Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors 60th Annual Meeting
I attended the 60th Annual Conference of the Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors in Bloomington, Minnesota last week. On Wednesday, I made the five hour drive along I-94 in time for the President’s dinner at the Kokomo Island Café at the Mall of America. The meal was excellent, not to mention great company. The event was hosted by outgoing President Henry Nelson, and the guest list included representatives from Iowa, North Dakota, and some of the providences of Canada. One of the highlights of the evening for me was hearing some of the history of MSPS as told by an original founder, Martin Mink, Jr. Some late “socializing” allowed for sharing of stories and comparing notes with a number of surveyors, many who are also licensed in Wisconsin.
The Minnesota program is very similar to Wisconsin in that it has education sessions with wonderful speakers.On Thursday evening, I attended the vendor’s social and live auction to benefit their foundation. At the Friday lunch, the society presented scholarships, surveyor’s awards and passed the gavel to incoming president, Paul Vogel.
I appreciated the opportunity to represent WSLS at the MSPS conference this year. It was a well-organized and fun event, that given the opportunity, I would encourage all of you to consider attending.
LightSquared Plans hit major Snag
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- LightSquared's plan to become a fifth major nationwide wireless carrier hit a major snag this week, after government regulators said they would continue to bar the company from launching its network.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said late Tuesday that LightSquared's network could interfere with GPS signals, despite LightSquared's proposed engineering solutions. That interference has the potential to be extremely dangerous: In addition to powering consumer navigation devices, GPS is used by the military and the aviation industry to guide airplanes and missiles.
As a result of NTIA's decision, the Federal Communications Commission revoked a waiver that would have allowed LightSquared to turn on its network. The FCC on Wednesday plans to issue a public proposal that would bar LightSquared from launching its service "indefinitely.
