Where did the name "Blue Top" come from?  Blue Top originates from a technique formerly used by surveyors and grader/bulldozer operators, before lasers and Global Positioning Systems. Surveyors would drive a wooden peg into the ground so that the top of the stake was at the desired grade. They then painted the top of the stake blue. The heavy equipment operators "blue topped" by running the blade of the machine across the top of this peg as they passed. Only the most talented and patient operators performed this task. It is difficult because if the operator is too high or too low with the blade, the peg gets buried or ripped out. When you touched the blue top, you were "right on the money". This term holds personal significance for Adam since he learned it while being trained as a Heavy Equipment Operator in the Air Force.