Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association

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Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
Issue #193
Spring 2021
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
CLSA 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
                              EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
                              Robert M. McMillan, President
                             Warren D. Smith, President-Elect
                                  Kevin R. Hills, Secretary
                                 Kevin Nehring, Treasurer
                         Keith W. Spencer, Immediate Past President
                               Kim Oreno, Executive Director

                                       DIRECTORS
                                   Bakersfield Chapter
                                       Kristie M. Achee

                                     Cascade Chapter
                                       Nathan D. Sellers

                                  Central Coast Chapter
                             Edward Reading • Rochelle M. Vierra

                                  Central Valley Chapter
                                Landon Blake • Tristan Higgins

                                 Channel Islands Chapter
                        Seth M. Doherty • Bill T. Hurdle • Joseph Waltz

                                      Desert Chapter
                             Douglas E. Redlin • David L. Weddle

                                     East Bay Chapter
                     Steve M. Mendenhall • Alan Mikuni • Dave A. Murtha

                                  Gold Country Chapter
                                        Dirk J. de Valk

                                    Humboldt Chapter
                                       Michael D. Pulley

                                   Los Angeles Chapter

    Who knew?     Steve M. Hennessee • Christopher M. Jones • Buck S. Rogers

                                      Marin Chapter
                                       David A. Kendall

                                  Monterey Bay Chapter
                             Lynn A. Kovach • Kathy Nitayangkul

                                 Orange County Chapter
                             Daryl Christian • Timothy S. Fettig
                       Chu Man Kow • Rich C. Maher • Joseph A. Padilla
                              Trevor D. Rice • David E. Woolley

                           Riverside / San Bernardino Chapter
                                      John S. Hernandez

                                   Sacramento Chapter
                                      Nathan Buchholz

                                    San Diego Chapter
                  Rafi Yousif Hanna • Mark D. Macfarlane • Allen R.A. Turner

                                  San Francisco Chapter
                               Kate S. Anderson • Eli W. French

                               San Joaquin Valley Chapter
                                        Jason A. Camit

                            Santa Clara / San Mateo Chapter
                              Paul W. Lamoreaux • Jay F. Wright

                                     Sonoma Chapter
                              Bruce S. Johnson • Michael Mueller

california SURVEYOR		                                             Issue #193
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
Issue #193
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Spring 2021
CLSA CENTRAL OFFICE
        Jennifer Blevins, CMP,
    Director of Management Services
  Kim Oreno, CAE, Executive Director
 John Berkowitz, Publications Director
     Michael Cochran, Webmaster
  Stephanie Schoen, Special Projects
                                                               COLUMNS
   Tricia Schrum, CPA, Accountant
   Natalie Sinclair, Meeting Planner             President’s Message – Robert M. McMillan, PLS, EiT.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 2
            Central Office                       Editor’s Message – Joseph Waltz, PLS. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3
   2520 Venture Oaks Way, Suite 150
        Sacramento, CA 95833                     Legislative Report – Michael Belote, Esq.. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
   916-239-4083 • 916-924-7323 fax
    clsa@californiasurveyors.org
    www.californiasurveyors.org                  Central Office Report – Kim Oreno, CAE. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5

   California Surveyor Editors
       Joseph Waltz – Editor                                   FEATURES
       joeywaltz@gmail.com
 Robert McMillan – Associate Editor                    Western Regional Conference Summary – Joseph Waltz, PLS.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7
        robplsca@gmail.com
                                                              Jan Van Sickle Classes Review – Joseph Waltz, PLS.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
  California Surveyor Designer                                Taking Care of Business with Knud Hermansen – David Kendall, PLS.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
           John Berkowitz
     john@caladmanagement.com                          In Memoriam: Theodore V. Tronoff, Jr. – Dr. Peter Geissler, PhD, PLS.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 13
             Advertising                               Geo Squad: Chapter Two – Elain Ball and Elly Ball.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 15
Commercial advertising is accepted by
The California Surveyor. Advertising rates             The Business Ethics Field Guide - part 3
and information can be obtained on the
CLSA website at www.californiasurveyors.               Challenge 2: Made a Promise – Brad Yarbrough.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 23
org/calsurv.aspx, or by contacting Kim
Oreno at kim@californiasurveyors.org or                Software Tips and Tricks #2 – Joseph Waltz, PLS.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 25
916-239-4083. Circulation: 2,000.
                                                       Telling the Stories of Our Land: William Minto,
         Editorial Material                            Modoc County’s Own Gentleman Surveyor – Laurie Pearce Price.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 29
All articles, reports, letters, and other
contributions are accepted and will be                 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Surveying Education – Richard Stephan, PLS. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 37
considered for publication regardless of the
author’s affiliation with the California Land
Surveyors Association, Inc. Contributions              Tidal Water Boundaries – Michael R. McGee, PLS.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 39
should be e-mailed to Joseph Waltz at
Joeywaltz@gmail.com.                                   ZOOM Meeting Bingo.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 41

    Material Deadline Dates                            Pallamary Crossword Puzzle. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 42
             Spring: March 1
            Fall: September 1                          Sustaining Members.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 45
Articles, reports, letters, etc., received
after the above mentioned date will be          The California Surveyor is a bi-annual publication of the California Land Surveyors Association,
considered for the next edition.                Inc. and is published as a service to the land surveying profession of California. It is mailed
Opinions expressed by the editor or             to all members of the California Land Surveyors Association, Inc. The California Surveyor is
individual writers are not necessarily          an open forum for all Surveyors, with an editorial policy predicated on the preamble to the
endorsed by the California Land                 Articles of Incorporation of the California Land Surveyors Association, Inc. and its stated
Surveyors Association Officers or its           aims and objectives, which read:
Board of Directors. Original articles may
be reprinted with due credit given to the        Recognizing that the true merit of a profession is determined by the value of its services
source and written notification to the           to society, the California Land Surveyors Association does hereby dedicate itself to the
California Land Surveyors Association,           promotion and protection of the profession of land surveying as a social and economic
unless otherwise noted.                          influence vital to the welfare of society, community, and state.
                                                 The purpose of this organization is to promote the common good and welfare of its members
                                                 in their activities in the profession of land surveying, to promote and maintain the highest
                                                 possible standards of professional ethics and practices, to promote professional uniformity,
                                                 to promote public faith and dependence in Land Surveyors and their work.

  california SURVEYOR                                                                              1                                                                                                                                                Issue #193
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
PRESIDENT'S
                                        MESSAGE

