Eat a peach

Sometimes life throws us a road block, a bump in the road, a patch of sand that offers no traction. Life is a fantastic ride sometimes. Other times…Life’s a bitch. What can you do? Take what lies in the road, do your best to handle it, and hope you come out on the other side a better person for it (or at least alive and kicking).

Sometimes the bump is too much, you lay your bike down, slide into the crane and BAM! Eat a Peach! Other times, life slows down, Matrix style, and you skillfully negotiate all the bumps, ruts and potholes, miss going head on with a semi, and sail out smoothly back to normal time…back on the road, enjoying the drive. Maybe the past is the past…or maybe you learned a new skill, have a new appreciation for life.

I’ve got a few friends that seem to have hit a bad patch of road. Whether they are able to negotiate the curves and miss taking a header or the tire blows and they hit the truck head on…time will tell. Either way, they’ve made their mark. Maybe 1 in a million people actually get to make their mark on life on this planet and have the ability to positively affect so many others lives. They’ve done that already…whether they become a legend now or keep on truckin, we’ll see. I'm betting on the later, they're driving a BMW not a beat up Harley.

Pero, está todo bien! Bien hecho todos.

-Por JPV, LVMB, LG, EGM et al

Monadnock Waldorf Olympiad & NHLSA Surveyor in Court Conference ~ What a Weekend!!!

Friday - Monadnock Waldorf Olympics

This weekend was fantastic! I took Friday off to go watch Jeremiah participate in the Northeast Waldorf Schools Olympiad. The Kids at Monadnock Waldorf competed against Kids from New England and Quebec. I am very proud to say that Jeremiah won both the Javelin and the Discus in Form. He was 2nd for Discus in distance and 3rd in Javelin for distance. He also made it to the finals for the long jump and did really well in the 50 yard dash. I couldn't stop grinning.

It was so great to see him get called up to receive his laurel wreaths. He didn't win distance, so didn't expect anything...a complete shock to be singled out over 120 kids or so as the winner. He was one big happy boy....flying high on cloud nine (or maybe Olympus). The look on his face when they called his name....PRICELESS!!

 

Saturday - The Surveyor in Court Conference

The Surveyor in Court conference was a big success! We had 70 attendees, from all over New England, not just New Hampshire. Friday we had our two speakers, and although I wasn't there, I heard from attendees that it was very interesting and well worth the money and time lost at work. I was there for the mock trial on Saturday and MC'd the event. We had a few glitches in scheduling during the day and had to ad-lib a bit....& I had a bit more personal participation than I was expecting, but all in all it went great!! So many positive comments after it was done. 

I know I said it at the conference, but I want to thank again all the participants. Virtually everyone donated their time for free, and in an industry where labor rates for Licensed Surveyors and Attorneys runs between $100-$250 hour, that's a lot of money donated (or billable time lost) I can't thank them all enough.

I think a big thanks also goes out to the attendees. Sometimes a seminar is hit or miss. If the attendees are interested and feel the class is relevant, it can go well; if they are bored or just there for Continuing Education credits for license renewal...it can be a long day. The people that came were fantastic! Very interested, great questions, intelligent conversations....they made the day the success that it felt it was.

Of course one of the biggest thanks goes to Barbara, who REALLY did all the work getting this going and making sure it went well. I would have been at a complete loss without her.

Sunday

Gardening and relaxation...improving on my personal Eden.  aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

& JT won Survivor!  ha ha :)

New Hampshire Land Surveyors Association - Surveyor in Court Conference, May 15 & 16

News from the Director -

On Friday and Saturday of this week is the NHLSA Surveyor in Court Conference that I have been working on. We had a meeting Friday and got our attorneys and surveyors together, the speakers are great, the court room is locked and the food is ordered. The economy being what it is, we were worried there would be low turnout but as of today, we have 65 sign-ups. That's pretty good. Not the 135 we had hoped for, but still. a highly respectable number.

