Surveying Articles

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Episode 255 - Mike Horton, Larry Fox & the Future of GNSS with GEODNET & Bad Elf!

Hold onto your antennae and calibrate your coordinates — this episode blasts off into GNSS orbit with Mike Horton of GEODNET and Larry Fox of Bad Elf! We’re talking democratization, satellites, and a robot invasion of 2025 (no big deal).

From Chicago’s north side to UC Berkeley and beyond, these GPS pioneers dropped knowledge like satellites in freefall:

Why decentralizing GNSS might just save the world (or at least your drone survey).

How GEODNET is quietly assembling the world’s largest RTK network — one miner at a time.

And what happens when a “Bad Elf” and a “Geo-Nerd” walk into a room.

There’s tech talk, trust talk, and even some good ol’ fashioned Iron Man headbanging as Black Sabbath sets the musical tone for the week.

Bonus: find out what woodworking, 3D printing, and Mandarin Chinese have to do with geospatial innovation. (Spoiler: nothing... and everything.)

And don’t miss the NLCPREP brain teaser — GPS isn’t about magnets or mirrors, folks!

This episode is brought to you by our friends at EMLID, TopoDOT, Hexagon, AllTerra Central, and of course, David Evans & Associates — where commitments are serious, and the relationships are even better.

Episode 254 - Ryan Rezzelle, Body Bags & Point Clouds

In this high-octane episode, the Geoholics gang sits down with forensic legend turned Leica laser-scanning maestro, Ryan Rezzelle—a man who’s equally comfortable at a quadruple homicide scene and in full cosplay at Comic-Con.

From his roots in shrinking Erie, PA (home of the world’s coldest windchill and warmest hearts), Ryan walks us through a career that spans 800+ homicide investigations, NCAA football, and selling cutting-edge 3D tech like it’s hotcakes at a garage sale. Oh—and he once solved a case involving a live grenade. Casual.

Career plot twist: Ryan swapped body bags for point clouds and now helps AEC pros digitize the built world, proving that real superheroes don’t always wear capes—sometimes they wear high-viz and sell scanning systems.

His passions? Hosting 1,000+ movie nights, running an eBay shop, and blogging as the “Reel Rhino”—because who wouldn't need Batman-level escapism after years of CSI work?

Plus: we get tech tips, tales of courtroom drama, Leica learning curves, and an inspiring look at the future of digital forensics.

Whether you’re a geospatial geek, true crime addict, or cinephile with a Leica wish list—this episode’s got something for you.

Music by Everclear!!!

TUC 2025 (TopoDot User Conference) - Day 2

Check out these highlights from Day 2 of this year's awesome event!!!

00:11 - Daniel Bollone, MBA, GISP - Geographic Information Systems Administrator at The City of Winter Garden, FL

12:15 - Robyn Ryan Knaak - Partner at TopoDOT

33:00 - Natasha George - Senior CAD Tech at Hirani Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C.

50:05 - Tatiana Osuna, Geomatic Engineer and Travis St. Hilaire, Land Surveyor at Langan

01:04:25 - Mike McGill, Strategic Growth Lead, Utility Engineering at Looq AI

TUC 2025 (TopoDot User Conference) - Day 1

Check out these highlights from Day 1 of this year's awesome event!!!

00:11 - Kevin Hardy, PLS, GISP - Vice President Geospatial Technologies at TerraMark 

18:50 - Don Seals, RPLS - Lidar Survey Manager at TREKK Design Group, LLC 

34:18 - Chris Siebern - Application Success Manager with Design Technology Services at Colliers Engineering & Design

58:30 - Trisha Milliken - Business Manager and Scott Graham, PSM - ETM Survey, Inc.

01:16:43 - Frank Hahnel - Laser Scanning Account Executive at NavVis

Episode 253 - Adam Schorger

In this episode, we dive headfirst into the wonderfully random life of Adam Schorger—a man who’s lived in Saudi Arabia, studied gunsmithing, wrestled with journalism, befriended GIS, and still manages to fit in gym time and screenless hobbies. Basically, he’s a one-man Swiss Army knife of the geospatial world.

