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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 toio 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 |
Random Thoughts During our recent trip to Gulfport Mississippi via a stop in Tennessee and Alabama, I saw a lot of road signs that really made me wonder. Examples: 1 'Uneven Lanes': Uneven, Hmmmm, that means odd lanes. I didn't see any lanes that looked odd, nor did I see any lanes numbered, 'Lane 1, Lane 3, etc' If you have Uneven Lanes, that means you're going to have Even Lanes. I never saw any of them either. (indent}2. 'End Construction': These signs aren't working. Instead of Ending Construction, it's getting worse. I saw many areas with signs that said 'End Construction'. I wonder if there's an Epidemic going on? 3. In a restaurant I saw a sign that read, 'Sanitary Restrooms'. That made me wonder if there were 'Unsanitary Restrooms' around. 4. I saw a truck carrying liquid with a sign that read 'Not For Human Consumption'. I really wondered what that tank held! My mind sometimes goes out on a tangent on its own. That's how those odd stories or poems are created. You know, something like "The Land Of Ons"  , "What I Saw" , or maybe "Emoticon Love Poem" , or even "Emoticon Fun" . Then there are times where I challenge myself, or my wife challenges me to write a certain type of poem. Such as a Rhyming Loop Poem, "Atone" , or a Shape Poem, such as "Candle" , or one of my favorites, "Hourglass" . There's no telling what you can write if you just relax and ask a simple question. What If? "What If?" . As Theodore Geisl (Dr. Suess) said in a book title, "Oh, The Places You'll Go! (In your mind at least)Your mind is a wonderful thing. Use it, see what unusual poem or story you can write! |
Yesterday 6/3/25, And Retirement I had an appointment with our 'Pain Doctor' (His office is really called The Therapeutic Spine And Pain Center), I just call him the Pain Doctor. The appointment was at 1pm, and while we were a couple of minutes late, it didn't hold things up. Y'all know what doctor offices are like, but this day was a bit extreme. We sat in the office and were not called for at least 10 minutes. That's okay in my book. Once we were in the room, she took my vitals and said the doctor would be right with us. Thirty minutes later and still no sign of the doctor. I had already said that if he wasn't seeing me by 1:45, we would leave. Sure enough, 1:45 arrives, so we get up to leave. I opened the door, and who's there? You guessed it. Dr. Carmichael. To make this long story shorter, I will be referred to a Spinal Surgeon for evaluation. Now about retirement. Before I retired, I was not provided any guidance on what needed to be done, what benefits (other than the 401K and the like), things to check & do. I've slowly gotten about everything done. When I was hired, we filled out a lot of forms. One of them was designating a beneficiary of my pension, should I pass away. Of course my now ex-wife was my beneficiary for everything. I knew enough to change my 401K beneficiary, but there's a different website that manages my meager pension. I do mean meager. I spent just over 20 years in the Navy, and 24 years at Motorola Solutions. My military retirement is about 8 times more than the retirement I receive from Motorola! Shaking My Head (SMH) over that. It took 'jumping through hoops to get my pension beneficiary changed. I've been getting calls from Aptia365 for a few days now. Since they are part of Motorola's insurance plan, I was kind of annoyed, I only have Medicare and Tri-Care For Life now after all. A call came in today that I couldn't take, but I decided to call them back. It's a good thing I did. It turns out that Motorola provides a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) Free Of Charge. It's not a lot, far less than $1000, but still.... I will receive an e-mail in the next 2-3 days about this, telling me how to set the account up. It's an Annual amount, and has no expiration. I have this benefit until I am no longer on God's Green Earth. I still feel a Checklist of sorts should be provided to anyone retiring, so a person can ensure they have completed all the items needed when retiring. I will be sending my former manager a note about things that should be completed by a pre-retiree when someone decides to retire. Hopefully that will help. |
Relaxing Sunday I haven't done a lot today, other than pull a few weeds around our Crabapple tree. I did make a mistake though in doing this. I didn't have an 'escape plan', I mean a plan to get up from my hands and knees. It took a bit, but I finally managed it of course. The problem was my arms were tired, I was on my hands & knees, and had trouble standing. I was scooting to the curb when I finally managed to stand. We've decided to grill brats tonight. We should be eating somewhere between 6 & 8 pm, if you're hungry, drop on by! A simple dinner really. Coleslaw, Brats, Wine or Mixed Drink of choice,whatever our minds choose. Maybe some pickles, and pickled Okra on the side. Depends on how hungry we are. I made a simple breakfast this morning too. Toasted Bagel with Fried egg and cheese. I put both buter and cream cheese on mine. Yummy! My mind is all over the place today. Right now, I feel a nap coming on. I apologize for the short entry, and lack of interesting material to read. I'll do better in my next entry. Love those who love and support you, and Write! Jim |
