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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 |
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? " “The Twilight Zone” Puzzle"  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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