                                     Robert M. McMillan, PLS, EiT
                                     CLSA 2021 President

   hope you all had a happy          of the hard work and critical       study for their professional      to his editorial duties, Paul also
   National Surveyors Week. A        nature of our profession. Next      license exams, and consider-      worked closely with his As-
   resolution was introduced         year, plan such an activity to      ing options for new and ad-       sistant Editors. This prepared
by Senator Brian Jones (R, 38th      not only inform the public, but     ditional tools to help attain     Joseph “Joey” Waltz to step up
District, San Diego County)          also to remind local governing      their business goals. For our     with a red pen in hand and take
on March 10 th recognizing           bodies of the importance of         vendors, they will be following   the helm as the new Editor of
National Surveyors Week in the       the profession, particularly in     up with interested parties to     the California Surveyor maga-
State of California. On March        these times of budget chal-         schedule in-person presenta-      zine. Joey is already bringing
22nd, 2021, the first business day   lenges and competing priori-        tions, hands on demos and         new ideas to our publication.
of our special week this year,       ties. If you are looking at our     inking sales contracts. For our   Please share any ideas for im-
the resolution was passed by         CLSA Strategic Plan, this is        California Surveyor and CLSA      provement you have for the
the California Senate as Senate      supporting Objective number         teams, have written articles      California Surveyor with Joey,
Resolution Number 18 of the          2: Increase awareness of the        about the conference and spe-     and be ready to submit your
2021-2022 Floor Session. If you      surveying profession.               cific sessions. At CAMS, CLSA’s   own articles for publication.
would like to watch the reading                                          management team, the order        Involvement of our members
of the resolution and unani-         Reflecting on the 2021 Confer-      of business will be reconciling   contributes significantly to the
mous roll call vote you can find     ence, the Western Regional          the financials, reviewing what    quality of our periodicals.
the recording at the following       Virtual Survey Conference, just     went right, what went wrong,
link. https://www.senate.ca.gov/     a few days ago I was anxiously      and determining how we can        Keep yourself and your people
media-archive. Scroll down           awaiting starting it, and hoping    improve for next year. Learn-     safe.
the webpage to the 3/22/2021         for another success. Now that       ing, growing, changing....
Senate Floor Session and click       it is over, I can breathe a sigh
WATCH on the right side of the       of relief that it lived up to our   We at the California Surveyor
table. The item starts at the        expectations. Thanks to the         will also be experiencing         Robert M. McMillan, PLS, EiT
1:03:30 mark of the recording.       hard work of all participating      change, as we say goodbye
While this may seem to be only       state conference committees         and a big thank you to
a symbolic gesture for CLSA to       and central office teams, this      our editor, Paul H.
pursue, it continues to bring        year was another great suc-         Mabry. Paul has
CLSA in front of the California      cess, judging by feedback           been the edi-
Legislature, and remind them         I’ve received. By the time this     tor since issue
that CLSA is the voice and           issue of the California Surveyor    189 in Spring
advocate of the professional         is published, the event will be     of 2019. As
land surveyors of the state. The     long over, and the follow-ups       a contribut-
effort also increases exposure       will be well under way. Follow-     ing author,
of our profession to the general     ups for our attendees include       I recognize
public.                              reviewing the recorded ses-         Paul’s talent
                                     sions they were unable to be        for making
National Surveyors Week is a         reviewed or to be attended          small adjust-
great opportunity for CLSA           in person, incorporating the        ments to articles
Chapters throughout the state        ideas generated from the            that make a world
to approach their local agen-        educational sessions into their     of difference to the
cies for similar recognition         daily practice, continuing to       end result. In addition

Issue #193                                                           2                          california SURVEYOR
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
EDITOR'S
                                 MESSAGE

                                 Joseph Waltz, PLS
                                 California Surveyor Editor

                                 W
                                            hen Rob and Paul             to editorship of a magazine has been affected by COVID-19.
   t has been a pleasure                   asked me to step              with such a history and a deep The economy has kept chug-
   to serve as your Edi-                   up to assist CLSA             knowledge base. To get a bit ging along, with construction
   tor these past couple         as Editor of this magazine I            of inspiration, I’ve been review- and service industries deemed
of years. My wife and I          was excited. Every aspect I             ing the back issues, covering “Essential.” One of the biggest
faced a difficult decision       have been involved in with              54 years! These are accessible changes has been the Working
last year to relocate out        CLSA has been so helpful for            to all members. This issue in- from Home concept rolled out
of state due to her work         my personal and professional            cludes the first of many “From across agencies and companies
as an infectious disease         growth. I’m looking forward             the Archives” features.           so swiftly.
specialist. Fortunately,         to taking on this responsibility;
that is recently resolved        Paul’s excellent work over the          Heraclitus of Ephesus, Greek        This year’s conference was no
in favor of us remaining         last few years has left me with         philosopher, said “There is         exception, with many of us
here in the Bay area. Even       some big shoes to fill.                 Nothing Permanent except            attending from our new Home
                                                                         Change,” this has been illustrat-   Offices. On page 7 there is a
so, I am grateful that Joey
                                 I’ve enjoyed the work I’ve done         ed vividly in the last 15 months    quick summary of what my
Waltz has stepped into
                                 with the editing team thus              or so. What a time of change        key takeaways were, and I of-
the role of Editor of the        far, and I am looking forward           we’ve seen as every one of us       fer a huge “Thank You” to the
magazine. I am so thank-                                                                                     conference committee and
ful for the support that                                                                                     other state associations for an
both Robert McMillan and                                                                                     excellent four days.
Joey have showed over the
years. Joey is well qualified                                                                                We have some other great ar-
and has authored articles                                                                                    ticles in this issue, with another
and served on our editorial                                                                                  installment of the Business
panel for several issues. He                                                                                 Ethics article series, as well as
brings a respected voice                                                                                     an excellent article regarding
from the public sector                                                                                       Tidal Boundaries. We also
in the southern half of                                                                                      have another Software Tips
                                                                                                             and Tricks article, a historical
our state. I will continue
                                                                                                             biography of William Minto,
to support Joey and the
                                                                                                             surveyor in Modoc County and
magazine, and I hope you                                                                                     a crossword puzzle for all you
will too! I wish to especially                                                                               wordsmiths out there to solve
thank each of the former                                                                                     on your lunch break, in addi-
Editors (you know who you                                                                                    tion to others. As always, I am
are) who have shared en-                                                                                     open to your opinions, ideas,
couragement (and humor)                                                                                      and suggestions. I can be
with me over the years.                                                                                      reached directly at joeywaltz@
                                                                                                             gmail.com.
Best Regards,
Paul Mabry                                                                                                   Stay safe and take care.
                                 Paul Mabry, California Surveyor Editor, 2019-2021

  california SURVEYOR                                                3                                                      Issue #193
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
LEGISLATIVE
                                          REPORT

                                      Michael Belote, Esq.
                                      CLSA Legislative Advocate

