"Other theories have implicated fungal spores, red dust swept up from the Arabian peninsula,even a fine mist of blood cells produced by a meteor striking a high-flying flock of bats."
Now wait just a goddamn minute.
A flock of bats!? I think it's time to have F5 Industries figure out exactly how many bats, of what type, struck by a meteor of what size and velocity, are needed to create a fine red mist across a chunk of land that size.
"I think this displays a serious misunderstanding about the law and the way our system works."
Possibly, but nowhere near the level of misunderstanding that gave rise to FISA. It is constitutionally dubious as to whether the legislature can pass a law that circumscribes the executive's ArticleII Sec.2 powers, even if an executive were to sign such a law (as Carter did). It is likely that the current FISA statutes will be replaced by something more realistic in light of the needs of the intelligence community.
I used to work for a surveyor in RI, and this situation doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Surveying is really more than just right-angle trig, it also involves a careful assesment of existing markers, the path of previous surveyors, and "known-good" boundaries to measure from (ones whose choice will be accepted by a court). In a rural town like Hopkinton, there are no good comprehensive plans to reference-you have to search back in the title records (in some cases, back to the 1640s) when "legal deed" could be as vague as "my property is five rods by the Old North Road on the west, five rods by Farmer Joe's land to the North, seventeen-hundred cubits by the land of Cooper Ptarmigan III in the east, and finally five rods bordered on the south by the property of the Widow Fenimore, now deceased, to the Old North Road and the point and place of beginning."
The rest of the properties in town are similarly well-described, which means you have to start your measurements further away from the actual property you are concerned with, in some cases, starting in New York would be a good idea:) The local governments tax property on the assessor's best guess of how much land you own, so there is no incentive for accurate public land data. Hell, the City of Providence can't even prove where it's own north border is-most of the markers are gone and the records are non-existant.
Oh, and one final thing: until GPS receivers have 1/100" precision _and_ accuracy, don't expect measurements taken using one to stand up in court-adjudicated property dispute.
Slashdot Mirror
"Other theories have implicated fungal spores, red dust swept up from the Arabian peninsula, even a fine mist of blood cells produced by a meteor striking a high-flying flock of bats."
Now wait just a goddamn minute.
A flock of bats!? I think it's time to have F5 Industries figure out exactly how many bats, of what type, struck by a meteor of what size and velocity, are needed to create a fine red mist across a chunk of land that size.
Possibly, but nowhere near the level of misunderstanding that gave rise to FISA. It is constitutionally dubious as to whether the legislature can pass a law that circumscribes the executive's ArticleII Sec.2 powers, even if an executive were to sign such a law (as Carter did). It is likely that the current FISA statutes will be replaced by something more realistic in light of the needs of the intelligence community.
I used to work for a surveyor in RI, and this situation doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Surveying is really more than just right-angle trig, it also involves a careful assesment of existing markers, the path of previous surveyors, and "known-good" boundaries to measure from (ones whose choice will be accepted by a court). In a rural town like Hopkinton, there are no good comprehensive plans to reference-you have to search back in the title records (in some cases, back to the 1640s) when "legal deed" could be as vague as "my property is five rods by the Old North Road on the west, five rods by Farmer Joe's land to the North, seventeen-hundred cubits by the land of Cooper Ptarmigan III in the east, and finally five rods bordered on the south by the property of the Widow Fenimore, now deceased, to the Old North Road and the point and place of beginning."
The rest of the properties in town are similarly well-described, which means you have to start your measurements further away from the actual property you are concerned with, in some cases, starting in New York would be a good idea:) The local governments tax property on the assessor's best guess of how much land you own, so there is no incentive for accurate public land data. Hell, the City of Providence can't even prove where it's own north border is-most of the markers are gone and the records are non-existant.
Oh, and one final thing: until GPS receivers have 1/100" precision _and_ accuracy, don't expect measurements taken using one to stand up in court-adjudicated property dispute.