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#61
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Money Can't Buy Class - Ex...
Last post by Abbot Mythos - August 14, 2026, 11:15:16 PMI can't think of any comments that I need add to this article:
As per within this article:
"President Donald Trump said effectively nothing about this until Friday afternoon, during a brief Q&A with reporters.
When one reporter noted that family members of U.S. service members are "concerned about the conditions" on the USS Lincoln, the president started to reply before rejecting the premise of what he'd been asked. "No, they're not," the Republican said.
After insisting that the USS Lincoln would soon be "replaced" by another ship, Trump was asked whether the current deployment has gone on too long.
"No, no, no," Trump replied. Leaning in closer to the press corps for emphasis, he quickly added, "Not nearly long enough."
At that point, the president turned and walked away."
"A reporter noted family members are "concerned about the conditions" on the ship. "No, they're not," the president replied, denying reality."
As per within this article:
"President Donald Trump said effectively nothing about this until Friday afternoon, during a brief Q&A with reporters.
When one reporter noted that family members of U.S. service members are "concerned about the conditions" on the USS Lincoln, the president started to reply before rejecting the premise of what he'd been asked. "No, they're not," the Republican said.
After insisting that the USS Lincoln would soon be "replaced" by another ship, Trump was asked whether the current deployment has gone on too long.
"No, no, no," Trump replied. Leaning in closer to the press corps for emphasis, he quickly added, "Not nearly long enough."
At that point, the president turned and walked away."
#62
Featured / Re: The Subtitle Says This Is ...
Last post by Abbot Mythos - August 14, 2026, 07:44:48 AMMy WW II Era boat was already old long before I stepped aboard. And so, it was scrapped a few years after I finished serving my sentence hitch.
And, it's hard for me to decide what the worst thing was about the food on my old boat. It's pretty much a three-way tie between the food poisoning about once a month, the monotony of being served dried up roast beef nearly every fucking day, and the monotony of having to stand in line for hours every day just to get fed. Taken all together, I, and most of the crew, found ourselves in the unpleasant situation of eating simply because we had to eat.
It took me a long time to find out, but a corpsman eventually told me that I, and the other few hundred random shipmates who were routinely suffering from "stomach virus" about once a month, had not been stricken with any kind of "stomach virus." In reality, we were getting food poisoning from Bacillus cereus, the bacterium that quickly propagates on cooked pasta that is allowed to cool and sit for too long at room temperature before being eaten. (There were other causes for some of the food poisoning incidents, but Bacillus cereus was the main culprit.) However, the ship's medical staff were under orders to tell the crew that those frequent food poisoning episodes were cases of "stomach virus." Anyway, after I stopped eating the galley's pasta, I never got food poisoning again.
Now, the roast beef we were being served nearly every fucking day was usually dried out. And even worse, if we didn't get it for lunch, we got it for dinner, or Midrats (Midnight Rations). I was so sick of roast beef that I refused to eat it for years after I got out of the Navy. But, eventually, at a family gathering, I found myself in a situation where I could not gracefully refuse it. But, eating it reminded me that roast beef is really pretty good if it's properly prepared, and not force-fed to you every fucking day.
On my boat, we actually looked forward to eating C-rations, mainly because they provided us with a little variety. But, C-rations were only issued about once a month, usually for lunch, when the boat was running General Quarters drills.
Looking back on it, the activity that occupied most of my timewhile I was serving my sentence during my hitch, after sleeping, was standing in line. And, that was mostly because the main galley, that had to feed somewhere around 2,500 low rate sailors a day, had only one serving line. (Enlisted sailors are typically described as having "ratings" and "rate," rather than military "rank.") So, no matter what shift I worked, to avoid standing in a long line for breakfast, I began getting up at 3:30 AM, when the galley first opened, to eat. Then, I would go back to bed for a few hours, if possible. And, if I wasn't working a day shift, I generally skipped lunch altogether. To me, the food just wasn't worth the time it took to stand in line to get it. On the other hand, if I was working a day shift, I had to be given time off to eat. So I then stood in the long line with everyone else, typically for between a half to three-quarters of an hour to get fed.
