%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 Being Retired now, I thought that it was time for a new name to this Blog |
|
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 |
Toilet Tissue Many of you are going to wonder about this entry. I don't blame you. But this is a pet peeve of mine, and a subject near and dear to my ... errr, never mind. Also, this does not address the Bidet. I've never used one, so I can't complain then, can I? I hate using this toilet tissue that is so thin that it looks to be thinner than a strand of hair! Yes, I've told you many times, I'm spoiled. I think of all the people in the world who don't have this convenience and shudder. I can't imagine the pain, the scratching, the whatever else you want to term it. Toilet tissue itself is horrible, it has such a crappy job to do. I can forgive it for being so thin, my biggest pet peeve with it, is what's available in public toilets. Take Wal-Mart for example. I know the stores are forced to purchase the cheap stuff. Corporations have contracts with vendors after all, the less money they fork out, the higher their profits can be. Their hands are tied. What I detest about Wal-Mart, and any other place that uses these things, the things that hold two rolls of it. Two rolls of toilet tissue that is so thin is bad enough. But putting it so low in the stall is preposterous. If the last person, or maybe you, tear it off wrong, you almost need to get on your hands and knees to find the end of it! No thanks. So, I hate having to use the restroom in Wal-Mart, or Sam's. I try not to go, but sometimes, your hands are tied. Another place I hate them at, is in hotel rooms. At least their toilet tissue is a little, and I do mean little, bit thicker. But it's almost as if they want to hide it from you! Try being old (like me), a bit stiff and unable to really rotate your torso, and the toilet tissue is mounted on the wall. Behind you! With the amount of traveling I did, there were many times where I had to reach blindly behind me searching for the all elusive roll. It's amazing the places I've found those rolls. So why am I writing this? Because I purchased the wrong type (not thick enough), and probably the wrong brand recently! Shame on me. But, we can't fix this, at least I don't see how we can. |
Editing A Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet For A Former Co-worker Today I had a bit of fun. Fun, if you like using Microsoft Excel. So yeah, I had fun. It's used in that course called Fleetmapping. I did a lot of editing on the original Speadsheet, linking cells between sheets, removing external links, things like that. Let me tell you how I came to be involved in this course. In March 2020, our Manager came to me and asked if I could teach Fleetmapping. I politely reminded him that I had not completed qualification per his set standards. His reply was that I had attended the class in August 2019, and reiterated, "Can you deliver Fleetmapping?" I told him I'd need to brush up on the PPT's and labs to do so; I also asked if I could modify the Spreadsheets & Slides because there were a lot of errors on them. (Those errors were limits imposed by the old Trunking System called Type II). H assured that I could do what needed to be done to the sheets. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and finally asked, "How much time do I have?" His reply was, "Three weeks". I thought about it for a couple of seconds and replied, "Okay, I'll be ready." Now, prior to preparing for this class, I had never logged on to a Server called the Provisioning Manager. Obviously I had little knowledge of it too. Not only did I have to edit the Slides for the class, I needed to learn how to configure a radio system on this server! I have to give my Manager credit, because he never asked if I would b ready for the upcoming class. After the class was over, he did ask how it went. I said something like, "It went okay, student grades were okay, but the course needs further editing". He said something like, "I'm sure you'll get that done." I became heavily involved in that course, and at one point was asked by Engineers to join the NE Fleetmapping Focus Group. I ended up uploading all my files for them to access and edit as they wished. Thy did a fairly good job in that process too! I am proud to say that Duncan (I can't remember his last name, but it definitely was not Hines), told me that if I grew tired of all the Travel for Motorola, he had a job for me. Duncan was the Radio Shop Manager for LAPD. I've been doing one final edit to the spreadsheets for my former co-worker. I do not want students to have the ability to edit cells or values listed in the Provisioning Manager Manual, so I've been locking that content, while leaving the other cells unlocked for their use. That's almost done. What I really need, I can't get. A copy of the Software that is used to program radios. It's okay, I'll make it work as best I can. I'm probably wasting my time, the Sheets & Slides may never get used.  JD |
