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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 |
| First, thank you for all your comments about the many photo-Trinkets I've created. I knew the latest one would draw a lot of comments/questions, so waited to post it. Now for that promised explanation. I delivered a class to the Port Of Los Angeles in June 2013. It was delivered at their office, which is part of the dock where tour ships tie up between cruises. When class was completed on Friday, I headed back to the hotel to relax. I planned on returning to the same parking area that night because an event was being held there, 'Cars & Stripes Forever'. (Another story though). On my way to the hotel, I looked over, and saw a low lying fog bank obscuring the lower portion of large cranes used in the nearby commercial shipyard. I thought it looked interesting, so I stopped to snap a photo.  As I do frequently, I then zoomed in and snapped a second one. I was just as startled as you when I saw it on my laptop later.  When I start delivering a class, I have this closeup photo displayed on the screen, and tell the students that contrary to popular believe, aliens HAVE visited us, and I have proof.  So now you know what's in the photo of that 'mysterious' Trinket. |
| Date: Week of October 4th Locale: Outside Bloomington, Illinois Okay, so this entry is not about a trip I took somewhere in the United States, or anywhere for that matter. It's about a chance to do something that I couldn't turn down. I had the chance to spend three hours riding (I didn't drive it, only rode in it), in a 12 Row Combine! If any of you have ever worked a farm, or driven in rural areas, you've probably seen these in the fall as farmers harvest their crops. Marty is the brother in law of a close friend; he was gracious enough to let me spend this time learning a little of his life as a farmer. He farms 4000 acres of crop land here in Central Illinois. Of course, he grows corn and soy beans almost exclusively. The corn he grows is not the corn we find in the store though. He explained that this corn is used in various ways, this lot was being sent to Peoria Illinois where it would be put on a barge and floated down the Mississippi. In New Orleans, it would be loaded on a ship, sent through the Panama Canal, and end up in Japan! There, it would be broken down for its starch, and combined with another starch from rice. Not sure what all its used for, but apparently its highly desired for its starch properties. One use of corn like this, is to make the adhesive that is used on electronic circuit boards. It was extremely interesting to see how he uses a GPS to help determine where he's at in the field, which row to be Combined, etc. There's a computer in the Combine, it tells him the moisture content of the corn (has to be around 18% to be harvested), how much corn is being harvested/acre, how full his storage bin is, and how full the trailer is that would pull alongside us.  If you look close at that photo, you'll see me sitting in the seat right next to the door... What I found most fascinating is what the Combine did. We'd drive down a row, and it would reap the corn stalks (12 rows at a time) into a head. The corn head is equipped with snap rolls that strip the stalk and leaf away from the ear, so that only the ear (and husk) enter the throat. In the throat, the corn is first shucked, then removed from the husk. The kernels are then sent into a storage bin behind the driver. Since the Combine can't hold a lot of kernels, a wagon is pulled alongside by a tread driven tractor. The kernels are then transferred to the wagon while harvesting proceeds. Once the wagon is full, it is taken to the road next to the field, and emptied into a waiting semi-truck. I was amazed at how the Combine could harvest the corn stalks, shuck the corn, separate the kernels from the husk, and discharge the unneeded scrap out the back. This whole process, along with the wagon being pulled along side takes a lot of coordination between Marty and the man pulling the wagon, as well as having semi-trucks arriving to be filled. Then you have the technical parts in the cab. Two-way radios are used for communication (I think the were even using Motorola radios, ones that are not as complex as the ones I teach technicians about), a tablet that is connected to the wagon sensors to display the weight of kernels in it, along with a sundry of other information. Last but not least, is the computer that showed the rows being cut, the yield of corn in each segment, and more information that I can't recall. One thing that stood out though, was the accuracy of his GPS. The one we use in our cars is accurate to a hundred feet, maybe a little more than that. His was accurate to a couple of inches! (The cost to use this is astronomical, so that service is only on when he needs it, such as during harvesting or planting). I remember that once we went to start a new section, and the GPS display showed we were off by a couple of feet. We had gone into the new section only a couple of feet, and Marty stropped. He explained that being off that much meant we were one row too far to the right. Of course, we backed up, and started again, one row to the left, and all was well. In harvesting what I call a 'section', he drives down the field, harvesting 12 rows at a time. At the end, he turns around and come back, harvesting the 12 rows to the left of his last cut. Then he came the other way, and cut the 12 rows to the right of he first cut., Repeat that, essentially in a gradually widening circle, until that section is complete. Repeat in the next section. Do this, until all 4000 acres have been harvested. I found that whole process fascinating, but also one I would not want to do over and over. And he (Marty) has been doing this for 36 years! I couldn't do it for a whole day, let alone 36 years. So, Sum1  is not meant to be a farmer.  