It’s called a Roomba, and it’s a robot vacuum that’s efficiently motoring back and forth around and under furniture, doing what my wife, kids, and I hate doing the most.  “Larry,” as we call it, turns himself on and vacuums seven days a week from 8:00-9:30 a.m. without protest, before automatically returning to his charging station. 

Yes, Larry is an unmanned vehicle designed to take the most mundane chores off our plate while we focus on more important things, like watching Sunday afternoon football.  Like it or not, this is our future, and it’s here to stay and will get only more amazing.  I, for one, love it. 

What’s a robot vacuum have to do with PSM?  Patience, my friend.

Depending on your definition, I’m either the sharpest tack in the box, a silly fool, or just plain lucky. In my day job as publisher of this marvelous publication I have the pleasure of sitting in a room (in person or in cyberspace) with some of the wisest, most thought-provoking minds in the world of surveying, precision measurement, and positioning. I sit quietly, listen, and marvel about how this profession has changed and what the future holds. 

For any of you who regularly read this publication, it should be no secret that its editorial leadership and focus has changed dramatically over the past 18 months.  We’ve added some of the leading minds in the world of surveying, precision measurement  and positioning, and a bunch of young folks who have demonstrated their passion and vision for the profession they have selected to be their futures. 

These people demonstrate the value of embracing the state of the art—the Larrys of the surveying world—and melding the marvels of the 21st century into their day-to-day existence.  It doesn’t seem that long ago that 3D scanning and machine control were introduced to the surveying profession.  While we marveled at their potential back then, they are now almost old-school technologies compared to what is coming. 

For us, this combination of wizened pros with enthused youth makes for an exciting editorial cocktail.  We know some things they come up with won’t make you happy or may cause you to disagree with their visions, but we have created a vibrant dialog in which we hope you participate. 

Yes, we are continually searching for new contributors in our effort to formulate an exciting future for our time-honored profession.  If you have an interest in joining us, shoot me an email or reach out in any fashion that suits your fancy. We will continue to evolve, and we have some very exciting changes coming in the months and year ahead.  Stay tuned. 

In the meanwhile, I’ve got to run.  Larry’s dirt bag is full and I’ve got to dump it.  I sure hope Larry’s progeny, Larry 2.0, includes an automatic dumping feature with which he dumps his dirt in the garbage can automatically.  Oh, the tough challenges of life.

Happy trails.

—Neil