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I'm a Land Surveyor now! Ask Me Things!

Started by The Skeletal Atheist, August 31, 2017, 10:54:20 PM

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Gawdzilla Sama

Back on topic-ish, some guys with nothing better to do reviewed the survey of the Mason-Nixon Line and determined it was way off in places.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

_Xenu_

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The Skeletal Atheist

Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on September 02, 2017, 08:31:19 AM
Back on topic-ish, some guys with nothing better to do reviewed the survey of the Mason-Nixon Line and determined it was way off in places.

I've heard about that. The 4 corners monument was found to be about 1000 feet out of place, but because all 4 states had agreed on it for so long it's now the official corner of all 4 states anyways.

Quote from: _Xenu_ on September 02, 2017, 09:42:45 AM
Do you still have the same boyfriend?
Yes
Some people need to be beaten with a smart stick.

Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid!

Kein Mitlied F�r Die Mehrheit!

Baruch

Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on September 02, 2017, 08:31:19 AM
Back on topic-ish, some guys with nothing better to do reviewed the survey of the Mason-Nixon Line and determined it was way off in places.

200+ year old conspiracy theory ... so since Washington was a land speculator (at least in the Ohio Valley) ... maybe he was corruptly defining boundaries for "friends" rather than just being incompetent?  American leaders are corrupt as soon as you scratch the surface.  Franklin, Jefferson, Adams etc were all corrupt.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

SGOS

Quote from: Baruch on September 02, 2017, 02:21:04 PM
200+ year old conspiracy theory ... so since Washington was a land speculator (at least in the Ohio Valley) ... maybe he was corruptly defining boundaries for "friends" rather than just being incompetent?  American leaders are corrupt as soon as you scratch the surface.  Franklin, Jefferson, Adams etc were all corrupt.
Never trust a surveyor.  They're all crooks, and they want to screw you.

The Skeletal Atheist

Some people need to be beaten with a smart stick.

Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid!

Kein Mitlied F�r Die Mehrheit!

SGOS

Quote from: The Skeletal Atheist on September 02, 2017, 02:19:31 PM
I've heard about that. The 4 corners monument was found to be about 1000 feet out of place, but because all 4 states had agreed on it for so long it's now the official corner of all 4 states anyways.
Yes
That's a pretty important corner, but it's out in a desert in the middle of nowhere, and the guy that put it there is dead.  I doubt much would change if they put it in the right place.  When I was in Arizona, I took a course in Arizona State History, about 80% of which focused on the four states squabbling over water rights.  At least they can find agreement on this one thing, which is coincidentally known to be wrong by all parties involved.

The Skeletal Atheist

Quote from: SGOS on September 02, 2017, 02:44:37 PM
That's a pretty important corner, but it's out in a desert in the middle of nowhere, and the guy that put it there is dead.  I doubt much would change if they put it in the right place.  When I was in Arizona, I took a course in Arizona State History, about 80% of which focused on the four states squabbling over water rights.  At least they can find agreement on this one thing, which is coincidentally known to be wrong by all parties involved.

Well, when the original surveyors put it there it superseded all prior written descriptions. It's 1000 feet off from where a modern surveyor would put it, but considering that it was shortly after the civil war its really incredible that it's that close.
Some people need to be beaten with a smart stick.

Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid!

Kein Mitlied F�r Die Mehrheit!

SGOS

I like nice neat states, and it's much easier for surveyors to make squares.  Look at Colorado.  Now look at West Virginia.  It may have the worst shape of any state.  Hell, they didn't even bother surveying it.  They just followed rivers, creeks, cowpaths, and told Ohio and Pennsylvania to finish up as soon as there was any real work needed to be done.


SGOS

Michigan takes the cake, however.  It should be two states.  What surveyor came up with the idea of two giant parcels of land separated by hundreds of miles of water and calling it a state?  Northern Michigan is farther from Southern Michigan than Russia is from Sara Palin's house.  Any idiot can tell it actually belongs to Wisconsin.

SGOS

And what doofus decided to cut off the top of the Texas Panhandle and give to Oklahoma?

Mermaid

So here's a really basic question: What is that thingy and what does it measure?
A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities â€" all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. -TR

The Skeletal Atheist

Quote from: Mermaid on September 02, 2017, 03:48:32 PM
So here's a really basic question: What is that thingy and what does it measure?


Total station. It's a combination of an electronic theodolite and an electronic distance meter. It uses lasers to measure distance and angles. The one in the pic I posted is a Topcon GTS 3B. It's accurate to within thousandths of a foot. My job is to hold a pole with a prism on it that reflects the laser back to the station.
Some people need to be beaten with a smart stick.

Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid!

Kein Mitlied F�r Die Mehrheit!

Mermaid

You know, I have always wondered that, and have never bothered to ask anyone. I learned a thing today!
A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities â€" all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. -TR

Baruch

Quote from: SGOS on September 02, 2017, 02:28:53 PM
Never trust a surveyor.  They're all crooks, and they want to screw you.

Just like any other zoning commission.  A case of liquor, and you can get property rezoned, no problemo.  No, I am implying that a young George Washington, who at that time wasn't rich, might have taken bribes.  He wasn't beyond killing Natives, Frenchmen or treason.  What if a part of a neighboring property is desirable ... and you can't easily buy it off the current owner?  Just have the property line moves a smidgen.  We had a family friend, who bought an undeveloped property in California years ago, and it turned out it had already been sold to someone else.

If someone expects people to be all Gandhi or St Joan of Arc ... they are going to either keep their head up their ass, or be very disappointed.  But maybe he was just an incompetent liar, like during the Braddock expedition disaster.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.