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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 |
Boston, Ma The week of 9/10/24 found me smack-dab in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. I was with the city, specifically the Boston PD, FD, and EMS people. Being in the center of a major city, I didn't rent a car, I used Uber all week. It's easier on me not driving in that traffic, less expensive in reality. I had decent restaurants nearby, and walked to them each night. This is my first time in the city of Boston. I've flown in and out of Logan Airport several times, so that's not brand new to me. Have I told you I don't like large cities? I much prefer living in a city the size of Bloomington. Bloomington is actually Bloomington/Normal. The two cities/towns have gradually merged over the years, I live in the southern part of the town, in Bloomington. So I prefer smaller cities/municipalites over large Urban areas, the lifestyle there suits me better, I'm much more comfortable living there than I was in the Chicago Suburbs. The class itself flew by, it's one of those that I'm the only qualified instructor (who can travel) that delivers it. 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 of course, with the Boston PD technicians in class, they all sat together. As did the Boston FD Techs. And you guessed it, so did the Boston EMS Techs. The key to delivering this class well, and almost any technical class, is to know their system, and how it's connected to what is known as the Core. This wasn't a system class though, but we did get off topic a few times to discuss those connections I arrived Monday and met with the Project Manager at the training site Monday afternoon. He and a couple of Engineers were there, and we talked about things to expect from tthe students in the class. I was 'warned' about the two students they were placing in the front row, and the subjects they would bring up. I've delivered this class many times, and have seen many types of students, and told them so. Apparently they were worried that these two might ask questions about basic RF topics that I might not be reay for. Let's just say, I was ready, and had the knowledge to easily answer their questions. One of them was older than me by about 4 years. He goes back to the old RF systems in his discussions, but I've read up all I can on that. You have to in delivering this class. We got along great! He insisted on giving me a ride to the hotel each afternoon, he had a pretty low opinion of Uber drivers. On the last day when he dropped me off he said, "Jim, I've only known you for three days, but it seems like we've known each other for a lifetime." To me, that was quite a compliment. Noteworthy Restaurants: The Pearl https://www.thepearlsouthbay.com/eat2 This was a good place to dine. The staff was excellent, not to mention the food. I had to try their New England Clam Chowder, it was a little thinner than the chowder I had at a different place (not mentionied here), I enjoyed it more. It contained plenty of clams, enough potatoes, bacon, and chives to accompany it, but not overpower it. While their Shrimp Linguini was good, the tomato sauce used in it overpowered it. There was plenty of Jumbo Shrimp in it though, that is what saved it in my eyes. My Current Schedule (I don't see this changing either). Sept 16: San Francisco 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' 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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