Finally, And Other Stuff A few things here that came to mind this morning. First and foremost. A few weeks ago I posted for Help! on the newsfeed "Note: Help! There's a song going thru my head and...". It's no wonder none of you could help me though, I had the lyrics so wrong it isn't funny. Everyone answered with "Running Just As Fast As We Can", by Tommy James & The Shondells. I knew that wasn't it, but based on the provided lyrics that were completely wrong, I'd have answered the same. What can I say? Today though, I went to the local Farmer's Market and heard a very nice acoustic rendition of the song. Did I stop and ask them the name of it? NO! I returned later (after we met a driver from Raw Rations to pick up frozen dog food), but they had already left. So I took a chance, and asked a couple of young men (who manned a stall), and hummed what I could remember of the song. Sadly, they were no help. A young lady standing behind me had heard my request, and said she was good with music, and would I hum what I knew. It's amazing the help you can get when you provide a little bit of a tune (believe me, my humming was not that good). She plugged her ears and kind of beat her feet while bobbing her head. She came up with the answer! The song I had in mind was one I featured on 12/29/24. Viva La Vida by Cold Play. Those haunting lyrics were these: I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin' Roman Cavalry choirs are singin' Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason, I can't explain Once you'd gone, there was never, never an honest word And that was when I ruled the world Are you surprised that you all answered with Tommy James & The Shondells, based on incorrect lyrics? Wow! Nuff said. While driving to the Farmer's Market, I saw five young ladies crossing the crosswalk. I stereotyped them, and need to see them in a public setting to observe their interaction. They were walking two by two by one. The front two were the group 'leaders', talking amongst themselves. The second two were doing the same. The fifth girl (all appeared to be College age) was alone, almost an outsider. So yeah, seeing them in a Pub perhaps, how they interact amongst themselves would help a lot. I spent too much, bought a hanging basket of flowers {Petunias) that need full sun (I learned that when Kathy saw them), some brats, Rhubard, Cronuts (A cross between a croissant and a donut), and jar of Jalapeno Jelly, and Dill Pickles. What fun. I mean that, I had a lot of fun at the Market. Plus, I'm pain free today because I took that Steroid last night, so it's taking care of my aches and pains, as well as guarding me from the Myeloma. It's amazing what 8mg of a small steroid can do. Keep Writing! Keep loving the important people in your life.... Jim |
| Well, this morning I had my semi-annual cleaning, along with assessing my mouth/teeth for a partial plate. The loss of my 53 year old crown in February was quite a loss. The only reason he pulled it was because the GOLD crown had come out. Why did it come out? The tooth itself was cracked, while chewing a jelly-bean, the filling and crown dropped out. I really wanted that filling to remain in my mouth, fate had other plans. He wanted to get the impression done today because I lose Dental Insurance at the end of this month. The office bills my insurance all at once, so this way it's billed while I still have insaurance. I have to say, it wasn't comfortable at all. I'd never had that done, it was new to me, and definitely uncomfortable. There was a short moment of gag reflex with that thing getting the impression of my upper teeth, but I lived through it. Now to see what portion of the bill will be. I know it's at least $450, we'll see what the insurance doesn't cover. |
Indianapolis 500 May 25, 2025 I watched the complete Indianapolis 500 today for only the second or third time. Why? I've had a fascination with Indy Cars for 61 years now. As a result, I've always liked Open-Wheel Racing (Indy Cars) more than Closed Wheel Racing (NASCAR). Allow me to explain. My father would listen to the Indy 500 every year. This was before it started being televised in 1965. Heck, we didn't even have a TV until 1966 (that's a guess here), we never owned a Color TV, those were too expensive, so Black & White it was. Back to my father for a minute. He would take a piece of paper and create a table consisting of the top 3 drivers every 25 miles. At the bottom of it, he would have a list of cars out of the race. But I need to backtrack a little bit. I guess I became an Indy Car fan while we lived in Milwaukee from 1960 to 1962. The Wisconsin State Fair held a 250 mile race at its One Mile Oval track, and somehow I became a fan of Open Wheel Racing. Also, I somehow (Don't ask, because I don't remember) became a fan of a driver whose name I heard, Eddie Sachs. He was my hero, my