The totally off-topic thread

[medhead]

Until recently, alcohol limit was 0.02. It is now 0.00. I have heard of people with very high readings losing their job & winning it back on appeal.

We have random alcohol & drug testing. For years, the union has been fighting for swab tests rather than urine without success. If it's ok for a motorist to have a swab test, why do I need to pee into a cup?

I'd guess the swab can only detect a presence, whereas the urine allows analysis for type of drug. The later potentially being better for someone on prescription medication.

 

[Flashback]

That's pretty harsh. One place I worked allowed 2 or 3 positives in 12 months. First strike got you put on a management plan. Off work until the level reduced to zero, on sick leave if you had it, then the management plan. Interesting story of one guy with heaps of sick leave. His levels keep going up when he came in for his weekly test during the initial period. He had plenty of sick leave.

Legend says the introduction of drug testing turned a workforce of pot smokers in to heroi_ users, due to the clearance times. Funny having 40+ degree heat in summer and people still arriving at work in jumpers.

IME that tends to be for staff only and contractors are 1 strike you're out!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Certainly there's a difference between under the influence of a drug and whether you can find traces of that drug. I don't know how such testing regimes work; perhaps they will find traces and they can estimate how long since you took the drug (and hence compute the relative risk of letting you do your work). Of course, they may press you whether you have taken such drugs or not; it's then a case of do you tell the truth and potentially implicate yourself anyway, or do you tell a "lie" and hope that they understand when they view the result?

At one mine site I worked at, if we were randomly selected for alcohol testing, we had to register 0.00; no exceptions. Not 0.05, not 0.01 - zero. Anything except 0.00 instigated misconduct investigation procedures - no compromises, no ifs or buts. Needless to say, some activities, even timed, are verboten before going on site; for example, using mouthwash.

I think you're right about marijuan_. Mind you, that has been used as a reason against people who have been tested as such (or at least make their lives / passage more difficult).

well.. I've done some limited research and it seems I've blown my own argument out of the water!

I've found the following list of FAA approved (or not) drugs: http://www.alamoclinic.com/images/faa-meds.pdf

the short acting sleeping tablet I mentioned above is approved... but no flying for 72 hours after taking one! (it wears off completely after 4 so I'm quite surprised!) others like ambien have a shorter 30 hour window. (the list is long... haven't read through the whole thing yet)

interesting that beta blockers and anti arrhythmic drug ARE allowed (which knock me for 6 so again surprising!)

that being said, the topic of 'sleeping tablet and airline crew' turned up lots of cabin crew bulletin board discussion, with one poster complaining about a colleague retuning from a crew rest (in flight) clearly under the influence of a sleep aid. but others saying that they get so tired that just sitting in the jump seat before take off their eyes want to crash shut.

i wonder if there is a balance somewhere in the middle of the two above?

oh... and a link to the crew bulletin board (cause otherwise I get flamed for making unsubstantiated comments!!)
New flight attendant medication regulation. [Archive] - AirlineCrew.net - Bulletin Board for Airline Crew

 

[medhead]

If someone is falling asleep in the jump seat, I'd wonder if they have sleep apnea.

 

[erkpod]

If someone is falling asleep in the jump seat, I'd wonder if they have sleep apnea.

As I found out, you don't need to be falling asleep everywhere to have sleep apnea. I was functioning perfectly fine for someone who has been doing extreme shiftwork for a long period of time.

But I do feel better after I found that I had it. For those who understand these things, I had on average 52 interruptions an hour on initial sleep study & never got into a deep sleep. That was not helped that they had the room set to Hong Kong rather than Melbourne winter. They also woke me up about 8 times to move or reattach a sensor.

I've been on the Sleepalyser 5000 (CPAP) for 18 months & most nights, I'm under 1.0, if not 0. I feel so much better. I've travelled extensively with it. I have learnt to take a long extension cord & a powerboard as many hotel rooms either don't have a power point near the bed or power points near the bed are limited.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

If someone is falling asleep in the jump seat, I'd wonder if they have sleep apnea.

they are jet lagged and tired. a situation many of us have been in with consecutive long hauls over a short period of time.

 

[JohnK]

I have no issue with some workplaces implementing zero tolerance.

The rest of us are all lumped in the same category. Different drugs affect different people in different ways. A 1mg Xanax tablet is not going to have the same effect on a 120kg person as it does on a 60kg person. Alcohol is no different.

Why do we love to generalise?

 

[medhead]

they are jet lagged and tired. a situation many of us have been in with consecutive long hauls over a short period of time.

There is a very big difference. When I'm tired and jet lagged I can still stay awake if I want. When I was untreated for sleep apnea, I would fall asleep in about 5 seconds while sitting at a red light. I would uncontrollably fall asleep anywhere.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There is a very big difference. When I'm tired and jet lagged I can still stay awake if I want. When I was untreated for sleep apnea, I would fall asleep in about 5 seconds while sitting at a red light. I would uncontrollably fall asleep anywhere.