Spinning Heads in Sacramento

W
          here to begin? As             cinated people entering the               tens of billions are proposed to      some degree viewed through
          summer approaches,            building, but there is also               be dedicated to homelessness,         the prism of the recall.
          political leaders in Sac-     pressure to open up when the              pre-K education, Medi-Cal
ramento are facing issues which         state does. The problem is that           enrollment for the undocu-          In the midst of all of this chaos,
are really, and we mean really,         the Capitol must be open to all           mented, and housing. The            the CLSA Legislative Commit-
unprecedented. In no particular         od the public or none; there              Legislature has about a month       tee and Board continue to work
order, consider the following:          clearly would be perception               to decide whether to approve        for the surveying profession in
                                        problems with allowing lobby-             the Governor’s spending ideas,      Sacramento. Three bills directly
 Effect of the pandemic on             ists and others who “work” in             or assert their own priorities.     relating to regulation of survey-
  the legislative process and           the Capitol but not the general           The 2021-2022 budget must           ors were introduced in 2021, with
  the Capitol building itself:          public.                                   be passed by the Legislature        two of those already dead. The
  In a typical year, the California                                               by June 15, to be effective at      only bill directly relating to the
  Legislature processes approxi-       Unprecedented levels of                   the start of the fiscal year on     regulation of surveyors still mov-
  mately 2500 bills, enacting           budget surplus: It is often               July 1.                             ing this year is CLSA-sponsored
  perhaps 1000. Bills literally         said in legislative circles that                                              SB 414 (Jones). The bill defines
  are the product manufactured          too much money is as big a               Recall: In the midst of all of      cadastral surveying (amazingly,
  by lawmakers. With most               problem as too little. At the             this head-spinning activity, it     cadastral surveying is limited in
  staff working at home, and            beginning of the pandemic,                now appears clear that a gu-        the law to licensed land survey-
  in-person communication               there were forecasts of Cali-             bernatorial recall election will    ors, but the term has never been
  severely limited, it simply is        fornia budget deficits in excess          be held in the fall. The only       defined), separates negligence
  not possible to consider this         of $50 million. Due to the                thing which could change the        from incompetence in the dis-
  many bills with any degree of         amazing strength of the stock             inevitability of the recall is if   ciplinary sections, allows both
  care. Recently the Assembly           market (California is a hugely            enough signatories to recall        graphic and narrative informa-
  and Senate agreed to limit            income-tax dependent state)               petitions elect to withdraw         tion to be included in records
  the number of bills actually          leading to massive capital                their signatures in the next six    of survey pursuant to Business
  moving forward to twelve bills        gains revenue, the state now              weeks, but that seems unlikely.     and Professions Code Section
  per member. Last year fewer           enjoys a budget surplus of                The election itself likely will     8764, and expands from 30 to 45
  than 400 bills were enacted           many tens of billions, plus               occur sometime between the          days the time allotted to conduct
  and signed into law; while the        money from the federal rescue             end of September and the            appeals of Subdivision Map Act
  2021 total will be higher than        plans.                                    end of November. Already            decisions. SB 414 has passed the
  last year, the system cannot                                                    the recall circus had begun,        Senate and will be heard in the
  process the volume of bills in        Recently the Governor’s “May              and a bevy of candidates will       Assembly in the coming weeks.
  the usual way.                        Revision” to his proposed                 emerge in the coming days.
                                        January budget proposal was               It is exceedingly likely that       Hopefully, the coming weeks
  The Capitol itself remains            released. Normally the “May               the Governor will survive           and months will restore a sense
  almost entirely closed to the         Revise” is a relatively technical         the recall, but the political       of normalcy to the legislative
  public, even as the June 15           document reflecting changes               environment in Sacramento           process, and far beyond that, to
  re-opening of the state ap-           in revenue resulting from April           will be destabilized until the      our lives.
  proaches. When the public’s           tax filings. This year the May            matter is resolved. It is no
  house re-opens fully is not           document was a real revision,             exaggeration to say that most       Stay safe.
  clear. Staff clearly is concerned     because of the massive surplus            decisions coming out of the
  about thousands of unvac-             and federal largesse. Basically           Governor’s office are at least to

Issue #193                                                                  4                             california SURVEYOR
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
CENTRALREPORT
                                            OFFICE

                                    Kim Oreno, CAE
                                    CLSA Executive Director

G
         reetings CLSA Mem-         be signing a contract you don’t            August 6, 2021 – Webinar                  syntax. As time allows, Landon
         bers! The California       understand. In this webinar,               Python Code Slinging                      will demonstrate the power of
        Surveyor team has put       Landon Blake will cover basics             for Land Surveyors                        Python by writing a simple tool
another great issue together        of business contracts for land             Python is one of the most                 to filter and manipulate point
for you all. I hope you enjoy it.   surveyors. That will include               popular programming lan-                  data in text delimited files.
We’ve got almost half of 2021       the purpose of a contract, the             guages in the world. It is also
under our belt and I’m happy        parts of a contract, and the red           free and open source! Python              September 10, 2021 –
to share upcoming events for        flags you need to look for when            can be used to script programs            Webinar
the rest of the year with you.      reviewing contracts. Landon                like ArcGIS, QGIS, and Trimble            Project Management
More information on these           will review the language in the            Business Center. In this we-              Tools for Land Surveyors
events can be found on the          CLSA standard contract and will            binar, Landon will give land              In this webinar, Landon Blake
CLSA website (www.california-       also look at a contract sent by            surveyors a quick introduction            will show you how to use two
surveyors.org).                     a potential client with major              to the Python programming                 different tools for project man-
                                    problems.                                  language. He will show you                agement. The first is Trello. The
June 11, 2021 – Webinar                                                        how to download a distribution            second is Basecamp. Landon
The County Surveyor’s               July 24, 2021                              of Python, how to use a simple            uses both tools in his small
Perspective – A Panel               CLSA Board of Directors                    Python code editor, and will              business. Landon will share
For CLSA’s June 2021 webinar,       Meeting, Oakland, CA                       teach you the basics of Python            suggestions where you can
we’ll be joined by Gabe Gabriel-                                                                                         set-up both tools for project
son (Sonoma County Surveyor),                                                                                            management, with tips on how
Kevin Hills (Orange County            — Welcome New Members! —                                                           the tools can make your team
Surveyor) and Warren Smith                   Leif A. Adams         Joseph Angel Figueroa            Ngozi Nwoko          more organized and efficient.
(Tuolumne County Surveyor).               Timothy D. Alldrin       Matthew Richard Ford        Thomas John Oatman
Gabe, Kevin and Warren will                Kevin M. Almeter            Brian K. Frazier         Leon K. Oberkamper       October 15, 2021 – Webinar
discuss their roles and respon-              Raul Alvarado       Nathaniel Robert Gravette       Malaquias Peralta       A Review of
sibilities in each organization,            Mark P Andrilla            Walter Gwizdak              Rachael Plaster       Mandeni v. Rabinowitz
                                         David Ayala Vanegas           Aaron Harville        William Charles Poloske
their funding sources includ-          David Michael Beckwith     Deleo Steven Heckman              Thomas Pope          The California Court of Ap-
ing general funds, cost recov-              Amy L. Bledsoe         Armando Axel Herrera           Paul E. Reichardt      peals recently decided a case
ery options and monument                  Bruce Clark Bonde           Scott Kandarian                Mike Reyes          related to a fence encroach-
preservation funds. They’ll                 Craig C. Bowers       Kristine Michelle Knecht      Raul Renteria Rubio      ment in Los Angeles. In its
also discuss Subdivision Map              Lance J. Bradhurst             Eric Krasner              Caleb Schwab          decision, the court restores a
                                              Luis Chavez                Dustin Ladd              Marisol Serrano
Act/PLS Act Reviews for each           Christopher Wayne Clark          Mauricio Lam                Brett K. Silva       bit of the sanctity of boundary
organization and GIS records                Clarissa Condit       David Wayne Lanphear                Chris Silva        locations per paper title rather
and digital submissions.                     Robert Conley          Jose Emmanuel Lara           Arthur Jesse Smith      than physical occupation. It
                                           Elvia Cuellar Diaz        Christopher Larson            Todd R. Smith         also makes it easier for land
July 9, 2021 – Webinar                       Nathaniel Day         Anthony A. Leimeister         Jeffery R. Sortman      owners harmed by a physical
                                           Jennifer DiBona              David A. Lint             Enrique Terrazas
Contract Basics                               Neal Dickey              Michael Luketic               Josiah Tiner        encroachment to require the
for Land Surveyors                        Arturo Dominguez          Kevin D. MacDonald          Craig Steven Turner      removal of that encroachment
Many land surveyors assume                  Angela E. Dorf            Negine Malboubi          Matthew Van DeValk        by the neighbor. In this webinar,
contracts are a black box they                Taylor Elze              Saul Melgarejo              Eric M. Wilson        Landon Blake reviews the facts
aren’t supposed to understand.               Daniel Fables            Amber Miedema            Jon Masao Yamashita       of the case and the legal issues
                                            Ethan Fairbairn           Nadine Natividad     Elizabeth R. Zuniga-Becerra
That isn’t true! You shouldn’t                                                                                           it discusses.