And just for information, this farm has been in his family for well over 100 years.Thanks to Wikipedia for some of the more technical information I mention in this post about the Combine. |
| Date: Week of September 12st Locale: Plantation, Florida Last week I went to Plantation Florida to deliver what we call a resident class. With the recent changes at Motorola Solutions (We still call it Motorola), some of our resident classes will now be delivered there. This is one of them. It was a class on our newest subscriber radios (the kind you see the police using), both hand held portables and vehicle mounted mobiles. The class was good, with a lot of good participation and discussion with the students. Plantation sits about 15 miles inland of Fort Lauderdale; believe it or not, I took no pictures while I was there. But then, other than Sunday afternoon after arriving, I was no where near Fort Lauderdale. I did have dinner at a nice place on Sunday night, right on the beach, but that was my only trek there. Now if it had been March or April, might have been another story. I would have gone to see the people partying, I'm far too old to try and do that myself. I really like this area of the country, except the traffic there is horrendous. Almost as bad as being in Chicago. What I found most surprising, was how rude the drivers were. You'd think they might be a little more polite, but that's definitely not the case. All in all though, it was a good time, and I did manage to dine at a few interesting restaurants. Noteworthy Restaurants: Lulu's Bait Shack - http://www.lulusbaitshack.com/ I had to try their Smoked Fish Dip. I thought it was good, but nothing to write home about. It was nice to sit almost on the beach and watch people enjoying themselves. Padrino's Cuban Cuisine - http://padrinos.com/menu I joined a couple of the students here on Tuesday night, their Paella was excellent! A bit too much for me, pretty large, but excellent. I wanted return for a second visit, but there were too many other places I had to see. Tin Fish Restaurant - http://www.tinfishsunrise.com/ This was a very laid back type of restaurant, one I will visit again should I deliver more classes in Plantation. I don't normally eat a lot of fried food. However, since it's been a while since I've had this, I had to order their combo platter of Fried Catfish Nuggets, Frog Legs, and Gator Bites. It was very good, but I probably wouldn't order it again, simply because it's fried. Big Bear Brewing Company - https://bigbearbrewingco.com/food/menus/ It's a Micro-Brewery, you know I had to go there! Burger, and excellent beer. Nothing more needs said. Flights to and from this area are easy to get, but not very good at getting back at a decent hour. I didn't leave until Saturday morning, on a 6am flight.... So I was up at three to get to the airport in time. Yes, I flew in and out of Miami International, not Fort Lauderdale. I won't do that again. I'm home in Illinois for a few weeks now before going to Lawrenceville, Georgia for my next class. My NYC Transit class was cancelled for the umpteenth time, so it may be a while before I get there. Probably sometime in the fourth quarter, or maybe first quarter of next year. I will also be in California (Palo Alto area) in late October. I hope to visit Yosemite National Park at that time. Til next time, y'all keep on writing and reviewing, and I'll keep on keeping on. |
| Date: Week of August 29st Locale: Newport News, Va. My customer this past week was the City Of Newport News. I taught them Networking (as it pertains to a Motorola ASTRO25 Radio System), and overall, the class went well. Being in that area of the country, I was hoping to see some of the historic places nearby. Sadly, most closed at 5pm. However, I did manage to visit the Mariner's Museum, looking to snap a few shots of the USS Monitor remnants they have there. I took three photos, and the batteries on my camera died. I reached to grab my cell phone for photos, and found I'd left it in the hotel room. It's a good thing none of you were with me, because I know my language reverted to my Naval days.  