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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 |
Los Angeles This past week I was in Los Angeles again, this time working with the Los Angeles Unified School District. It was a Networking class, but only 3 students showed up for it. Apparently the customer thought the class was going to be about their new system, new equipment, all that. Instead it was the basic Networking class that is really meant for those who are new to the idea of an IP address/Subnet Mask and what's known as a MAC address. Basic things like that. So a lot of students decided not to attend, and that's fine. I'm going back there in 3 weeks to deliver the class so many of them thought was this past week. Since the class was downtown, I stayed at the Doubletree by Hilton in the middle of the city (Little Tokyo). It was my second trip to LA this year after being there seven times last year. But while this was downtown, half of my seven classes last year were in the Alhambra/Monticello area of Los Angeles. I'm almost feeling like I belong there!  If I enjoyed being in large cities more, I'd be happy. But a smaller city (Bloomington/Normal has maybe 130,000 residents) suits me so much better. It's alright though, at least I'm only there for a week.One student in this class was a little scary at first. His computer skills and ability to follow the written directions in the lab guide really made me wonder. As the week progressed, I saw continued improvement and confidence on his part, reassuring me a bit. He still has a long way to go, but he'll fine if he keeps at it. The key is keeping at it. Most likely his normal job requirements will not allow him much time to work on things. I guess I'll hold my breath and see if he's in the August class, and if he is, see what he remembers. That's the problem with marginal learners half the time. Them using the knowledge they just gained to embed it even firmer than I can in a week. Work has not slacked off one bit, I find myself really looking forward to retirement at the end of 2024. My Current Schedule is below. July 29: Schaumburg Aug 5: Cavalier AFB Aug 12: Los Angeles Aug 19: International Travel Aug 26: Frankfurt, Germany Sept 2: International Travel Sept 9: Boston Sept 16: San Francisco Sept 23: Kalispell, Montana Sept 30: Vacation Oct 7: Tennessee Oct 14: Work from home Oct 21: Schaumburg Oct 28: Vacation to attend the 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: Fort Lauderdale Dec 23: Christmas! That's it for now. Until my next entry, write all you can, and love everyone, especially those special people who fill your life! JimD  Jim Dorrell |
Bloomington Illinois This has been an interesting week to say the least. I've been on vacation, except I've worked every day as much as I xan. I say as much as I can because Wednesday I came down with the good ol' Stomach Flu. I least I didn't puke, but that's about the only good news. I spent almost the entire day in bed, getting up only to participate in a conference call about the September class in Boston, and to post my nightly entry in "Smile! (Groan?) You Know You Love These!"  . I think I slept 15 hours total, from midnight to midnight. It's a good thing I was home too, because I couldn't have taught that day. That's the past though, all is decently well now, I'm about 90% healthy in my eyes.I've become a walking trip hazard now it seems. Friday night I tripped on a perfectly level surface, sprawling flat on my face, almost. I managed to turn my body a little as I fell. My only injury was a skinned elbow, and dented pride. That will take some time healing too. Oh well, at least I'm still alive, huh! The work I did was in prepping for a class in North Dakota in two weeks with the Cavalier Air Force Station, one of the homes of the Space Force. Other than delivering the class, I'm hoping I can get a Challenge Coin, or two. More, if I can get them, and depending on how many is available if so. I also worked on tailoring the course materials for the Boston class, that's occupied most of my time. I'm in Los Angeles next week, and still plan on dining at Gra Pizza restaurant, 1524 Pizarro Street, HiFi, LA 90026 at 5 pm. It would be great if others join me. If not, then I will dine somewhere else alone, only because they only serve Pizza there and I'm not sure of the size. I will post on here Sunday afternoon before going to dinner as to whether I'm going there or not. My Current Schedule July 22: Los Angeles July 29: Schaumburg Aug 5: Cavalier AFB Aug 12: Los Angeles Aug 19: International Travel Aug 26: Frankfurt, Germany Sept 2: International Travel Sept 9: Boston Sept 16: San Francisco Sept 23: Montana (Federal Customer who maintains Hungry Horse Dam) Sept 30: Vacation My Pizza invite for LA still stands, and will. I've had no one contact me, so I'll plan this. I will be at the Gra Pizza restaurant, 1524 Pizarro Street, HiFi, LA 90026 at 5 pm. Join me if you will. Please RSVP to this invite so I will know if I'm dining alone (getting one pizza), or will have friends joining me (more than 1 pizza). This goes for the July 22 week or the August 12 week. Can't forget Boston, San Francisco, Kalispell Montana. So is anyone game for Sunday? It can be a Friday night if you like.... It doesn't have to be pizza, that was something I thought would be better suited for families. That's it for now. Until my next entry, write all you can, and love everyone, especially those special people who fill your life! JimD |