    california SURVEYOR                                                    5                                                            Issue #193
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
Issue #193   6   california SURVEYOR
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
Western Regional
                  Conference Summary
                      By Joseph Waltz, PLS

                  T
                                                 his year’s virtual conference was a hit,
                                                 with approximately 1,200 attendees!
                                                 In this massive regional conference, we
                                                 joined Alaska, Arizona, Montana, New
                                                 Mexico, Nevada, and Washington to
                                                 learn and grow from each other. Every
                                                 state has different laws and regulations,
                                                 but we as Professional Land Surveyors
                                                 have more things in common than
                                                 different. Gary Kent, Jan Van Sickle, and
                                                 Knud Hermansen were featured, with
                                                 many additional speakers and topics.
                      I was able to attend several of presentations,
                      and some of my highlights are below. The
                      team at NALS, CLSA, and the other state
                      associations also put together a “Virtual”
                      exhibit hall, which had a proximity sensor
                      so you could “Approach” a group of people
                      or table to talk. It was pretty slick, and I
                      was impressed with the software system
                      that made it possible.

                      I have attended a handful of conferences
                      now, and I always enjoy what Jan Van
                      Sickle has to say; this conference was no
                      exception. He had an entire series on GNSS
                      and Geodesy, where he expounded on
                      everything from the history of GPS, accuracy
                      analysis, and modern implementations of
                                                                       Jan Van Sickle
                                             continued on page 8

california SURVEYOR                        7                                            Issue #193
Issue #193 Spring 2021 - California Land Surveyors Association
Conference 2021 – continued from page 7
advanced Geodesy. Jan is very entertaining,                                                      ALTA update. I have seen Mr. Kent speak
and literally wrote the book on GPS                                                              before, so I look forward to reviewing the
surveying: “GPS for Land Surveyors” (up                                                          recorded presentations of those items
to its fourth edition now). My fingers are                                                       soon. The state associations and presenters
still sore from furiously typing notes during                                                    graciously agreed to record all seminars
his “Best Practices for GNSS Surveying”                                                          and presentations, and they are available
presentation.                                                                                    to any attendee that couldn’t attend
                                                                                                 everything they wanted. That includes me
In addition, I attended presentations                                                            and many of my colleagues that attended,
on Water Rights, Use of Coordinates as                                                           as the four-day conference was packed full
Evidence for Boundary Location, and an                                                           with great presentations.
Update from NCEES about workforce
development and recruitment.                                                                     Thanks to NALS, CLSA, and the other
                                                                                                 involved states for putting together a great
 Another speaker was Gary Kent, discussing                                                       conference and seminar series! I learned a
“The Art of Retracement” and the recent           Gary Kent                                      lot, and I hope you did as well.

Jan Van Sickle Classes Review
By Joseph Waltz, PLS

                   Y
                          ou will certainly      through August 31 for all attendees at www.     included using the wrong prism constant,
                          recognize the          plseducation.org.                               a bad rod height, and some funky EDM
                          name Jan Van                                                           shots. They all combined to make for
                    Sickle if you have ever      Accuracy, Error Analysis,                       interesting discussion about how we do
                    researched GNSS, or          and Statistics                                  what we do. Collectively, we answered
                    if you have taken a                                                          questions about which type of error were
                    sur veying focused           The concepts and ideas of these Survey 101      blunders (mistakes), which were systematic
 GNSS class at the college level. He literally   level topics are review for anyone that has     errors, and which were random. Equally
“wrote the book” on this topic, GPS for          taken a Survey class with statistics covered,   important, we distinguished which errors
 Surveyors, now in its fourth edition.           but I was still glad to have that review        could be corrected and which types must
                                                 before jumping into the more complicated        be fixed before continuing.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Van Sickle     GNSS topics. It was also very valuable for
in person at the 2018 ESRI User Conference       the surveyors that have come into the           I think that this class, as presented, should
in San Diego while walking the hallways          career without any additional education.        be absolutely required for every new hire
between classes. He was so friendly and                                                          and technician in our field. Jan did an
happy to hear my appreciation of his work        This class covered the traditional QA           excellent job of succinctly and sufficiently
for us surveyors (“GPS for Surveyors” is only    QC concepts elementary to surveying:            explaining the common topics of survey
one of the Land Surveying books he has           accuracy vs precision, blunders (mistakes)      error theory, some of the complexities, and
authored). Naturally, I was very excited to      and their necessary correction, systematic      their corrections.
see his name as one of our featured speakers     vs random errors, and statistical theory
for the 2021 Regional Conference; and            such as bell curves, standard deviation,
committed to attend all the classes he taught.   and basic analysis.

Below is a short review of each class I took     We also went through some real-world
of his, with a summary and reflection            examples of jobs gone wrong. This
at the end. If you missed this excellent         was absolutely essential in applying the
series on GNSS and geodesy, I highly             things we were learning, and Mr. Van
recommend that you review the videos             Sickle presented many common mistakes,                     Accuracy vs Precision
that were recorded. The conference app           errors, and some other things that may
with recordings and notes will be available      or may not need correction. These                                      continued on page 9

Issue #193                                                            8                           california SURVEYOR
Conference 2021 – continued from page 8
Best Practices for GNSS                                                   Coordinates and Geodesy

Static, RTK, RTN, PPK, VRS, Oh My! GNSS is now a mature tool          “What are the coordinates of my corners?” Many of us have had
that has many ways of being used. Often as we train our new            this question posed to us as we’ve worked in the boundary or
staff, we focus on the field issues. What is a monument? Where         land development field. There’s just not a simple answer to this
is the line? When is it safe to set those stakes? How far to search    common layman’s question, but we can’t blame the questioner.
or dig? But when it comes to GNSS, it’s easy to say, “connect to       For instance, a person can turn on google earth today and see
the network and press the button” or “Set up the base, connect         displayed the latitude and longitude (to nine decimal places), so
to the radio, and start shooting” etc.                                 what’s the big deal?

