The "Ask Nathan a Question" Thread

My thoughts are with you guys - safe travels for Jo, good health and recovery for family, and some damn good rest for Nathan.

I remember once when I was past the 48 hour mark with no sleep and I was driving on my day job. I suddenly "came to" on a strange road and I had no recollection of how I got there. I pulled over, got my bearings, and then found a park to shut my eyes for a spell.

Yes, it was terrifying.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Yeah man, I fell asleep while driving for the first time today. That was scary. I use a vacuum system for fixturing and I got an Edwards 40 vacuum pump at auction that I had to go pick up today. We used to have one of these pumps and it was really good but we wore it out. I was glad to be able to pick up a pretty good specimen at auction but I had to go pick it up and it was a long drive. I actually fell asleep while driving home. I've never done that before and it was kind of terrifying.
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Damn boss, I am glad that worked out for you. I won’t pretend that I haven’t been in the exact same situation in my younger years. However, you and I are both getting too old to be running the roads late at night trying to pick up something that sucks a little harder. Make better choices and next time, take Tanto, that tweaker can stay up for 45 days straight.
 
Grenock said:
Damn boss, I am glad that worked out for you. I won’t pretend that I haven’t been in the exact same situation in my younger years. However, you and I are both getting too old to be running the roads late at night trying to pick up something that sucks a little harder. Make better choices and next time, take Tanto, that tweaker can stay up for 45 days straight.
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LOL. (I deleted my earlier comments about "youthful indiscretion" and waking up on the side of the road the following morning. (And I wasn't even the driver.)
 
Damn, glad you're ok, and wishing the best for Jo's dad.

Had that happen to me once many years ago, when I was in field service doing 50k miles a year. Didn't happen on the job though. Was coming home from my GF's place at like 4am on a Sat night (she still lived at her parent's so I couldn't stay over), and she lived about 30 miles away. Driving a 93 or 94 Dodge Intrepid, which was a company car. Nodded off and the rumble strip woke me up just in time to hit a highway sign. The Intrepid had plastic fenders, so the metal sign post ripped through the fender (and tire), and then when it got to the front edge of the driver's door, it peeled it back like a sardine can, and ripped the side mirror off. Pulled over, put the spare on, and went home and went to bed. Only place open on Sun was Pep Boys to get a new tire, which they almost couldn't do cuz there was a big ding in the edge of the rim. But they hammered it back into shape as best they could and the new tire held air. Good times!
 
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When I was young and stupid, very, very stupid....I'd like to go back in time and kick the piss out of myself... that kind of stupid. Ahhh, but I digress.

I was living in Wyoming. I was driving home at around 2am on I-80. Long story short, I woke up driving in the desert at 3:30 am. I must have been sleep driving.

I had no idea where I was. Back then, there was no such thing as a smart phone and cell phones didn't have good coverage because, you know, wyoming.

Luckily, I recognized some monolithic rock formations and a couple gas wells. I took a nap and found my way back home.

From then on, if my eyes feel heavy at all, I just pull off somewhere and sleep for a bit.

It's not that I'm worried about hurting myself as much as I'm worried about hurting someone else. I couldn't live with myself if I maimed, injured, or killed somebody's loved one(s). Not worth the risk in my book. There's no judgment towards others with what I'm saying. Just a rule I've made for myself.

I'm so glad to hear you're okay Nathan! Stay safe out there! Praying for you and your family in these trying times.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Jo's dad needs a pretty serious medical procedure so she flew up there last night. I'm worried about her and I'm worried about him and I didn't sleep well last night and I had to get up early and then I had to drive halfway across the state with very little sleep. My good F-250 is in the shop. And the new f550 is also in the shop. Because Ford. So I drove the old F-450 (that just got out of the shop) but that thing is a handful because there's so much play in the steering and it's just a clapped out piece of shit and I got wore out. I've heard of people nodding off while driving but it has never happened to me before but today I woke up coasting up the side of the road. It was pretty wild. I'm going to bed right now.
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Thinking of you and Jo and sending positive thoughts. I hope you can both rest a little better, soon.
 
Did that once myself when I was young, dumb, and full of Dr Pepper and nicotine. Thought that was enough to keep me awake driving from the California border to Massachusetts but almost went off the road in Virginia and ended up taking a nap in a rest area for an hour before making it home. Rumble strip woke me up before I went off the road or got in any more serious trouble but I definitely took driving tired a lot more seriously after that.
 
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