Friday, December 08, 2006

GU1670 - An Important Mark, in a different way than most

Until recently, I was employed by a Civil & Survey engineering firm that was the contract engineer for the City of Coalinga, California. As the 'field guy' for the acting Engineer, I was fairly familiar with the local benchmark network. A few years ago, I was given the task to map a portion of State Highways 33/198, about 1.4 miles long, through the town of Coalinga. It was an infrastructure project for curb, gutter, sidewalk (etc.) improvements. During the project, I tied into multiple city benchmarks and other various benchmarks within the project area. Four of the 'others' are in the NGS database - AH5203, GU1673, GU1670, & GU4200. AH5203 - COALINGA RESET, at the north end of the project, was destroyed by the DOT while building a new bridge. (According the one of their surveyors, it is to be reset, again, by them.) For obvious reasons, it was not tied into. GU1673 - J156, is the main benchmark for all the vertical control in town, and was adjacent to the roadway and well within the project area. GU4200 - INTERSECTION, is a street centerline monument in a well, also well within the project area. GU1670 - G944, at the south end of the project was not located, and consequently, not tied into.

GU1670 was a standard brass disk set in a round concrete post. It was set on the side of the road, across from the old fire station behind a curb. It was reported as 'found' in 1984 and then 'not found' in 1985, and for all intents and purposes, it should have been there as no improvements have been done in the area in some time. I couldn't find it as part of the project, but the benchmark hunter in me kept looking. I went back multiple times over the next few years, kicking dirt and looking in the logical and not so logical places, with no luck. This site probably had the most visits by me for any mark I've looked for without finding anything.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, my employment has recently changed. My present employer has a collection of surveying equipment and artifacts on display throughout the office. Last week I was speaking with one of the other employees (relatively new to the survey industry) about the purpose of benchmarks and their markings. I was using one of my employeer's display benchmarks to show him what I was talking about. During our discussion, the designation of the mark caught my attention; 'G944 1958'. The '944' was familiar - there was a '944' series of marks around the Coalinga area, set in the late 50's. I routinely used 'Y944', north of Coalinga, as a calibration point for my survey-grade GPS. I searched the NGS database for G944 in the State of California and only got one hit - it was GU1670. After nearly four years of searching, I found the brass disk I'd been looking for, more than 75 miles away.

Now, for the rest of the story....

Flash back to 1987. I was studying Architecture at a local college and got hired by a Civil & Survey engineering firm as a draftsman. This was before computers and CAD; all the plans and maps were drawn by hand with pen & ink. I was hired because of my drawing ability and penmanship, not because I knew anything about surveying or engineering. I honestly didn't know what either a surveyor or civil engineer was, let alone what they did. As I drafted the maps and plans, I would ask about things I saw or drew onto the plans. Over time I found that I was more interested in the surveying portion of my job over the civil engineering portion, and the architecture I was studying for that matter. (That interest in surveying is still there, nearly 20 years later. The architecture is all but forgotten.) I routinely asked the chief surveyor and the lead crew chief questions. I remember posing the question 'what is a benchmark?' to the lead crew chief. He explained it to me using an old brass disk he had on his desk that he used as a paperweight.

Now, flash forward to last week. My new employers are the same chief surveyor and the lead crew chief I worked with back in the 80's. About seven years ago, they cleaned out their desks and went out on their own. Now I'm back with them. GU1670 was in their small collection. When I told them that I'd been recently looking for that mark, one of them, the old lead crew chief said 'Really? I used that thing as a paperweight for years!'

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Still no word...

Still no word from the Board.

I was told that the updates were to happen around 2:am this morning. I checked at 5:30 and their website was down for updates. At 6:am it was back up, with no updates; at least the information I was interested in had not been updated. I couldn't find my name, or any new name, in the system.

So now, I don't know what to think. I guess just sit & wait some more....

Monday, November 20, 2006

More Info

Here's another news trickle....

BORPELS Sacramento office has confirmed that my exams & applications were reviewed, accepted, and approved by the Board on Friday, the 17th.

With said approval comes licensure and a number, however, the number comes from a different office and the Sacramento office does not know what they are. The number should be posted online tonight (2:00am) and the official letters will be mailed out today or tomorrow.

To recap: As of 2:00pm today, I have a license and number, but I don't know what the number is. I should know in 12.5 hours. (If any on you would like an immediate phone call, let me know.)

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Fender Bender

Lora & the Odyssey were rear ended last night.

Lora & the Girls are all fine. Relatively low speed and minimal damage. Lady behind Lora slid in the rain at a stop light. If she'd had another foot or two, she could have got it stopped without the help of our van. The extent of the damage was the result of the nuts for the license plate punching thru the bumper cover, but the cover didn't even dent, or at least it popped back out. The most unsightly damage came from her license plate bracket - 'Oakland Raiders' is now etched into the paint. And, yes, it's readable! (That must be removed at ALL costs!)

Lora said she was a bit sore, but she thinks it's because she was tensed up when it happened; She was in the process avoiding another car (full brakes, wet road, and the Odyssey's computer took over - amazing, but un-nerving) and she saw the other coming from behind. Lora and Girls were well buckled in and the Girls barely felt the impact.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Passed Yet?

As far as my tests go: in short, I passed, but I'm still not licensed. The long story goes like this...