But, it was tough to avoid having to stand in line for dinner for anywhere from half an hour, to three-quarters of an hour, or more. Going without eating from an early breakfast to midnight is hard if you're required to be physically active. Even so, I occasionally skipped dinner. But, I couldn't realistically do so every day.
Now, the line for Midrats was usually not very long. But, I had already become a "biphasic sleeper" by getting up very early for breakfast, and then going back to sleep. So, having to further divide my sleep into three phases, to avoid wasting a lot of time standing in line to eat, was just not practical on a noisy, crowded ship where I had zero privacy. (I'm still a biphasic sleeper to this day.)
Now, there was also a small forward galley on the boat, that was open from perhaps 11:00 AM to sometime in the mid-afternoon. But, the menu was limited to "sliders," "clinkers," and "bug juice." That's it, nothing else. Anyway, the "sliders" were burgers made from such poor quality beef that you could see big chunks of veins and arteries sticking out of them. And, sometimes, but not very often, we could get them with cheese. (I have no idea why serving cheeseburgers was so difficult.) And, we called those things "sliders" because they were so greasy that they slid around on the grill like hockey pucks on ice when the boat rocked and rolled. (I was shocked when, many years later, White Castle began advertising their "sliders" on TV. They made their ads sound like a slider was something really good.) The "clinkers" were intended to be French fries extruded from some kind of powdered potato gunk. And, we called them "clinkers" because they were so hard that they bounced, and made a distinctive clinking noise when they landed on our metal trays. One had to be extremely hungry to be even tempted to eat "clinkers." And, of course, bug juice was the Navy's version of Kool-Aid. The only saving grace to eating any of that crap was that you rarely had to stand in line to get it. Most sailors, including myself, just walked by, grabbed a slider, and gulped it down while continuing on down the passageway. Few ever bothered to sit down to eat anything from the forward galley.
But, as bad as the food was on my boat, it sounds like the food being currently served aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln is even worse.
Back in the day, in the Mediterranean, the logistics required to replenish an aircraft carrier was impressive. Replenishments took place at sea once a month. As we never tied up to a pier in the Mediterranean, only a fraction of our supplies came aboard while we were at a port of call. Replenishments at sea started shortly after dawn, with helicopters continuously delivering pallet loads of supplies, double-stacked in cargo nets, to the flight deck. And, that continued all day until near dusk. But, even after the helicopters stopped flying, it usually took until midnight to get all of the supplies off the flight deck, out of the hanger bay, and into the boat's storage compartments.
I was "ships company" rather than "air wing." But, I used to volunteer to work the flight deck during replenishments to relieve the monotony of my regular, mind-numbing, monotonous jobs. Anyway, during replenishments, my boat would slowly steam straight ahead, while somewhere between four to six cargo carrying ships and tankers formed up into two columns steaming "line ahead" on our port and starboard sides. Then, when all of the boats were in position, the helicopters pilots would begin their aerial ballet, making it look like flying those big double-rotor things was effortless.
The above two paragraphs are my attempt at quickly describing just how many ships, aircraft, and people were required to replenish just one month's worth of supplies to an aircraft carrier on deployment. And, the above short description doesn't cover the effort required to get all of those supplies from the states, or wherever, and onto all of those supply carrying ships. But, to avoid beating this particular subject to death, I'll simply add that I doubt the logistics of aircraft carrier replenishment has changed much over the years. And, I suspect today's supply ships are still taking on their cargo at logistical hubs located somewhere in the Mediterranean. If I'm right, they now have to steam through the Suez Canal, across the Red Sea, and then up to near the Gulf of Oman to deliver their cargo. Then, after all that, those same supply ships have to turn around, go back to the Mediterranean empty, and do it all over again for the other aircraft carrier(s) operating near the Strait of Hormuz.