This class was an overview of the various GNSS methods and                Of course, the answer is: “It depends.” But in the era of smartphones
procedures in the modern era. We often depend on our dealers              and GNSS enabled everything, our customers and taxpayers are
and sales-persons to explain how this stuff works, but do we              getting more knowledgeable about these formerly specialized
understand the unseen processes? Mr. Van Sickle did a great               topics. This course was an excellent overview of what a coordinate
job of explaining exactly what you’re measuring (and how) with            is, how it relates to GNSS and the Ellipsoid, and what the heck is a
a GNSS setup. He also explained the differences between Real-             projection? I’ve got lat/long, can I just start surveying? Perhaps
Time Kinematic (RTK), Real-Time Network (RTN), Post-Processed             you’ve heard from your favorite technician, “Civil 3d (and its close
Kinematic (PPK),and Virtual Reference Station (VRS).                      companion, Map 3d) handle(s) lat/long fine now, so what’s the
                                                                          problem?” Or “Just shoot everything in lat and long, and let’s
Jan also explored the difference between a Base Station and a             start drawing.” Sadly, this won’t help our engineering co-workers
CORS. He posed and answered questions such as when should                 and clients as they need actual distances to calculate the design,
we use a static, post-processed solution and when should we               location, or other items.
choose a kinematic method? Is your network providing the best
network correction solution, with as many satellites as possible?         And the closely related companion to coordinate systems is
All of these are important topics and we discussed many of them           vertical datums. Why can’t I survey on the ellipsoid, and what
together. It tied in nicely with the previous class since many of         is “Down?” We have these fancy Earth Centered, Earth Fixed
the answers to those questions depend on your “error budget.”             coordinate systems but no one seems to design sites in them.
Needless to say, we left with a better understanding of why rough         Are we adding unnecessary complexity by using Ellipsoids and
topo for stockpile phasing is not equal to property lines in Malibu       Projections?
or anchor bolt layout for a high rise in Downtown San Francisco.
                                                                          These and many other questions were all discussed in this class.
And regarding class questions in the virtual environment, each            This was a valuable discussion of these topics, especially in context
conference class had a moderator with a “Chat” feature, so                of the recent NGS presentations about Datum 2022.
individuals could ask questions in real-time, and as appropriate,
the moderator would present them to the speaker. Occasionally
there would be some discussion on the side, which happens
at live conferences as well. The moderators did a great job of
keeping the discussions focused and on topic. I would like to
give a big thank you to them, as they made this conference an
excellent experience for myself and many others. Their work on
the side allowed us to ask questions for later while the speaker
could focus on the lecture.

                                                                             Projected map of the Ecumene, the world as the Greeks knew it,
                                                                                                   Published in 1482.

                 History of GNSS Satellite launches                                                                     continued on page 10

    california SURVEYOR                                               9                                                      Issue #193
Conference 2021 – continued from page 9
In conclusion, Mr. Van Sickle has such an        as well as specific, actionable items to help   brew into a crisp and refreshing draft
easy and approachable way of teaching.           our day to day surveying.                       appreciated by every parched palette. His
His presentation style is very open and                                                          easy demeanor combined with advanced
honest. He took questions and allowed for        If you ever get a chance to see Mr. Van         knowledge of these topics made for an
wide ranging discussions of these topics         Sickle speak on these or related topics, I      enjoyable and applicable class.
with the entire class. We learned a great        recommend attendance. He is extremely
deal about the general ideas behind GNSS         knowledgeable and distills his intellectual     Thank you, Mr. Van Sickle!

Taking Care of Business
with Knud Hermansen
By David Kendall, PLS

                             nud Hermansen       on our website, at www.californiasurveyors.     than on the plat). I believe he is generally
                             (pronounced         org in the “CLSA member resources”              considering non-recording states but the
                             canoed) is a        under “Downloads.” Also noteworthy              ethical considerations were intriguing.
                     very experienced and        in the COVID era was the apparent legal         Especially significant was the idea that
                     colorful presenter. He      standing of electronically signed and           an encroachment may not be considered
                     is a university professor   transmitted contracts as well as e-mail         material unless it affects the public health,
                     who holds doctorates        agreements between parties. Several             safety or welfare. I call this a conversation
in law and engineering as well as licenses       considerations were discussed regarding         as he was intrepid in fielding a barrage of
to practice law, civil engineering and land      format, terms and content of contracts          piercing comments and questions from
surveying in multiple east coast states          for different types of agreements. A key        the gallery.
including Maine and Maryland. He is a            takeaway here was to put a time limit on
former US Marine. He took on some very           proposals, e.g. this proposal expires in        One of my great revelations from this
unsexy topics with aplomb. I was personally      45 days. Another was that contracts are         presentation was the idea of a professional
interested in his presentations on contracts,    not just for clients; employer/employee         opinion being protected by copyright data.
professional communications, ethics and          relationships are contractual as well and       I’ve recently participated in a great deal of
small business management due to my              should be considered in a similar manner.       discussion regarding private surveys and
recent experience as a sole proprietor of                                                        how copyright law relates to a compilation
a land surveying startup. I had not heard        Ethics                                          of factual data. He touched on ownership
of Mr. Hermansen before, but I believe                                                           of designs by architects and subdivision
he operates mostly on the East coast. He         The ethics class was certainly one of the       layout by surveyors which I found slightly
engaged very personally with the audience.       highlights of the 2021 conference for me.       irrelevant. However the idea of a copyright
                                                 Knud defines ethics as the practice of acting   on a professional opinion for boundary
Several themes ran through all of his            on your professional values. He refers to       location calls for further discussion and
four presentations. These were limiting          some ethical codes (see California Code of      begs the questions: “At what point does
liability (tax and personal e.g. negligence);    Regulations Title 16 Section 476) but most of   a boundary establishment become a
what to say (and not to say) in proposals,       the lessons appear to be based in common        professional opinion? What is the value
survey reports, plats and contracts; How to      morality and accepted professional practice.    of your opinion?”
communicate effectively with clients and
a cornucopia of ethical dilemmas for your        The conversation flowed smoothly from the       The final word on the subject was that
philosophical amusement and discussion.          topics of sharing data with other surveyors     information which the client requests to be
                                                 to ownership of work product and from           confidential must remain confidential (See
Contracts                                        copyright law to disclosure of information      CCR Title 16 Section 476(d)) except when it
                                                 discovered in the course of your survey         is illegal or is a threat to health, safety and
The contracts seminar reinforced the value       which might negatively affect your client       welfare of the public.
of many of the clauses in the CLSA standard      (spoiler: consider including the harmful
contract which I use and which is available      information in a private survey report rather                          continued on page 11