Prior to taking the licensure exams, the exams for certification as a Land Surveyor in Training (LSIT) need to be completed. I passed the LSIT in 1999. LSIT certification means you can work as a surveyor (calculations, boundary resolution, legal research, etc.), but it must be done under the supervision of a licensed surveyor. (The only way around this step is Registration as a Civil Engineer. I had no intention of going THAT route.)

There are three portions to licensure - 1) A National exam (8 hour), 2) a State Exam (6 hour), and 3) a written/take-home exam on the State Business and Professions Code, Land Surveyors Act, and the State Map Act (this is basically an exercise in looking up State Law). (There is also a State requirement of a minimum of 6 years of survey experience prior to exam application that could be considered a fourth portion to the licensure.) I took the National & State exams in 2003. I passed the National, failed the State, as did most people. I should have turned in my take home portion then, but didn't. I re-took the State portion in 2004 and failed again. I took it again in April of this year and felt pretty good about it. I literally took the exam twice this year. I finished (most of) it within the six-hour time limit, and I re-calc'd a lot of it because it 'couldn't have been that easy'.

Now I had to wait.

The result letter were to be mailed out near the end of the 2nd week of September, with a 2nd mailing at the beginning of the 4th week. During the 1st week, I realized that I hadn't sent in the take-home portion of the exam. I called the Board of Registration for Professional Engineers & Land Surveyors in Sacramento to ask if they would still accept it or if I had to wait until next year. I was told to send it in.

The first set of mailing went out and I had friends who had both passed & failed, so I knew that letters with both notifications went out. I got nothing. I waited for the 2nd mailing, and still nothing. I called the board near the middle of the 4th week (the Board prohibits calls prior to the 2nd mailing) to see what was going on. I was told that they had prepared a letter, but that after they received my take-home exam, the content of the letter was 'effectively invalid', so they didn't send it. The lady I spoke to said she would send a copy so I would know that the Board hadn't forgotten about me. I told her that I knew she couldn't give out the results over the phone (also prohibited) but asked if she could read (or at least paraphrase) the letter to me. The letter said, in effect, 'Congrats, you passed, but we didn't get your take-home exam...' Because the board had received my exam, the letter was now invalid, which is why it wasn't mailed.

But the 'Congrats' was what I was interested in.

It meant my exams were done.

The Board members have to meet to approve the Licensure candidates and my take-home was received after the deadline to make it on the September agenda. The next meeting is November 16th & 17th. I called the Board a few weeks ago to verify that I had passed the take-home exam portion and was told that it was fine.

Now I wait again.

Unless something unforeseen happens, I'll be issued a license no later that the 17th of September. With it comes a four-digit number that will follow me forever. It can be checked on the Board's License Look-up page. Just search by last name. I'll be the only Nehring (and the only license in Kerman).

Friday, November 03, 2006

Bits & Pieces

I took the R100GS to the shop to get a $6 spring replaced in the transmission and some new fork springs. $150 in parts and nearly $1200 in labor. When I spoke to the shop last, they told me that the fork tube had cracked and that they had been looking for a used one. Another $300 for a new tube. They were only able to find a questionable pair - they were off a bike with front-end damage and powder coated black. The guy didn't want to split the pair either. BMW NorthAmerica had none in stock so they had to order a new one von Deutschland. They couldn't estimate the delivery date much better than 'within a week or two'.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Now Employment & Licensure

I've changed jobs.

After working for TriCity Engineering for nearly six years, it's time to move on. This is something that has been a long time coming, I've just been dragging my feet actually doing it. I've been talking to Dixon & Associates Surveying for a few years off and on (I actually interviewed with them back in '99) but for one reason or another, it wasn't the right time to move. They approached me seriously again in January and made me an offer prior to our Texas trip. (I actually had the proposal & employee handbook with me while we were there.) After a few discussions with TriCity (good & bad), with Dixon & Associates (all good), and Lora, I knew it was time to move on. ... and here I am.

As far as the 'passing' The State Exam: I'm waiting on my results from the Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (aka BORPELS, for obvious reasons). I took my final exam in April and the bulk of the results were released on September 8th. My results were not in that 'bulk' though. I've talked to a friend who passed, and a few other friends who didn't, and they all received their official notices on the 11th. The names of those who passed showed up on the official license list on the morning of the 12th. My name is not on the list, but I also did not receive a letter saying I failed either. What is keeping my hopes up is the fact that 118 people passed the exam (out of 507) but only 97 licenses have been issued. There are possibly still 21 license numbers up for grabs. There is to be a second mailing of official letters on the 25th; I'm hoping to hear something by then. I'll keep you posted.

For me, the licensing means that the last 18 years actually means something - it's taken a long time to get here. In this new office, I'll be one of two licenses in a shop of 12-14 surveyors. (As the new guy, I'll be the low man on the totem pole for a while, but as far as the State is concerned, I'll be #2, second only to the owner.)

If you're so inclined, you can check out the State test results here.

You can look for a particular license here. Just put in my name (just the last will do), or the city of Kerman. When I pass, it will be posted here.

If you really have nothing to do, or are just curious, this is the BORPELS page.

Also, I was elected to be the 2007 Treasurer for the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of the California Land Surveyors Association. By the way, I've been the Chapter webmaster for about three years now. You can check that out here.