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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, Florida Week of: 1/8/24 This week found me back in Fort Lauderdale delivering a class I've delivered many times. This class was a little different since I've never delivered it in Fort Lauderdale, plus there were only five students registered. Of those five, there was one no-show, and one is a co-worker who hired in, in August. You might think he wouldn't know much, but he's a former field technician who has maintained this equipment for years. He has experience I'll never get, so his input this week was timely, and excellent. The class itself went very well overall. I wanted to learn how to use a certain piece of test equipment, but that didn't happen quite as expected. It's okay, I know enough about it to use it, I just wanted to learn more about it is all. The Motorola facility in Fort Lauderdale is on the 16th floor of a bank building. Something I hadn't seen until my first class there, is going to the desk to show your ID, and having the person at the desk summon an elevator for you. The elevator control panel is hidden behind the desk, they punch a button to summon an elevator, a small screen informs them which elevator is coming. They then tell you which of the five elevators will be the one you ride. Interesting, but nothing spectacular. It was only a three day class, which left me with 'only' three nights to dine out. I think I made the best of it though, but if I had to choose a night that wasn't up to par with the other nights, it would be Tuesday night. Read below about my two memorable dining experiences Noteworthy Restaurants: Eatapas https://eatapasfl.com/fort-lauderdale-eatapas-food-menu I was sold on this place when I walked in the door, as well as when I browsed their menu on line. This restaurant's menu is almost exclusively Tapas (small plates of course) with Seven types of Paella! I had my heart set on Tapas that night though, so sadly, no Paella for me. Seeing that it was a Spanish (Not Mexican) restaurant, I had a glass of Spanish wine. My Tapas were `Aceitunas, Herbs marinated assorted Spanish olives. I also had Croquetas de Bacalao, Cod fish croquettes, and Huevos Rotos con Jamón, Soft eggs served over potatoes and serrano ham. What amazed me is that the eggs were soft of course, the yolks were not hard cooked, yet they weren't runny. This is a place I will most likely dine at every time I get to go there. Pirate Republic Seafood Restaurant https://piraterepublicseafood.com/menu/special-menu/ This restaurant sits on the New River, my table was outside with a nice view of the river traffic. For some reason, I went overboard for dinner, maybe a celebratory kind of dinner, who knows? What I do know is that three of us could have dined at Eatapas for what this dinner cost. I started with their Garlic Spice Shrimp, Shrimp Sauteed With Garlic And Red Pepper Flakes. My entree was one of the Snapper Towers, Snapper Tower 2. Snapper Two With Shrimp (Yeah ,Market Price, which means I shouldn't have ordered it).  Whole Snapper & Jumbo Shrimp (about seven Shrimp/pound) With Drawn Butter And Garlic Spiced Sauce. It was served with a house salad and a choice of two sides. I chose Collard Greens (Brazilian Style), and Okra. That Garlic Spiced Sauce was red in color, with the Ramekin about half full of minced Garlic! Wow! At least half that meal was my Thursday lunch. While Eatapas is a place I will frequent about every time I'm in Ft Lauderdale, Pirate Republic is a place I will go to celebrate something, or go with friends and loved ones. This was my second time there.Well, that's about it for an update, at least for now. Until my next post, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write!  Jim Dorrell |
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I then went to Taiwan for two weeks; but, although that was nice, it wasn't 'home'. 