Estate Sale Visit Today it was time for an outing, and for once we left the house before 7:30 am <GASP!> The sale was in Champaign, about an hour drive away. So leaving at 7:10 like we did was actually late in my book. Why? Because Estate Sales are typically crowded, very crowded. As fate would have it though, this Estate Sale, more like a Garage Sale was not crowded. Most of the sale items were in the garage, with a few in a Mud Room off the garage. That's not why I termed it a Garage Sale. I don't know about other areas, but there's a distinct difference between a Garage Sale, and an Estate Sale. This had the feel of a Garage Sale. The woman who lived in the house was a prolific Quilter. Her Quilts were priced according to size, so various prices. None were priced too high, prices went from $20 up to $90! All seemed to be priced appropriately. Fortunately we don't need a Quilt. The Motorhome saga continues also. We haven't found that perfect one yet. Perfect in all we want and need. Not too old, not too new. And perfectly priced. That therein is the biggest issue if you ask me. Finding one in our budget. The newer ones are well over $100K; obviously not in our budget. I'm leery of older ones, or the one I liked, until I saw the mileage on it. This one had the famous Mercedes Benz Diesel Engine, the one that is considered the 500,000 mile engine. But the unit itself has over 230,000 miles on it! The engine might be fine for twice that many miles, but how about everything else? So we wait, and wait. We search, and search. One day, our time will come, we're in no rush. |
Visiting The VA Clinic I know we've all done things in our lives that seem silly now that we're older. I think I read the pack in that regard. This is what I didn't do, 32 years ago. I did not visit the local VA Office in Bremerton Washington to get myself registered. Is that the correct term, registering with the VA? Either way, I didn't register. My reasoning? Well, I didn't look beyond the end of my nose because I said (to myself), "I'm healthy, there's nothing wrong with me, so why should I register?" Y'see, the Navy did not provide any guidance or recommendations when I retired, or if they did, I ignored them. Shame on me! So today, I visited the local VA Office. I'm not encouraged by that visit. My health issues are various and many. The problem is, providing proof that any health issue I have is Service Related. About the only thing that may be proven to be service related is this Multiple Myeloma. I read (Somewhere on the Internet, so it must be true, right?) that exposure to Radiation (My lifetime dose is a bit more than 2 REM) can cause this type of Cancer. The rest of my ailments? Good luck. Even my hearing loss may be hard to prove. My advice to any Veteran, is to register with the VA ASAP after retirement or discharge. This way every single ailment, no matter how insignificant it may seem, can be documented. Good luck and God Speed to you all. |
We Decided Not To Buy The Van Last week I found a van online that we both loved. It has a Mercedes Benz 6 cylinder Diesel engine, commonly known as the 500,000 mile engine. It's been remodeled to be a campervan, and is absolutely beautiful. Invalid Photo #1075038 The couple who currently owns it had a lot of work completed on it. It was remodeled by Sportsmobile in North Carolina. The couple had ordered it in 2012, but it was a cargo van. That was the only way the van was built by Mercedes Benz. They have a severely handicapped daughter, this was essentially done for her! When I think of the amount of love they had for their daughter, I shake my head. Sportsmobile modified it to be a Passenger van, then a Campervan. The thing that caused us to not purchase it, was that there was no water in it. No stove or toilet, no sink, no Black Water Tank, Brown Water Tank, and Water tank. All three are needed if you want a sink and/or toilet in it. There are benches on either side that can be made into a King Bed, a large storage compartment for hanging clothes in, a Microwave, and a good size Refrigerator & Freezer. The gentleman told me that at first the ride had been a bit spongy, so he had the rear end replaced with a sturdier spring set, and Dually's in the back. Here's the link to the ad on Facebook. For me, the biggest selling point was the lift for lifting a wheelchair into the Van. At our age, I thought this was something we would most likely need in the not-to-distant, future. The van was really BIG though, and very long. At about 22-23 feet in length, it didn't seem like it would bee a good fit in some places. Namely New England cities & towns. The biggest positive was the electric chair lift. The biggest negative was the lack of water facilities. You can see what caused us to not purchase the van. As much as I loved it, we had to decline the chance to buy it. |
Meeting With Former Co-Worker Yesterday 8/7/25 Well, that meeting with my former Co-Worker went about as I expected. He has done very little, if anything, to prepare for this class delivery. Now don't get me wrong here. He has all the System Knowledge he needs. He is not familiar with Excel at all. I have encouraged him since Day 1 of being assigned this delivery to read the lab guide & follow it. Why? Because the lab guide will walk him right through the use of Excel for this class. He has not touched Excel since our last meeting. I fear for the 1 student and fellow instructor in the class next week. "1 Student?" you say, <astonished> Yes, the only reason the class has not been cancelled is because another instructor is sitting in for qualification purposes. I would sit in, even as a Non-Motorola, I'd sit in. However, I think that my presence would be more detrimental than good. I've asked him to send me any questions at the end of class each day, or comments about how the class went. But yes, I fear.... We spent at least 90 minutes going over things. In 10 minutes I knew he hadn't looked at anything. At the end of our meeting, I told him (for the umpteenth time), to create a Fleetmap today using the lab guide. I doubt he'll do it; I'm doing it, just in case. I guess we'll see, huh!  Jim Dorrell |