Issue #193                                                           10                           california SURVEYOR
Conference 2021 – continued from page 10
Small Business Management                          legal documents (like correspondence               could lead to additional business
                                                   and instruments) are signed and certified.         opportunities as well as more polite
T h e Small Busin ess M ana g em ent               Overall the discussions on content, etiquette      interactions with people when you are
presentation on Tuesday morning was                and format were both informative and               hopping their fences.
very helpful to me as I enter my third             worthwhile, and highlighted how much is
year of business. Topics covered here              said between the lines of your professional      Unless you are a sole proprietor, do not
included business structure, working               writing. Hermansen provides general               sign your own name to correspondence.
relationships, taxes, labor standards and          guidelines for business communications            Instead sign for the company or for
employee compensation. He did not                  and provides examples for several different       the principal of the company in some
discuss insurance which I feel may have            types of situations.                              fashion to defer liability.
fit nicely into the presentation and is a
consideration on which I could use some            Several valuable lessons were gained by          When collecting parol evidence in
perspective. However in the Ethics seminar         my attendance in this seminar:                    the course of an investigation, restate
he mentioned that liability insurance                                                                the testimony and send a copy to the
generally covers accidents or negligence            First and foremost, any professional            provider. This allows them to correct
but not intentional acts.                            should strongly consider engaging in            any misstatements and puts them on
                                                     a business communications class. The            notice of what you might be saying on
The first part described types of entities (Sole     value is indisputable.                          the record.
Proprietor, Partnership, LLC, Corporation,
etc.) and the benefits of each including risk,      Get a second set of eyes on your work.        Finally, a template for a survey report was
tax liability and bureaucratic headaches.            Peer review is one of our greatest tools      provided which I found highly relevant.
He then moved to ease of operation                   as land surveyors and as businesspeople.      Knud also answers the age-old question
and transfer of the company when you                                                               of why I can never get an attorney to sign
no longer care to be there (where is the            Use a formal letter format for all outside    my contracts for services.
value and how is it distributed among                correspondence (as opposed to a memo
key players?). These are all helpful topics          format).                                      I found Hermansen’s speaking style
to consider when starting or growing a                                                             entertaining and easy to follow. He will
business.                                           When making formal inquiries (including       shout at you for emphasis and spin a yarn
                                                     e-mails), list or number your questions       during his answer to a question. Professor
Next, he described the different working             clearly and add in a default option (what     Hermansen is a qualified mentor for any
relationships (employee, contractor,                 you will assume as an answer in case no       young professional, and I enjoyed his
agency) and gave some insight into how               response is received) This technique          presentations immensely.
to use contract labor. While the recent              provides a legally defensible track to
AB5 legislation regarding contract labor             advance your project goals.
in California may have seemed dramatic to                                                          More from Knud Hermansen is available on
us, after hearing his comparisons I did not         Send letters to the adjoiners of the          his faculty website at: https://umaine.edu/
feel like the differences between our state          property you are inspecting. This             svt/faculty/hermansen-articles/
and the rest of the country were so stark.

The final segment discussed ways to
minimize tax liability which is a passion for
Hermansen. The employee compensation
(overtime, stock options, alternative work
schedules) discussion was informative as
well as the reasoning on safety precautions
as prescribed by OSHA.

Business and Professional
Communications

Business and Professional Communications
was my final session of what I found to
be an excellent online conference. Knud
discussed what to say in memoranda and
reports and more importantly what not to
say. Also important was how these quasi-

    california SURVEYOR                                                11                                                    Issue #193
Issue #193   12   california SURVEYOR
In Memoriam
                          Theodore (Ted) V. Tronoff, Jr.
                          April 22, 1925 - January 4, 2021

                      O
                                 n January 04, 2021, my father, Theodore V. Tronoff, Jr. (Ted) passed away at home
                                 at the age of 95. Like his father before him, my father was a civil engineer and
                                 land surveyor. My Dad had a long career: 68 years of professional practice that
                      left lasting impressions on the land and shaped those whose lives he touched. I could
                      write volumes, but the following suffices to introduce this great man to those of you who
                      didn’t know my father personally.

                      Ted Tronoff was born in Berkeley, California. He attended school in Berkeley and Albany
                      and graduated from Berkeley High School in 1943. D-Day in World War Two was still a
                      year away when he joined the Army Air Corps. Ted was chosen for Officer’s Candidate
                      School and qualified as a navigator/bombardier. He flew over thirty missions in a B-24
                      Liberator from Cerignola, Italy before being shot down and captured. He survived that
                      incident and while he never spoke much about his war experiences, one story that sticks
                      in my mind foreshadows his later career as a Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor of the
                      highest caliber. On that occasion, Dad’s bomber group was flying to Greenland. Although
                      radio navigation was available, he never relied on radio navigation guidance without also
                      confirming his plane’s location using astronomical charts. Sure enough, on that mission,
                      the Germans were spoofing the radio guidance. His plane was one of the few that did not
                      go off course, run out of fuel and ditch in the North Sea.

                      After the war my Dad returned to Berkeley and entered the University of California,
                      graduating in 1948 as a Civil Engineer. He joined his father in business in Theodore V.
                      Tronoff, Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors, until being called back to active duty as a
                      navigator on a Convair B-36 strategic bomber during the Korean War.

                      Ted ended his service career a second time to rejoin his father who was then working with
                      Henry Doelger in the development of the Westlake subdivisions and other developments
                      in Daly City, located just south of San Francisco. He later established his own office in Daly
                      City, from which he retired at the age of 90.

                      Although my Dad and Henry Doelger were prominent and well-known developers in the
                      Bay area, he was not just interested in Land Development. Ted Tronoff was an innovative
                      and forward-thinking measurement scientist. Dad was one of the early adopters of
                      electronic distance measurement for surveying purposes. He purchased a Geodimeter
                      in the 1960’s and used it to establish much of the primary control for the construction
                      of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, including the tube under the San Francisco Bay.
                      Also, as a part of this work, Dad purchased a Clary computer. The programming on these
                      desk sized monsters was hard wired! Among many other programs to assist in survey
                      computations, Ted developed a program for California Coordinate System conversions.
                      He also created a quantity calculation program for dredging volume computations as a
                      part of his hydrographic survey work for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Western
                      Division of the Navy.

                      Finally, although my father was always interested in the latest technologies, he never
                      failed to impress upon me that boundary surveying was, first and foremost, a retracement
                      and a matter of “following in the footsteps” of those who came before. A worthy legacy
                      to all surveyors and especially this son. I will be forever in his debt.

                                                                                        — Bruce T. Tronoff, PLS

california SURVEYOR                       13                                                      Issue #193
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The
                                                                                                 Business
                                                                                                 Ethics Field
                                                                                                 Guide - part 3

                                                                                               Challenge 2:
         By Brad Yarbrough                                                                     Made a Promise

  This series features 13 articles from Brad Agle, Aaron Miller and Bill O’Rourke, co-authors of The Business Ethics Field
  Guide. Each article focuses on a common work dilemma, provides real life examples and insightful solutions.

