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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: Algiers, Algeria This week finds me in Algiers, Algeria for a couple of classes with the Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN). Of course, their native tongue isn't English, it's mainly French, with a bit of Arabic thrown in. All of my students speak a bit of English, some more than others, and those that speak it better than most help in translating difficult points to understand. Other than slowing the delivery of the class a little, all has gone well, and I'm still on schedule in my delivery. I'm staying at the Sheraton Des Pins Resort, just west of Algiers. As I mentioned in my previous post, a driver takes me to and from work daily. That's a good thing, I've seen how they drive here, and have no desire to do that. Not that they are bad drivers, they just drive so differently than we do in the States. Add to it that I hate being tailgated (compared to us, it's like tailgating is on Steroids). The class is in Soumaa, Blida, Algeria, about an hours drive south of here. It's not really far, the time is more due to traffic than distance. I have to confess that the image I had in my mind of Algeria, was one of desert mostly. I was surprised to see mountains to the south, pretty close to the training site. But south of the mountains, you will find the desert, so I'm told. I won't be traveling over the mountains for a couple of reason, mainly that it's more dangerous there than here for foreigners who are Caucasian. Photo's From Visit:  Panoramic Shot Of Mediterranean Sea From Hotel Beach Noteworthy Restaurants: Pan Asian, Le Tassili (Algerian Cuisine, and very good), La Trattoria (Italian), La Brasserie (it seems to change almost nightly), all here in the hotel. I can't find a website, can't find their menus, but the food is very good. I haven't decided on my favorites yet, I usually just change restaurants each day so far. Let's just say I haven't been disappointed yet. In Closing I will spend the weekend (Friday and Saturday is the weekend here) here in Algeria. I might get out if either the driver or another Motorolan (the Project Manager) take me. Otherwise I'll be relaxing in the hotel all weekend. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!  Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Algiers, Algeria I will be here in Algeria the next two weeks to deliver a basic RF Theory class to their radio techs. This entry will enlighten you about the 'hazards' of every day travel.  My flights were fine, a little bumpy crossing the Atlantic, even on a 747. I managed to get a seat in the upper level, so it was very quiet, and only about half full! I have to give kudos to people like Kåre Enga in Udon Thani  who travel on their own, often sitting 'in-the-back-of-the-bus' so to speak to get where they long to be. I'll admit to being a bit spoiled, but in thinking about what Kåre Enga in Udon Thani does and sees, I often wonder who's seeing more. Actually, I know who's seeing more, and it's not me.  I arrived in Algiers about noon after having traveled all night to Frankfurt, then down to here after a two hour layover. That part was fine, everything went smoothly. The Algiers airport is new, but was fairly empty when we arrived. My driver (yes, my company has a man they've hired to drive the instructors to and from work, and airport) met me outside baggage claim and we headed to the hotel. I know I haven't seen much of Algeria yet, but initial impressions are that it reminded me a lot of being in Kuwait in 2004. We arrived at the hotel, and I checked in. Or should I say, I attempted to check in. Two things happened about the same time. First, I realized that my PNC bank card was missing! This is my card, not the company card. I'd deposited a small amount yesterday before leaving, and had NEVER REMOVED IT FROM THE ATM SLOT!  A quick call home, and checking with the bank fixed it. Some kind, angelic soul had found it in the ATM and turned it in. Fortunately, I'd used an ATM at the bank, so that made it easier too. The cards is being mailed to my house.(This part I'm summarizing more than anything) The second thing that happened on checking in, is that my Corporate card was declined! Without going in to a lot of unnecessary details, let's just say we have a limit on our cards, and there wasn't enough room on mine to allow me to check in for two weeks. It's fixed now of course, but it took a few phone calls, a couple of e-mails, and some amount of stress to get it done. My own fault for not making sure everything was fine before leaving. After checking in, I toured the grounds some, grabbed a bite to eat at one of the numerous restaurants that are part of this complex, and crashed for a few hours. Need more sleep, so going back to bed in a bit. In Closing Like I said, I'm here for two weeks, and will post again about things I see or experience. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Schaumburg, Illinois Well, I'm stuck in Schaumburg this week and next. It's supposed to get cold, and a bit snowy maybe. We'll see. How did I suddenly (it was suddenly at all really), become one who has enough knowledge to cross-train other instructors? It's not really that I have enough knowledge, though I know I do. It's that a few of the course I teach, I'm the only one who's qualified. Better yet, I've qualified myself on them, because I WROTE the course... The instructor manager wants more qualified on these courses because the schedulers can't schedule me much more than they already are. This make customers wait months for a class, when other instructors are idle, not near as busy as I am. I'm not smarter than anyone else if you ask me, I've just carved a niche out at work. Speaking of my schedule, other than having a week off after International travel 3 times, and one week of vacation in late May, I am booked solid between now and mid-June! So I've spent this week cross-training two newer instructors, and while cross-training them on this course, have 'exposed' them to system type stuff, since right now they only deliver classes on a specific radio(s). It doesn't bother me, it's training after all, something I love doing. It's been a good week too, they seem to have gotten a lot out of it. We'll know more tomorrow when I give them the 56 question test I've written for this class. That's 56 Essay questions, not multiple choice or fill in the blank. Why 56? Because I kept finding questions that needed to be answered to consider them qualified to deliver this course. I wanted 60-75, but also got caught up in editing another course for an April delivery, and didn't have time to think of more questions. So where is 2020 taking ol' Jim Dorrell? In calendar order: Schaumburg, Algiers, Schaumburg, Helena Montana, Schaumburg (so I can qualify another course), Yokota AFB near Tokyo Japan, Washington DC, Folsom California, Algiers, Fort Lauderdale Florida, Schaumburg, Vacation for a week, and suddenly we're at Memorial Day! Too many days/weeks in Schaumburg if you ask me. In Closing I will spend the weekend at home before being back here next week to deliver a Networking Class. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, 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'. 