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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 |
A Semi-Virtual Tour of A Nuclear Submarine This entry is inspired by Bikerider  's comment about a Newsfeed post I commented on recently."Note: Three Word Thursday In just three words , gi..." I initially provided a three word entry for this post, but decided I would write more, and ask questions about a submarine. As many of you might know, I served in our Navy for 20 years in the Submarine Force. So the questions weren't meant to be me looking for answers. It was meant to make you think about what it's really like on a submarine. Bikerider 's comment was that a written tour of a submarine would be interesting. While this is not a written tour, I really hope he finds this interesting!I really think that most of you would find a written tour to be pretty boring. So instead of a written tour, how about a pictorial one? Explanations provided with each photo of course. ** Image ID #2243064 Unavailable ** This is not a true representation of a submarine's interior, but it will suffice. Just aft (to the left) of the missile tubes, you see a hatch. That is how you enter or exit the submarine while in port, and also serves as an escape hatch should it sink. A quick blurb here about that. If a submarine sinks, every man on board is most likely dead. Your chances of actually being able to use that escape hatch are less than the chances of you winning the lottery. Why? Most likely the submarine will sink in water far too deep for it to survive, and it implodes. If it does sink in water that is shallow enough, it must be very close to upright for that hatch to be useful. I lived (slept really) on the third deck, right under the sail and masts/antennas. I worked in the Engineroom, which is aft of the hatch used to enter the boat. ** Image ID #2243065 Unavailable ** This is the heart and soul of a submarine. It is here that the Officer of the Deck (OOD) can raise the periscope and see the world above the waves. Here is where the men steer the submarine, as well as maintain its depth. This photo is of a much newer submarine than my first two, and a bit more roomy too. The man in the foreground (helmsman) is the one who steers the boat according to commands from the OOD. He also operates the forward planes. Depending on the class of submarine, these planes are either on the sail, or near the bow. The other position with that steering wheel looking thing is actually manned (planesman), but you can't see him right now. That man operates the stern planes, those which control the angle of the boat underwater. The man with his hands together in the back of the photo is the Chief Of The Watch. He is the one who would blow the ballast tanks to surface the boat, when ordered by the OOD. He also maintains the trim of the boat (along with that second helmsman), by pumping water from tank to tank. He monitors all external hatches, as well as air banks pressures, etc. He's a pretty busy guy really. All three of these men work for the Diving Office Of The Watch. The 'Dive' (as he's called), maintains the boat's depth as ordered by the OOD. It does take quite the team to operate something like this. ** Image ID #2243068 Unavailable ** Five photo's of a submarine interior. Left top: This is a view of the Maneuvering area in the Engineroom of a submarine. The panel in the photo is where a man sits and controls the reactor. The 'shim switch' in the middle of the panel is used to move the control rods in and out. Contrary to what Hollywood tells you, the Control Rods are very (and I do mean very) slowly. The rods must be pulled high enough to take the reactor critical. The reactor then heats the water in the primary plant, which is pumped through the primary piping to the steam generator. Just like the water heater in your house, the primary piping in the steam generator heats the water on the secondary side. Steam is formed, which is then sent to turbines to both push the boat through the water, as well as rotate turbines that couple to generators to provide electricity. That was my job, monitoring and maintaining all the equipment that created the electricity for the boat. I operated the panel on either side of the central panel there (not at the same time of course), as well as standing watches that allowed me to roam the entire engineroom. Lower left: The 'head', or restroom. You would have 20-25 men in here at once getting ready to go on watch. You can see the 'privacy' we had on board.  The middle photo is of a submarine going through a major refit. It's hard to say exactly where in the boat this is. Right top: A shower. Yep, all 3 foot x 3 foot x 6 foot of it. And that's being generous in describing its size. Lower right: A berthing area on a boat. On my first two boats, if you were more than 6 feet tall, you could not sleep stretched out in your bunk. Your legs were always curled. The passageway between those bunks might have been 2 foot wide.Here's a better photo of maneuvering  So while all looks so 'cool' on the outside, there's a lot going on inside. I'm sorry I don't have more photo's to share with you. If you want an entertaining read, and good photo's of submarine life, I recommend looking for 'Poopie Suits and Cowboy Boots' on Amazon. Very well done with stories written by people like myself who have served, and may still serve on submarines. I haven't contributed any to that yet, mainly because I just found out about these books. If you are curious about this life, please ask. I'll be happy to tell you what I can of it.  Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Week of: January 11, 18, and 25, 2021 For the longest time, I didn't really like delivering online classes. The reason? It meant I wasn't going somewhere, but that was only a minor consideration. In our online deliveries, there is no video feed, so we can't see the students, they can't see me. Yes, I can turn my webcam on, and I do at times when using my whiteboard. But there's really no need for it, then again, there's a big need for it. If you've participated in instructor-led online learning, you can appreciate the need to share video. At the same time, video requires a lot of bandwidth, and for some, that's not possible. Plus, at times I need to access the company's VPN which does cause connectivity issues at times. (There's a problem there somewhere, but it's not something I can correct). So, we don't use video for the most part. As an instructor, I like being able to see the students. I can judge how they are receiving the information, when they might be confused, etc. With no video, that's impossible. So for me, an online class is a necessary evil so-to-speak, one we can't avoid. These past two weeks, and this week, I am delivering classes from home. Next week I'm on vacation, and the following week I'm not scheduled to deliver anything. I won't know what to do with TWO Weeks free! (Kidding of course). This my fourth week in a row delivering a class, that's fine with me. I've delivered three different classes in those four weeks, and this is a rare occasion where I will deliver the same class back-to-back. I'm getting used to the online delivery, and like it more now since I can deliver classes from home. Such a long commute though! I have to walk downstairs to the basement after all. But it's a quiet commute, and quite safe, as long as I don't slip on the stairs. My schedule is staying full though, so that's a good thing. By the end of June, I will have delivered what is considered a full year's worth of classes. Well, almost. Still, that might give you an idea of how busy we all are. It could be a lot worse, so I'm not complaining one bit. Loving what I do is a benefit too. I just wish all of you were as lucky as I am in your careers. In Closing I am home this week, and the next two. Then it's off to Sarasota, Florida followed by Lyons, New Jersey. These two weeks free are necessary, because after that, my next free week won't be until May 24th! Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! |
| Locale: Flagler County, Florida Week of: January 4, 2021 This week finds me in Flagler County Florida for a class with the county techs. I drove down because I'm still avoiding flying as much as I can. Yeah, I know that they've tested airliners and found that the virus can't live in one because of the air circulation. That's not my worry. It's the airports, and everywhere between my car and the plane. So thanks, but no thanks, I'll drive when possible. This has been a fun class, but it's had its moments too. Imagine coming to a customer prepared to deliver a class consisting of equipment A and equipment B. Then, despite all your prep e-mails back and forth, despite all the pre-work you put in, you start the class, and discover that they only have equipment B. The problem is, covering equipment A and B would normally take 4 days (so you might wonder why it was scheduled for five? Don't worry, I do too, but they won't change it, no matter what we tell them), but now in covering only equipment B, you can get 2.5, maybe 3 days of training in. Oh wait, they paid for 5, so what to do, what to do? Fortunately, they have equipment C & D (yes, I'm using letters just to make it more understandable to Multicast Sites vs. Simulcast Sites will bore you to tears), and you just happen to be the only instructor who can really talk about equipment C & D at length. You got all that? I hope so, because there's a test following this.... So it's been a good week. The customer is happy with the training, especially since I know they don't want training on equipment they don't have, and that extra stuff I've taught them? Very few know it well, and they've had a lot of questions about it, so we've done well. Plus, I've gotten to spend a week in the warmth of Florida, huh! That's a wi-win if you ask me! To top it off, I've found at least two nice restaurants. Well, three really, but the third one happens to be closed this week.. Dang it. Noteworthy Restaurants: Flagler Fish Company https://flaglerfishandbeefcompany.com/daily-menu/ This is the kind of place I love to stop in and dine. A local run place, nothing fancy, just good food. To say their fish sandwich was good would be a gross understatement. It was Excellent! Along with that, Smoked Fish Dip. So good, I will stop there on the way out tomorrow, but a half-pint of it to take home! Portugal Wine Bar And Grill https://www.portugalwinebarandgrill.com/menu When I saw this on Google Maps, I knew I had to visit it. Why? One word. Paella. Yummmmm. A platter so large I had enough for a second night of enjoyment. It was a nice place to visit too, a bit 'fancy', but that was alright. In Closing I am home the next four weeks, delivering online classes the next three weeks before getting a week off to study and such. Then it's off to High Point NC, at least as of now. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Blooomington, Illinois Weeks of: December 21 & 28, 2020 It's been a relaxing two weeks here. I spent it working with a teammate in Schaumburg last week, learning a little about a new course. There is A LOT to learn for this class though, so it will be awhile. A little about this course and the product covered in it. A customer can purchase additional equipment for their radio system, and properly configured, it will allow their Cell Phones to communicate with users on their radios. A little extra info here too. A cell phone is really a radio, but it operates differently, and in a different frequency band that our 2-way radios, so it's impossible for someone on their cell phone to make a call on our radio networks. This optional equipment ties the two types of system together. How? Once the call is received from the cell phone, the system converts it to digital (1's and 0's), then puts it on a network. Since it's all digital, as long as there's a network connection, the call can be received by radios operating in their frequency band, which convert it back to audio that we can hear. So despite being in two different frequency bands, despite using non-compatible signaling schemes, by tying the two systems together over a network, communication can occur. So I have to learn all the in's and out's of this system, how it works, is connected together, and how to configure/maintain & troubleshoot it. This past week I used my time to complete final edits on that course I learned (and heavily edited) back in March. The course materials I've been using were 'okay' at least, but really needed a good sprucing up. That's been done, I've double and triple checked the sequence of doing the Microsoft Excel exercises, and feel it's ready for others to use. Now all we need to do, is get them qualified. At least they'll have better course materials than I did to start with, plus recordings of classes I deliver in January using these materials. We'll see what happens. In Closing I will spend the weekend at home before going to Florida on January 2nd for a class next week. After that, I am home for about five weeks (as of now), delivering classes from my basement all but one of those weeks. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! |
| Locale: Helena, Montana Week of: December 14, 2020 This week I was in Seattle first, now Helena, Montana. It's a one day class that consists entirely of hands-on activities for the students. We started this after the Pandemic halted all classes for about seven weeks. Right now, we do a class online using Adobe connect that is all theory and discussion. Then we go to the customer's site and conduct one day of hands on training. We can do more days if needed, but for these two classes, one day was sufficient. As much as I was disappointed in the hotel restaurant in Seattle, I couldn't be more pleased with my dining options in Helena. Surprisingly you were allowed to dine in at Helena restaurants. I arrived Wednesday afternoon and found a place that appealed to me, and went there. It was so good, I went back Thursday night before flying out Friday morning. I had hoped to meet Kåre Enga in Montana  in Great Falls this trip. Great Falls was the original location of the training, but when I called last week (after that last minute change to my schedule), I found out it would be in Helena. It would have been nice to meet up, but sadly that wasn't possible....  There's always a chance I'll be scheduled to go back, they have a lot more training they need, so we'll see what happens.The class was held at a radio site on a mountaintop about 30 miles south of Helena. The mountain wasn't all that high compared to the surrounding terrain, but still, it was beautiful up there. The building that houses the radio equipment was heated of course, so it was very comfy there. The class itself went very well, I used my portable projector to show my computer screen on a blank wall, and had the students access the software while I directed them on what to do. There was a lot of discussion, questions, and note taking throughout the day. Noteworthy Restaurants: Hokkaido Ramen & Isakaya https://hokkaidoramen.life/helena/ I didn't expect to find this caliber of Japanese/Oriental restaurant in Helena, but I did. Their Tantanken Ramen was excellent, as was their 'Crazy Roll' Sushi. I had to have Edamame also, and could have dined there all week if this had been a week long class. I wouldn't have done that in actuality, because I really like trying different places to see what is out there. Excellent food really, and a nice, relaxing atmosphere. Photo's From Visit:  Mountaintop Training Site  Naked Mountaintop Tree In Closing I will spend the weekend at home before going to Schaumburg for two days next week. After that, my year is done, except there are things I need to get done to be ready for the New Year. It never stops, and that's fine with me. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Seattle, Washington Week of: December 14, 2020 Here I am in the beautiful city of Seattle, and no place to go. You might wonder how that's possible, so let me explain. I'm only here for 1 day. I'm here to work with the customer in completing the hands-on activities for this course. It only takes one day to do all that, so here I am. Being such a short trip, working in the airport itself, plus having the pandemic still going on, it seemed to make sense to not have a car. Restaurants are open for carry-out only, so I can't even go to the city for dinner. Many of you have it a lot tougher than this, so I don't feel I should complain too much. Since the class was conducted at the airport, I chose to stay at the Hilton across the street, but I have to confess that I wouldn't stay here again. Why? It's an old hotel, comfy, clean, but in need of an update. That isn't the reason though. There's a Spencer's Restaurant that is part of the hotel; it's supposed to be a good place to dine. They may have changed things due to the pandemic, I'm not sure. What I do know, is that the price you pay (well, my company pays) for a meal is not worth what you get. I arrived Monday and being somewhat tied to the hotel, I went there for my carryout dinner. I love Fish n Chips, so I ordered that, and a Caesar Salad, along with a plastic up of beer, and for later, one of those hard cider things. I won't say the price here, that's not important. But the fish was 3 'logs', about the size of a cigar in diameter, and maybe 3-4 inches in length, and a ton of fries. That dish alone was close to $30! That's what I mean about the price not being in line with what you get. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a larger portion, what I had was plenty. I don't think it should have cost that much. The meal was good (for being a take-out order), nothing wrong with it, just overpriced. So, I wouldn't stay here again if that's my main dining option. The hands-on activities went well, there were only 2 students, so it was nice to teach almost one-on-one. It wasn't classroom teaching, no lecturing. It was all demo's, them actually logging on to devices and viewing it's configuration, learning how to do this or that to maintain the system and devices. This was my first time doing the hands-on activities only, and my first time doing this class since August of 2019. I get to do this class in person in about 4 weeks in Flagler County Florida, so it was also a nice refresher, if you will. In Closing Today I fly to Montana to do this again, a slightly different course, but in reality, about the same stuff. I will be in Helena, and I'm told the radio site is on top of a mountain. I just hope the shelter that houses the radios is decently warm! Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Week of: December 7, 2020 This week finds me at home once again teaching in my basement. It's something I've gotten used to, and learned to enjoy a bit. This class was one I haven't taught since April 2019, but I needed a refresher. Why? Because next week I will be in Seattle and Helena Montana doing the supervising the hands-on activities of this course. Plus, I have to deliver this again in person in Flagler County Florida in three weeks, so this really helped refresh my memory on it. As in every class I deliver, I learned something new, which is always good. Despite the pandemic, this has been a very busy year for me. A normal 'fully loaded' schedule for us is 110-115 days of delivery. Why so little? That's actually about six months of classroom time, and the other six months is meant to be spent learning/qualifying new courses, upgrading course materials (there's always room for improvement!), and in some ways, relaxing. Well, it wasn't until this week that I realized exactly how busy I've been delivering classes in 2020. In March & April, we lost seven weeks of delivery due to the Pandemic. Since then, other than taking PTO in October, and having the US Holiday weeks 'off' from teaching, I've only had one week of non-delivery. What this means, is that out of a possible 32 weeks we've delivered classes since late April, I've delivered classes in 28 of them! Remember that 110-115 days per year being a full schedule? This year, I will deliver 152 days of classes. That's when I realized exactly how busy I've been. But that's good if you ask me. In Closing I will spend next week in those two places mentioned above, then at least 1-2 nights in Schaumburg to cross-train on a new course. After that, I have two weeks on holiday before hitting it again the first of the year. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! |
| Locale: Springfield, Missouri Week of: November 30, 2020 This week finds me in Springfield Missouri for a Networking class with the city. I was in Springfield in 2002, and have a few fond memories of being here. Don't ask where I dined though, because I couldn't tell you. Other than Lambert Throwed Rolls that is. I drove there, it was only a 5 hour drive or so, and a nice one at that. I have to say that for there being a Pandemic going on, there sure was a lot of people heading home on the highways from a family weekend. I didn't mind, I'm glad they were able to get together, assuming that was the reason there were so many on the road. The class itself was good, I may be invited back for a different class too. For me, that's always an honor. An honor that someone thinks well enough of me to ask for me to come back for another class. We'll see what happens. It seems that the instructor who owns this course has changed it a little... again. There were at least 2 hands-on exercises that we did, and I don't recall seeing them before. So I have some studying to do so I have them down solid. But really, things went well. At least there were no questions asked that I couldn't answer. It's amazing how these systems can change, the new capabilities that are being configured. It can be quite the chore to keep up with all the changes, but somehow we manage to stay even with the curve at least. Noteworthy Restaurants: Cafe Cusco https://www.cafecusco.com/menu This is a Peruvian/Chilean inspired restaurant, and I thought the food was very good. I went there twice, the first time I had their Fried Guacamole appetizer, and Olive Trout. On my second visit, I wanted the Drunk Goat, but they were out of that, so I settled for the Fried Rabbit. Everything was very good as I said, though I forgot to order the Ceviche Miami on my second visit. Ocean Zen https://www.eatoceanzen.com/menu I had to visit this place, their menu looked terrific, and I was in the mood for Sushi. I wasn't disappointed one bit. I will admit that their Tuna Poke was a little on the small side, but it was still very good. I forget which Sushi roll I had, but it really hit the spot. I