Benchmark Noob Question

[+wandererrob]

Why do they call it a "recovery"?

 

Just curious as to why this term is applied to the finding of a benchmark who's location is known and documented. Seems more of a confirmation to me.

 

Just wondering.

[mloser]

To me it is more of a treasure hunt than Geocaching!

 

For one thing, although the location is documented, it certainly is not always known. It may have been 20, 50, or even 100 years since someone last reported on it, so the description may be totally invalid--there is no longer a fence, the 12 inch tree is a 36 inch tree, or long dead and gone, the railroad tracks were removed 25 years ago, and on and on. Or the mark could just be under dirt, so walking up and simply seeing it is not an option--you have to know where it is to uncover it.

 

When find a mark, or am convinced I cannot find it, I report my findings to the NGS. That way a surveyor can benefit from my hobby. That brings it full circle for me--I like to do it, and it can help someone else. What a great, and useful, hobby.

 

Edit for dumb grammatical error.

Edited January 26, 2006 by mloser

[+Klemmer]

When something is lost, and you find it, you can say it has been recovered. And then you could say you have performed a recovery. The usage in this situation probably has a long and colorful history. It seemed rather a natural term to me, after many years in the military. The term is used that way fairly commonly (at least in the Air Force & Army - the Navy has funny words for things sometimes ). For instance, I have participated in the recovery of an accidently separated (lost!) aircarft canopy (no, I didn't lose it!). As a part-time safety officer, and aeromedical evacuation pilot, I have also been involved (sadly) in the recovery of aircraft crash pieces and parts.

[+seventhings]

The word "recovery" is a "term of art". A term of art is a word or phrase that has a very specific meaning within a profession or discipline, and that specific meaning is different than the meaning of the word or phrase in everyday usage. Thus, in surveying and geodesy, "recovery" means "looked for it and found it and noted its condition". More broadly, "recovery" may mean "looked for it and A. found it and noted its condition, B. failed to find it, or C. determined that it's destroyed", because those of us who submit recovery reports to the NGS often submit those reports when we fail to find the station.

 

Will

[kc2ixe]

For one thing, although the location is documented, it certainly is not always known. It may have been 20, 50, or even 100 years since someone last reported on it, so the description may be totally invalid

hehehe

 

A friend who is just started talked to me last night. I've done a bunch of recoveries in his neighborhood. He was laughing and said "Man, some of these how to get to descriptions read like the stereotypical New England Directions. Go up the road to 1/2 mile before where the big tree next to the rock used to be, and make a left onto the paved road that used to be the dirt road, make a right where the OLD barn on Bill's place was (the barn burned down 50 years ago, and Bill was 4 owners ago), and go and make a left where the red truck is parked (seems that 20 years ago, some guy always parked his truck there)

 

Almost as bad as some of the woods direction we use in one area - "Oh, walk in to the logs (rotted away 15 years ago), make the right, go past Bill's tree stand (Bill's been dead for 15 years), then go down to the box, and sit there (the wood box has been gone since before I started going there 30 years ago)"