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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: Home in Illinois, and Frankfort, Ky Week of: 4/10 & 4/17/2023 Wow, I missed posting about working from home! So this post will cover the last two weeks. The week of 4/10 was a significant week for me. Significant in that it was the first week of 2023 that I was at home and not traveling. Yes, I had a 2 week vacation at the end of February, but we traveled the whole time, so no rest for me then. I must say it was nice to sit at home and work. Yeah, I had the week 'off', but that just means I wasn't delivering a class. I wasn't on PTO, so I had to work. Besides, I had to edit existing course materials for 2 upcoming classes. The Networking classes I teach are centered around what is called a Trunking System. And while I created one for Conventional Systems, it was centered around a system having a Conventional Core (or Master Site). The class I will deliver in 3 weeks does not have a Core, it's just a system of IP based radios connected using Ethernet, so a pretty good size modification was needed. I also have a class on Conventional Consoles (Do you see a trend here? Everything Conventional... ). And of course, we have no course materials for that. You might ask why? Well, we make the most money on Trunked System classes because they are in high demand. For that main reason, all our course material revolves around a Trunked System. I've been saying we need Conventional Courseware for years, and now we're starting to be asked for more and more Conventional System classes. Since I deliver the greater majority of them, you know who it falls to when it comes to editing course materials. You might ask, what's difference between Trunked and Conventional Systems? To truly explain it would take quite the page or 10. But I'll give you a short Analogy that hopefully will explain it. Think about a grocery store, and waiting in line to checkouf. If you're in a store where you get line and wait for your line to move (say you're at register #3), you wait until the cashier finishes with the customer in front of you before you can get your groceries bagged and paid for. Now, change it around. This time you're still in a grocery store, but now you are all in one line. The next available cashier is the one you end up going to, you're not locked into one line. The one line scenario (register #3) is Conventional, the one line with the next available cashier scenario is Trunking. The next cashier scenario is more efficient than being stuck in line for one cashier. That's how the two types of radio systems operate. So I spent the whole week editing Powerpoint slides for the Networking class, as well as the lab guide, I removed all reference to Trunking Systems and substituted Conventional drawings and hands-on activities. I did about the same for the upcoming Console class. This took about 30 hours to accomplish, but at least it's ready. Now to see if it all flows smoothly in class next week, and the week of 5/7 in NYC. I'm also waiting for a co-worker to edit a class he is responsible for. I have to deliver a one- day class in Little Rock and the New Orleans area (Gretna) the week of 5/1. He's working hard on it, but him and I had the busiest delivery schedule in the first quarter. I will most likely get the files late next week, and deliver it on Monday & Wednesday the following week. We'll see how that goes of course. The class in Frankfort went well last week. Their system is unique, that's for sure. They definitely don't have a typical Motorola Radio System, so understanding it is paramount. The three days of class were mainly all software and how to configure the Core devices. The manager told me they learned an awful lot in that time, but wants me to review a bit next week for the 2 techs who missed the week. We'll probably do that Monday, then go from there. I'm not worried about it. at least it's a subject I'm very familiar with. Upcoming classes. Week of: 4/24: Frankfort Ky 5/1: Little Rock Arkansas and Gretna Louisiana (Monday & Wednesday) 5/8: NYC (Queens) 5/15: NYC (Brooklyn) a Two-Day class 5/22: Work from home/Doctors appts (Scheduled class has been delayed until December) 5/29: Memorial Day week, meetings all week. Either online or in Schaumburg 6/5: Schaumburg 6/12: NYC (Queens) 6/19: Wyoming (Three Day Class) 6/26: Teach from home In Closing I will drive to Frankfort tomorrow, then to Little Rock and Gretna the following week. Until next time, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Schaumburg, Illinois Week of: 4/3/2023 Last week found me in familiar surroundings. I delivered what is known as a resident class at our training facility in Schaumburg, Illinois. I lived in the Chicago suburbs for 15 years before moving to Bloomington, and have taught many classes there. It is our HQ (for training, so-to-speak) but I get to live 2 hours south in a much slower paced environment. I love it! The class I delivered was about our equipment at a remote radio site, and how it interfaces with the rest of the system. I've delivered this class since 2007 or so, but had not delivered it since August of last year. Delivering this as rarely as I do causes one minor problem for me. Despite having delivered it for 15 years or more, if you don't teach a class very often, you end up losing the flow. What I mean by that, is knowing where to be at the end of each day so you remain on track/time. I could write a small outline of sorts that would guide me on where to be, but I've never done that. Yet. So why don't I teach this class more often? Simple. I can deliver a wide variety of courses (15 right now, and 17 more that are no longer delivered because the product is antiquated), so I get assigned to go wherever, and whenever needed for those classes. As a result, months, sometimes years go by without delivering a particular course. Be that as it may, the class went very well with about everyone happy at the end. We are graded by the students at the end of each class, and in this case one student commented that he wanted less Powerpoint presentations and