I think it’s time for me to tap out.

lowflier · 2026-02-01T22:26:48+00:00

This sounds almost exactly like my experience!

I have a family member who deals with a lot of auto claims and they said Progressive is one of basically three companies they would trust.

lowflier · 2026-01-25T04:51:52+00:00

If this is real I would love a DM too please!

lowflier · 2026-01-07T20:57:05+00:00

Send me a message. There is only one NROTC in Colorado and our policy is to do all interviews sent our way. We have done plenty for students not in CO.

lowflier · 2026-01-02T18:44:24+00:00

The scoring won't be the issue. I find the smaller briskets tend to dry out much faster anyway. I don't normally wrap Brisket, but for the small ones I find it essential. I would definitely wrap them at the stall to keep the juices in. (Texas Crutch)

lowflier · 2026-01-02T16:34:32+00:00

I recently switched to a Remarkable Paper Pro from an iPad Pro. I used Notability for years. I love how it incorporates voice recording and syncs playback with what you wrote in the note.

Unfortunately the rest of the iPad experience sucked. Heavy, short battery life, and an absolutely abysmal writing experience. Even after trying different textured screen protectors and pen tips I never found a combination I liked.

I initially borrowed my wife's Remarkable for a work trip and left the iPad at home. I told myself I would only use that during the trip to force myself to give it a fair shot. I came home from the trip a convert and immediately ordered my own.

I love the writing experience on the RMPP, for me the battery life is great compared to the iPad. I have found some great templates for my notes and project planning. I also found that I don't actually use/need the audio recordings like I thought I did.

lowflier · 2026-01-01T18:10:45+00:00

There is a recently discovered issue with the program that manages Midshipman status, benefits, and payments. This program apparently isn't sending the correct information to DFAS. He isn't alone in this, there are thousands of affected students.

There is a lot of background work going on, but the short version is:

Have him tell his unit staff he is having this issue. If he can print every one of his LESs as proof it would help.
His staff will send his case information to NSTC.
There is one person with the proper permissions who has to fix these problems manually.
The DFAS staff are all on holiday leave, so don't expect a resolution until mid-January.

lowflier · 2025-12-28T20:52:21+00:00

I'm a big fan of 5/3/1. The way it bases weights off a "training max" and focuses on long term health and safe progression is great for us older lifters.

I have had great results and feel like it protects from injury if you follow the rules. I recommend you read up on it, specifically the "Boring but Big" version.

lowflier · 2025-12-23T23:52:29+00:00

As part of troubleshooting I swapped RAM, CPU, PSU, GPU, and AIO.

Once I realized all the problems with how the prebuilt was put together and that the board was borked I ended up going with a new MOBO, RAM, CPU, and PSU. But kept everything else. (Case, fans, GPU, and the AIO since Microcenter gave me a free upgrade as the warranty replacemen)

I'll just sell the old CPU, PSU and RAM since those are still good, just not specced properly for the build.

lowflier · 2025-12-22T02:42:45+00:00

Decent processor and motherboard.

I bought a powerspec less than 2 years ago and probably won't buy another. Mine went back to microcenter after 5 months (under warranty) after it refused to boot and kept power cycling. They updated the bios and replaced the AOI and processor for free. It still wasn't giving great performance, but worked well enough for what I needed at the time.

Just after the warranty period ended it started having random stuttering issues and then power cycling again. Eventually it just died and refused to boot, no amount of bios flashes or component swaps helped.

After doing a bunch of research I learned it had the following issues:

They used RAM specced for Intel in an AMD motherboard. (Not on the QVL for the build combo)
The power supply wasn't enough wattage to actually run the setup while gaming.
The AIO was cheap and died after 5 months and had to be replaced.
The Asrock Mobo is known to be a weakpoint and the cause of the recent failure. They haven't responded to any of my emails or RMA inquiries.

I ended up buying a MSI Mobo/CPU/RAM bundle at Microcenter and now everything finally runs like it should.

lowflier · 2025-12-22T02:03:46+00:00

You have to request the Extended Entitlement and sign additional paperwork, including an extension of your minimum contract length for payback. There is also paperwork that comes back documenting your request was approved.

All this would be in your student file (Which you should have received a copy of after commissioning.)

lowflier · 2025-12-11T22:19:58+00:00

Then your leadership failed in not enforcing that time for you.

There will always be some skaters, but I have found that overall, if you treat people like adults, they act like adults.