I think they are just describing how tired they are. given most crew report the same, I highly doubt the entire cabin crew workforce has sleep apnea.

 

[straitman]

I think they are just describing how tired they are. given most crew report the same, I highly doubt the entire cabin crew workforce has sleep apnea.

I agree and as an example. A friend of mine (now retired) who flew long haul 747s with CX was always tired and prone to nodding off. He could not however ever sleep properly and would wake after a short period. A year after he stopped flying long haul he came out all excited one morning as he 'slept 6 hrs straight'. It had taken him that long to get his sleep patterns almost back to normal.
He does not, and did not have sleep apnea.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Do people follow reality shows because there is nothing else to watch on TV?

no! I choose to watch reality shows because they're fun! there are hundreds if them... some are good, some aren't. you can't generalize!

they're also relaxing... requiring little mental input. and depending on the show it gives us a chance to ruthlessly mock our fellow human beings

I like the amazing race... they showed this amazing nightclub in Berlin last series which is totes on top of list for my next visit there.

reality tv is extremely popular. two benefits flow from this. firstly it gives you something to break the ice in a work setting... you can talk to everyone from the chairman of the board to the elevator operator about about something (much in the same way as sport). secondly, and I suppose this is a bit specialized... knowing what's popular through reality tv is important to my job. what people watch, how they discuss it, manipulation of the show through editing (both of the participants and public response), advertising during those shows, news paper stories about them and even on line comments give me insight to a segment of the public and how they think. (all of point 2 is the exact reason why I also read the herald sun in addition to other majors)

i think some people think they come across as being intelligent, or smarter than the rest of us with comments like 'I only watch the ABC'. big whoop. who cares? there is nothing to boast about when you cut yourself off with baseless intellectual snobbery.

anyway... I digress.

reality tv rocks!!

 

[Pushka]

I love Amazing Race and Survivor. I used to watch The Mole but not the latest production. But the rest? I loathe.

 

[Simo]

I enjoy the Amazing race and seeing them go to places where I have been and doing stupid things with the airlines and how they book flights minutes before departure and still make it.

 

[JohnK]

There is a very big difference. When I'm tired and jet lagged I can still stay awake if I want. When I was untreated for sleep apnea, I would fall asleep in about 5 seconds while sitting at a red light. I would uncontrollably fall asleep anywhere.

I may suffer from sleep apnoea. I do not get proper sleep at nights. I do not want to do the sleep apnoea test. I am not interested in the current solution for sleep apnoea.

I am stubborn. I can also control when I sleep.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I love Amazing Race and Survivor. I used to watch The Mole but not the latest production. But the rest? I loathe.

c'mon!! Hardcore Pawn, Lizard Lick Towing, Extreme Cheapskates (great show!!!! one episode featured a woman who showers fully clothed to save electricity on the washing machine!!), Extreme Couponing.

Border Security! (customs officer in dead-pan voice says 'there's some white powder concealed inside the pages of this book. you wouldn't expect to find that there so it's worth investigating'... 'what?? d'oh! really? ya think! clever boy!' we shout at the tv!)

they're pretty fun!

 

[SeatBackForward]

I like to have a little chuckle when people say the amazing race is about travel, or that biggest loser is about weight loss, or that masterchef is about cooking, or some home renovation knock-off is about..home renovating.....

Reality TV has become so successful because you take the same ingredients, dress up it up with different backdrops and actors, put some irrelevant context around it, and market it til it hurts. Easy, cheap and readily repeated. It is the epitome of consumer television.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

i think what sets the amazing race apart has been the almost (if not totally) 100 per cent positive feedback from the contestants. they have all said its been a life changing experience in a positive way.

a lot of other reality show contestants have complained that their participation has been manipulated. or that they were effectively chewed up and spat out by the production company.

and we love Phil! he gave a radio interview when he was in Melbourne a couple years ago. he sounds like a genuinely nice guy!

 

[SeatBackForward]

i think what sets the amazing race apart has been the almost (if not totally) 100 per cent positive feedback from the contestants. they have all said its been a life changing experience in a positive way.

I'm sure if you took any random sample of Americans and took them out of their own state, they'd also say it was a life changing experience.

 

[Pushka]

c'mon!! Hardcore Pawn, Lizard Lick Towing, Extreme Cheapskates (great show!!!! one episode featured a woman who showers fully clothed to save electricity on the washing machine!!), Extreme Couponing.

Border Security! (customs officer in dead-pan voice says 'there's some white powder concealed inside the pages of this book. you wouldn't expect to find that there so it's worth investigating'... 'what?? d'oh! really? ya think! clever boy!' we shout at the tv!)

they're pretty fun!

Um, nup. Some of them make me feel like a perv. And there is a limit as to how much Chinese tourists get sprung with a leg of pig in their bags. Have watched hardcore pawn but the guys running the show are too full on for me.

Then there are the dirtiest jobs in the world, the most embarassing illnesses, - never ending possibilities really.

 

[Shelf]

Swmbo loves Embarrassing Bodies