Tomorrow 8/7/25 Tomorrow I will help a former co-worker one last time. Why last time? Because I'm not being paid by Motorola for this help. I'm helping him because he's a friend. There was a class I delivered called 'Fleetmapping'. I was asked to deliver it during the Pandemic. In doing so, I edited the course materials extensively. Who delivered it before me? A Contractor. But, he didn't want to teach it on line for a variety of reasons I won't go into here. I was the only instructor of it for a long time, until a fellow instructor started delivering it. Now don't get me wrong here, this guy has more knowledge of all things RF in his pinky finger than I have in my whole body! But.... He doesn't like to follow the Instructor Guide, does not use the Powerpoint slides at all. He prefers to use manuals to teach any course. Why? His background is Engineering. And he's right, our Powerpoint modules are too lengthy, and frankly, not very good. I'm not a fan of not using Powerpoint, but there comes a time where you have to. The thing is, this course needs to be taught using Powerpoint because it's a 'soft-skill' course. There are no hands-on activities that require special tools and such. The hands-on activities are completed using Microsoft Excel. One of my good friends still at Motorola will be delivering this class for the first time in a couple of weeks. He just wants to review things for an hour or so. I'll help him to hopefully make him more comfortable. What's this course about? I'm glad you asked. I mean, with a name like Fleetmapping, it could be anything. So here's what is done in all radio systems, no matter who the manufacturer is. The radios you see a Public Safety Officer carrying is called a Portable radio. A Subscriber radio. Those radios are programmed using a suite of Software. However, programming it 100% correctly does not mean it will operate on the system. In fact, you won't be able to Transmit (Tx) or Receive (Rx) on a Trunked System. Why? Because the system is not configured/programmed to allow that radio to do that. What that means is, programming the radio gives it the 'ability' to Tx & Rx on a Trunked System. Configuring the system gives the radio the right to do that. So Fleetmapping is the process of programming the system and the radio to allow communication to occur. It's a class I loved delivering. In delivering it, you're more of a Facilitator than you are Instructor. The course is approached, and delivered in a different way. Powerpoint slides are still used, but the key to understanding it is configuring the system. You don't have to be an expert in radio programming, nor an expert on Configuring the system. But you MUST understand how this is done on both ends. And, I still want nothing to do with delivering classes again.  |
Weekend Getaway Okay, don't get excited, it was only an overnighter. And we didn't go to see Motorhomes! We went to the Annual Pere Marquette Lodge Peach Festival! It was a very fun time really, but we stayed at a Hampton Inn almost 30 miles away in Alton, Illinois. We did have a nice room though. It was large enough for the two dogs to rest and roam in. I've had this type of room many times in my past travels, I was pleased. I knew I'd hit the jackpot room-wise when she said she loved the room! The festival is only a one-day affair, but it was excellent if you ask me. There were craft vendors in the Lodge itself, and a couple of them outside. But the stalls with the Peaches and other fresh fruit and vegetables were outside. Since the temperature was only 70 or so, it was a very nice morning. Plus we got there early and managed to find a decent parking spot with shade. I knew we wouldn't stay long, so I wasn't too worried about our dogs being in the van. The windows were down about 3 inches, maybe 4. I also hung a battery powered fan from a window to circulate air while we were gone. It was hot for them when I returned an hour later, but they were fine. No where close to being overheated. With all the dog training/showing experience Kathy has, we're very careful about leaving them in a vehicle. I wore my Submarine Veteran Ball Cap this morning, and met at least 5-6 other Veterans there. It was nice, we exchanged pleasantries, asked about our service, and swapped a little bit of a story while at it. I met two, maybe three Vietnam Veterans, I told each that my hat was off to them. A true statement too. After being there about an hour, we took the dogs to a nearby grassy area and had them out for at least twenty minutes to do their thing. The drive home was great for the most part. We were on back-country roads for at least half the drive, then Interstate the second half. We love (and prefer) to hit non-Interstate roads when we can. In the past though, that was tough, because we usually had to be at the destination in time for you-know-who to teach a class. So it was nice to be on state highways as long as we were. I hope y'all had a great weekend too! Jim |
