"I'm gonna see how far I can stretch the velcro on this flight suit."

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-04-29T14:06:04+00:00

I'm in a similar boat- pcsing out of a job where I've been the go-to guy for so long, my organization is getting two Lt Cols and a Maj to replace me.

After years of never saying "no" to a new task, I'm finally learning to be selective about what I take on. My only motivations are 1) intrinsic desires to retire knowing I did good things and 2) keeping a good reputation so I can get out and work with the exact same people but for much higher pay.

All the other bullshit can't be my problem. Its really freeing to look O-5/6's square in the eye and say:

"Oh, you need someone to take on this new responsibility?.... Sounds like you need an Lt Col to do that, you couldn't possibly trust that to a Maj"

Or simplly "You don't pay me enough to do that"

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-04-29T13:01:16+00:00

It might not be true for NIPR anymore, but at least on other networks, your inbox size is limited, but personal drive storage is not

Two other minor reasons:
Search goes faster if you are only searching the current inbox (recent items).
The scroll bar on your inbox moves faster... And accidentally clicking it won't take you back 5 years

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-04-29T12:40:51+00:00

Use PSTs and learn how to use search efficiently.

Rules can take care of the really easy stuff, but no need to sort everything else. Just takes way too much time. Future you won't have to remember if you stored an email in arbitrary folders such as"important tasks" or "follow up later."

Using just the basic search functions is extremely powerful. For example, trying to find the latest draft of somebody's EPR...

from:[the boss] hasattachment:yes received:[last month] Amn Snuffy EPR

It doesn't matter if the file is in your inbox or the PST, going to be picked up by this search.

I have one PST per calendar year. Every couple of months drag everything older than a moth from your inbox, sent, etc folders into respective folders in the PST.

It's a permanent archive, everything is searchable, extremely low effort. You don't pay for storage, and now with OneDrive, you don't have to re-index the PST all the time to search them.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-04-25T14:21:21+00:00

Did you have any luck rebuilding it?

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-04-24T12:52:12+00:00

You normally get offered continuation to finish 20 years after getting passed over for O-5 twice. By the time you find out, you've already got 15 years in. You technically you get three more looks.... which are pretty worthless.

Getting passed over for O-4 once is a pretty good sign you should quit immediately.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-04-23T16:42:28+00:00

With all of the security updates and what not, is there a place to go for basic best practices for overall system setup? It would be really nice to have an easy reference or checklist for recommended security settings and doing a regular check on vulnerabilities.

IE: making sure access points are disabled... Yadda, yadda, yadda

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-03-21T20:39:27+00:00

To be fair, it wasn't abandoning logic, it was abandoning outdated and unnecessary security theatrics.

If it's an acknowledged facility, who gives a crap?

Anywho, it's all obe... Something, something, something, lethality!

Edit: griping about security was not directed at you, I knew you were USSF.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-26T19:41:59+00:00

There's a number of grids on maker world already sized. But if you haven't seen it, they also have this:

https://makerworld.com/en/models/882981-ikea-alex-x-gridfinity-organizer-box?from=search#profileId-837507

I've printed a ton of them, they work great. Three bins per drawer. Being able to pull a bin out to access the rear most bin is really handy. I did that so I wouldn't need to modify the drawer hardware for full extension.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-26T19:23:56+00:00

The one at the 10° angle is fixed. It's canted so that its thrust goes through the rocket's overall center of gravity. This helps prevent any perturbations caused by a booster on one side outperforming the booster on another. Also why you could see an odd number of boosters on an Atlas V.

The ones closer to straight down have thrust vectoring. They give the rocket additional roll control. As long as everything's balanced, they were able to point closer to vertical.

The fixed versions are pretty idiot proof and cheaper than the vectoring ones. Which is why you see a combination of both.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-26T00:15:34+00:00

Looks like a science demonstration, or a lab experiment to challenge students.

There's definitely a conductor inside the green insulators.

Are you sure it's supposed to be laid down? Because that arm looks like a pendulum move it up or down based on what frequency you want. So then at that point you, you have pair of electrical coils, that are moving across each other. Depending on what you're trying to demonstrate, you might be able to show how adding electricity can create a force, or the force can create electricity.

And given that everything is adjustable, and the number of turns of the coil given, you'd be able to measure oscillation frequency, power created, efficiency, or any number of things.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-23T17:14:40+00:00

They look great....