The hosts, powered by caffeine and TopoDOT hype, guide us through tales of failing forward, mentoring like a boss, and building GIS empires from scratch at Orbital Engineering—because who doesn’t want a side of cartography with their asset management?

Adam also debunks the myth that GIS folks just “make maps” (spoiler alert: they’re digital twin wizards now), and drops advice for newbies who might be torn between making maps or, say, making firearms. (Just another Tuesday in Adam’s origin story.)

Throw in some gnarly punk energy from H2O, the ever-epic Geodnet satellite miner tally, a questionable raster vs. vector pop quiz, and the usual host banter that walks the fine line between insightful and delightfully unhinged—and you’ve got another can’t-miss episode.

Fail forward, ride the wave, be disruptive—and if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Also, don't forget to check if you can put a satellite miner on your house!!!

Episode 252 - Chad Maxwell, PLS

Strap in and grab your Trimble, because Episode 252 of The Geoholics takes us on a globetrotting, tech-loving, swamp-sloshing survey saga with none other than Chad Maxwell, PLS—a man who’s mapped more terrain than your Roomba on espresso.

We kick things off with the usual “Jake Owen sings while KG wings it” intro, followed by breaking news from the land of satellite miners, career advice from the GeoSearch crew, and an ESRI pro tip that may or may not involve chair-based motivation.

Then it’s time for the main event: Chad “Every Mode of Transport” Maxwell. This guy has surveyed from 200 meters in the sky to 3,000 meters under the sea, possibly while simultaneously filing expense reports and dodging alligators in a swamp buggy. He’s done geomatics work inside a jet engine, which raises both safety concerns and curiosity about what his LinkedIn endorsements look like.

Highlights include:

A “remote-sensing-first” mindset that could make drones blush.

A heartfelt plea to ditch outdated habits (we’re looking at you, paper field books).

A shout-out to the ASPRS standards that got more love than most people's fantasy football teams.

And a lighting round that proves even surveyors enjoy filling in the blank—especially when the blank is “The future of surveying is _______.”

From nuclear reactors to the Grand Canyon, Chad Maxwell proves that the future of surveying is just one swamp buggy ride away.

Episode 251 - "TopoDot" Ted Knaak

In this data-drenched episode, Kent, Producer Sean and Russ Hall bring the heat with updates, promos, and a life-altering reminder that you can impact anyone within 3 feet…unless you’re holding a GNSS rover—in which case, give them a little more room.

Enter Ted Knaak, the President of TopoDOT and certified geospatial Jedi. Ted takes us on a journey from Jersey Shore roots to launching Riegl USA in the 90s, and then mic-dropping the geospatial world with TopoDOT in 2011—because clearly, satellites weren’t ambitious enough.

We talk TopoShare (data governance’s cooler cousin), reality capture, point clouds, paradigm shifts, ROI (Return On Innovation?), and how TopoDOT is turning surveying into a high-resolution lifestyle. It’s basically Shark Tank meets Star Trek for surveyors.

Song of the Week? Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Goin’ Down,” which ironically pairs well with LiDAR elevation points.

BONUS: If you like brain-twisters, there’s even a boundary survey quiz, a GEODNET miner count update, and enough acronyms to crash your COGO.

So buckle up, grab your Emlid kit, and prepare to be inspired, educated, and just confused enough to start googling “blockchain RTK.” TopoDOT didn’t just draw a line—it rendered the entire surface.