There Is A Secret To Us Going Places! You men know and appreciate this thought far more than I do. The secret to us going places, is for it to be her idea! She can broach the subject about getting out for some activity, but the idea of us going has to start with her. Even if it's my desire to get out initially, she has to be the one who suggests it. The secret, and hard thing to do, is get her to suggest it. Yeah, easier said than done. Yesterday she mentioned a Peach Festival down in Alton, Illinois. I said something about loving the idea of going to it. So guess where we're going this weekend? Yep, the Peach Festival in Alton Illinois! Yay! It's not really in Alton, that's just the closest town. It will be held at the Pere Marquette Lodge. We'll probably not do a whole lot there, maybe just shop some. Heck, we might even buy something. But we'll be getting out, away from Bloomington. Some of you probably think I'm going stir-crazy here since I'm now retired. That's not the case at all. I would just like to get out a little bit, get out of town, just because we can. Just because we now have all the time we need or want. That's also a secondary reason for wanting a Motorhome. It wouldn't be for us to go camping somewhere. Neither of us are big campers/glampers. We do like going places. My van is fine for the most part. A motorhome would allow us more flexibility as far as stops go, napping when needed, whatever our hearts desire. As we adjust to all this free time, we should eventually up the ante, so-to-speak. We'll see what the (our) future holds. |
Our Dog's Diet In thinking about our dog's diet, some of you will probably say, "Your dog is on a diet?" Or maybe you'll ask, "Your dog has a diet?" So let me explain what they eat, and why. When I first met my wife, she was feeding her dogs whole Turkey wings, bone and all. Like most of you, I said, "You can't feed a dog bones! They'll choke on them!" (I didn't realize she had raised dogs since she was a child, had shown dogs around the country, etc). She looked at me and said something like, "C'mon Jim. Do you really think that wild dogs (Dingos, Jackyls, Hyenas and the like) don't eat bones? Do you think they eat only the meat and leave the bones for something else? I thought about that, and realized how stupid my statement was. Our dogs are on a 'natural diet'. The eat Kibble only when we travel, and only after our frozen meat is gone. Kibble = Dry Dog Food, such as Purina Dog Chow. Except Kathy wouldn't be caught dead feeding her dogs Purina. We feed them Orijen Dry Dog Food, the contents of it are too numerous to list here. Here is a partial list: Chicken, turkey, salmon, whole herring, chicken liver, dehydrated chicken, dehydrated turkey, dehydrated chicken liver, dehydrated egg, dehydrated sardine, chicken fat. They eat healthier than we do! Being curious, I once asked her how she started her dogs on this 'Bones And Raw Food' (BARF) diet. Before I met her, one of her Akita's didn't have a very good coat and was constantly scratching herself. After many visits to the local Vet, she chanced upon a Holistic one. Eventually, it was discovered that her dog was allergic to Corn! She looked that the ingredients on the bag of dog food and saw something like this (I looked at the ingredients of a bag of Purina One): Chicken, Rice Flour, Corn Protein Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal , Whole Grain Wheat, Soybean Meal, Beef Fat Preserved With Mixed-Tocopherols. Only the chicken is something a dog should eat. After all, they're carnivores. Compare Purina One contents to the Orijen contents! A 40 lb bag of Purina One is $39. A 5 lb bag of Orijen is $35! Yeah, those contents in Orijen are not cheap. Neither is feeding them that natural diet we have them on. I wanted to tell you a bit about their morning meal. BTW, we do not leave food out for them to munch on, They are fed morning, and night. Their morning meal (at least this morning), is Chicken Neck, Pheasant Neck, Liver & or Kidney Chunks, Heart Chunks, Lamb Tongue, Duck Wings, and Baby Scad Chunks. (Scad is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Carangidae, which also includes jacks, amberjacks, and pompanos). What amazes me still, is watching Buddy, our Akita, bite through a Duck Wing or other bones. We don't feed them weight bearing bones, those are too dense. We do use them in making Bone Broth. He seems to bite through that bone relatively easily, though I'm sure it's not that easy. It amazes me at the strength of his bite. Then I consider the bite of a Crocodile or Alligator to put things in perspective. I often think that humans once had a much stronger bite than we do now. Maybe not. Feeding your dog a diet like this is not cheap, I can testify to that. I won't say how much we spend, she buys the dog food, I buy our groceries. I think I have the better end of the (unspoken) deal! I only wish we ate half as healthy as our dogs do. Wow, we'd be in so much better shape! |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