Each evening, my thoughts once again centered on seafood. Yep, I had seafood almost all week. I did have something different one night, when I visited my favorite Mexican Restaurant. I don't normally dine at nation wide restaurant chains, but I make an exception for this one. If you haven't dined there, and one is nearby, try Abuelo's. Excellent Mexican Coastal Seafood! Except, that night I had a dish containing four Enchiladas, one taco, one Chile Relleno, with Beans & Rice. Once in a while, I need my fill of food from my youth! Noteworthy Restaurants: Crab Shack On The James - http://www.crabshackonthejames.com/ Oysters Rockefeller with a local Micro Brew, and a Broiled Seafood Platter. Not bad, but the there was a bit of grit to the Oysters. Dead Rise At Fort Monroe - http://places.singleplatform.com/the-deadrise/menu?ref=google. The food was pretty good, but the menu is limited. That's fine with me, I did find what I wanted. A nice Smoked Crab Dip, and a Blackened Salmon & Avocado BLT. I ended up with too much to eat, and took most of it back for lunch the next day. Second Street Bistro - http://www.secondst.com/files/Dinnermenu.pdf I really liked this place. A nice relaxed atmosphere, and actually close to the training site! I tried their Paella, but it was a Chesapeake Bay version (very good), but not what I was hoping for. Crabtown Raw Bar - http://crabtownva.com/menus/ Only need three words for this place. Shrimp & Grits! Harpoon Larry's - https://harpoonlarrys.com/menus/food/ The Oysters Rockefeller here were better than at the Crab Shack. Bigger, Plumper, and really, just better prepared. Sadly, I forget what I had for dinner. Friday class was done by 11am as usual, and I left town to avoid being caught in the Tropical Storm Hermine. I had a goal in mind though. I wanted to get to Charlottesville, Va to spend the night. The reason was that I wanted the chance to visit 'Shebeen', a South African Restaurant near the city center. http://www.shebeen.com/#!dinner--dessert/cpnb If you would like a new and different taste in dining, you need to go here! The Samosa's are excellent (I wanted Peri-Peri Wings, but wasn't sure how hot they would be), as was the Sosatie. Sosatie is cubed lamb on a sugar cane skewer, mango chutney, tamarind & turmeric seasonings, with lentils, yellow rice, mango chutney & cucumber-mint yogurt Historic/Interesting Places Visited: http://www.marinersmuseum.org/ If you have any interest in the ocean and ships that have plied it through the ages, you need to visit this place. I was drawn there because tehy have remnants of the USS Monitor there. I know you all recall the battle at Hampton Roads between the USS Monitor, and the CSS Virginia, the first battle of ironclads in history. Unfortunately, these recovered pieces are in large salt water tanks, and cannot be seen very clearly. However, there are many other things to see in this place. I didn't get to see near enough, and will definitely visit here again should my travels take me to this area. My oldest child (Child? Heck, she's 36!) lives near Langley AFB, where her husband is stationed. I had the chance to visit with them a bit, and see my Grandson Jonathan for the first time. It was a joy seeing them, I only wish I could have spent more time there. I'm home in Illinois for a week now. I actually get to do some physical labor next week when I re-assemble a small radio system after our move to the new building. Next Sunday I will fly to Miami to deliver a class on one of our handheld radios in Plantation. Maybe I will make it to Fort Lauderdale, who knows? Til next time, remember to stay cool, drink plenty of water, and write. Happy Sweet 16 WDC! |
| Date: Week of August 1st Locale: Clayton/Vineland, NJ My class this week was really two different courses. I have a small issue doing these courses back-to-back, since there's a bit of overlap. Both courses contain some of the same material. However, I needn't have worried about it at all, since the students were really interested in the overall operation. Many questions were asked about other topics relating to their system operation and this kept the class flowing well. Of the three students, one was relatively new and inexperienced, and none of them had any experience working with a radio network that used TCP/IP devices for connectivity. I stayed in Vineland New Jersey, but the class was held about 15 miles north in Clayton. This is southern New Jersey, and very beautiful. I spent two nights driving a whopping 20 miles to the Jersey shore for dinner. Each drive seemed to take an hour, but was more like 30 minutes at the most. Vineland is a pretty small town with a decent choice of restaurants. But I was on the coast! So of course I wanted seafood.... Noteworthy Restaurants: https://thecrabtrap.com/ A half dozen fresh Oysters for an appetizer, and a nice Swordfish Steak with a Mango salsa topping. A minor, unusual thing about dining here, is that the meals come with three different sides (I had Rice Pilaf, Cucumber Salad, and one other thing I can't think of right now), plus a side salad! Needless to say, I left there pretty stuffed.... I'm home in Illinois now, and will be until the end of August. The last week of August, I will go to Newport News, Va. One of my daughters lives two hours from Newport News, so I may get a chance to visit her. It's summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. Remember to stay cool, drink plenty of water, and write. |