Fort Bragg (Liberty)/Pope AAF, North Carolina This has been a very good week, the class has gone about how I envisioned it should/would. It's been a little bit of a challenge since I haven't delivered this in over 10 years. I know, you're wondering how it could possibly be an easy class to deliver. Well, working on the course materials last week did help. However, I deliver a very similar class, with the main differences being that the other one (Repeater Site, if you want more info, ask, I'll answer questions) connects to a central site called the Core. The other difference is that this one has a computer loaded with a software program called Configuration Manager. If you teach a class that deals with the Provisioning Manager (loaded on a Virtual Machine at the Core), it's a cut-down version of that. I teach Fleet Mapping which covers the Provisioning Manager a lot. So, I just lean on that knowledge to deliver this class. The course materials were outdated, so that's what I did last week, heavily edited them. This area seems to be an area that is struggling a bit. Now I haven't seen everything around here, but so far, everywhere I look I see properties badly in need of a facelift. I would guess that the people in this area have never known how good it is to have extra money in their pocket, so their property needing work is no surprise. I know how that can be! In the last 3 years, we've put close to $30,000 (maybe a little more in our house!) Like I said, the class has gone well, at least in my opinion. The students have learned a lot, I have maximized their hands-on exercise time (which they love), every one of them has learned something in class, even the most experienced technician. The only draw-back is that only one person can log on to the Configuration Manager at a time, so the other five sit and watch. I asked in an early email about remote access to this computer, and was told that wouldn't happen, but that the computer had a large screen which would make it easy for everyone to see. Uh huh. A 26" Screen might seem large, and it is. Except when you're 5 feet or more away from it. Still, we've made do; I've had people cycle through so everyone was able to do a few things. Noteworthy Restaurants: Ruby Tuesday https://www.rubytuesday.com/our-menu/ I mention this place because I will not dine there again. It's not that the food wasn't wasn't tasty because it was. It's not that the service was slow or poor in checking on diners. The place was DARK, it needs a facelift, much like the surrounding area, and the staff could use a training upgrade. Everyone I saw seemed to 'walk-through their requirements. I don't recall seeing one smile. Waffle House https://order.wafflehouse.com/menu/waffle-house-1170 Go ahead, laugh at the idea of enjoying dining at a Waffle House. No one smiled at Ruby Tuesday, everyone smiled here. Was it spotlessly clean? No. But if you were to look around at the kitchen of the places you dine at, it would look very similar. You just can't their kitchens, but you can at Waffle House. Yes, the menu is limited in scope. The food is good, the service excellent. I'd rather dine here any day than dine at Ruby Tuesday's again. My Current Schedule July 15: Vacation (Staying home) July 22: Los Angeles July 29: Schaumburg Aug 5: Cavalier AFB Aug 12: Los Angeles Aug 19: International Travel Aug 26: Frankfurt, Germany Sept 2: International Travel Sept 9: Boston Sept 16: San Francisco Sept 23: Montana (Federal Customer who maintains Hungry Horse Dam) Sept 30: Vacation My Pizza invite for LA still stands, and will. I've had no one contact me, so I'll plan this. I will be at the Gra Pizza restaurant, 1524 Pizarro Street, HiFi, LA 90026 at 5 pm. Join me if you will. Please RSVP to this invite so I will know if I'm dining alone (getting one pizza), or will have friends joining me (more than 1 pizza). This goes for July 22 week or the August 12 week. Can't forget Boston, San Francisco, Kalispell Montana. So is anyone game for Sunday? It can be a Friday night if you like.... It doesn't have to be pizza, that was something I thought would be better suited for families. That's it for now. Until my next entry, write all you can, and love everyone, especially those special people who fill your life! JimD |
Bloomington, Illinois The week of 7/1 found me at home in Bloomington Illinois. This break has been great, as well as really appreciated and needed. I've taken my time getting things ready for next week in Fort Bragg. In the past, I wanted to deliver a class, then repeat every week. Being older now, I have learned to love these small breaks. The only thing about it is this. I sorta get in a groove traveling and delivering classes. Being off (working from home) for a week or two throws this groove out of whack and it can be a little (very little) difficult to get back in that groove. So what have I done this week? "Invalid Item" 1. Completed work on the course materials I will use next week in Fort Bragg. Why did I have to develop (actually edit) these materials? Three words. There were terrible. Not in their content, but the formatting was done using old templates, a lot of the material was outdated (last used in 2013 or so). There was no way I was going to deliver a class using materials that old. You might wonder why.... I know you've heard the old phrase, "You have one chance to make a good impression." As an instructor meeting strangers every week, I think we have three. One- Your appearance. How are you dressed, how do you carry yourself, how do you interact with people you're just meeting before class... Two - The course materials you present and share with your students, and Three - Your knowledge of those course materials, your ability to present them, and your ability to perform the hands-on exercises that are a part of the course. 