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William Nailing
William A. Nailling, PLS is a licensed Professional Land Surveyor in the State of California. His career started over 30 yrs. ago fresh out of school as a chainman on a field crew. His intense work ethic led him to become a highly respected and valued professional for several well known engineering and surveying firms in Southern California. Mr. Nailling’s experience includes construction surveys, property line disputes and resolution, accident surveys, site monitoring and earthquake deformation surveys. Mr. Nailling is a consultant to the...
read moreDavid Grimes
David Grimes is a licensed land surveyor and cartographer. His areas of expertise include land surveying, property line disputes, building setbacks, easements, and certified court maps. He has made over 5,000 court exhibits over the last 40 years. His exhibits have been accepted from all of the Superior Courts in Southern California.
read morePresident’s Message: CDR Users Summit 2012
Last month I attended the 2012 Bosch CDR Users Summit in Houston. This is the annual get-together for Bosch CDR users where we hear presentations on how to more effectively use the technology and what changes are in the pipeline. A dozen or so speakers filled two and a half days with a lot of information. While most of the presentations were specifically useful to Bosch CDR users, some of the information may be of interest to you as well. First, we heard about the “Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020”. This is a program...
read moreSo what’s up with the roof?
By Greg Dodd and Doug Garrett Your insured claims that the recent wind storms damaged his roof. That 50 foot high Douglas Fir now resting in the dining room didn’t help it either. Aside from wind and trees, what else causes roof damage? If we keep Mother Nature out of the picture, there are numerous roof problems that can be caused by poor workmanship and/or incorrect material selection. Building codes and manufacturers’ installation guides call for specific roof slopes for various materials; 3-tab asphalt shingles, clay/concrete...
read moreNew Years resolutions
Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. — Mark Twain Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account. — Oscar Wilde Talk about losing one’s inhibitions! Some people drink so much on New Year’s Eve, they actually kiss to person to whom they are married! — P.J. O’Roarke An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up all night to make sure the old...
read moreDrink and drive?
Australian 5 minute YouTube video. Graphic content of what really happens when drinking is mixed with driving. Highly recommended for teens or twenty-somethings with an invincibility complex.
read moreNuclear icebreakers
Just in case you are wondering, here is a link to a gizmag article on nuclear icebreakers. It gives a nice overview of the state of the art and where the industry is...
read moreStolen, recovered, burned
The case of the month involves a vehicle that was reported as stolen and then was subsequently recovered. Unfortunately, it was badly burned. GEI was assigned by the insurance company to inspect the vehicle for signs of forced entry, compromised door locks or steering locks, defeated ignition systems, and to determine the origin & cause of the fire. The vehicle was inspected at the impound yard. While the engine compartment suffered only minor fire damage, the fire consumed all of the combustibles of the interior. Forced entry marks were...
read moreEvidence photography by Bill Sommers
Here you are, at the scene of an accident, autopsy, or you are at an insurance vehicle storage yard, and you have with you, your camera. You are going to take pictures of the evidence that lies before you. Why? Why are you going to take photos of the evidence at hand? Every peace officer, accident investigator, reconstructionist, insurance adjuster, or other person with an interest at stake takes pictures of the vehicle, or injuries to persons. The reasons fall into two main categories. These reasons are, generally, (1) preservation of...
read moreA freeway chain reaction
The case of the month involves a four-vehicle series of impacts that occurred on a freeway before sunrise. The first vehicle, a Ford F150, stalled. It displayed no vehicle or hazard warning lights. The second driver in a Camry failed to see the Ford quickly enough and rear-ended it in the darkness. Our client’s son was driving his dad’s Mercedes-Benz, and he, too, failed to slow for the stopped vehicles, neither of which displayed any lighting. At the last moment when he did see them, he swerved to the left in an effort to avoid...
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