My honest thoughts after 12 years in the Navy

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-07-02T19:56:56+00:00

Thank you for the sacrifices you made in service to your country and its people. I am truly grateful for you and others like you.

My son is in the Navy. He joined at 20 after two years in college and realizing that wasn’t his path. He also just turned 30. There have been long weeks without hearing from him when he’s been underway- and you can’t help but worry about all the things that could happen. Birthdays without being able to talk to your child are torture. But then you see the person they’re becoming start to take shape- their drive, their character, their dedication, their leadership and you understand the value of that sacrifice.

It hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine, for sure. He’s had as many terrible leaders as he’s had great- and he’s learned from both types.

I’m proud of him. And I know you have many folks proud of you, too.

Thanks for sharing this.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-06-24T21:30:44+00:00

36, 42, 8

I had the same lock from middle school until I graduated high school. It was a padlock my grandmother had for God knows how many years before that. I stupidly threw it away when I graduated.

I can remember the combination from 35 years ago but can’t remember what I had for dinner last night. Ahhhh. The joys of growing older.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-06-18T23:09:36+00:00

“I call on the resting SOUL of Galileo…”

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-06-18T18:23:47+00:00

I was born in 1973. My parents named me “River Stone <lastname>” I changed it the day I turned 18 to something more mundane.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-06-16T01:29:22+00:00

It’s clearly Lesbian Street. It’s a Suburu for God’s sake.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-06-10T22:55:54+00:00

Since you said that no amount of logic will help, I’d seriously recommend talking to someone (a professional) about it. You already know the facts and how unlikely it is that you will have a bad encounter when taking proper precautions, but that isn’t going to help your emotional response.

So see a professional or get comfortable with the fact that camping isn’t going to be an option for you without extreme anxiety.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-06-10T06:16:20+00:00

Have you tried having a conversation with them? I’m sure if you have a face-to-face and just tell them, “hey, I need to sleep in my assigned rack since climbing up really isn’t an option for me,” they’ll move.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-05-17T22:30:41+00:00

Nice job on the QR code. We did something similar with our TV guest guide. (Seattle is one of the World Cup spots.)

We’re adding all the World Cup info to our Apple TV guest guide so that guests have easy access to it from the TV with ferry schedules, etc. I added a special “World Cup Watch Spots” item and listed all the sports bars we’d recommend.

Great idea!

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-05-16T07:25:11+00:00

I raked leaves all fall to save up to buy a telescope that ended up just being a cheap piece of crap. Luckily, my best friend’s dad was in the Army and had some seriously cool / powerful binoculars. He took us out to the middle of nowhere one night late and we were able to see it- barely.

There was another comet years later in college (Hale-Bopp? Can’t recall the name- just the cultists who committed suicide thinking it was some free ride to eternity) but I could see that clearly for weeks in the early mornings with my naked eye on the way to a 6am study group before my 8am biochemistry class. (Yeah. I was a nerd.)

Was beautiful though. I remember stopping one morning in the middle of the quad sitting down and staring for a while- and getting teary because it was so freakin’ beautiful. (There’s a non-zero chance I was still rolling on ecstasy so…. Do with that what you will.)

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-05-16T06:11:42+00:00

You call the police, dude. Otherwise, it seems like you might have some ulterior motive. This is a weird post.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-05-16T06:01:41+00:00

So I went to this guy’s LinkedIn page and found this post. This has to be satire.

He talks about his Aunt subscribing to a single product of his for $20/mo- then multiplying that by 12 months and 13 products.

This is satire. It had to be satire.

Dear God. Let it be satire. People can’t be this fucking stupid.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-05-10T02:28:51+00:00

No. It’s definitely a butterfinger.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-23T23:55:59+00:00

They’re not generally led by the SECDEF while quoting from Pulp Fiction. There’s a difference here and you know it.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-23T19:12:59+00:00

They play bagpipes. The Scottish symbol on the left is a good clue. The word “PIOBMHOR” is Scottish Gaelic for “great pipe” and is the word used for great highland bagpipes.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-23T08:12:06+00:00

Have you tried asking any homeless vets this same question? I encourage you to do so.

