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 Being Retired now, I thought that it was time for a new name to this Blog |
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Talk about perks, my career had one of the best I can think of! I traveled in the course of business, delivering classes for my employer. I was a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and taught classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2-way radio communications. I knew that when the time arrived that I would retire, and I have. I've always said that if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out! I can't handle the heat anymore. I was qualified to deliver approximately 32 different classes, but about half of those were 'Legacy' classes, and were not in demand anymore. My students were technicians, those who maintained, programmed, calibrated, and repaired 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 traveled, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where have I been? Some of the places I've been (I can't list them all here, the list would be too long) are pretty interesting. 1. Hawaii - Four times, Oahu, Maui (twice), and the Big Island 2. BangkokThailand, twice 3. Frankfurt Germany, twice 4. Algiers, Algeria 5. Melbourne Australia 6. Bismarck North Dakota, Summer & Winter 7. Los Angeles, Too many times to count 8. Washington DC, Too many times to count 9. Seattle three or four times 10. Texas, all over the state 11. Florida, all over the state 12. New Mexico, HOME! Several times  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
| Locale: Frankfort, Ky Week of: 3/27/2023 Last week found me in a new location. New in that I've never delivered a class in this town/city. I have driven past this area, and briefly stopped for lunch/gas maybe, but I've never spent any amount of time there. I can't say that anymore, can I?  Frankfort may be the capital of Kentucky, but it's a small town really. But a small town with a lot to offer. I have to say that an afternoon rush hour in downtown Frankfort does not exist. In fact, it's almost deserted! So what does Frankfort have to offer since it is a small town. Well, first and foremost, distillery's. I'm not promoting drinking alcohol, or don't mean to be, but there are numerous distilleries in or near Frankfort. One of the biggest is the Buffalo Trace Distillery. It was this distillery that had me thinking I might find something from Pappy Van Winkle, though in retrospect I knew that wasn't about to happen. For those who may not know, Pappy Van Winkle is one of the most rare Bourbon's around. It is distilled in small batches, and a link to the 'OLD' Pappy Van Winkle Distillery near the Buffalo Trace Distillery is what led me astray initially. That link listed a bottle of their 10 year old bourbon at $300, where if you were lucky enough to find one in a store, you would probably pay close to 8x that price!. Having been educated about the Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon by my good friend Robert Waltz   , I knew this was an excellent price. But deep in my heart, I knew there wasn't a chance in #$^& (you know what I mean) that I could get one. Still, it was a nice fantasy/thought for a short while. Learning that one of our members has a bottle of that vintage (Is that the right word to use regarding a Bourbon or Whiskey?) was almost mind-blowing. Believe me, I'm happy for them. If I had a bottle of that, I'm not sure when or if I'd open it!This Networking class was a little lot different from the others I've delivered. First, it was for a Conventional Radio System. Secondly, their system is not configured like others, nor is the hardware of the whole system placed like other systems. It made for an interesting class, where I learned as much about their system as they did the networking configuration. I will be back to Frankfort two more time for classes on different subjects, so this class helped me learn their system configuration. Noteworthy Restaurants: Mami Monchitas https://mamimonchitas.com/menu/ This is a Honduran restaurant that serves very good meals. I love dining at restaurants that feature food from foreign lands. Though I travel to places many of you never will, I know that I will never see everything our Mother Earth has to offer in the form of other cultures. I dine at places such as this to experience 'Non-American' foods and culture. I honestly feel that Kåre เลียม Enga   does it right when he travels. He eats, breathes, and drinks the local culture. I'd love to experience a foreign country the way he does! My meal was 'Steak Skewers, but they were seasoned far differently than the same dish when served in a standard American restaurant. The menu listed this as 'Steak. It was Traditional meat skewers deliciously marinated with fresh ingredients and served with white rice, refried beans, plátanos maduros (sweet plantains), chismol (Honduran “pico”) and chimichurri sauce. Needless to say, I will return here when I'm back for classes three and four weeks from now.Goodwood Brewing https://www.toasttab.com/goodwood-brewing-company-frankfort/v3/ Here I enjoyed 6 wings, 3 each of BBQ, and Medium Chipotle Garlic. Both were outstanding, but I lean more towards the BBQ Wings, mainly because i love good BBQ Wings. My meal was Blackened Catfish on dirty rice with a side of Braised Collard Greens. The catfish blackening was over-the-top really. Spicy, but not overly so. The dirty rice could have been a lot 'dirtier' though. Still, I'll dine here again when I return. In Closing Next week will find me in Schaumburg Illinois for a 'resident class. It's a place I'm all too familiar with, but it will be fun. We'll see how that trip goes. Until next time, be good to those you love, spoil them, and write{!/size} Jim Dorrell |
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