  This article addresses the oft-faced ethical challenge of keeping promises. Indeed, establishing expectations and
  keeping our word is at the heart of the right of way profession. Many difficulties arise when the bonds of trust between
  parties are broken. I vividly remember when I assigned an agent to a client’s maintenance project involving a short
  pipeline and a handful of landowners. The agent faced unexpected resistance from owners who recounted the numerous
  promises broken years earlier during the initial pipeline construction. Though eventually successful in regaining their
  trust, the outcome could have been reached more quickly and less costly if the pipeline operator had been better about
  managing obligations in the past. Had they listened to the following advice I believe they would have succeeded.

W
         e all make lots of promises. Some     Unrelenting Circumstances                       an order, then perhaps a customer who is
         are small and casual, while others                                                    facing the same circumstances no longer
         are formal. Some are even long        Sometimes the choice is straightforward.        wants the product. Communication helps
term, personal commitments such as             You had promised to mow your neighbor’s         establish new expectations when the
the promise to love, honor and respect         lawn, but then you receive a phone call that    world changes.
a spouse for a lifetime. No matter what        your spouse was in a traffic accident. Most
the promise is, many involve a degree of       people will agree that the unforeseen event     There may be an alternative course of
uncertainty.                                   warrants breaking the promise to satisfy a      action that would fulfill the original intent
                                               higher priority. Most of the time, however,     of the promise. You promised to provide
Think about a small commitment like            the choice is not so clear.                     financial support for a local youth group
promising to take someone to the ball                                                          and the group is forced to disband because
game, but then it rains. At the time the       In business, we can oftentime predict           of a crisis at the group’s national level.
promise was made, there was little known       changes and plan for them. For instance,        Perhaps giving to another organization
of the future, yet the commitment was          if there is a possibility that the price of a   will achieve helping the community.
made anyway.                                   commodity can fluctuate, then the contract
                                               to supply that commodity should provide
A basic moral principle is that we will live   for price fluctuations.                         Communication is Key
up to our promises. We like to think that
our word is our bond. However, in a world      Communication helps establish new               Don’t decide alone. The foreman of a plant
of uncertainty, conflicts are sure to arise.   expectations when the world changes.            shipped a large product order on the day
Keep in mind that:                                                                             it was promised. The order specified that
                                                                                               the shipment be inspected. However, the
  • Breaking some promises will be             Alternate Solutions                             inspection equipment was broken. The
    necessary to live a moral life.                                                            foreman decided to ship the items on
                                               Perhaps the other party may not even want       the promised date, rationalizing that no
  • People remember when promises are          you to keep the promise. If an economic
    kept or broken.                            panic makes it impossible for you to fulfill                          continued on page 24

    california SURVEYOR                                           23                                                      Issue #193
Business Ethics – continued from page 23
                                                  • Don’t overbook yourself

                                                   It’s difficult to estimate the time required
                                                   to meet promises. Ensure there is time
                                                   for unpredictable developments. Being
                                                   too busy is seldom accepted as an
                                                   excuse for breaking a promise.
                                                                                                  13         ETHICAL
                                                                                                             DILEMMAS
                                                                                                  Upcoming articles in this
                                                                                                  series will take a closer look
                                                                                                  at each dilemma.
                                                  • Build good relationships

                                                   By honoring your commitments as a
                                                   matter of course and often going above         1 STANDING   UP TO POWER
                                                                                                    Someone in power is asking you
                                                                                                    to do something unethical.
                                                   and beyond the expectations, you will

                                                                                                  2 Conflicting
                                                   build social capital. That social capital        MADE A PROMISE
                                                   will serve you well when you are faced                       commitments force
                                                   with breaking or modifying a promise.            you to choose.

                                                                                                  3 INTERVENTION
                                                                                                    You see something wrong. How
                                                                                                    do you proceed?

                                                   Communication                                  4 CONFLICTS    OF INTEREST
                                                                                                    Multiple roles put you at cross
                                                   helps establish                                  purposes.

                                                                                                  5 You
product defects had been found in the                                                               SUSPICIONS WITHOUT
previous five years.                              new expectations                                  ENOUGH EVIDENCE
                                                                                                        believe something is going
When his supervisor learned of this, he
insisted on calling the customer and
                                                   when the world                                     on, but you’re not sure.

explaining what happened. The boss gave
the customer the option of shipping the
                                                      changes.                                    6 PLAYING   DIRTY
                                                                                                    Achieving justice but by doing
                                                                                                    something unethical.
product back or accepting it. If something
happened with the product later, the boss
promised to fix it. The customer accepted                                                         7 SKIRTING   THE RULES
                                                                                                    Bending a rule for a better
                                                                                                    outcome.
the product, but the foreman should have          • Moral Imagination
contacted the customer before unilaterally
deciding on the action. Communication              Moral decisions must not consist of just       8 DISSEMBLANCE
                                                                                                    Misrepresenting the truth for
                                                                                                    better outcome.
is valuable.                                       two alternatives. Instead, using your
                                                   imagination can result in developing a

In Summary
                                                   creative solution that satisfies the moral
                                                   obligations of all the involved parties.
                                                                                                  9 LOYALTY
                                                                                                    Giving up ethical stance to
                                                                                                    protect valued relationship.
                                                   While moral imagination doesn’t always
Here’s some guidelines for avoiding or
mitigating these issues:
                                                   produce such solutions, you might be
                                                   surprised at how often thinking through        10 SACRIFICING
                                                                                                     VALUES
                                                                                                                     PERSONAL

                                                                                                     Living ethically might put
                                                   alternatives will lead you to a creative             burden on others.
 • Be careful of the promises you make             solution.

   Try to predict and plan for potential                                                          11 UNFAIR   ADVANTAGE
                                                                                                     When opportunity exists to
                                                                                                     wield an unfair upper hand.
   changes. The majority of contract                          Brad Yarbrough is the Owner

                                                                                                  12 When
   discussions don’t merely deal with the                     and CEO of Pilgrim Land                REPAIR
   straightforward aspects of the contract                    Services, a right of way services            you are responsible for a
   (quality, delivery and price), but also the                company in Oklahoma City.              mistake.
   impact of potential future changes. It’s                   With over 35 years experience
   critical to address where responsibility
   will fall in the event those changes          Brad
                                                              in oil and gas, he has clients
                                                              nationwide and an extensive
                                                                                                  13 SHOWING    MERCY
                                                                                                     You could grant forgiveness,
                                                                                                     but you don’t know if you
   happen.                                       Yarbrough    network of landmen and agents.            should.

