I travel the country on business, sometimes the world. Come see where I've been. |
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. |
Locale: Madison, Wisconsin Week of: 11/14/22 This past week I was in Madison, Wisconsin delivering that basic Networking class once again. I had five students originally, but one dropped out Monday at lunch when his wife tested positive for COVID. Of the remaining students, three of them has as much Networking knowledge as I do, if not more. The nice thing though, is they didn't try to run the class, they remained students throughout the week. That's harder to do than you might think, but they seemed to have mastered that part of things. Once again, it was a fun class, made that way all the more so by their willingness to learn, and help the one student who wasn't as up-to-speed on networking knowledge as they were. We did cover a little extra in our discussions, but for the most part, we remained on topic. As of now, I will return to Madison in May of 2023 for the second Networking class. Madison is a nice place, a college town/city, with a lot going for it. It's small in size, and that suited me just fine. I enjoyed my meals at night, except for one. Let's just say I didn't choose wisely as far as my meal is concerned. However, I did experience a few excellent meals! Noteworthy Restaurants: Takumi Japanese Restaurant https://www.orderonlinehub.com/takumijapaneserestaurant I really enjoy dining at a Japanese restaurant, and Takumi was what I longed for this night. I had their Godzilla Roll as an appetizer, and their Shrimp Tempura Udon for mt meal. It had been a bit cold that day and the Udon noodles and Tempura really warmed me up. Erin's Snug Irish Pub Restaurant https://www.erinssnug.com/dinner It was my last night in Madison, and an Irish Pub sounded perfect to me. And it was. I will admit that my appetizer and dessert were definitely not Irish, but my meal sure was. Guinness Stew! Nice and hot, topped with a housemade puff pastry and baked. Definitely worth the visit. The dessert was Bread Pudding, and was good, but not fantastic. Then again, I'm spoiled when it comes to bread pudding.'' Buck And Honey's https://monona.buckandhoneys.com/monona-buck-and-honey-s-monona-food-menu There were 3 or 4 appetizers on the menu that I wanted, so I opted for their appetizer combo. Bacon Wrapped Dates, Sassy Curds (Local Cheese Curds), and Firecracker Shrimp. I should have ordered two of these and nothing more, it was that good! Instead, I did order dinner, and had their Seared ahi Tuna Salad. This is a very nice place, I don't think I could have gone wrong no matter what I ordered. In Closing I will be home to celebrate Thanksgiving next week, then off the following week. My last two weeks of classes in 2022 will be a portable/mobile radio class in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania, and yet another Networking Class in Fort Lauderdale Then it starts all over for me. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |