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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: Hyattsville, Md Week of: 8/28/2023 The week of 8/28 found me in Hyattsville, Md, just east of Washington, DC. This class was a bit different from the others I've delivered. I'll explain that in a minute. While I was in Los Angeles though, I received an e-mail from a co-worker who was with this customer. He told us that the hotel he initially stayed at had Bed-Bugs, in his room! Needless to say I changed hotels right then. This was a difficult class to teach for a couple of reasons. I'm still getting comfortable with the Juniper Router that's in their system. Plus, the students were a bit hand-tied by their IT department. They were unable to add software we use in the class, and could not change the state of their PC Firewall. If there's one thing I 'preach' about before/during every Networking class, is that the IT Department of the Customer must give the Technicians full Administrator rights on their PC so they can complete those small tasks. I realize it's something that all IT Departments are reluctant to do, but they either grant those rights, or accompany the technicians on their field calls. Fortunately, 4-5 of the students brought in their personal PC's allowing them to complete the hands-on activities. Class done about noon on Friday as usual, now was the time to fly home. Except, my flight from Reagan Airport to O'Hare had been delayed. This would result in me having maybe a 30 minute layover there. Since I'm not near as young as I once was, and am somewhat hampered by my back and left leg 'not cooperating' at times, I knew it would be tough to make that connection. A kind American Airlines employee at the airport changed my flight, so I left about 2 hours earlier than originally scheduled. As it turns out, that didn't really matter because my flight home was delayed two hours Yeah, I could have remained on my original itinerary and still made the flight. Better to be safe than sorry though. Noteworthy Restaurants: The Silver Diner https://www.silverdiner.com/ The Silver Diner is an excellent diner located in the Woodmore Centre. Their menu is diverse, I ended up enjoying their Old Bay Fried Shrimp appetizer, and their Summer Watermelon & Shrimp Salad. If I were to complain about my dinner/service, it would be that I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and was served a glass of Red Wine. I think there was a lack of communication between the server and bartender, as well as a lack of knowledge on the server's part. The Copper Canyon Grill https://ccgrill.com/glenarden/glenarden-menu/ My discussion here will be a bit different, especially since my meal was very good. Let's start by saying I won't dine here when I'm back with this customer the week of 9/25. Why? Because I ordered my meal, and it was delivered in less than five minutes. So why am I upset about such fast service? Ordering an entree and receiving it so quickly tells you that the food is prepared ahead of time, and is not necessarily fresh. My entree was their Rattlesnake Pasta. It should have taken a few minutes to get the Pasta cooked, but apparently it was prepared well ahead of time. Many restaurants do this, it's not a practice I'm a fan of. Yeah, I know, I'm picky. The meal was delivered so quickly that my drink hadn't even arrived yet! Plus, my server couldn't have been more inattentive. She walked past a couple of times, and on one occasion asked if everything was okay. It was, I didn't need anything. Am I being too picky here? Possibly. The Hook & Reel Cajun Seafood Barl https://hookreel.com/menu/ I dined here Saturday night after arriving at the Reagan National Airport. I love places like this, and enjoyed their Catch-22. Essentially it's a choose 2 seafood boil, with a third choice tossed in. Shrimp, Scallops, and Crawfish made for a tasty seafood boil! I think that's about it for now. Until my next post, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write!  Jim Dorrell |
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