favorite driver. We moved to Albuquerque in September 1962. After the move to Albuquerque, it became almost a custom for my father and I to sit together and listen to the Indy 500. I always cheered for Eddie Sachs who drove at Indy from 1957 to 1964. Being 9 or 10 years old, I'd quickly get bored and run out to play with my brothers and friends. In 1964 though, Eddie Sachs was killed on lap 2 in a fiery crash coming out of turn 4. Another driver spun out of control and hit the inside wall with a fiery explosion, then slid across the track. Eddie was behind him and had no chance. His car hit the other car in the middle causing a second fireball, killing Eddie almost immediately. Since it was so early in the race, I was still listening as this occurred. I cried and cried over his death. I don't think I've cried like that over someone dying since. Not even the passing of my parents or my three siblings. While in the Navy, for one reason or another, I never had the chance to watch the whole race. While at Motorola, it seemed I was usually traveling, or just had too much going on to sit back and relax to watch it. Now I do, so it's almost a tradition here now. A couple of other notes about the Indianapolis Raceway. In 1997, I traveled to Indianapolis with a group from the Firestone Plant I worked at. It wasn't raceday, it wasn't even time-trials. The drivers were 'practicing', getting used to their cars and the track. But, we had infield access. We weren't allowed in the garage area, nor could we meet and talk to the drivers. Still, it was a special day for me. And in 2016, I was given an awesome Birthday present. A day at the Chicagoland Speedway where I was able to drive an older Indycar. My fastest lap was just below 150 mph! (The cars had a limiter that prevented them going more than 170 mph). I had never driven that fast before, nor have I since. It was a very special day, that's for sure. Other than the Indianapolis 500, I no longer follow other Indycar races. The reasons are varied and many really, too much to go into here. I do look at race results and watch highlights at times, but that's about it. Til next time, y'all Love those who Love You, and Write! Jim |
Lumbar, Thoracic, Sacral Spine MRI, including the Coccyx Wow, what a day. Before I tell you about my MRI adventure, I want to mention a minor separate issue. Wednesday I was cutting meat (Kidneys and Liver) for our dogs when I managed to poke my right thumb with the knife. I thought I had cut myself, but when I checked, I saw nothing. No blood, no cut, nothing at all, so I continued my work. Now, the thumb is red and swollen, very tender at the point where I poked myself. A quick trip to Convenient Care was done, I've been put on Antibiotics, which is what I thought would happen. No change today, we'll see how things are tomorrow. Before I tell you about the MRI's, I want to stress that I AM NOT complaining. I don't talk about this (various health matters) much, except with Kathy. She hears it all. I'm letting you all know in case I suddenly am not as active as I have been. Which as you might imagine after reading this entry, is not near as active as I'd love to be. Anywho, or anyway, however you want to say it, on with it. I don't mind sharing health news, it's not HIPAA if it's about me, and comes from me, is it? I've suffered from back pain for many years now, and today a 3-year old MRI result 'appeared'. Yeah, neither of us know where it came from or how it got to the top of my drawer unit, but there it was. I forgot I have Spinal Stenosis with degeneration in 3-4 discs in my lower back. The MRI's are a follow-up to MRI's conducted in 2022 (the test results found earlier today. Still shaking my had over their sudden appearance). The Spinal Stenosis and disc issue cause Peripheral Neurophthy. What those fancy words mean is, I can't stand for long, plus I have a bit of Vertigo when I do stand. I'm not dizzy per se, I have Vertigo. I know, some of you might say it's the same thing, but in my eyes it isn't. But, if I can't stand, I should sit, right? Yeah, tell my back that. I stand, my left hip and leg ache. I sit, my back aches. So I should lie down, right? Except I lay on my left side for the most part, and my left hip let's me know it doesn't like that. It's hard to find a comfortable way to lie in bed. The MRI's without Contrast were done first, of course. Why is it that when you're required to lie still that about every place on your face decides to itch? Yeah, it happened. Plus, since the MRI was of essentially my entire spine, it took over 40 minutes! The itch started about 8 minutes into the test. It became a case of mind over matter at that point. I won some, but there were times I was asked how I was doing, so I asked if I could scratch my nose. You know I did.  The MRI with Contrast was next, and didn't take near as long, nor were near as bad. After a little over an hour of lying still in one spot, we were finally done. Ahhh, peace and quiet, because the MRI machine is very noisy. Well, that's it, I'm done. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your life, and love those in your life that really matter! Most of all, WRITE! Love To You All, JimD |
