The Geoholics

Drew Meren...come on down! You're the next esteemed guest on The Geoholics! Drew is a GISP and Senior Account Manager - East Coast at NV5 Geospatial. If you're like us, you've been seeing NV5 from coast to coast and are curious about what exactly they've got going on. Well, now is your chance to find out! Drew was an economics major that took a geography class and never looked back. He and his NV5 team recently completed lidar data collection across 5,125 square miles of Eastern Massachusetts! This was done in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and uncovered over 1,000 primary addresses and over 10,000 structures previously unidentified by imagery alone! Andrew Carnegie was quoted with music by AJR!

**Special On Location, International Episode - This week Dr. Nik got an extraordinary opportunity to interview the Apglos Survey Wizard team in their home office from Castle Dussen, Holland. The castle echos you hear are real, with ghost stories and seven hundred years of history. In the episode Dr. Nik and the guys discuss the general atmosphere of the geospatial industry in Europe, future advice for geographic professionals, and a few fun events recently attended. Listen in for an invigorating conversation on industry topics, while sharing a few laughs with us. Music in the episode by Pink Floyd. Quotes from Gerardus Mercator.

Without a doubt, another great discussion with another value adding guest!!  Our new good friend Phil Berredo, LSIT joined DD and the incomparable Peta Cox for a good old fashioned chat about the industry, challenges and future opportunities. Not only does Phil love being a surveyor, but he also has a "Championship Ring" and a degree from the University of Florida...GO GATORS! DD proved to the world (not by choice) that he can pull off an episode without Producer Suga Sean being in the studio. Needless to say it was lonely! Mozart and Lee Iacocca were quoted. Music by the Strokes.

What better way to break in the new DBLS Studio then to have a couple OG's around the table?!?!? Our good friend and better than average land surveyor, Mr. Tim "No Filter" Evans, owner of Evans Professional Land Surveys, was our guest on Episode 2 which to this day is still one of the most downloaded episodes of all time! In the other chair was one of the nicest guys and biggest names in survey social media, Mr. Will "Tailgate Taco" Wing, owner of Infinity Land Surveying!! This was an absolute blast from start to finish and we hope you will agree! Steve Jobs was quoted. Music by Parker Millsap!!!

Ok...if you ever wanted to see DD completely out of his element, this is the show for you! All we can say is thank goodness for Peet and Suga! The cast was joined this week by Michelle Williams a Survey123 Jedi and she is amazing. If you're like DD and have little to no knowledge of Survey123, you're going to find tremendous value in this spirited conversation. One more tickler, Michelle's LI profile states that she "maps the crap out of your world"! If you need even more reason to listen, we also talked about finding your "why", the necessary components of a fruitful mentor/mentee relationship, and the power of having a good social media campaign. Bob Proctor was quoted. Music by Imagine Dragons!

We're always happier after a good ole fireside chat with the one and only Trent "TK" Keenan! This was podcast gold from start to finish. To say TK is a geospatial influencer doesn't begin to describe all that he does for the land surveying profession...and beyond. Do not miss this insightful and always entertaining chat with one of the most unselfish people in the industry. We talked about everything from starting a business, the keys to successfully building a business and what it takes to grow and sustain a business into the 21st century. Trust us when we say that there was a "wisdom drop" with every change of topic! Music by HARDY!!  

More strange but true stories from the geospatial world! The guys (and Dr. Nik) were joined this week by the one and only Tim Nolan! Tim is quite an interesting fellow to say the least. He is the Senior IT Manager of Applications, GIS & Records at Collin County, TX where has worked for over 30 years! Needless to say he loves his job! Tim is also an Instructor at Modus Institute where he provides student cohorts with guidance and instruction in engaging in and completing the Personal Kanban Course. What the hell is Kanban you ask...listen and find out! Other topics discussed include visual management, bookban, GIS & COVID, being a knowledge worker, earthling and creator of change! "Bullet" Bob Feller was quoted. Music by the Bee Gees!

SO...MUCH...ADDED...VALUE!!! The guys were joined this week by Sean Healy (this was Sean overload!), an equity partner at Lewis Brisbois and the Administrative Partner of the Phoenix, Arizona office. His practice includes litigating and defending professional liability, general liability, and product liability matters. He is a former prosecutor and current member of ABOTA who has tried 46 jury trials, 126 bench trials, and numerous arbitrations. Some of the topics discussed include challenges of being a prosecuting vs defense attorney, importance of contracts, litigating for/with licensed professionals, E&O insurance, expert witnesses, best advice for professional service providers, far out laws that exist in the US and being thrown to the wolves. Abraham Lincoln was quoted. Music by KISS!!!

As expected, the folks behind the coolest SLAM-based mobile mapping system did not disappoint! The guys were joined this week by Devon Sprunk, Account Executive & Noah Eckhous, Senior Customer Success Manager from NavVis. They were kind enough to carve some time out of their busy schedules to provide us with enough SLAM related content to make our heads spin. Just some of the topics discussed (besides Taylor Swift) include defining what SLAM is and is not, accuracy vs precision (and where surveyors fit in!), reality capture & digital twins, staying up to date with the relative hardware/software advancements and of course, what makes NavVis different!! Also, stay tuned for the results of a top secret curling related project…shhhh. DR. Georg (not Greg!!) Schroth was quoted. Music by Taylor Swift (argh)!

As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, the guys were joined this week by Chelsea Barraco & Michelle Pauley. These two are the epitome of confident, giving, intelligent, savvy and strong women. In fact, they may or may not have made DD & PS feel unworthy of being in their presence! Chelsea is a Commercial Realtor and philanthropist who enjoys serving as a connector of resources in a community. Michelle is a CRE Advisor, empowering leader and facilitator who's passion is helping people to build a strong legacy. These ladies have overcome the many challenges and stereotypes most women face while working in a male dominated profession. Do yourself a favor and give this a listen to be humbled and enlightened. G.D. Anderson was quoted. Music by Led Zeppelin!