more hands-on activities, where another student commented that this class had the most hands-on activities he's had in any class with us, and he's attended 5-6 classes now. Oh well, you can't please everyone, can you? My (our) scheduler has the tough job if you ask me. All too often she ends up playing 'instructor dominoes' to meet the needs of a customer. I try not to bother her with personal needs, and work those in around my schedule. This makes my boss/manager mad, because he feels I'm neglecting my health needs. In some ways, I guess I am. I just hate the idea of special consideration being given to me due to things beyond my control. Noteworthy Restaurants: Emmett's Brewing Company https://emmettsbrewingco.com/menus/ I thought I'd once again visit the last restaurant I worked at in the Chicago area. While I was there, a man I used to work with came in. Needless to say, it was super nice to see him again, he let me finish my meal, then almost insisted I sit with him and chat a bit. The odd thing is, like me, he rarely visits Emmett's. Even more odd, was that he brought his German Growler in to be filled also. A German Growler I gave him 7-8 years ago! Talk about coincidences.... We've exchanged numbers, and when I'm in Schaumburg again (right now it would be the first week of June), we will meet up at Emmett's and reminisce again. In Closing I am currently home for a week with a couple of projects to finish this week. The scheduled classes in NYC need tailored materials, so I'll work on those. I can't do it though, until I get some information from the support team/customer. I also need to review what I edited/wrote for a class I'll deliver in 2 weeks in Frankfort. For me, a week off only means a week of no delivery. There's never a real week off, even on vacation. Until next time, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Frankfort, Ky Week of: 3/27/2023 Last week found me in a new location. New in that I've never delivered a class in this town/city. I have driven past this area, and briefly stopped for lunch/gas maybe, but I've never spent any amount of time there. I can't say that anymore, can I?  Frankfort may be the capital of Kentucky, but it's a small town really. But a small town with a lot to offer. I have to say that an afternoon rush hour in downtown Frankfort does not exist. In fact, it's almost deserted! So what does Frankfort have to offer since it is a small town. Well, first and foremost, distillery's. I'm not promoting drinking alcohol, or don't mean to be, but there are numerous distilleries in or near Frankfort. One of the biggest is the Buffalo Trace Distillery. It was this distillery that had me thinking I might find something from Pappy Van Winkle, though in retrospect I knew that wasn't about to happen. For those who may not know, Pappy Van Winkle is one of the most rare Bourbon's around. It is distilled in small batches, and a link to the 'OLD' Pappy Van Winkle Distillery near the Buffalo Trace Distillery is what led me astray initially. That link listed a bottle of their 10 year old bourbon at $300, where if you were lucky enough to find one in a store, you would probably pay close to 8x that price!. Having been educated about the Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon by my good friend Robert Waltz   , I knew this was an excellent price. But deep in my heart, I knew there wasn't a chance in #$^& (you know what I mean) that I could get one. Still, it was a nice fantasy/thought for a short while. Learning that one of our members has a bottle of that vintage (Is that the right word to use regarding a Bourbon or Whiskey?) was almost mind-blowing. Believe me, I'm happy for them. If I had a bottle of that, I'm not sure when or if I'd open it!This Networking class was a little lot different from the others I've delivered. First, it was for a Conventional Radio System. Secondly, their system is not configured like others, nor is the hardware of the whole system placed like other systems. It made for an interesting class, where I learned as much about their system as they did the networking configuration. I will be back to Frankfort two more time for classes on different subjects, so this class helped me learn their system configuration. Noteworthy Restaurants: Mami Monchitas https://mamimonchitas.com/menu/ This is a Honduran restaurant that serves very good meals. I love dining at restaurants that feature food from foreign lands. Though I travel to places many of you never will, I know that I will never see everything our Mother Earth has to offer in the form of other cultures. I dine at places such as this to experience 'Non-American' foods and culture. I honestly feel that Kåre Enga in Montana   does it right when he travels. He eats, breathes, and drinks the local culture. I'd love to experience a foreign country the way he does! My meal was 'Steak Skewers, but they were seasoned far differently than the same dish when served in a standard American restaurant. The menu listed this as 'Steak. It was Traditional meat skewers deliciously marinated with fresh ingredients and served with white rice, refried beans, plátanos maduros (sweet plantains), chismol (Honduran “pico”) and chimichurri sauce. Needless to say, I will return here when I'm back for classes three and four weeks from now.Goodwood Brewing https://www.toasttab.com/goodwood-brewing-company-frankfort/v3/ Here I enjoyed 6 wings, 3 each of BBQ, and Medium Chipotle Garlic. Both were outstanding, but I lean more towards the BBQ Wings, mainly because i love good BBQ Wings. My meal was Blackened Catfish on dirty rice with a side of Braised Collard Greens. The catfish blackening was over-the-top really. Spicy, but not overly so. The dirty rice could have been a lot 'dirtier' though. Still, I'll dine here again when I return. In Closing Next week will find me in Schaumburg Illinois for a 'resident class. It's a place I'm all too familiar with, but it will be fun. We'll see how that trip goes. Until next time, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write{!/size} Jim Dorrell |
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