Visiting Friends & Relatives Talk about tiring! Wow, visiting three relatives/friends in three days, in three different states is exhausting! Here's what we did. On Wednesday May 7, we drove to Columbia Tennessee to see my best friend from Motorola. Steve retired five years ago and we've stayed in touch all this time. We had dinner with him and his wife Sue at a local place. It was a good time for all of us. But the day started with a small delay on our part. Someone named Mother Nature insisted we stop for a routine visit. Could she ask us both at the same time? No! So two stops were necessary. All was well though, it was just a minor inconvenience. Wednesday night though, I discovered I had left an adapter for my CPAP at home. Of course this meant I had to sleep without it. I was fine, it's happened before, it'll happen again, though I hope it doesn't. Thursday we drove from Columbia Tennessee to Montgomery Alabama to see my daughter and her family. Of course we stopped along the way at a LinCare facility to pick up that adapter. We met my daughter at a Catfish House for dinner., It was a very good time for all. I brought my camera out and let her children use it all they wanted. I haven't looked at the photo's they snapped, I'm not sure I want to.  I will upload them to G-Drive though and share with her.Friday we drove to Gulfport Mississippi to see my former Father-In-Law. He turns 90 this year, I'm not sure how many more times we'll be able to get together. He does look good though, he seems to be in better health than I am... But, along the way, while driving through a good ol' Southern Downpour, the engine on my van sounded louder. I immediately knew what had happened. My van is 11 years old now, it seems that the Exhaust System developed a hole in it. Where? I don't know of course. So tomorrow I'll take it in and leave for as long as it takes the shop to get to it and fix it Driving home yesterday and today was fun though. NOT! It was decently loud, and seemed to get louder today. But we're home, even if a certain someone (not me!) worried about it overheating, stalling, seizing, whatever else you can imagine. It's still drivable, it's just noisy of course.That was our adventure for the week, and why I haven't been available much as a result. I will work, sometime in the future. We'll see what new career (job) I choose, huh! Well, that's it, I'm done. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your life, and love those in your life that really matter! Love To You All, JimD |
Retirement Well, it was just time. Time to sit back and relax some. I can't travel as often as I once did. the fun was still there for me, my mind is still alert and able to process class material. My body just can't do it anymore, so it was time. I was hired by Motorola on January 22, 2001. Alex Torres, the man who hired me said, "If you can teach Jim, we'll teach everything you need to know about Radios & their systems." Well, it's been 24 years since then, I either talked a good talk and fooled them all, or I learned. It was the latter, believe me. My first few weeks were filled with sitting in classes. I didn't even have a laptop until my second week there! So I wrote my notes in a notebook, and became a sponge, a learning sponge. It's what I did in the Naval Nuclear Power pipeline, it was just a career move to a different technology in my eyes. By the end of 2001, I was teaching six different classes, and ended the year delivering 68 days of classes. This despite not teaching my first class until late April! I learned, and I grew knowledge wise. It's been a good career. I can deliver over 30 classes now, though half of them are legacy classes, meaning we don't deliver them anymore. Still, 15 classes? Yep. Yesterday, Friday May 2, 2025, our manager gave us (me) a retirement luncheon at a local restaurant in Schaumburg, The Granite City Food & Brewery. https://gcfb.olo.com/menu/schaumburg It was a very nice time together, I met people I haven't seen in almost a year. Yeah, I saw them all last year during Memorial Day week when we had meetings all week. I made sure to shake/hug everyone and thank them for being there. Even those I wouldn't consider a friend. Yes, there are some co-workers that I don't consider a friend. Still, they arrived for the luncheon. Privately, I said to myself, 'They're here for the food, not me.' I would never say that aloud, that would be so inconsiderate. That thought did enter my mind though.Now I'm unemployed, my first time being unemployed since January 31, 1993 when I retired from the Navy, That lasted a week. Now, I'm taking May off, and we'll see what happens afterwards. Next week we're going to see a close friend in Tennessee, then we'll visit one of my daughters living in Alabama, then see my former Father-In-Law. We are close friends, we served together, my first Submarine, his last. Him & I will always be friends. Now I wait and see what the future holds. I will still work, I'd love a part time job, not a full time one. We'll see what new career (job) I choose, huh! Well, that's it, I'm done. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your life, and love those in your life that really matter! Love To You All, JimD |