This is the first Conference that I have had much to do with. I'm the Director of Education on the Board of Directors for NHLSA. For the most part, guys on my committee set up and organize seminars and conferences. I'm the committee chair for the education committee. This Seminar/Conference was started by Ritchie and Dave. To everyone's great sadness, Ritchie fell quite ill and passed recently. Some of the other board members and myself stepped in to help out, and in the process, I've learned how much work setting these things up is.  And honestly, I didn't even do much of the work....I'm more like a coordinator or facilitator or something.

In any case; I'm glad to say, it's all going forward and I'm looking forward to the conference. There is still time to sign up, but the days are short now.  Here is the conference info.

------------------------------------------

THE SURVEYOR IN COURT
Preparation, Depositions & Testimony
With a Mock Trial & Important Info for Today’s Surveyor

Led by Two Legal Experts in Surveying
Jerry Broadus, P.S., Esq., and
Scott LaPointe, J.D.

Cosponsored by
University of New Hampshire
Professional Development & Training
and the
New Hampshire Land Surveyor's Association

Approved by NH Joint Board of Licensure for 4.0 CEUs for Surveyors
Also Approved for Surveyor and Engineering Continuing Education by the New York State Board for Engineering and Land Surveying

Friday & Saturday, May 15-16, 2009
Hillsborough County Superior Court South
30 Spring Street
Nashua, New Hampshire

$350
(if registration is received by April 30;
$400 after April 30)

CRN 25754

You never know when you’ll be faced with a legal issue that will require you to respond to a deposition or provide critical legal testimony in a court of law. Whether it involves land or water boundaries, rights of way, etc., or a situation that calls into question your own professional practice, you must be ready and able to present yourself and your information in the most effective manner—with clarity and persuasiveness, and in a comprehensive but concise way.

What You’ll Gain
Jerry Broadus, P.S., Esq., and Scott LaPointe, J.D., two legal experts in surveying will give you valuable insight, practical tips, and key strategies for handling depositions, testifying in court, and presenting materials in legal matters.

Take Part in a Mock Trial where YOU are the Jury
On day two of the conference, the experts will lead a Mock Trial of a surveying case where you will be part of the jury. This will be a fun, but highly educational activity that will demonstrate the potential pitfalls you might face in court and how to handle even the most unexpected circumstances.

About the Experts

Jerry Broadus, PS, Esq., is a licensed surveyor in Washington and Idaho, with a practice since 1989, and an attorney licensed to practice in Washington and before the federal courts. His company, Geometrix Surveying, Inc., provides expert consulting for attorneys working on difficult boundary dispute and liability cases. Geometrix has prepared material for surveyor negligence cases across the country, provided surveys of forest, urban, waterfront, harbor, and airport boundaries in Washington, and has prepared unique materials including a report to Congress for the settlement of a Federal boundary dispute. He provides training on legal issues and pitfalls for surveying, land use, and design professionals throughout the country through Cadastral Consulting, LLC, based in Pennsylvania. He offers continuing legal education on surveying to attorneys, and has taught advanced surveying classes for the Federal Bureau of Land Management. He is author of several boundary law articles for the Washington State Bar Assn., the American Bar Assn., and other publications.

Scott LaPointe, J.D., is a practicing attorney in Epping, New Hampshire, under the firm name of Brown & LaPointe, P.A. He was admitted to practice law in New Hampshire in 1982 and has concentrated in the area of real property, title, and boundary issues. He has litigated boundary and title issues before the New Hampshire Superior Courts and the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He received an honorary membership from the NHLSA in 1996. He has presented seminars for the New Hampshire Land Surveyors Association, and has been an instructor of paralegal studies at New Hampshire Technical College in Stratham. He is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association Real Property Section and is a title agent for First American Title Insurance Company.

General Information and
How to Register

Location
The conference will be held at the Hillsborough County Court House South, 30 Spring Street, in Nashua, NH. Lunch will be held in a Nashua restaurant.

4 Ways to Register
(refer to CRN 25754)
On the Web : Click here
By Phone: Call (603) 862-2015 or 1-(800) 313-5327 with credit card information.
By Mail or Fax: Click here to download a pdf of the registration form for mailing or
faxing to (603) 862-0655.