Episode 250 - Dr. Samuel Ariaratnam & Dr. Firat Sever

This week, the Geoholics hit the big 2-5-0, and what better way to celebrate than digging deep — literally — into the glamorous, pulse-pounding world of trenchless technologies and underground infrastructure! Our guests, Sam "The Sultan of Subsurface" Ariaratnam and Firat "The Pipeline Picasso" Sever, taught us that real heroes don’t wear capes — they wear hard hats and dream of pipes bigger than your average minivan. We learned that Urban infrastructure needs trenchless tech like a millennial needs Wi-Fi...Misconceptions about underground work abound — spoiler alert: it’s not just giant moles and angry dwarves down there...UESI isn’t a secret society, but it might as well be, given how it’s saving cities one buried utility at a time...Sam schools us on trenchless technologies (because who actually wants to dig giant holes anymore?)…While Firat flexes his resume by casually mentioning he built the world’s largest composite pipe — no big deal. If you ever thought digging holes wasn’t rocket science — well, it turns out it’s worse. It's way more complicated. Love the planet, love your pipes, and if someone hands you a shovel — just politely ask if they’ve heard of going trenchless. Music by Rush!

Episode 249 -Sean Gorman & Zephr

Apologies for the audio challenges...it was one of those nights!!

In this episode, the Geoholics crew sits down with serial startup whisperer Sean Gorman, co-founder of Zephr.xyz—a company so cutting-edge it probably triangulated this podcast before it aired. Sean, who grew up everywhere from Germany to the Philippines (basically Carmen Sandiego in reverse), shares how a life of constant relocation and rowing (yes, actual rowing) shaped his journey into geospatial tech superstardom.

The conversation navigates GPS spoofing, blockchain-based RTK, and turning your phone into a location-locked superhero—all while trying to make sense of GNSS like it’s not just a Scrabble score. We also learn that Sean has exited three startups and still had time to accidentally go viral for a dissertation. Casual.

From Sofi Tukker’s “Purple Hat” vibes to the WingtraGround setup that even your intern could master, this episode blends tech, travel, and topography in a way only The Geoholics can. One thing’s for sure: if location is everything, Sean’s been everywhere.

Moral of the story? Always bring a base station…and never underestimate a former rower with a PhD and a passion for satellites. 

Episode 248 - Colin Sellers

The guys were joined in-studio this week by Colin Sellers—land surveyor, father, veteran, and part-time GPS wizard—joined us to discuss how moving around Georgia, joining the military, and raising a kid named Ragnarok (yes, like the Norse apocalypse) all led to one thing: a love affair with surveying that might just rival his affection for coffee.

From dodging camels in Djibouti to resurrecting section corners like Indiana Jones with a data collector, Colin shares tales of grit, GPS, and generational wisdom—especially the time he and his son turned a Nebraska project into a family bonding moment worthy of a Pixar movie.

He also dives into For The Quest, a geo-RPG that turns map-hunting into a noble pursuit, proving once and for all that surveyors can be adventurers too… just with more sunburns and fewer dragons.

And of course, it all wraps up with a dose of philosophy, family values, and a reminder that the best education often comes from the dirt under your boots—not the letters after your name. Music by Tengger Cavalry!!!

EP203 - Carl R. C.de Baca - Surveyors & California Fires

This week's episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" takes on the serious subject of surveyors and their role dealing with wildfires. Our guest, Carl C.de Baca, a professional land surveyor with R.E.Y. Engineers, Inc. from Folsom, CA. Carl and Tim recently sat down to discuss conditions of performing parcel tracement in post-disaster condition, biohazards to consider, and compilation of records research and data collection processes. A can't miss conversation so check it out today!

NSPS Foundation Disaster Relief Help Available!

The Foundation is a tax deductible 501(c)(3) organization.

DONATE NOW to the NSPS Foundation Disaster Relief Fund here:

https://nsps.us.com/page/DisasterRelief

EP202A - NSPS Young Surveyors Network (YSN Election 2025 - Meet the Secretary Candidates

Get ready to fill your NSPS Young Surveyors Network (YSN) ballot for new officers! How? Listen to this episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" for a terrific conversation with the two candidates for Secretary, Stacy Pollock (Michigan) and Adam Thayer (Idaho). Lots of great insights on the collaboration within this exciting group, so check it out today! YSN members are eligible to vote, so make sure you are signed up today. Elections close on December 31st!

