Eric D. Colburn, PLS

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News: Securely Renew Your Kansas Land Surveyor Professional License Online

I just came across this news item concerning the license renewal period for Kansas Land Surveyors and Professional Engineers, which is currently open, and thought I’d share it with you. If your a professional land surveyor in Kansas, then this is obviously of interest to you, but what I found interesting is the ability to renew your license online. This is a good use of technology, it’s secure,  it’s business friendly, and I think that every state should look into doing this, too.

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Governor Culver Takes Final Action On Legislation

Signs Executive Order to Promote Greater Transparency in State Government

DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver has taken final action on all outstanding legislation from the 2009 Iowa General Assembly.

“These bills – which include support for the issues Iowans care most about, such as our veterans, education, renewable energy, and job creation – bring to an end the 2009 Legislative Session, and Iowans should be proud of the work we have done,” said Governor Culver. “In a year when so many Iowans are still picking up the pieces from last year’s floods and with so many Iowans feeling the effects of this national recession, we were able to lay the groundwork for Iowa’s rebirth. The $830 million I-JOBS Initiative will help revitalize our communities, create new jobs, and allow us to literally work our way out of this recession. And our efforts on education, health care and disaster recovery will help tens of thousands of Iowans. This legislative session has been marked by many challenges. But it also shows that when elected leaders put good public policy above partisan politics, we can do good works for Iowa, and move our state closer the brighter, better future we all know is possible.”

The Governor signed the following Appropriations bills: Read the rest of this entry →

If you’re a professional land surveyor, regardless of whether you own your own company or work for someone else, you must see this informative video of the presentation that Brent Jones of ESRI gave at the recent Carlson Users Conference 2009. It is a little long (all good), so grab a cup of coffee, sit back and learn how GIS needs professional land surveyors and how professional land surveyors need GIS, too.

I think that the ideas presented by Brent Jones are right on target and present a road map for professional land surveyors to incorporate GIS into their professional practices and survive and prosper in the post recession economy.

I know that a shiver runs up the back of many professional land surveyors at the sound of that word, GIS. But now is the time for us, with all of the talents and knowledge we posses as professional land surveyors, to help make GIS better and raise it to a level where GIS is survey grade in positional accuracy and quality!

The NGS Geodetic Tool Kit is a great online resource with over 25 interactive geodetic computation tools. Many professional land surveyors who use GPS may be familiar with OPUS, however, the other programs deserve your attention as they may be the answer to your geodetic surveying computation questions.

NGS Geodetic Tool Kit

on-line interactive computation of geodetic values

What if there was a way for Land Surveyors to meet online and develop social networks, without leaving their desks?

Well then I’m happy to introduce to you Land Surveyors United (LSU). This is a social media site developed by Palmetto Equipment Equipment & Supply, Inc. geared exclusively for those professionals in land surveying, GPS, mapping and geomatics. Join and you can create your own virtual space to post questions, tell others about your experiences, tips & tricks, and field advice.

I’ve been a member for a while, but really just delved into it within the past week. I really like it and I think you will find it a great way to interact with other like minded individuals where you can find and sell equipment, post images and videos, meet and collaborate with other members, start or join in discussions and start or join in groups.

For instance, the this week I’ve had discussions with a member from Australia, created a personalized “My Page”, added some of my input to a few ongoing discussions, wrote two blog posts, invited a few friends, and created the Business Innovation Group. And it was all very easy and enjoyable to do!

Visit Land Surveyors United-Earth’s First Online Surveying Community

View my page on Land Surveyors United-Earth’s First Online Surveying Community

All content is subscription friendly and can be read via RSS feed reader. The ability of the site to track all of your activities keeps you up to date and is very intuitive. This community is, however, only going live up to it’s great potential if everyone joins, and then joins in.

Checkout this interesting post of city maps that look like they could be used as Rorschach Tests at StrangeMaps – 327 City Maps as a Rorschach Test

October 24, 2008 (PARK RIDGE, IL) – Peirce Eichelberger, with a long and distinguished record of leadership and contributions to URISA and the GIS community, was the recent recipient of URISA’s prestigious Horwood Distinguished Service Award during the association’s 46th Annual Conference in New Orleans. This award is URISA’s ultimate award for service and leadership to URISA and the geospatial industry.

The Horwood Distinguished Service Award is named after founding member and first URISA President, Edgar Horwood. Horwood was an early pioneer in the field of information systems for Read the rest of this entry →

Carlson Software has made available a free add-on utility for users of AutoDesk/ AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009. A link to the Carlson Connect download page is at the bottom of this page (you may need to click on the “Read More >>” button to find it).

The Carlson Connect Free add-on runs inside of AutoDesk / AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 and provides the following Read the rest of this entry →