| Date: Week of June 27th Locale: Hamden, Ct A local communications company in Hamden/New Haven Connecticut was my customer this week. I could have flown to and from Hartford or Providence (didn't think of that, lol), instead I flew to and from Boston. I guess my thoughts were centered around one thing I wanted to do. When I was in Maryland in May, I left my 'precious' windbreaker in the rental car. (It's the jacket I was wearing in the pictures from the National Mall on that trip) I'd been sitting in Reagan Airport a couple of hours waiting to go when I realized I didn't have it. I ran back to Avis, and even though the car hadn't been cleaned yet, nor moved from where I dropped it off, I was told there was no jacket in it. So, I flew in and out of Boston so I could drive through Groton Ct. and get me another jacket. Except, the Nautilus store there does not sell them anymore.  I did manage to get a polo shirt that had the same logo though. Hamden is a small town, but the area around it is beautiful. Rolling hills, green growth all around, houses just like you expect in a small New England town. It was a quick trip though, so no time for personal outings or things like that.  I will be posting a pic in my Travel pictures folder though. It's two circles of metal suspended in the air. The smaller one is the hull diameter of the world's first submarine, the USS Holland. The larger one, is the hull diameter of an Ohio class Ballistic Missile submarine, they type I retired from. {indentI'm home in Illinois now, and will be until the end of July. The last week of July I will go to Gloucester County, NJ. Home most of August before going to Newport News, Va, then we're at Labor Day already! It's summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. Remember to stay cool, drink plenty of water, and write. Oh, and enjoy GoT! |
| Date: Week of June 20th Locale: Shelton Washington The Washington State Department of Corrections was my customer for this week. The class was held at a prison in Shelton Washington, but since there's not much in the way of accommodations there, we stayed in Olympia. We, in that the technicians I taught were from prisons around the state. Fortunately, this prison didn't want me either, and let me leave at the end of class. There are three places I really love, and would love to live in each. Unfortunately, life has me living in Chicago. That makes any visit to these three places special. The Puget Sound area of Washington is one of the three. After arriving very early Saturday morning, June 18th, I slept in a little bit. By 10am, I was at the Pike Place market. This is a place you have to see should you visit Seattle. Many of you have probably seen this on the food channel, and watched as the hawkers throw large Salmon to each other. While that may receive the most attention from the media, walking the whole market and seeing what all is there is a treat. I saw a couple singing in one area; he played banjo while she played a wash tub bass. I was amazed at her instrument, because it was a single string device, a piece of twine tied to a pole, and nailed to the center of the upside down wash tub. I could not determine how she was changing the note as she played along, so had to Google it. Apparently, she changed the tension on the twine by moving it slightly, therefore changing the pitch as she strummed it. Unfortunately, you can't hear the bass well in the video I recorded. The next day, I rode the ferry from Seattle to Winslow (Bainbridge Island), and drove around the area I knew well 20 years ago. I managed to find a store that sold a wine I love, and had to get a bottle of it. If you enjoy white wine, see if you can have a bottle of Ferry Boat White, from the Bainbridge Island Winery sent to you. You will not be disappointed. I crossed the Hood Canal bridge and thought about going to Port Townsend, but decided it would take too long, and cause me to arrive at the hotel in Olympia later than I wanted. But I did get to visit Port Ludlow briefly. What a quaint, beautiful village nestled on the west side of the Hood Canal! Here's a small photo of the local marina there.  }http://visitjeffersoncountywa.com/port-ludlow I chose to drive along the west side of Hood Canal to get to Olympia. It's a route I've never taken, and thought I'd just explore a little. As you know, it rains a lot in the Puget Sound area, but this day was sunny, and beautiful out. I even found a boat I wanted to buy! It's a bit of a 'fixer upper', so need a few volunteers to provide assistance and expertise.  Class ended on Thursday afternoon, so Friday morning I drove up to Seattle to explore a little more. I spent some time at the Seattle Aquarium before having dinner at The Crab Pot on the waterfront. I really enjoyed my time there, and captured a decent video of a large octopus in one of the large tanks. If you visit Seattle, you have to eat seafood while there, I think I had all the seafood I could see. Well heck, I do that all the time though. I seefood, I eat it. http://www.thecrabpotseattle.com/ No pictures of a visit to Seattle would be complete without shots of the Space Needle. Being a huge Seahawks fan, I decided to combine Seahawks and the Space Needle when I saw this model at the waterfront.  Well, I finally had to leave of course. My next travels will find me in Connecticut, before finally returning to Chicago for a few weeks. No rest though; I have a new course to qualify on. It may result in going to California several times to deliver it. |