EP202B - NSPS Young Surveyors Network (YSN) Election 2025 - Meet the VP Candidates

Get ready to fill your NSPS Young Surveyors Network (YSN) ballot for new officers! How? Listen to this episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" for a terrific conversation with the two candidates for Vice President, Farrah Etcheverry (Arizona) and Jon Geffre (South Dakota). Lots of great insights to the collaboration of this exciting group, so check it out today! YSN members are eligible to vote, so make sure you are signed up today. Elections close on December 31st!

EP201 - Patrick Veraguth, Minnesota County Surveyor

This episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" asks the question: what does a county surveyor do? It turns out to be much more than we anticipated! Patrick Veraguth, County Surveyor for Douglas and Grant County (MN), and current president of the National Association of County Surveyors (NACS), joined Tim Burch to discuss the role and much more. Pat shared the day-to-day responsibilities of the country surveyor as well as their role in informing AND protecting the public. An informative conversation, so check it out today!

https://www.countysurveyors.org/

https://surveyorsays.podbean.com/

EP200 - The NSPS YSN and the Future of Surveying

This week’s recording marks the 200th episode of the “Surveyor Says!” podcast and rather than look back at where we have been, we decided to look ahead to the future of surveying. And who better to have as our guests than the current Young Surveyors Network officers, Nolan Mark, President, Cam Lowe, Vice President, and Spencer McCutcheon, Secretary.

They were all gracious enough to take some time out of their busy schedules to talk with me about what is going on right now in the profession, what are the positives we have going for us, and what the future of surveying looks like from their perspective.

A great conversation you do not want to miss!

EP199 - Carl Bert, PLS - "Training the Next Generation"

"Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" is all about connecting the past, present, and future, so this episode is no exception. Our guest this week is Carl Bert, PLS, a Pennsylvania surveyor who is looking to give back to the profession through mentoring. He recently sat down with Tim Burch to discuss his introduction into surveying, the events that led him to start his own company, and why mentoring is the next chapter of his storied career. They talked about a common thread of the "art of boundary line determination" and how this unique skillset can be taught to the next generation of surveyors. An inspirational chat about our beloved profession, so check it out today!

https://www.cbasurveyconsultant.com/

EP198 - Vasileios "Vas" Kalogirou

How does a surveyor get from Greece to Texas? Our "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" episode visits with Vasileios "Vas" Kalogirou, RPLS to hear about his journey. He recently joined Tim Burch to chat about growing up in a surveying family, using his early training as an artillery surveying in the Greek army, and making the decision to be near his wife's family in the US. Vas shared his views on paying it forward by being a mentor to inexperienced surveyors and why all surveyors should share what they know. An inspiring conversation you don't want to miss!

EP197 From the Director's Desk

This episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" finds your host, Tim Burch, providing news and other updates for his episode of "From the Director's Desk." He recaps the last few episodes and shares the latest updates on happenings from the world of NSPS and surveying. Tim provides updates on the 2025 Student Competition and "NGS Day" being held In Silver Spring, MD next March. He also acknowledges the generous sponsors who help provide support for the activities and advocacy within the profession:

Assurance Risk Managers
Esri
Trimble
GeoLearn
NCEES
SAM
Juliano & Associates
Land Surveyors United
Get Kids into Survey
Control Point Associates
Dioptra
IPLSA
Topcon Solution Store
QK4
Diamondback Land Surveying

EP196 - "Surveyor Shortage" - A conversation w/ Parker Zurbuch & Jessica Hess, Vincennes University

This episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" digs into one of the biggest challenges facing the surveying profession, the shortage of surveyors. Our guests come from the Hoosier State via Vincennes University: Parker Zurbuch, SI (student) and Jessica Hess, PS, Program Coordinator, Surveying Technology. Parker and Jess recently joined Tim Burch to discuss Parker's school paper, "Surveyor Shortage" and how a class project has motivated a young surveyor to find solutions for this issue within our profession. While they admit there is a formidable challenge ahead, it is clear that Parker and Jess are up to the challenge. A stimulating and thought-provoking conversation you don't want to miss!

