Neanderpundit

I have been doing field service off and on for twenty years, more or less.

I began working on woodworking machines- CNC routers and point-to-point machines. I moved on to machine tools and eventually robotics. I do pre and post sale engineering for robotics these days, mostly, but I still get into the field for installations and often for service work where some project has gone to the dogs- it’s as my friend Jenny says, when we have a “stand back and let the expert in” moment.

Because of this, I always keep my kit in the truck. it contans some specialty tools specific to the work i do, but it also has acted as emergency kit in many circumstances, often saving me the trouble of having to hitchhike home.
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As any guy my size knows, a normal innerspring mattress crashes and burns very quickly under any stress. Even so called “premium” mattresses are pretty incapable of withstanding the pummeling of a fat bastard.

So, I think, we’ll look into one of those Select Comfort things. Me, now, I’ve slept soundly on a gravel driveway. I can sleep pretty much anywhere, and I don’t need any comfort to do it. Hell, I’ve slept standing up next to a blast furnace going full bore, with fire all around me.

What they sell you on, on the Select comfort, is that you and your bride can have individually adjustable sleep cells. And that is so true. Mine is usually set around 70, the Ogwife around -94. Which means that I’m sleeping on the edge of a cliff. It isn’t that it stops me from sleeping, because when I’m ready to sleep, nothing can do that, but I’ll find myself rolling downhill towards the Ogwife just because I tried to roll over. It brings back memories of when she was pregnant for the oglet; we had a full-grown border collie, Retardo the cat, and myself and the ogwife in a full sized bed. If I wanted to turn over, I had to get out of bed and get back in on the other side.

Nope, the select comfort is a fine bed, as long as you and the bride (or groom) are about the same size- god help you if there’s any disparity.

So a job has gone south again and I’m tapped to go in and turn the ship around. I drive out to South Bend, ancestral home of the Fritz’s (mom’s folks) and Gene Hardig, the offshoot relative for whom I’m (middle) named, developer of the Studebaker Avanti.

And can’t get to sleep ion my farging hotel for love or money. I’m still up at five AM, local time, and the clock is set for seven AM, local time. So as I finally get to sleep I’m ready to get up. And spend a day in a hot factory. And drive 120 miles home.

So I do what I can. I can get along with anyone, and I think having established a relationship with the customer (with whom nobody ELSE can get along) I think I’m gonna be able to turn this around and make it a success. I’m certainly going to try. It’ll be a damned sight easier with a decent night’s sleep under my belt.