Misheard or Misunderstood Lyrics I love the phrase "I hate it when I'm singing along with song, and the singer sings the incorrect Lyrics. It's happened to all of us I know. Just this morning I had The Carpenters song "Close To You" running through my mind, and recalled a line I misunderstood long ago. Here's the line. On the day that you were born, the angels got together, And decided to create a dream come true. So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue. Except I heard it as On the day that you were born, the angels got together, And decided to create a dream come true. So they sprinkled donuts in your hair & golden starlight in your eyes of blue I couldn't understand why Angels would sprinkle donuts in the subjects hair! Here are some other lyrics that have been misunderstood or misheard. I'm guilty on a couple of these, but only a couple, not a lot. Some of these are hilarious. 1. NSYNC – “It’s Gonna Be Me" - People often think Justin Timberlake is singing “It’s gonna be May,” the correct lyric is, “It’s gonna be me.” 2. ABBA – “Dancing Queen” - A line in one of the band’s most popular songs is often sung as “feel the beat on the tangerine,” but the correct lyric is “feel the beat on the tambourine.” 3. Starship – “We Built This City” - One particular line from the group’s song “We Built This City” can sometimes be heard as “We built this city on sausage rolls,” but the correct line is “We built this city on rock and roll.” 4. The Beatles – “I Want to Hold Your Hand” - The band’s line “I want to hold your hand,” from its hit song is sometimes sung as “I want to hold your ham" 5. Bon Jovi – “Livin’ on a Prayer” - People often mistake the line “It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not” for “It doesn’t make a difference if we’re naked or not” in the popular song. 6. Celine Dion – “My Heart Will Go On” - The line “I believe that the heart does go on” is sometimes replaced with “I believe that the hot dogs go on.” 7. Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta – “You’re the One That I Want” - The song from the movie Grease has a line that listeners often mistake. Some hear, “I got heels, they’re made of plywood,” while the correct line is, “I got chills, they’re multiplying.” 8. Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody” - In the band’s hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the line “Spare him his life from this monstrosity” is sometimes sung as “Saving his life from this warm sausage tea.” 9. Adele – “Chasing Pavements” - The song’s correct lyric is, “Or should I just keep chasing pavements,” but often it’s mistaken as, “Or should I just keep chasing penguins.” 10. Coldplay – “Paradise” - The group sings “Dream of para-para-paradise” in the chorus, but some listeners hear “Dream of pair of dice” 11. Johnny Nash – “I Can See Clearly Now” - While the correct lyric is, “I can see clearly now the rain is gone,” in the song, some listeners have misheard it as, “I can see clearly now Lorraine is gone.” 12. The Police – “So Lonely” - The line “So lonely” in the rock band’s song is commonly misheard as “I’m Sue Lawley.” 13. Eurythmics – “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” - The correct line in the pop duo’s single is “Sweet dreams are made of this,” but some people have been known to sing it as “Sweet dreams are made of cheese.” 14. Jimi Hendrix – “Purple Haze” - Instead of singing, “Excuse me while I kiss the sky,” some people hear the artist say, “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.” 15. Fleetwood Mac – “Say You Love Me” - The lyrics from the group’s song is misheard as, “I’m begging you for a little sip of tea,” but the correct line is, “I’m begging you for a little sympathy.” 16. Elvis Presley – “Suspicious Minds” - While the King of Rock ;n’ Roll is singing, “We’re caught in a trap,” in the song, some people have misheard in a number of different ways, including, “Recording a track,” “They call it a tramp” and “We caught him a trout.” 17, Eminem and Rihanna – “Monster” - Some people have been heard singing, “I’m friends with the mustard that’s under my bed,” instead of saying the accurate lyric, “I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed.” 18. Will Smith – “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” - Though the correct lyric in the rap song is “Gettin’ jiggy wit’ it,” some listeners have misheard it as “Kick the chicken with it.” 19. Sir Mix-a-Lot – “Baby Got Back” - In the hit song, he is rapping, “I like big butts and I cannot lie,” though some people hear, “I like big butts and a can of limes.” 20. R.E.M. – “Losing My Religion” - Some people mistake the line, “That’s me in the corner,” for, “Let’s pee in the corner.” If you hear a line and know it can't be right (such as Sprinkled Donuts in your hair, do some investigation and ensure you heard it right! That's it for misheard lyrics. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your life, and love those in your life that really matter! JimD |
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