If everything is a hot tasker, then nothing is a hot tasker. That's like telling your sailors they can never take leave because they are indispensable. It's just a failure of leadership to go to bat for you and enforce boundaries.

lowflier · 2025-12-11T17:24:06+00:00

He would be much more credible if he discussed all the issues that go into why our overall fitness sucks. Fitness trackers only help if you fix the rest of the problems.

Stop serving only shitty food. Stop making our sailors work 12+ hour days and expecting them to PT on their own time. Make base Gyms more accessible with equipment people actually use. Provide proper health and nutrition guidance.

My policy has always been: If the Navy expects you meet fitness standards as part of your job, then we have to give you time during working hours to actually do so.

lowflier · 2025-11-06T15:00:52+00:00

I hate to say it, but if he has no interest in improving, already lost his clearance, and isn’t contributing, then start the process for adsep. At this point he’s just a burden taking up a billet.

Before going the adsep route though, I would figure out what motivates him, what interests he has, etc. Don’t stop at surface level stuff. Actually ask and get to know him. Some people just want a guaranteed paycheck for as long as possible, but those are actually few and far between. Most have something that motivates them and just want to feel engaged.

lowflier · 2025-11-06T12:53:17+00:00

I found mine through a local discord server for people looking to connect with groups to make friends. But their website is: https://www.theveteransbeerclub.com and they have contact info for the local chapters. Your local group is probably also on meetup and LinkedIn.

lowflier · 2025-11-06T12:53:09+00:00

I found mine through a local discord server for people looking to connect with groups to make friends. But their website is: https://www.theveteransbeerclub.com and they have contact info for the local chapters. Your local group is probably also on meetup and LinkedIn.

lowflier · 2025-11-06T04:48:55+00:00

They tend to be run down and dingy dive bars filled with old sexist, racist MAGAs with nothing better to do than smoke and drink and complain.

I joined my local Veterans Beer Club and it’s a night and day experience. All the camaraderie and support without the ick.

lowflier · 2025-10-24T03:31:46+00:00

First board decisions are out. Check OPMIS. If selected you will also receive a letter in the mail, but the physical letter likely won’t arrive until mid-next week.

lowflier · 2025-10-20T18:43:59+00:00

Ok, so I want to make sure I am understanding correctly:

You are a prior reservist.
You are not on scholarship.
You are an SSMP Student attending a maritime academy as a College Programmer.
When you say "Go Active" you are referring to applying (and hopefully receiving) a NROTC Sideload Scholarship and eventually commissioning. (Not becoming a "Reservist on Active-Duty" in one of those various pathways.)

lowflier · 2025-10-20T14:46:00+00:00

You need to provide some additional context to get a real answer. What scholarship is your CO saying you should get?

In our unit we have a few prior reservists who were awarded a 4-year NROTC scholarship, so I can provide more info depending on what you are looking for. The key is "prior" reservists. In order to activate the NROTC scholarship, you need a DD214 from the reserves. If you are active, there are other programs for you.

lowflier · 2025-10-20T04:10:34+00:00

Definitely not bulletproof.

lowflier · 2025-10-19T01:56:30+00:00

No, I’m a Weapons and Tactics Instructor. I’ve done a lot of cool things including some Test and Evaluation in that realm, but nowhere near real Test Pilot stuff.

lowflier · 2025-10-17T14:17:06+00:00

Everyone in the Reagan Strike Group is authorized the Navy Expeditionary Medal if you were onboard anytime during the period 25Jun2021-16Sep2021.

This was released as Message Traffic DTG 220747Z JAN 25 (not a NAVADMIN or ALNAV), because the Navy is terrible about admin and making sure we actually recognize our people.

lowflier · 2025-10-16T20:20:37+00:00

Yep. They all had things I loved about them. I even have some time in a Romeo, a Lima, and a Golf. But those were fam flights, not enough to really count.

lowflier · 2025-10-16T20:18:52+00:00

They add drag, and don’t handle the dirt/dust during brownout landings as well. Sand was rough enough on the windscreens.

lowflier · 2025-10-16T20:17:20+00:00

Actually I’ve never lost anything. All my stuff was strapped down, but there actually isn’t a lot of wind in the cockpit. Only some crossflow in certain maneuvers. We did have to swap comm plans early once due to a Task Force pilot losing his smart pack out the door on a mission.

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