racetracks, airports, etc., are conveniently located as far away from EVERYTHING as possible so as to allow for ample parking on grassy areas.
Final Warning: Don't Mess With Texas Drivers ... remember, Texas has concealed handguns..
Take the advice JFK didn't, avoid Dallas at all costs.
What's wrong with Harry Hines Blvd.?
>
> •The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a bit chilly.
I remember being at afternoon football practice during August and September and when the sun would go behind the clouds it felt like someone turned on the A/C.
I thought every fence corner was a property corner in pipeline surveying 😉
Man, you know, after awhile the really cheap stuff starts to stink.
