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 |  Being Retired now, I thought that it was time for a new name to this Blog |
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Talk about perks, my career had one of the best I can think of! I traveled 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 (for eight more weeks). I knew that when the time arrived that I would retire. That time is now. I've always said that if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out! I can't handle the heat anymore. I was qualified to deliver approximately 32 different classes, but about half of those were 'Legacy' classes, and are not in demand anymore. My students were/are technicians, those who maintained, programmed, calibrated, and repaired 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 traveled, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where have I been? This probably won't have daily entries, but I will make entries to update you about my life before and during my employment with Motorola Solutions. I also intend to update you all about what I'm doing in retirement. Well, here we go with this new adventure, let's see where it takes us.  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
| Locale: Fort Lauderdale, Florida Week of: I'm back in Fort Lauderdale this week and next. I find it ironic that our facility opened here about 5 years ago, and I've been scheduled to be here at least once every year. However, the schedule changes frequently, so this is my first year making it down to this locale. Right now, I'm scheduled to return in July for four more days, then December for a week. We'll see what the future holds, won't we? The first week was spent delivering a basic Networking Class. Everything went well, even if I was a little rusty with the course materials. I love the hands-on opportunities offered in this course, and spent most of it doing just that. The students love it too, making it even better. Monday was 'Death By Powerpoint' as I like to call it, we finished that up the first hour Tuesday. After that was all hands on. I emphasized to the students that everything we were doing was in the Powerpoint slideshow, but doing it was far better than reading slides. Additionally, there's a lab guide to follow, and we did. Actually, we went above and beyond the lab guide. Since I have two weeks here, I rented a car for the weekend and drove up to Clearwater/St. Petersburg, My Father-In-Law lives there alone now after losing his wife in September. I figured he would like some company, and I was correct. He insisted on fixing me dinner Friday night, and took me to breakfast both Saturday and Sunday. In return, I was able to do what I'd intended, take him to dinner Saturday night. (See below about where we went). It was a great weekend though. He needed someone to talk to, someone with a common background (We served on the USS Theodore Roosevelt SSBN 600 together) that would understand the things he mentioned. So I listened. A lot. It was a very good visit, and a must really. After all, he's 87, no telling when or if I'll see him again. Noteworthy Restaurants: Pirate Republic Seafood https://piraterepublicseafood.com/ This place sits on a river here, with beautiful boats cruising past. I finally saw the one I'd own if down here. A small inflatable dinghy. I had their Spicy Garlic Shrimp for an Appetizer, and their 'Pirate Bowl' for my meal. It was excellent, but even being on expense account it was expensive. As a result, I may never return, unless I have someone to dine with and want them to experience the atmosphere and the pleasure of dining there. Rocco's Tacos https://www.roccostacos.com/fort-lauderdale/ I was there twice this past week. I dined alone on Monday. While there I saw that on Taco Tuesday they have 'All You Can Eat Tacos' for $25. When I mentioned that in class, two of my students wanted to go, so the three of us went there when class was done,. It was so nice to have someone to dine with and talk/exchange information with. I didn't do the All You Can Eat because despite my looks, I can't eat enough (you'd have to finish off 5 tacos to not be wasting money, since they normally about $5 each). I had my favorite dish, Chile Rellenos. This place really rocked on Cinco De Mayo, I was there, and it was crazy. Cuba Libre https://www.cubalibrerestaurant.com/en/fortlauderdale/menus/dinner/ My Uber Driver told me that Cuba Libre was better than my favorite Cuban place here, Padrino's Cuban Restaurant. Frankly, I liked Padrino's a little better. I had Paella in both places, and prefer Padrino's over Cuba Libre. The view is better at Cuba Libre. Once again I dined with a student, and he about broke his neck several times as a woman walked by.  Padrino's is also quieter which I prefer.Shuck N Dive https://shuck-n-dive.com/food/ This place is more of a Dive than anything, but it was fine., I was in the mood for Cajun food, so I went there. The Mahi Mardi Gras was smothered in Crawfish Etouffee, and was served with Beans N Rice and Hushpuppies. The food was pretty good, but lacked the heat one would expect in a Cajun Dish. Salt Rock Grill https This is an excellent seafood restaurant! If I was looking to complain, I'd just say that I ordered their Shellfish Stuffed Sea Bass, and though it was outstanding, it wasn't stuffed, it was more like strips of Sea Bass just covered in their excellent Shrimp, scallops, and crab stuffing with citrus cream sauce, and garlic mashed potatoes. But that's being very picky. This is where I took Ken for dinner Saturday. He had never been there, and loved it. For our appetizer, we had Tuna Sashimi, which was just scrumptious. Our table was outside so we had a nice view of the boats at the pier. Overall, it was a nice relaxing afternoon/evening. In Closing I spent the weekend in Clearwater as mentioned, and am right back here in Fort Lauderdale next week. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!  Jim Dorrell |
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