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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: Charlottesville, Virginia, Hampton, Virginia Week of: August 30, 2021 Today was just a great day overall. Expensive, but great. I picked up Waltz in the Lonesome October  a little after 8 and we headed for the Newport News/Hampton area of Virginia. It was a great drive, uneventful, and fun. We got there around 10:45 or so, and visiting my daughter first. She lives in Hampton with her husband & two children. Its been far too long since I've visited them. We sat and talked for a bit, but their son Jonathan was anxious to get going. They were taking him to the Gray Wolf Lodge today for a day of fun and such. I don't blame him for being anxious. She knew I was coming, but had made these plans long ago. Since Bob and I had things to get done too, I told her there was no way she was changing her plans.We left about 12:45, yep, a short visit. Very good visit, quality time, I even watched Jonathan play with his VR Spiderman game in his room. This was significant to me, because Jonathan is borderline Autistic. We had a good time in his room, but it wasn't long enough. As I mentioned, all too soon Bob and I had to leave. Our next stop was at the Mini-Mart near the base to get a bottle of Moscato from Italy. In this case, I got a bottle of Mango Moscato. Next of course was the Ironclad Distillery. But, it was lunch time and we were both hungry. We ended up going to a small place nearby and had a bite. Back at the Distillery, I found that they had set three bottles of the Rickover Bourbon aside for me to pickup. We sampled a couple (including their Bourbon Syrup, Yummy!), I even added a bottle of Bourbon Syrup to my stuff. Bob sampled more than I did since I was driving. I'm a lightweight with alcohol, so didn't want to push things. If I lived in this area though, I'd be in trouble, their stuff is that good. Then we had the drive back to Charlottesville, but we had to make a stop for dinner at a Vietnamese place that Bob likes. Yeah, it too was good.. very good. After that, the drive. Not long, Bob and I talked all day long it seems. It wasn't like meeting someone for the first time (okay, second time, we did have dinner together with 🌝 HuntersMoon  and his wife in December 2019), but it was not like two men who barely know each other, it was like old friends meeting after not seeing each other for quite a while. Maybe due to a lockdown caused by a Global Pandemic? So yes, a very good day, tiring, but good.In Closing That's about it for now, til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!  Jim Dorrell |
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I'd order it now, but I don't want to chance having it delivered while we're gone, so I'll wait. I did bookmark the page so I can get to it easily. Cross your fingers everyone!
Non-interchangeable parts - now there's a surprise. There are times you can't interchange parts for two editions of the exact same car that vary "only" by model year.