Cost and Refund Policy
Conference cost is $350 if registered by April 30 ($400 after April 30). Cost includes lunches, breaks, and materials. Refunds, less a $25 processing fee, will be given if written cancellation is received five business days prior to the conference.

For More Information
About the Conference: Call (603) 862-1739
About Registration: Call (603) 862-2015 or (800) 313-5327
About UNH Professional Development & Training Offerings:
Call (603) 862-4234 or visit www.learn.unh.edu/pcw

Nadie Notó!!

Pues, me afeité la barba anoche. Por meses, todo he escuchado fue "¡Que es eso! ¡Que una cabra peluda! ¡No me gusta la barba de chivo!" Y ahora, la barba molesta a mí, así que la corta. ¡Bueno! Nadie notaron a excepción de mi hija y ella está furiosa porque le gustó la barba.

Como mínimo, me siento mejor.

¡Ten una buena fin de semana todos!

Time to get the goat ó afeitarse la barba

I've been growing this goatee all winter...It's been fun, I can play pirate or Viking and braid it into long mustaches...but it's spring; it's hot; and I think its time to go. Makes me look old, anyway ;)

Thinking of Keeping the 'stache and just shaving off the beard. We'll see. The kids hate my face without a beard.

Y tambíen

He sido pensar por tarde, yo quiero escribir varios de mi bloges en español. He sido un poco miedo, porque mi español no es muy buena, pero quiero tratar...me gusta español mucho...es muy divertido a aprender. Entonces, de todos modos, por favor, si lean or hablan español y quieran escribir, por favor hace. Quizas pueden ayudarme y me dan correciones de mis faltas.

Adios

April Vacation Projects

I completed a number of my projects on my list during April Vacation. Much of the list was yard maintenance. I had a few large trees that fell in the front yard over the winter to cut up and the vast amounts of leaves that I never raked during the fall, and there were a few gardening chores; turn the compost, spread charcoal on the garden, etc.

I also had a number of landscaping projects on my list. I have been building a split rail fence around the front yard to the left of the driveway. I'm going to plant apple trees along the inside perimeter and have a bunch of wildflowers. I also want to landscape the front house area and make it more of a perennial garden and gateway to the backyard, where our patio, fire pit and pool are.

"The corner" project This is the front corner of the house, where I focused my attentions. I dug up 4 big lilac bushes and planted them along the front and constructed a gate and fence to close off the backyard. I built the retaining wall 3 years ago, and the stone stairway last year. The bottom stone is over 1400lbs. I also built the first sections of the split rail fence last fall and the arbor gateway.

I'm going to plant wisteria or honeysuckle and climbing roses at the arbor and some shrubs and perennial flowers along the fence. I want to plant various types of thyme along the top of the retaining wall and flowers along the bottom. There's also going to be a flagstone walkway to the upper gate.

Here is the backside of the gate. Everything is hand-hewn. I used my broadax and wedges and maul to split out planks from a cottonwood and cross beams from some red oak. I know cottonwood isn't a good wood and the planks came out pretty rough, but I was looking for something already rustic looking, the planks had cool grains and I had a 20" diameter tree that fell this winter. I split fence rails with a maul and wedges and cut the post holes with a maul chisel, brace & bit and carpenters axe.

 

This project is kind of like my giant model airplane. Sure, I could use a chainsaw, or buy wood, but I'm doing everything the old fashioned - circa 1830's way.

Bald IS Beautiful!!!

So...here we go. Tracy and her sister Ashley and Mom, just before the big cut. Tracy is dyed her hair blond a few days before, just for fun. The kids and I are standing by. I didn't know what to expect, Jeremiah didn't either and Gracie was mortified.

Here we go, the cutting begins....then the head shaving. Tracy was interviewed by the Sentinel as she got her hair cut and shaved. Poor Grace!  ha ha

People were actually stopping and watching and commenting on how good she looked with a shaved head, how brave to cut her hair (which seems to define many people) and what a good cause. She wasn't worried or scared...and I think she was glad to get rid of the dreads, too. They are seriously a lot of work.

It's cool...Bald is Beautiful!