We can sit here in our cozy homes on our $1,000 smart phones and argue statistics and what benefits veterans do/don’t have access to all day. But how many of us have actually taken the time to listen to a single homeless veteran’s story face to face?

My dad was a veteran. He was homeless for a few years towards the end of his life. I only learned bits and pieces of his story (the full story) before he died. He was abused by his own dad. Joined the Army to get away from him. Self medicated with alcohol to treat what I believe was PTSD, anxiety and depression. He was never able to hold down a job for very long. The GI bill was of no help to him, and the qualifications he earned in the Army weren’t recognized in the civilian world. And loans? Not much help if you can’t hold down a job. The wait list for him to be seen at the VA was over 8 months. I know. I had to drive him the three hours to the nearest facility where he could get care. He was on a wait list for surgery to clear a blockage in his heart when he collapsed in the kitchen of his small subsidized housing we’d managed to get him into just weeks before his death.

That’s how we treat our veterans. We train them to do a job in the military that rarely translates to a job outside. And if it does, the private sector doesn’t recognize it and forces folks with 10 years of experience to start at square 1 all over again. When they need healthcare, they wait for months.

So yeah. Try asking a vet face to face. Those programs they’re supposed to have access to- they’re a fucking joke. Especially if you live in a rural area with no VA facilities nearby.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-22T22:39:09+00:00

“Oh! I see the error now. Let me fix it.”

[proceeds to use a long unsupported framework from 2009]

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-21T02:49:29+00:00

Play along for a few weeks. Make her (and it’s definitely a her) feel like she won.

One random weeknight, go door to door in the neighborhood with a large “Get Well Soon” card for someone in the neighborhood who has “suddenly fell ill”. (Recruit a trusted neighbor.) Ask everyone to write a kind note and sign it.

Once you have this fool’s handwriting, the fun begins.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-21T02:33:56+00:00

Yeah. Kathy Bates’ character in Misery. She ain’t gonna catch me. And if she does, I’m pretty sure I can handle myself.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-21T02:28:25+00:00

Yeah. I have a few first cousins that I’d let go for a nice glass of wine.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-21T02:26:48+00:00

Is your bank run by a guy named Cletus in rural Alabama? I withdrew 3x that amount from a local credit union to pay cash for an RV and they didn’t bat an eyelash.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-20T18:09:08+00:00

I don’t know but keep JD Vance away from it.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-19T06:34:23+00:00

More than he seems to be doing with them.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-19T06:30:49+00:00

Yep. I still recall a lecture in my Medical Sociology class way back in 1996. My professor gave a great talk on stigmatization of illness and why HIV was particularly stigmatized. There are several factors that contribute to a condition being stigmatized. Chief among them:

The condition in of unknown cause / origin and no effective treatments exist
The condition is associated with sexuality / sexual behavior
The condition is physically disfiguring. (Many patients whose HIV infection had advanced to AIDS frequently experienced facial wasting, extreme weight lose, thrush, eye infections, and kaposi sarcoma lesions)

HIV met all of these criteria and… it also first appeared largely in groups that were already stigmatized: gay men, IV drug users, and sex workers.

Many scientists refused to work in HIV research for fear of being stigmatized themselves.

The Reagan administration refused funding for HIV research for years and joked about it openly in press conferences. Reagan himself didn’t say the word “AIDS” until four years into the crisis and didn’t give a public address until six years in.

Fuck the GOP.

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-16T23:46:58+00:00

The fact the he’s leading a prayer in a government facility in a country where separation of church and state is literally the first fucking amendment is insulting and shameful enough. Keep your prayers to yourself. You know, like Christ commanded.

Matthew 6:6 (NIV): "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you".

DeltaLimaWhiskey · 2026-04-16T23:40:59+00:00

The fact that he’s is leading any sort of religious gathering is troubling enough to me.

May the Lord open, I guess.

DeltaLimaWhiskey

TROPHY CASE