| Locale: Jonesboro, Georgia My journey's this week took me to Jonesboro, Georgia. The customer was Clayton County, where I delivered a class on portable radio maintenance. I know most of you see the police officers with their radios on their belts, but I doubt many of you realize how much technology is involved in them. The portable radios themselves are not too difficult, once you understand them. But if I were to program them from scratch, there are over 4,000 fields I could edit in getting that done. If you stop to think that they are just a small piece in the overall pie (so to speak), you might start to realize how large these large systems can be. I didn't do much this week to be honest. Jonesboro is only 10 miles south of Atlanta, and I did not want to venture there in the afternoon rush hour. So I remained south, and relaxed all I could. Nice area, great people, but I was saving myself for next week, when I'll be in the Puget Sound area. It's summer out. Storms are blowing everywhere, water is high due to flooding, so be careful. I don't want to lose any of you due to errors in where you're at. Til next time.... |
| In driving to Colorado Springs, I chose to go along I-70, after taking Hwy 36 through Missouri. As I wrote about in my previous entry, I found the world's largest ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas. It's 43 feet in circumference, and was started in the early 50's by a local resident. I couldn't drive the same route back, could I? No! I chose to drive I-80 through Nebraska instead, and was glad I did. There are many 'off the wall' sights to be seen along I-80, particularly the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, and the World's largest collection of Marbles. But it was in Iowa that I stopped to treat myself to something special. At exit 86 on I 80, go about one mile south on route 25. At an intersection on the left hand side of the road, you'll find "Freedom Rock" http://www.thefreedomrock.com/ Artist Ray "Bubba" Sorensen paints this large (about 60 ton) rock every year. The mural is always about our Veterans, and is his way of thanking the country's Veterans. I think you can see why it's such a treat for me to visit it. The link above show you the various mural's he has painted on it over the years, since 1999.  Then there was one more stop, late in the afternoon in Eastern Iowa. After all, it was only 2 miles off my route, so I had to stop, didn't I? Unfortunately they were closed (I expected that), so I didn't get to meet Danielle.  |
| Locale: Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado Peterson AFB was my customer this week. There were only four students in class, two from Peterson AFB, one from Schriever AFB, and one from Cheyenne Mountain. Both Schriever AFB and Cheyenne Mountain are pretty famous in their own right. Schriever was the inspiration for scenes in the movie "Contact" (there were scenes of a large radio telescopes scanning the heavens in it), but I'm not sure any parts of it were filmed there. It's a pretty secretive base, you need a clearance to visit certain areas. Cheyenne Mountain is even more famous. It was in the movie "War Games" long ago, but again I doubt any scenes were really filmed there. Cheyenne Mountain is the home of NORAD, and is a big part of our National Defense Triad. The drive out was very interesting, and one I've been wanting to do for a while. Everyone wondered why I'd want to drive through Kansas or Nebraska. My answer was, "To see the sights that I haven't seen yet." I wasn't disappointed. Yes Virginia (er, Dorothy), the World's Largest Ball of Twine is in Kansas. Cawker City to be exact. But sadly, there isn't much else around there. It was a three hour drive from Kansas City along highway 24 to get there, and there just isn't much else in that area to see.  The scenery around Colorado Springs is fantastic, if you're a fan of mountains. Pike's Peak dominates the skyline to the west, but what I really like is the 'Garden Of The Gods', right in Colorado Springs. Visiting it is always a joy for me.  Driving home, I took the northern route along I-80 through Nebraska. There are numerous things to see and do along here, but I just had to stop at the Golden Spike Tower. When I first saw the signs, I thought of the Golden Spike that was the last spike to be hammered in place when the East and West railroads met. But I knew that had been in Utah, so figured it was something else. The Golden Spike Tower sits south of the largest rail yard in the world. Over 10,000 Rail cars are in this yard, many being moved daily, or being repaired/renovated.  Next week finds me in Jonesboro Georgia, just south of Atlanta. Y'all keep on writing, and so will I. Take care of yourself, it's getting warm out there. |
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I then went to Taiwan for two weeks; but, although that was nice, it wasn't 'home'. 