2. I cross trained my co-worker John on the course materials to be used during the Cavalier AFB delivery. I've learned that I'm one of the few instructors who tailors course materials for a delivery, Don't get me wrong here. Most of our courses, especially field courses, can use those 'cookie cutter' course materials. You know, the ones like that. They're the same class after class. And that's fine in many ways. We deliver these classes all the time (look at how often I deliver one of the Networking classes (Nine times in the first half of 2024, but there are 4 of us that deliver these classes, they may not deliver them as often as I do, still....). Trying to edit both the classroom presentations and hands-on activities would be close to impossible. We would need a team of at least 10 people to do that. Plus, they would need detailed knowledge of how the course would flow for this customer. So no, I don't see it happening. But the courses I tailor are usually for a customer whose system is almost unique. During the session with John on Tuesday, I learned of 2 or 3 weak areas he has, at least one of them disturbed me a bit. A bit of detail here that may mean nothing to you all. We use two different pieces of software in delivering a Repeater class. I know, I know, "What's a repeater?" Please don't ask this question. You'll be glassy-eyed in seconds. Anyway, he has never used one of the software in the classes he is qualified to deliver, and he should have. That made alarm bells ring in my head. John would, or could have done a passable job delivering this class to Cavalier AFB, I told our supervisor that. I also said that he, and the department would be better served if he was able to follow our traditional qualification process, and that he should sit-in a radio programming class. Not to teach it, but to become familiar with the software, familiar enough to answer questions he might have encountered at Cavalier AFB. I didn't care who delivers the class, I'm more concerned about quality. As it now turns out, I will be delivering that class. Working with John and editing the course materials occupied all my time Tuesday & Wednesday. What about Monday though? I had a Bone Marrow sample taken on Monday. I was knocked out (Fentanyl was used) for the procedure, and was in a fog after waking until about 2 PM. Plus, I had an appointment with the Allergy Doctor, as well as my family doctor. No cross-training was done Monday. Despite everything I said that may have sounded negative, it's been a great week so far. She's an excellent cook, but we've dined out more than you might think. Being the senior citizens we are (I'm 70, she's 74), it can be difficult to find the energy to prepare and cook a meal. She has leg & back issues, I have that Myeloma going on, and back issues as well. So where have we dined? Noteworthy Restaurants: Kathy's Home Cooking As I said, she's a very good cook. We've enjoyed BBQ Chicken Wings with her excellent homemade Pasta Salad & Potato Salad. I also was able to enjoy some Pickled Okra I forgot we had in the pantry. Breakfast was a medium size bowl of Yogurt with Fresh Fruit & Almonds one day. Another day we had scrambled eggs with multi-colored grape tomatoes, sauteed onions & yellow Bell Peppers, with Mike Ditka Sausages (those are the best I've found recently). Do you wonder why or how I've gained weight? Ancho & Agave https://www.anchoandagave.com/menus/ This is not my favorite Mexican Restaurant in town, that honor belongs to Hacienda Leon. However, we met her Sister & Brother-In-Law for dinner, this was their chosen place to meet. We really enjoyed their Hickory Bacon & Goat Cheese Guacamole. I loved their Mesquite-Smoked Chicken Enchiladas while she had their Pork Al Pastor burrito, a HUGE burrito. Yep, we had leftovers. Her Sister & Brother-In-Law both ordered Taco's from their Taco Menu. The meal was good, but the company and talk was just as good, if not better. My Current Schedule July 8: Fort Bragg NC July 15: Vacation (Staying home) July 22: Los Angeles July 29: Schaumburg Aug 5: Cavalier AFB - I will be going there, not my co-worker. He had more to learn & be comfortable with than I anticipated. Aug 12: Los Angeles Aug 19: International Travel Aug 26: Frankfurt, Germany Sept 2: International Travel Sept 9: Boston Sept 16: San Francisco Sept 23: Montana (Federal Customer who maintains Hungry Horse Dam) Sept 30: Vacation If any of you in the LA area would like to meet up, I have an idea. I will be there in July and August, so here's my thoughts. I realize that getting away from the family can be tough, so let's meet at a Pizza place. I'll provide Pizza(s), all you need to do is show up with the family (and children). Drinks or anything besides Pizza is on you. What do you think? Is this something that could be done? The best days for me would be either Sunday, or Friday, late afternoon/evening. I'd love to meet anyone from WDC who is in the area. As you can see though, I get to travel to numerous locations. If you're in a area I'll be working in and would like to meet for a cuppa or dinner, let me know! I'll be happy to meet any of you. That's it for now. I am home for the week of July 4th before heading out again. Until my next entry, write all you can, and love everyone, especially those special people who fill your life! JimD |
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