Download Parker's school paper here: https://bit.ly/ParkerZurbuch

For more information about the Vincennes surveying program, click here: https://www.vinu.edu/major/surveying-technology.html

EP195 - Land Surveyors United

Today's episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" finds us talking with one of the legends in social media for surveyors, Justin Farrow, Founder of Land Surveyors United. Justin, along with collaborator Christopher Lucas and Texas RPLS Deward Bowles, joined Tim Burch to discuss the radical overhaul of the famous website. They spoke of providing educational resources and tools for every facet of surveying, so join us for a great conversation about how the future of sharing surveying knowledge is evolving.

For more information about the website: https://landsurveyorsunited.com/rebirth

Dave Lovell, Director at CMS Surveyors

We’re not just surveyors, we add a lot of value in a lot of different ways.

Join two old surfies talking about the ocean, sharks, the love of the water and surveying..

Born and Bred on the North Shore of Sydney, Dave Lovell, our quiet mild mannered Director and Surveyor at CMS Surveyors talks about how he ended up in Surveying, from mining Engineering to running a company, with over 80+ staff with life long friend. On the soap box about technology eradicating mentoring and training but making surveying easier and more accessible. Touching on the importance of lifelong learning, knowing your stuff, being a mentor not just a surveyor and what you need to grow your business. 

Some cracker one liners were quoted, "Have the right Mindset & you will get far, find the right company for you and Never be Afraid to be Challenged" …

Lastly, Don’t get stressed on the little things!

Find Dave on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-lovell-a94b80a/

CMS Surveyors:

https://www.instagram.com/cmssurveyors

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cms-surveyors-pty-ltd/?originalSubdomain=au

You can contact me at: ⁠https://www.petacox.com⁠ ⁠@definingboundaries⁠: https://www.instagram.com/definingboundaries/?hl=en ⁠@surveygeekgirl⁠: https://www.instagram.com/surveygeekgirl/?hl=en  ⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peta-cox  Music by Paul Greene: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/greenepaul/ ⁠ Red Shelf Records/Sounds Delicious Australia: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/soundsdeliciousaustralia/

Shenanigans with Daz (Boothy) & TC (Thos)!

Somewhere at an undisclosed location, there may have been a catch up of friends for a someone's 40th birthday...

Darren (Booth) & Tom (Casey) drove the 4.5+ hours each to be here so I thought we should have a casual catch up...

They may or may not have had a couple of beers before I arrived...

Some interesting topics were discussed. Some silly buggers had!

All in all this is just a catch up between friends caught on tape.

I hope you enjoy this off the cuff chat between friends....

You can contact me at: ⁠https://www.petacox.com⁠ ⁠@definingboundaries⁠: https://www.instagram.com/definingboundaries/?hl=en ⁠@surveygeekgirl⁠: https://www.instagram.com/surveygeekgirl/?hl=en  ⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peta-cox  Music by Paul Greene: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/greenepaul/ ⁠ Red Shelf Records/Sounds Delicious Australia: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/soundsdeliciousaustralia/

Georgia Rooney, Registered Surveyor at LTS

Meet Georgia!!!

How often do you get to hear the stories of a young, professional, female registered surveyors?

Georgia is the typical, fun loving outdoorsy, adventuring Surveyor. Georgia is a Registered Surveyor at Land Titling Solutions also known as LTS. Born and bred in Nelson, New Zealand, completing her degree at Otago University before moving to Australia and pursuing her registration. Georgia is the 2022 recipient of the Young Surveyor of the Year award at the Excellence in Surveying & Spatial Information Awards (EISSI). We covered all things surveying, registration and championing females in surveying. Tune in for a great chat by Sydney harbour over Lunch.

You can find Georgia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-rooney-386a45193/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geeeoorgia/ You can contact me at: ⁠https://www.petacox.com⁠  ⁠@definingboundaries⁠: https://www.instagram.com/definingboundaries/?hl=en  ⁠@surveygeekgirl⁠: https://www.instagram.com/surveygeekgirl/?hl=en  ⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peta-cox  Music by Paul Greene: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/greenepaul/ ⁠ Red Shelf Records/Sounds Delicious Australia: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/soundsdeliciousaustralia/