thought about having a second appetizer, but didn't want to overdo it and get too full. Historic/Interesting Places Visited: Uranus, Missouri I can't drive west on I-44 without stopping here. I found a few things I wanted, and when I approached the cashier, the sweet young lady said, "It's nice to see you! We're glad you picked Uranus!" You can see that this could go on and on. I wanted to say something like, "Well, I can't drive past here without visiting Uranus, it's always a pleasure." but figured she was 21-22 at most, and since I could be her grandfather, I decided not to say anything too outlandish. You can get several knick-knacks there, so I settled on a glass with their logo that reads, "Packing Fudge Fresh In Uranus Since 2015". I also picked up a jar of Garlic Stuffed Green Olives that also stated, "Fresh from the farm to Uranus". Boy do I have a warped sense of humor!  In Closing I will spend the rest of the year at home, with at least 1-2 nights in Schaumburg to cross-train on a new course. I teach online the next two weeks, then have two weeks on holiday before hitting it again the first of the year. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Week of: November 16, 2020 This week finds me at home once again, delivering that 'Fleetmapping' course I was asked to learn in March. This is fine, because we all know things could be a lot worse. Some of my co-workers have been traveling like crazy though, and I'm not envious one bit. Since the pandemic hit in March, I have traveled for class delivery 5 times. I will travel again Sunday to Springfield, Missouri, and that will be my last field trip of this year. Since March, I will have taught classes in the field five times, and on line a whopping TWENTY times! Yikes! I was a little concerned about this class because this customer has already completed their Fleetmap design. I wondered why the class was scheduled, but deep down, I knew why. All I could do was deliver to the best of my abilities, and go from there. I will say that the students were very cooperative, seemed to enjoy the class, and overall it was their willingness to be there that made the class a success. Yes, they had a good instructor that somehow manages to make an online session somewhat enjoyable, but it was the students who made this class enjoyable. Have you wondered what 'Fleetmapping' is all about? Here's a little info about it for you. Imagine you're a customer, perhaps a Public Safety Agency in a large city. You've purchased this state-of-the-art' radio communications system from my company. Because of the size of your city, the Public Safety Sector, and general city businesses (Parks & Recreation, Public Utilities, Transportation, etc) are all going to use this system. You will have about 15,000 users on it, all transmitting on their 2-way radios to remain in touch with their co-workers and managers. These radios are pretty sophisticated, and are programmed using a special program on your PC. Plus, they can be programmed in hundreds, if not thousands of different ways. Plus, the radios have to be properly configured in the system applications that reside on a web-based server. You have to know your options and system capabilities to really configure things appropriately. Fleetmapping enables you to plan how both the system, and the radios, are configured and programmed. After all, if they don't mesh and work together, you (the city) just spent a little over a couple of hundred million dollars on a useless communication system. That's the class I edited greatly, and taught myself to teach in March. In Closing I will spend the holiday week at home before driving to Springfield Sunday. I will be working on a couple of small work-related projects while here, trying to get aheda, (or remain ahead), of that eight ball. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Schaumburg, Illinois Week of: November 9, 2020 This week I delivered a 'resident class' in Schaumburg. It is a pretty basic RF class that I've taught for 19 years now, so there was very little stress in this delivery. It's not the same delivering a class there though. The building is a ghost town since everyone is working from home. The only reason to keep that building (all 12 stories of it), is for our classrooms. I wouldn't be surprised if they move us to a different location (cheaper lease) in the not to distant future. Pure conjecture on my part, but it only makes sense. The kicker to all this, is that with the COVID cases on the rise once again, the county implemented even more stringent measures at controlling crowds. The classrooms are designed for 12 students, but we can now have no more than 25% of the allowed amount of people in it, meaning 3 students in the small classrooms (where I was), and 4-5 in the larger rooms. So, I had a class of three, except one person didn't show up. It's harder to teach a small group like that. There aren't as many questions, so the time goes by faster than it normally would. Overall, it was a good week, but things are so different now. I'm just thankful I'm still employed!My schedule is still on steroids, and I can only assume everyone else's is too. (I can only see mine, I do not see who is teaching what or where). I'm glad I get the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years off, because other than those weeks, I am booked every week between now and May 24th! In Closing I will spend the weekend and the next two weeks at home. Next week I will teach that 'Fleetmapping' class online again, with the City and County of San Francisco my customer. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
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