Old school skills

Done Leroy Lettering??ÿ?ÿYes, but only because my mentor wanted me to know exactly what it was...

Used a planimeter to "buggy" areas or calculated cuts/fills using average end areas? No

Used a Lenker rod??ÿ?ÿYes

Used a right-angle/90 degree prism for rough grade stakeout or station/offset work??ÿ Yes

Used a top mount or stand alone (HP3805/3810) EDM??ÿ Yes

Used a dip needle??ÿ Yes

Drafted on linen??ÿ NO

Carried a tack ball??ÿ Yes

Used an "Acu-Arc" for drawing curves??ÿ NO

Hand generated contour lines interpolating between adjacent data points? Yes?ÿ Used a rubber band to do it? NO

Avoided a "regen" in Autocad at all costs because of how long it took??ÿ Yes

Started GPS baseline processing before leaving the office hoping it would be done when you got back in the morning??ÿ Yes

Did GPS observations at night because that was when enough satellites would be passing over??ÿ Yes

Used hand signals to "talk" for things like cuts/fills for marking stakes??ÿ Yes

Watched a pen plotter in amazement as it plotted in what seemed like a random order??ÿ Yes

Used a HP-41c/cv/cx to traverse/inverse and watched the "goose" fly across the screen??ÿ Yes

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Drafted using a digitizer board?

Got sick and lost your lunch because of the ammonia from the blue-line machine?

Averaged traverse angles from sighting the string lines of a plumb bob?

Back when I was in Ranger School....

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We did all of that, even in 2002. Well, except the CAD "regen". We used Simplicity.?ÿ

There are only a few itemson that list that I have not done and that's mainly the hand drafting tasks.

All but three. Dip needle no, baseline calcs no, night observations no. Also played "Hunt the Wumpus" on a Wang 2200 system with CEADES software (1979) ?????ÿ

Posted by: @kevin-hines

Got sick and lost your lunch because of the ammonia from the blue-line machine?

Ah, the ammonia when running blueprints or changing the ammonia bottle on the machine! Been there. Hated it when we had a set of blueprints going out for bid. Individual maps were tolerable.

I've done all that except draft on linen.

I'm left handed and did my leroying right handed. I got very good at it.

Passed out one time from the liquid ammonia blue print machine.

I still use my HP 41CX every day. Bought it in 1984. I still have my dip needle.

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No to the long GPS processing and dip needle, yes to the rest.?ÿ

The only one I have not done is?ÿ "Used a dip needle"

I've used the blue-line ammonia copier.?ÿ Was just talking with a codes guy last week who was arguing about a mylar I submitted. I used an 11x17 mylar not translucent from my local print shop that ensured is accepted by local counties. And I have successfully submitted it to several counties, including the one in question. I mentioned to him why would you need translucent media today, unless using an ammonia copier

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Yes to all of the above.

Done them all.?ÿ I preferred the stack of highway radius curve templates to the Accu-curve.

Those were the days, weren't they?

PS - I never knew it was a goose.?ÿ We just called it a "birdie".?ÿ 😉

Done Leroy Lettering??ÿYes, once.

Used a planimeter to "buggy" areas or calculated cuts/fills using average end areas? Yes

Used a Lenker rod? No

Used a right-angle/90 degree prism for rough grade stakeout or station/offset work? Yes

Used a top mount or stand alone (HP3805/3810) EDM? Yes

Used a dip needle? Yes

Drafted on linen? No

Carried a tack ball? Yes

Used an "Acu-Arc" for drawing curves? No

Hand generated contour lines interpolating between adjacent data points? Used a rubber band to do it? Yes/No

Avoided a "regen" in Autocad at all costs because of how long it took? Yes

Started GPS baseline processing before leaving the office hoping it would be done when you got back in the morning? Yes

Did GPS observations at night because that was when enough satellites would be passing over? Yes

Used hand signals to "talk" for things like cuts/fills for marking stakes? Yes

Watched a pen plotter in amazement as it plotted in what seemed like a random order? Yes

Used a HP-41c/cv/cx to traverse/inverse and watched the "goose" fly across the screen? No

Speaking of Leroy machines.?ÿ I'm left-handed.?ÿ I'm of the opinion that Leroys were made with right-handed people in mind.?ÿ But in my usual Paden-fashion I improvised, overcame and adapted.?ÿ

I would place the lettering template against the bottom of the parallel bar instead of the top.?ÿ I used the lettering stylus with my left hand, but I wrote backwards with the media (and lettering) upside down.?ÿ This was the only way I could use the Leroy without dragging my left hand through the wet ink.?ÿ It actually came pretty natural with my severe dyslexia.

I had a short red-headed drafting supervisor named Steve Morrison.?ÿ Steve would get red faced and stutter when he was excited.?ÿ The first time he saw me lettering left-handed and upside down he nearly had a stroke.?ÿ He never wanted me to Leroy ever again.

Sure enough about a month later we had some changes that needed to be made to a plat dedication.?ÿ Time was of the essence with a city council meeting that night.?ÿ There was no one else there that day to do it.?ÿ I told Steve if he would go in his office and stay away from me everything would be OK.?ÿ He did.?ÿ It was.

Every time he walked by me with a linen upside down on my table he'd just mutter Geezus and walk away shaking his head.?ÿ He never got use to me working like that.

Posted by: @paden-cash

severe dyslexia

Posted by: @spmpls

Well, not so many since I have not really been in the business, but yet a few:

Done Leroy Lettering??ÿ Seen it done.

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Used a Lenker rod? I own one which someone gave me. Pretty beat up, but interesting to figure out.

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Carried a tack ball? Yes, briefly, while talking to (annoying?) some guys doing layout near my home.?ÿ Aren't they still considered common equipment?

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Hand generated contour lines interpolating between adjacent data points??ÿ Yes

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Watched a pen plotter in amazement as it plotted in what seemed like a random order? Yes

Yes to all.?ÿ Add eraser shields and electric erasers (with nasty solvent impregnated eraser sticks), sitckybacks until the County banned them, a Rhodes Reducing Arc for slope staking,?ÿ 10.5" reel to reel magnetic tape consoles for storage and overnight computation, Hollerith cards for road design, chain saw chaps, Curta peppermill calculators, a heliotrope (just once).?ÿ I could go on but my memory's fading.

ON NO, I was 15 for 15 "Used to, but not anymore", then the HP41 last one. I still use mine to run quick traverses. But I have stopped using the printer.?ÿ?ÿ

I have a tack ball now. Nothing old about that. Most of the other things I did in school (BCIT, 82-84) but have not done since.?ÿ Except pen plotters. Those where a thing until after I got my LSIT in '97.?ÿ?ÿ

Done everything there except draft on linen.

I have manually edited GPS files to remove cycle slips...