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 |  I travel the country on business, sometimes the world. Come see where I've been. |
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Talk about perks, my job has one of the best ones I can think of! I travel in the course of business, delivering classes for my employer. I am a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and teach classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2 way radio communications. I'm qualified to deliver approximately 30 different classes, but about half of those are 'Legacy' classes, and are not in demand anymore. My students are technicians, those who maintain, program, calibrate, and repair large 2-way radio systems. Some of these systems are statewide, and use TCP-IP networking to allow sites to communicate with others. Some are small, traditional type radio sites. The size doesn't matter, in each case the systems must be kept operational at all times, since many of them are Public Safety Systems. So I get to travel, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where am I this week? This probably won't have daily entries, but I will make entries when I get to go somewhere, and keep an updated list of coming trips. My schedule changes faster than the weather, so don't be too surprised to see me list an upcoming class, only to remark later on that it is cancelled, or delayed. Delays are fine of course, but a later date might mean that someone else gets to go instead of me,,, Well, here we go with this, let's see where it takes us.  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
South San Francisco The week of 9/16/24 found me back in the south side of San Francisco. I was with the city, specifically their RF Technicians. It was my second time here this year, I had a pretty nice time as you'll see. The class was the typical Networking class, it went very well. While I had my issues with the Juniper Router content early on, that's all behind me now. I've wrapped my mind around the course content for this piece of equipment and can answer most any question asked about it. The class itself flew by, mainly because I've gone to using Powerpoint slides only on the first half of the first day. After that, it's almost all hands-on activities for the students. I mean, no one likes 'Death By Powerpoint' after all. When delivering Powerpoint class material, I see the looks on some faces, and think of the movie, "Ferris Bueler's Day Off". Yeah, sometimes I see those faces from the movie. And yes, this is exactly what I wrote in my post about being in Boston. Why? Because it's true. I had made my trip plans for both this class and the one the next week when I received an email about this customer wanting this class delivered in 4 days instead of 5. I hadn't done this before, and needed to understand where we needed to end each day to ensure the class was completed on time. Additionally, i had already submitted my expense report for flying here, and on to Kalispell the next week. Since it was already paid, I decided not to go home Thursday night or Friday Morning, and stay in the area and visit Alcatraz, a place I've wanted to visit for a long time. Flying home would have exhausted me, making it difficult to deliver the first couple of days in Kalispell. I managed to snap a few photos while touring Alcatraz.  The big difference between my first time here and this time, is that there was a 'Sales Force' Conference going on, and hotel prices were a lot more than that first time. I was vrery lucky though, the students recommended two excellent restaurants to dine at. Of course I had to try them both and one on Fishereman's Wharf after touring Alcatraz. Noteworthy Restaurants: Moonraker https://www.moonrakerpacifica.com/ This restaurant is a little pricey, and not being all that hungry, I ordered small plates. Their Prawn Cocktail (3 LARGE Prawns with Cocktail sauce (with a nice dab of Horseradish in it) and horseradish. I enjoyed that more than allowed. I also had their Crispy Green Beans with Chipotle chili ancho aioli. Let's just say I left there completely satisfied with my meal. Nick's Restaurant https://nicksrestaurant.net/ Nick's sits across the street from Moonraker, both places had excellent views of the ocean! At Nick's, I had one of my favorite Mediterranean style dishes. Warm Feta Cheese and Roasted Garlic, Kalamata Olives, Sundried Tomato, Basil and Baguettes. Wow, I can still taste them now. My entree was Cajun Sautéed Prawns, Scampi Style, Fresh Herbs and Garlic in a Lemon Butter White wine sauce ~ mashed potato ~ vegetables du jour. Yeah, I ate well that nightl Fog Harbor Fish House https://fogharbor.com// This place was on the Fisherman's Whark, just off the Embarcadaro. I took one look at their menu on line and new I had to dine there. How about Red Chili Garlic Shrimp - Red chili paste, onions, peppers and garlic. It was a little spicy (I wonder why? And do you see a Garlic theme here?), I ended up dredging my Baguette in the Red Chili Paste. What about Cioppino? I love a good Cioppino, and just had to have it. Crab, Fresh Fish, Shrimp, Scallops, Clams and Mussels, stewed in a seafood tomato broth. A local classic. This was by far the best Cioppino I can recall enjoying. My Current Schedule (I don't see this changing either). Sept 23: Montana (Federal Customer who maintains Hungry Horse Dam) Sept 30: Vacation Oct 7: Chatanooga Tennessee Oct 14: Work from home Oct 21: Schaumburg Oct 28: Vacation, Akita National Specialty Dog Show Nov 4: Seattle Nov 11: Schaumburg Nov 18: Schaumburg Nov 25: Thanksgiving Dec 2: Seattle Dec 9: Fort Lauderdale Dec 16: For Lauderdale Dec 23: Christmas/New Years 'Relaxation' Dec 30: Christmas/New Years 'Relaxation' My 2025 Schedule is pretty blank, mainly because I will be retiring. But, I think our boss feels I will leave in January, not the end of April as I have planned. We'll see what happens. That's it for now. Until my next entry, write all you can, and love everyone, especially those special people who fill your life!  Jim Dorrell |
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is better than suspended upside down in the 'void'. 
