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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 |
| Teaching Teaching In Schaumburg For Two Days Locale: Schaumburg, Illinois Week of: 8/22/22 Yey!! I made it through a class without COVID hitting me. Well, okay, it was only two days, but still... I last taught this class about 4 years ago, but was not worried about my knowledge and presentation of it. The device is called the MLC 8000, with dimensitons of 1.7 in x 8.6 in x 10.4 in. It's a small box essentially, but does quite a few things. We designed it to do 2 functions, but customers have gone far beyond that. Luckily, I only have to know what it was designed for, not everything it's being used for. My concern in this class delivery was that the MLC's in my small system were not fully implemented. I had configured them many times, but needed necessary hardware (cables) made to connect them to other devices. Also needed is a small box called a TIM's set, or Transmission Impairment Measurement Set. This is used to check the level of an audio signal over an analog connection. I had neither the cables, nor the TIM's set on hand, and was sure it would be mentioned. And it was. In the course critiques, every student mentioned the lack of test equipment, and said we needed one. True statement. Sadly, that will not happen most likely, unless I purchase it myself. We'll see what the future holds. During the class, I cleared up some misconceptions that each of the students had about the device, and was able to answer every question asked. I guess that carried over to the course critiques, because they were surprisingly good. One student didn't really care for the class, the hardware on hand, and my knowledge. The other 4 were fine with everything. In fact, during the class, we made the necessary cables to connect the MLC's to the Base Radios!  After a quick calibration, the links were showing 'green', meaning the MLC connection to the Base Radio was good, and communication would occur if a radio transmitted on the channel. A major milestone and accomplishment if you ask me. I sent my supervisor a note about the class along with my thoughts and future goals. We'll see if any of those are acted on or what.I'm home the rest of this week, going to the Chiropractor today and tomorrow, and relaxing all I can. Other than vacation I scheduled last year, I am busy until Thanksgiving, then my next off period after that is Christmas.... In Closing I am in Schaumburg again next week before flying home to Albuquerque HS Class reunion, the 50th! My schedule remains full to the gills through the end of the year and through March of 2023. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!  Jim Dorrell |
| Teaching From Home Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Week of: 8/8/22 Well, since I couldn't go to Los Angeles as scheduled, I'm teaching the class from home this week. There wasn't much time for the customer to prepare for it, they were expecting me there last night. But a retest for COVID was positive once again, even though I feel fine. It was a good call though, evidently this customer is still checking everyone for COVID daily, but only at the Fire HQ, which is not where I would have been. This class went exceedingly well, despite the last minute notice about it being a Virtual Class online. They asked A LOT of questions, especially when we discussed Trunking System operation. I've learned a lot these past 21 years, teaching the wide variety of classes I do now, and have in the past really helps me answer questions. At the end of each class, the students send us a class critique using our Learning Website. The grades you can get are Very Satisfied, Satisfied, Neutral, Dissatisfied, and Very Dissatisfied. I very rarely receive either of the Dissatisfied grades, and just a few Neutral grades. This class submitted a couple of nice compliments in their comments, and every grade was what we call the Top two. Very Satisfied, or Satisfied. Some of the grades I have no control over and I mainly look at those grades that are based on my delivery and performance. To say I was very happy would be an understatement. In Closing I am home next weeks delivering Fleetmapping to the same customer. After that, it's 2 weeks in Schaumburg (only 5 days total really), followed by a week in Buffalo during Labor Day week. Then it's football season (yippee <sarcasm>), and fall arrives soon after. My schedule remains full to the gills through the end of the year and into next year. I look for it to remain that way. Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE! Jim Dorrell |
| Teaching From Home Locale: Bloomington, Illinois Week of: 8/8/22 Well, since I couldn't go to Los Angeles as scheduled, I'm teaching the class from home this week. There wasn't much time for the customer to prepare for it, they were expecting me there last night. But a retest for COVID was positive once again, even though I feel fine. It was a good call though, evidently this customer is still checking everyone for COVID daily! So far so good though, but there is one small wrinkle to things. They work 10 hour days Mon-Thurs, and no one mentioned that in all the prep-work emails. So tomorrow and Wednesday we'll add an extra hour to the class, and Thursday we'll go until we're done. Fine by me because due to the time difference, I'm teaching from 10 am to 6 pm CDT. Getting done early Thursday will be nice, and having Friday free even nicer. Plus, I will teach the same customer next week, but the class will be Fleetmapping. I've taught this class for over 21 years now, I feel like I can almost do it in my sleep, or with one arm tied behind my back. Just as I get it fully in my mind (that actually happened long ago), I will edit the course with a thorough re-wwrite. It needs it though. I just have to find the time to do it, and decide what I want to delete from the course, what I want to add. That's been my main problem all along, figuring out those two issues. It's time I tackle it though. Maybe over Christmas, we'll see what my priorities are then. In Closing I am home next week, and as of now to teach Fleetmapping to this same customer. After that, it's 2 weeks in Schaumburg (only 5 days total really), followed by a week in Buffalo during Labor Day week. Then it's football season (yippee), and fall arrives soon after. My schedule remains full to the gills through the end of the year and into next year. I look for it to remain that way. 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'. 