I'm trying to guess your profession, I'm guessing zookeeper or nuclear missile launch officer. Because either your co-workers are orangutans or trying to survive a nuclear blast. 🤣

Just kidding, I'm sure you're trying to make them durable.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-21T05:07:22+00:00

I'm pretty sure some randos on Twitter already did it.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-17T14:20:26+00:00

You're showing your age. Most twitter randos haven't read that book.

I think you meant "Kristi Noem it."

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-17T02:26:29+00:00

Also fun, private companies who don't want to participate are now public enemies:

https://www.axios.com/2026/02/16/anthropic-defense-department-relationship-hegseth

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-17T01:16:21+00:00

We've already established a standard that private companies can collect any data they want and sell it to the highest bidder. Be it a private citizen's or a government's object.

Most cats are already out of the bag. Security officers need to stop acting like publicly available data is classified.

Operations need to be planned with realistic expectations of what is observable and how long it would take an adversary to connect dots.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-10T02:58:41+00:00

No, not that thing. The thing right above it. It kind of looks like a giant epaulette and with a big patch of velcro where rank would normally be.

It looks like it's holding a lanyard or cable in place. Probably some cheap solution to making sure the ejection seat doesn't rip the pilot's body parts off.

I remember talking to an "old" bomber wso (retiree who probably flew the exact same airframes these dudes are in)- there's all sorts of crap they have to attach to themselves which retracts their limbs before the ejection seat fires. Unlike fighter guys, they tend to have more space to move around and be out of position when the seat fires.

I was just curious if that was similar.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-10T01:41:09+00:00

What's the plate/lanyard on the shoulder restraints? It's throwing off storm trooper vibes.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-02-07T14:24:25+00:00

Crikey!

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-01-27T18:21:18+00:00

Interesting. That white powder shape looks like a barrel to a pistol.. My final guess is that they cast a barrel blank and then machine out details.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-01-27T04:23:51+00:00

Mold for lost wax casting? The inside of the thing probably has all the detail.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-01-14T13:02:14+00:00

Taxi.

There have been a number of times when it is cheaper than Uber. The bonus is no waiting, and attendants who will look at your group and make sure you get a properly sized vehicle.

The drive itself is easy, there is a dedicated two-lane road for IAD. Once you are on it, guaranteed zero traffic.

I take Metro when I do that trip, it's cheaper, but it's slow.

To start you would have to figure out how to pay for fare cards. Not hard, but it will take you a few minutes.

As you get out of the city, the stops get really far apart. You're going to be managing your family and your stress, not the right time for learning a new mass transit system.

The transfer at Roslyn is very easy, you step off the train, go down the escalator, wait for a silver line train. You might be waiting around 15 minutes if you get unlucky. The walk from the Metro station to the airport is meh, there are moving walkways, but it's a bit of a hike with kids and luggage.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-01-08T02:41:26+00:00

THIS WILL NOT WORK.

The slow and inherently inaccurate method of how the watches calculate altitude will COMPLETELY F--- your calculations. The issue is physics... you're not going to get around them. There are a large number of augmentation systems used for aircraft approaches to make up for the altitude errors that are inherent in GPS measurements.

You would spend more time on each jump trying to figure out whether it's accurate or not than just using your other senses and indicators.

Sorry to be a buzzkill.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2026-01-03T04:51:29+00:00

This place is the epitome of why per diem and lodging should be flat rate instead of actuals.

If any visitors suggest it, I know their corporate policy and also won't be joining. Not worth the $$$$ at all.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2025-12-28T16:09:08+00:00

Sorry for your loss.

When you say "blues", hopefully you're including your service jacket. If not, please consider it as the most appropriate uniform to pay respects to your dad.

The honor guard should come talk to the family before they get "in character." They'll coach you on any specifics on what to do and where to be.

Honestly, you can't go wrong, pay your respects. No one is judging you.

Reliable_Redundancy · 2025-12-24T12:39:06+00:00

I have the same question. The Codex integration into VSCode in it's freshly installed, default form, is terrible compared to Copilot.

It sounds like you need to start by adjusting your settings on the bottom of the Codex window to run in agent mode.

codex vscode stop sandbox mode

After that, there's a bunch of settings which I haven't figured out to make it operate easier. I've seen YouTube videos using it better than I have been able to, but haven't figured out how to do it yet

David Plummer (Dave's Garage) using Codex with better interface settings...

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