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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: Bloomington, Illinois Week of: May 23, 2022 This week was another week where I delivered part of one class during the day, then delivered another class that night. A co-worker also has Multiple Myeloma, except his was caught later than mine. To give you an example, he's been on Revlimid for 3 years now, and is not in Remission yet! His last Bone Marrow Biopsy showed a little bit (his words) of Myeloma, so his doctor wanted to repeat it this month. He needed Monday off as a result, so I covered Monday for him. We're the only two instructors who deliver this class, there was no way I was not going to cover for him! I'd have delivered the entire week if necessary. My scheduled class was an online class with the US Air Force. The AFB in Yokota Japan. The original scheduled time was 10 am Japan time, to 3 pm Japan time. This would have been 8 pm to 1 am local time for me, Yuck! The customer didn't like those hours, since it ruined their normal work-day, and asked if we could start at 7:30 am their time. Obviously I agreed. Except for Monday. We started at 9 am their time, since I couldn't get home from Schaumburg by 5:30 pm my time. Still, it worked for me much better than an 8 pm start time! Everything went well with both deliveries overall, I was happy with the Yokota AFB class, and enjoyed being in Schaumburg that one day. I am home again next week. Since it's the Memorial Day week, the week will consist of online meetings and cross-training. I get to spend about 5 hours Thursday cross-training some instructors on Fleetmapping. That class is becoming, or has become, very popular, and there's a need for more qualified instructors. I've been told that some of my co-workers don't want to deliver it though. At issue is the fact that no one is qualified to teach everything. In the case of Fleetmapping, you really teach portions of 3 different courses. Console programming/configuration, radio programming/configuration, and system configuration. No one teaches all of those courses. Well, no one except my manager (he shouldn't deliver classes at all really), and the co-worker who I covered for this week. Both of them are kept busy delivering other classes besides Fleetmapping. So my co-workers don't want to deliver this because they aren't qualified to deliver all three courses. My opinion, and I know what it's worth, is, GET OVER IT. When I started teaching Fleetmapping, I was only qualified to deliver one of those three classes. That hasn't changed either. If I can learn enough to deliver this class, and deliver it with excellent grades from every class so far, so can they! We'll see what happens this week. In Closing As I said, I have been home this week, and will be home next week also. The following week I will be back in Fort Lauderdale for 2 weeks delivering Networking classes. Maybe I will get to meet Lilli 🧿 ☕  this time, or anyone else who is in that area (hint, hint! Are any of you in the Miami/South Florida area) and would like to connect? The weekend I have free, I plan on getting a rental car and visiting Key West again. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Week of: May 16, 2022 This week has proved to be a productive week as far as studying goes. I reviewed the course materials for the class I delivered in Las Olas, and arranged to pick up some equipment when I'm in Schaumburg Monday. Ah yes, about spending one day in Schaumburg. I will deliver one day of a class for a co-worker so he can see his doctor. This is an appointment he can't miss, and I'm the only instructor besides him that is qualified to deliver that class. Actually, I'm the Master Instructor for that class, he's the other qualified instructor. Doesn't matter really, I will cover for him because with all the appointments I've had in the past two years, I know what it's like to need to see your doctor. During the class for the Port Of Los Angeles, one of the senior technicians made a comment that made me realize I really should work on a certain course, and qualify to deliver it. My manager has said the same thing. Let me explain. Fleetmapping is something that every customer should do when they purchase their system. Let me describe it this way. When a customer buys a radio system, there are many pieces of equipment that need to be configured/programmed. I call one side 'The System', and the other side 'the field (or subscriber) radios. The system side is equipment that is mounted in a rack. You know, two metal stands about 19 inches apart with holes drilled in the sides. The equipment consists of Virtual Servers, (a computer with numerous cores, a 600 GB hard drive, and about 16 vertically mounted 600 GB pocket sized hard drives mounted beneath it), and connected via a cable. If you're glassy eyes already, please hang in there. There's more. The