Issue #193                                                          24                             california SURVEYOR
Software
                                                                                            Tips and
                                                                                            Tricks
                                                                                            — part 2

                                                                                            By Joseph Waltz, PLS

WINDOWS KEYBOARD                             The three keys, XCV (all in a row            “Windows” Key (often shown as a little
COMMANDS                                     on bottom left of your keyboard)              Windows logo between CTRL & ALT):
                                             control the clipboard.
  f you use Microsoft Windows as your
  operating system, you have access
  to powerful keyboard shortcuts. To
operate these, hold the first or first and
second key below, and press the last key.
Mastering the keyboard shortcuts will save
you lots of time.
                                                                                          These combinations are different in
Control Key: “CTRL”                          CTRL+X: Cut:                                 different versions. But here are a few for
                                              Cuts out the text that is highlighted and   Windows 10:
                                              puts it on the clipboard.
                                                                                          WIN+Shift+S: Snip Screen:
                                             CTRL+C: Copy:
                                                                                          Gives you a crosshair to select a portion
                                              Copies the text that is highlighted and
                                                                                           of the screen to capture and copies that
                                              puts a copy on the clipboard.
                                                                                           image into your clipboard.
                                             CTRL+V: Paste:
                                                                                          WIN+D: Display desktop:
                                              Pastes clipboard contents to cursor
                                                                                          Minimizes all open windows and displays
                                              position.
                                                                                           desktop.
                                             CTRL+arrow: Jump cursor:
                                                                                          WIN+L: Lock Computer:
CTRL+A: Select All:                           Jumps cursor word by word instead of
                                                                                          Logs user out to login screen. This is a
Selects entire contents of an open page,      letter by letter.
                                                                                           good habit to cultivate when leaving your
 file, or file folder.                                                                     desk in a large office with public access.
                                             Alternate Key: “ALT”
CTRL+S: Quick Save:                                                                       Just like you lock your door when leaving
 Saves the current file.                     ALT+Tab: Switch Windows:                      the house, this “locks” the computer when
                                              Switches between open windows. Hold          leaving your desk.
CTRL+Z: Undo:                                 ALT and press tab to cycle through all
 Un-does the previous action, can be          open programs.
 stacked.                                                                                 There are hundreds more, in various CTRL,
                                             ALT+S: Show “ALT” Shortcut hotkeys:          ALT, SHIFT, and WIN combinations.
CTRL+Y: Redo:                                 When pressed, floating letters will
 For when you push undo too many times.       appear in the ribbon, indicating the ALT
CTRL+Tab:                                     + letter command that will execute that
 Switch tabs within a window.                 button command.                                                  continued on page 26

    california SURVEYOR                                        25                                                   Issue #193
Tips and Tricks – continued from page 25

KIETHWSPENCER.NET                                shtml has 13 sub-pages with topics like          If you find Keith’s service useful, consider
                                                 Construction Surveys, Legal Descriptions,        making a donation to the CLSA Education
Keith Spencer, PLS, CFedS, and CLSA              and the Subdivision Map Act.                     Foundation. If you have map collections
immediate past president, hosts one of the                                                        that you would like to add he appreciates
most valuable websites available to California   Keith has put his heart and soul into            donations of digital files. A link to donate
Surveyors at http://keithwspencer.net.           preparing a great resource for us. Take a        to the foundation can be found at http://
                                                 look! He also is always looking for more         californiasurveyors.org/educationfoundation.
The “Library” section at http://keithwspencer.   contributions, and they can be sent to:          aspx and thank you Keith for such a great
net/Library/Library.shtml has links to           keith@keithwspencer.net.                         site!
44 counties’ “Map and Survey Records”                                                                                    continued on page 27
databases, and 23 Cities’ records in the
Central Valley. It also has PDF’s of hundreds
of books dating back to 1616, with many
surveying manuals, mathematical texts,
Hydrographic and Railway surveying
treatises, and BLM publications including
Manuals.

This library has links to over 700,000
individual files and is a public service free
of charge.

The “LS review ” sec tion at http://
keithwspencer.net/LSReview/Topics/Topics.                    Portion of counties available on Keith’s site, as well as book sections.

Issue #193                                                          26                             california SURVEYOR
Tips and Tricks – continued from page 26

EXCEL MACROS                                     Lat Long” text file. For each map, you have         a. Our drafters are used to PNEZD
                                                 to have your staff do the work of converting           file format.
Excel is a very popular Microsoft Office         and messing with columns before you can          4. Convert all metric measurements to
spreadsheet program. It has so many              start your in-house mapping process. That           feet (Survey feet for the sake of this
powerful mathematical and graphing               work on one file maybe takes three minutes.         article).
functions built in, but there is one function    What do you care? That’s nothing!
that is not very popular that I discovered                                                           a. Two step process, create “math”
years ago – Macros.                              And now you just got off the phone closing             columns with conversions,
                                                 out a huge contract with a nationwide                  and apply to new Metric N, E,
 A Macro is a pre-recorded set of Visual Basic   developer. He wants to work with you                   columns,
 program interactions that you create for        exclusively, and just sent you an FTP link          b. Replace Metric N, E, Columns
 repeated workflows. If you find yourself        to 100 CSV files from the same aerial lidar            with new converted Feet #’s
 doing a similar set of tasks over and over,     company. Now that three minutes is
                                                                                                  5. Remove the Latitude and Longitude
 a Macro may be your ticket. Think of them       adding up. It’s Macro time!
                                                                                                     columns.
 as “Filming” your work. Then you can “Play
 back” the film and excel does the same          Let’s clarify what we want to do.                   a. As these are unnecessary for our
 key presses or keyboard commands that            1. Keep the deliverables clean.                       normal drafting process.
 you recorded. You don’t have to know any
                                                     a. So, we will create a new sheet          With a macro, you can do that all of that
 VBA or C#/.NET code, it creates the code by            in our Excel workbook of each
“watching” you work.                                                                            work once, while recording it as a new
                                                        point file called “Conversion”
                                                                                                macro, and have access to that workflow
                                                  2. Copy the raw deliverable to the new        at the push of a button. Not only are we
For example, let’s say you have a contract
                                                     sheet.                                     saving tremendous amounts of time, but
with a certain Aerial Lidar company. You
know that their “point data” deliverable is       3. Switch the places of the Easting and       we don’t have to worry about accidently
always in metric and is always a “P E N Z D          Northing Columns.                          typing “3937/2100” instead of “3937/1200”
                                                                                                100 times.

                                                                                                Macros can be a powerful way to have
                                                                                                access to repetitive workflows, and as long
                                                                                                as the recording of the Macro is carefully
                                                                                                done, they can eliminate the simple fat
                                                                                                finger errors that we have all made from
                                                                                                time to time.

                                                                                                YouTube has a great intro to macros in a
                                                                                                video titled “Learn Macros in seven Minutes
                                                                                                (Microsoft Excel)” at: https://www.youtube.
                                                                                                com/watch?v=33Ej8DPsdvA.

                                                                                                 Note – A warning for Windows 10 users:
                                                                                                 For some reason the latest version of Office
                                                                                                 365 has macros moved to a tab that is now
                                                                                                 hidden by default. For you to access the
                                                                                                 Macro Menu, you may need to go to File
                                                                                                -> Options -> Customize Ribbon -> and
                                                                                                 Check the box next to “Developer Tab” in
                                                                                                 the Main Tabs column.

                                                                                                 Leftmost portion of Developer tab in excel.
                                                                                                 Use “Record Macro” to record a new one, and
                                                                                                “Macros” to access your list of created ones.

     california SURVEYOR                                            27                                                     Issue #193
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