Sleep Apnoea

I attended the specialist monitoring my Sleep Study.  He outlined the various treatments which are standard for Sleep Apnoea management and their % effectivity.

The treatment which suits my case includes Posture Modification; CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), MAS...virtually an expensive mouth guard to extend the lower jaw and Nasal Resistive Patches. He ruled out surgery of the throat.  Thanks for that Doc.

The Dr also reminded me that during the overnight study I spent 3.5 hours sleeping on my back which is where I had the 27 non-breathing episodes. When I slept on either side of my body I had almost no breathing interruption.

So, we decided to give a two-month trial of the Posture Modification method and at his suggestion I purchased a plastic block which when fastened onto my back is to make it so uncomfortable that my brain tells me to sleep on my side. I stopped off at a $2.00 shop and bought a dogs toy which has hard lumps all over it.  Last night I placed that inside a tight T Shirt on my back and I did not wake once during the night.  

After two months I will have another overnight study done to assess the results.

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Mazda 929 1993

I bought myself a present.....a 1993 Mazda 929. It was just $3,000 and runs quite well for its 24 years. Done just 145,000 kilometres. There are a couple of things to get it back to original condition.  One is a driver's door window motor.  I have sourced one and will buy it during the week.

I have previously owned three 929s so know my way around them.  The body and paint is in good condition and the interior is good for its age. 

I like it!

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The State Engineering Works

This last Friday I had a meeting with a lady who was documenting memories of the long-gone industrial strip at Leighton, near north Fremantle.  I was an apprentice Turner Machinist starting my 5 year apprenticeship in 1953 at the State Engineering Works. The SEW was a large state government owned establishment.  When I worked and trained there it had around 600 employees in carpentry/joinery, metal machinery, foundry, pattern making, boilermaker, draughting, meter shop departments.

During WW2 the SEW gained some large machinery from the USN to service U.S. Submarines homed in Fremantle Harbour.  Bren Gun Carriers were also built at the SEW during the war.

I was asked a number of questions about how I selected the SEW to commence my apprenticeship and the background of my family and about the many projects I had either worked on or observed.  The information gathered is to be collated and some sort of report is to be made.  The SEW was situated on prime elevated land in Rocky Bay, probably the nicest part of the Swan River and at the time of me working there, there were rumours that the Liberal State Government would close the SEW and sell the land off to developers.  Much consternation by labour unions and the Labor Party in opposition.  As it happened, it was the Labor Government who eventually sold the State Engineering Works.

I guess it was no longer an era of government in competition with other engineering companies.  

In the last couple of years of the SEW, one of the projects was the casting of the winged keel for Australia 2, the winner of the America’s Cup in 1983.  The U.S. had successfully defended the cup for the previous 132 years.

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from Google Earth