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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 was a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and taught classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2-way radio communications. I knew that when the time arrived that I would retire, and I have. 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 were not in demand anymore. My students were 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? Some of the places I've been (I can't list them all here, the list would be too long) are pretty interesting. 1. Hawaii - Four times, Oahu, Maui (twice), and the Big Island 2. BangkokThailand, twice 3. Frankfurt Germany, twice 4. Algiers, Algeria 5. Melbourne Australia 6. Bismarck North Dakota, Summer & Winter 7. Los Angeles, Too many times to count 8. Washington DC, Too many times to count 9. Seattle three or four times 10. Texas, all over the state 11. Florida, all over the state 12. New Mexico, HOME! Several times  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
A Week In Springfield, Missouri We drove to Springfield, Missouri last Monday, taking our Campervan this time. We didn't leave until almost 4pm because our older Schipperke had to visit the vet, we took her Monday to save a bit of money. Otherwise it would have been a $150 charge just to get her in. But her appointment wasn't until 11:30! We finished packing the van and left. I still managed to leave my external SSHD at home, as well as the Steroid I take once a week. I didn't need it while there, it was nice to know it was available if I chose to take it. So yeah, a very late start, and a late arrival. One of the things the van has that I like, is a small whistle in the grill that alerts animals of the Van's approach. I know there's controversy about those, but I think it might have helped us because we saw a deer in the middle of the road driving down I-44. Fortunately it was not in our lane, we passed it safely. I wonder if that whistle alerted it? We were in Springfield for the Akita National Dog Show. Sadly, the breeder of our dog couldn't make it there, but arranged for a handler to show Buddy. Well, that went south quickly. Buddy ended up being shuffled 3 times total! He met the handler about 2 hours before being shown. With everything else she had to do with her other dogs, the two of them did not have much time to get to know each other. You can see what probably happened, and did. Buddy placed second both times he was shown, and didn't earn any points towards his 'championship'. We still have a long way to go, but this is not important to me, but it is to 'you know who'. Oh well. There wasn't anything happening Friday, to me the important days were Monday evening, with the always fun Banquet, (we were still driving there then) and the Thursday evening auction, which we didn't attend. We had dropped off items for the auction earlier, but didn't feel well enough to attend the auction. My left leg and back ached something fierce, I didn't really feel like walking any distance at all. Hopefully the back surgery scheduled for Wednesday morning will correct that. Only time will tell. Since there wasn't anything happening other than Buddy being shown at 10 am, we checked out of the hotel by noon and drove home. We arrived about 6:30 or so, and spent yesterday just relaxing and recovering. Like Kåre เลียม Enga   , I wonder how much longer we can keep traveling. I suspect it will be 4-5 years, if we're lucky. Again, like a broken record here, only time will tell. |
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I'd order it now, but I don't want to chance having it delivered while we're gone, so I'll wait. I did bookmark the page so I can get to it easily. Cross your fingers everyone!
Non-interchangeable parts - now there's a surprise. There are times you can't interchange parts for two editions of the exact same car that vary "only" by model year.