Now, I acknowledge, there are other possible ways that aircraft carriers operating near the Strait of Hormuz could be replenished. But, no method is easy, fast, or cheap. And, some of the possible ways it could be done are far too dangerous to be worth the risk in a war zone.
Last, given what we're hearing about the problems with mail delivery to the USS Abraham Lincoln, I have to conclude that the Navy has next to no logistical capability anywhere near the Gulf of Oman. Even on my old boat, mail delivery was always dependable. Always. Mail was, and still is, delivered to, and picked up from aircraft carriers using carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft. These were, and still are, cheap, little, twin engine, turboprop cargo planes. The problems we're hearing about mail delivery lead me to believe that the Navy can't even get the fucking mail to an airport close enough to the aircraft carriers for a COD to be able to pick it up. (Everyone called the ugly one on my old boat "The Cod." And, I didn't even know what that acronym stood for until I recently looked it up.)
And, it's hard for me to decide what the worst thing was about the food on my old boat. It's pretty much a three-way tie between the food poisoning about once a month, the monotony of being served dried up roast beef nearly every fucking day, and the monotony of having to stand in line for hours every day just to get fed. Taken all together, I, and most of the crew, found ourselves in the unpleasant situation of eating simply because we had to eat.
It took me a long time to find out, but a corpsman eventually told me that I, and the other few hundred random shipmates who were routinely suffering from "stomach virus" about once a month, had not been stricken with any kind of "stomach virus." In reality, we were getting food poisoning from Bacillus cereus, the bacterium that quickly propagates on cooked pasta that is allowed to cool and sit for too long at room temperature before being eaten. (There were other causes for some of the food poisoning incidents, but Bacillus cereus was the main culprit.) However, the ship's medical staff were under orders to tell the crew that those frequent food poisoning episodes were cases of "stomach virus." Anyway, after I stopped eating the galley's pasta, I never got food poisoning again.
Now, the roast beef we were being served nearly every fucking day was usually dried out. And even worse, if we didn't get it for lunch, we got it for dinner, or Midrats (Midnight Rations). I was so sick of roast beef that I refused to eat it for years after I got out of the Navy. But, eventually, at a family gathering, I found myself in a situation where I could not gracefully refuse it. But, eating it reminded me that roast beef is really pretty good if it's properly prepared, and not force-fed to you every fucking day.
On my boat, we actually looked forward to eating C-rations, mainly because they provided us with a little variety. But, C-rations were only issued about once a month, usually for lunch, when the boat was running General Quarters drills.
Looking back on it, the activity that occupied most of my time
But, it was tough to avoid having to stand in line for dinner for anywhere from half an hour, to three-quarters of an hour, or more. Going without eating from an early breakfast to midnight is hard if you're required to be physically active. Even so, I occasionally skipped dinner. But, I couldn't realistically do so every day.
Now, the line for Midrats was usually not very long. But, I had already become a "biphasic sleeper" by getting up very early for breakfast, and then going back to sleep. So, having to further divide my sleep into three phases, to avoid wasting a lot of time standing in line to eat, was just not practical on a noisy, crowded ship where I had zero privacy. (I'm still a biphasic sleeper to this day.)
Now, there was also a small forward galley on the boat, that was open from perhaps 11:00 AM to sometime in the mid-afternoon. But, the menu was limited to "sliders," "clinkers," and "bug juice." That's it, nothing else. Anyway, the "sliders" were burgers made from such poor quality beef that you could see big chunks of veins and arteries sticking out of them. And, sometimes, but not very often, we could get them with cheese. (I have no idea why serving cheeseburgers was so difficult.) And, we called those things "sliders" because they were so greasy that they slid around on the grill like hockey pucks on ice when the boat rocked and rolled. (I was shocked when, many years later, White Castle began advertising their "sliders" on TV. They made their ads sound like a slider was something really good.) The "clinkers" were intended to be French fries extruded from some kind of powdered potato gunk. And, we called them "clinkers" because they were so hard that they bounced, and made a distinctive clinking noise when they landed on our metal trays. One had to be extremely hungry to be even tempted to eat "clinkers." And, of course, bug juice was the Navy's version of Kool-Aid. The only saving grace to eating any of that crap was that you rarely had to stand in line to get it. Most sailors, including myself, just walked by, grabbed a slider, and gulped it down while continuing on down the passageway. Few ever bothered to sit down to eat anything from the forward galley.
