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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 |
| Locale: Ft Lauderdale, Fl Week of: 12/12/22 This past week I was back in Ft Lauderdale to deliver a Networking Class that focuses on the Networking used in our radio systems. This class was a little different than most others in one way. I had eight students total, only one was a customer, the rest were Motorolans supporting customers around the country. It was definitely interesting, and fun. Part of this class involves configuring routers that send data across the network. These routers are small, babies if you will, compared to the routers used to route traffic across the Internet. They work the same as those routers, just on a much smaller scale. One of the settings in the routers is to disable what's called the Boot Monitor mode. You have to follow a certain procedure to enable it, and it's not hard. During a break, the one Non-Motorola student removed his base card, the one that contains the router configuration and such. I immediately noticed that this card was set to allow entry into the Boot Monitor mode, something we don't teach in class. I know how to do it, I know what it's for. I held the card for a moment and removed the jumper. This guy already knew about the Boot Monitor mode, he just didn't know exactly how to enter it. One of the Motorola students who did know mentioned how to do it.... so I answered that the jumper was removed and it wouldn't enter that mode. The student tried to anyway, and to my surprise, it did enter the Boot Monitor mode! Well, that wasn't right, and I knew someone had reconfigured something in the startup that allowed that. This occurred on Wednesday, so after class on Thursday I stayed late and spent an hour reading the depot manual. I found what I was looking for, and disabled it. I also wrote a short note describing what I'd found and sent it to everyone who delivers this class. Why? We share knowledge! And, the man who edits this class didn't know about it, he of all people should know this! I was surprised too, because Dan knows an awful lot about Networking in general. In fact, I tell my students that he was there helping Bill Gates with the early Microsoft development (I know, Microsoft is not about routing and such, but you get my point). The class critiques were good, except one Motorola student selected the wrong boxes. What do I mean? The students grade us on our knowledge, ability to deliver the class, etc. This person chose 'Very Dissatisfied' for all six boxes, then proceeded to praise my delivery and knowledge. He just selected the wrong box by accident is all. Thank God for small favors too, because the praising tells anyone (like my boss) who sees the reviews (he looks at almost all of them) that the wrong box was accidentally selected. All in all, a very nice last delivery for 2022. I didn't visit any new restaurants this week. In fact, I had dinner in my room two nights. One, I was tired. Two, I started trying to eat less and limit my weight gain. I'm now at 225# and would like to be at 210 max, and ideally less than 200#. That's not easy when you visit nice restaurants. In Closing I am home for 3 weeks, my only real time home for any length of time through July right now. Some classes may be cancelled or delayed, those dates will most likely be filled in too if that happens. Look for a Notebook entry about my 2023 first half schedule. It's a bit insane compared to just 6 years ago. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
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Although, I hope you've got a portable table set up for prep while you wait for counters or a microwave for those frozen meals.
is better than suspended upside down in the 'void'. 
