All posts by Scott Martin
Safety Moments
Safety. It’s often at the top of an organization’s stated priorities and rightly so. It should be a top priority in every aspect of our lives. I know my own safety awareness has increased dramatically with age and experience. Whether running a chainsaw, climbing a ladder, or trout fishing a remote stream in the mountains,...
Geoid Schmeoid – Hybrid Geoid Height Models
In my area of surveying practice, perhaps the most frequent misunderstanding that I encounter involves the proper application of NGS produced hybrid geoid height models, or even what a hybrid geoid height model is. Because I was so frequently asked about this, I decided to prepare a paper on the topic that I could use...
National Geodetic Survey Age Discrimination?
Now that I am in my 60s, I have become more aware of potential age discrimination, and the reverse thereof. A few years ago, it bothered me when my purchase total was reduced at the last minute and realized I had received the “Senior Discount” without actually qualifying for it. Now it bothers me when...
Just Say No
This article appeared in xyHt‘s e-newsletter, Field Notes. We email it once a month, and it covers a variety of land surveying topics in a conversational tone. You’re welcome to subscribe to the e-newsletter here. (You’ll also receive the Pangaea newsletter with your subscription.) As I have aged and learned, I have worked diligently to improve myself, whether through...
Life Lessons in Surveying
In my Field Notes installments the past few years, I have often written from personal experience, partly to share, but also to stimulate the thoughts and memories of our readers. This will be no different, except these are experiences that have extended to life, in general. Early in my career, well it was a summer...
Social Distancing – It’s What We Do
As I contemplated the topic for this article, my thoughts could never completely detach from the world we now find ourselves. Despite my desire to write something unrelated, hopefully with some humor, I couldn’t seem to get there. I would venture to say that there is nobody who reads Field Notes who has not been...