equipment also consists of networking equipment, routers & switches, repeaters (rack mounted radios), and numerous other pieces of equipment. I teach a lot of it, and have more than a layman's knowledge about what I don't teach, but I do know what I don't know. Back to my story. So this system is purchased at a cost of several hundred million dollars, depending on the size of it, and other factors. Fleetmapping allows the customer to configure the system to their needs. The system is very flexible as far as configuration goes, and can be configured in so many ways it makes my head spin. But just configuring the system isn't enough. The radios that people use, whether they are mounted in a vehicle, or carried on a person's waist, need to also be programmed/configured. If the customer only configures the system and not the radios, they have wasted their money. Realize that when I say configure, I mean configure to optimize their performance and operation on the system. Configuring the radios incorrectly results in less than optimum operation, it could result in poor radio coverage, especially in an emergency situation. So the radios should (I say MUST) be configured to match the system in order to maximize their performance. Conversely, configure the radios so they do EXACTLY what you want them to do in any situation, but don't configure the system to match them, and once again, a lot of money has been wasted. Fleetmapping teaches them how to maximize system and radio performance. So what class does my manager and this Senior Technician feel I should deliver? Radio Systems Administration (RSA), which teaches technicians how to configure/program their system, as well as monitor it. Yep, I teach Fleetmapping, which is all about System and Radio configuration, but I don't deliver this course. I know a lot about it, but I don't know all the ins and outs necessary to deliver it. So this week, in addition to improving my knowledge of one course, I also started studying RSA. I will pick up equipment on Monday so I can further improve my knowledge on that Las Olas class. But I've also arranged to have remote access next week so I can perform the hands-on activities that are a part of the RSA course, and will review all slides until I'm sick of them. Sadly, with the schedule the way it is, I may not get a 'team-teach', and will be 'thrown-to-the-wolves' for my first delivery. Most likely it will be in Schaumburg so I will have ready access to a wealth on information in the form of our lab techs, and anyone who's qualified that course and is in the office that week delivering a different course. We'll see what the future holds. You might be asking yourself how I can be so confident about things. The answer is, I've been this way since Junior High School, maybe even earlier. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, I realized there is little one can't do if they set their mind to get it done. It's not just me, anyone can do it. I approach every challenge with an attitude that I will get this done. Heck, give me a manual on rocket science, its construction and design. Allow me to work with the equipment involved assembling it, testing it, programming/configuring it, and I will learn it. Again, any of us can do that with a positive attitude, and A LOT of work. There's nothing we can't do if we put our minds to it. One thing I don't do, is invent/create things. My mind doesn't work along those lines, so don't look to me to invent something that is different than anything on the market. Could I learn or gain that talent? Probably. But I don't have a desire to do that. That's just my attitude, and the way my mind works. In Closing I have been home this week, and will be home the next two weeks. Monday I will be in Schaumburg teaching, then I will teach from home Monday night from 7pm til midnight. My customer is the US Air Force, the base in Yokota Japan. Major time difference which necessitates the odd hours. I will teach that class Monday thru Thursday. The following week is Memorial Day, I will be involved in Virtual meetings all week long, and present a very condensed version of Fleetmapping to co-workers on Thursday so a couple of them can qualify that class. The first week of June I will be back in Fort Lauderdale for 2 weeks delivering Networking classes. Maybe I will get to meet Lilli 🧿 ☕ this time, or anyone else who is in that area and would like to connect. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale, Fl Week of: May 2, 2022 With class for the Port Of Los Angeles going so well, I knew I was in for a rough week that followed. First, it's a class that I've not taught very often. Teaching a class ten times in a six year period does not get you in a good flow of material. Plus I hadn't taught it for 2 years; all this combined to make this a pretty tough delivery for me. It also didn't help that I experienced "gray hair" syndrome during class, being unable to remember basic stuff. There's no excuses for it if you ask me, but it is what is, as they say. I was unhappy with my delivery, I'm sure the students could tell that too. All I can do is move on and do better from here on out. And I will. Being my first time in Fort Lauderdale (that may have been a contributing cause too), I was a little anxious to experience some of South Florida's seafood (another distracting cause?). There are some very good restaurants nearby, so I went to the ones at the top of my list. So, where did I dine? Padrino's Cuban Restaurant https://padrinos.com/menu/fort-lauderdale/ I went there on Monday to have their Paella, which I had had in Plantation a few years ago. I was not disappointedone bit, it was excellent! Boathouse At The Riverside https://www.boathouseriverside.com/menus I really wanted their Smoked Fish Dip as an Appetizer, but they were out of it for the night. So I had Shrimp Ceviche, an excellent substitution! For an Entree, I had Pan Roasted Black Grouper. Once again, I was not disappointed. Rocco's Taco's & Tequila Bar https://www.roccostacos.com/fort-lauderdale/#all-day I dined at this place in Brooklyn a few years back and wanted to go again. I browsed their Tequila Menu, and was surprised, and quite happy, to see they had Forteleza Tequila! I ended up having their Forteleza Blanco, and will try their Anejo next time. If you're a Tequila fan, and like Blanco Tequila's, you'll love this one, though a bottle will run you close to $80. For an appetizer, I had Queso Fundido, for my entree, I had one of my favorite dishes. Chile Rellenos! Yummmm In Closing I have been home on vacation this week, and will work from home next week instead of teaching. No, I'm not being punished for last week. A contractor was scheduled to deliver a class in LA, and like a couple of mine, it was cancelled at the last minute. He was already getting paid, so instead of paying him to sit at home, they gave him my class, and I'll sit at home working on projects.  Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!Jim Dorrell |
| Locale: San Pedro, Ca Week of: April 25, 2022 This week's class was more than one could hope for. I always try to do my best, and this particular subject brings out my personality more than most. Why? Because it's not a technical subject, but then again it is. It's just that in this class, you facilitate far more than lecture. True, it's 'Death By Powerpoint' all week, but it's how you deliver it that makes it a good class. I don't read from the slides, we discuss the idea of it all. But, you have to know the technical side too, you must know the subject matter, just like any class you teach. It's all in how you deliver it. Prior to coming to SoCal, I contacted a few WDC members I know who live in the LA area. We arranged to meet on Saturday morning for breakfast/lunch. What a fantastic outing it was too! We met at 'The Pan' and were not disappointed in the menu one bit. https://www.thepan1.com/lomita-menu I saw an item on the menu, and stopped looking. I love Shrimp & Grits, and this serving of it was excellent. But wait, who was there with me? Well, how lucky can an old man get when three beautiful women meet him for breakfast on a Saturday morning? Joining me were Annette  , someone I've met several times in the past, a woman I consider a close friend. Also joining us was Schnujo is Late to Lannister  . She has so much energy with the things she's doing, not just on WDC here, but in real life. I get exhausted just reading what's going on with her! And last, but certainly not least, was QueenOwl ~ A New Day Dawns  . She is such a sweetheart, a very caring person who wants to meet other WDC members and live life to the fullest. This was my first time meeting Jody Schnujo is Late to Lannister and Miriam QueenOwl ~ A New Day Dawns , I certainly hope it won't be the last time we meet. But what a way to end the week!After that wonderful breakfast, I drove to LAX to catch a flight to Fort Lauderdale for my next class. We didn't leave until 3 pm LA time, and arrived in Fort Lauderdale about 11 pm. Needless to say, I was pretty tired by the time I got to my hotel. Unlike LA, I don't have a car here. Parking is outrageous and costly. Of course it's that way in any big city, but it seems worse here. Plus, the training site is a 15 minute walk away, so I don't need a car other than to get to dinner. Uber will suffice fine for that purpose. In Closing I am here in Fort Lauderdale this week and will fly home Friday once class is done. Next week I'm on vacation, or staycation since we're not going anywhere. I do have plenty to do around the house, and will get some work done despite being on vacation. My boss hates it when I do that, but it's about the only time I can find to get things done at a leisurely pace! 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'. 