But, as bad as the food was on my boat, it sounds like the food being currently served aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln is even worse.
Back in the day, in the Mediterranean, the logistics required to replenish an aircraft carrier was impressive. Replenishments took place at sea once a month. As we never tied up to a pier in the Mediterranean, only a fraction of our supplies came aboard while we were at a port of call. Replenishments at sea started shortly after dawn, with helicopters continuously delivering pallet loads of supplies, double-stacked in cargo nets, to the flight deck. And, that continued all day until near dusk. But, even after the helicopters stopped flying, it usually took until midnight to get all of the supplies off the flight deck, out of the hanger bay, and into the boat's storage compartments.
I was "ships company" rather than "air wing." But, I used to volunteer to work the flight deck during replenishments to relieve the monotony of my regular, mind-numbing, monotonous jobs. Anyway, during replenishments, my boat would slowly steam straight ahead, while somewhere between four to six cargo carrying ships and tankers formed up into two columns steaming "line ahead" on our port and starboard sides. Then, when all of the boats were in position, the helicopters pilots would begin their aerial ballet, making it look like flying those big double-rotor things was effortless.
The above two paragraphs are my attempt at quickly describing just how many ships, aircraft, and people were required to replenish just one month's worth of supplies to an aircraft carrier on deployment. And, the above short description doesn't cover the effort required to get all of those supplies from the states, or wherever, and onto all of those supply carrying ships. But, to avoid beating this particular subject to death, I'll simply add that I doubt the logistics of aircraft carrier replenishment has changed much over the years. And, I suspect today's supply ships are still taking on their cargo at logistical hubs located somewhere in the Mediterranean. If I'm right, they now have to steam through the Suez Canal, across the Red Sea, and then up to near the Gulf of Oman to deliver their cargo. Then, after all that, those same supply ships have to turn around, go back to the Mediterranean empty, and do it all over again for the other aircraft carrier(s) operating near the Strait of Hormuz.
Now, I acknowledge, there are other possible ways that aircraft carriers operating near the Strait of Hormuz could be replenished. But, no method is easy, fast, or cheap. And, some of the possible ways it could be done are far too dangerous to be worth the risk in a war zone.
Last, given what we're hearing about the problems with mail delivery to the USS Abraham Lincoln, I have to conclude that the Navy has next to no logistical capability anywhere near the Gulf of Oman. Even on my old boat, mail delivery was always dependable. Always. Mail was, and still is, delivered to, and picked up from aircraft carriers using carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft. These were, and still are, cheap, little, twin engine, turboprop cargo planes. The problems we're hearing about mail delivery lead me to believe that the Navy can't even get the fucking mail to an airport close enough to the aircraft carriers for a COD to be able to pick it up. (Everyone called the ugly one on my old boat "The Cod." And, I didn't even know what that acronym stood for until I recently looked it up.)
#63
Apple Talk / Re: Open Bar: Subpoenaed by Co...
Last post by Doktor Howl - August 14, 2026, 12:38:32 AMQuote from: Faust on August 11, 2026, 11:12:38 PMhttps://bsky.app/profile/aiptcomics.com/post/3mstdscfcl22f
Very weird timing.
Im assuming at least one of you is the ceo of Image.
I'll take the small wins when they come.
I put in a call to a guy.
#64
Aneristic Illusions / Re: The Republicult™ On Parade
Last post by Abbot Mythos - August 13, 2026, 07:19:08 AMTo the surprise of no one:
There's no need to read any further.
"The MyPillow founder and election conspiracy theorist did not explain the alleged 'anomalies' that his team found in the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary"
There's no need to read any further.
#65
Featured / Re: The Subtitle Says This Is ...
Last post by Abbot Mythos - August 12, 2026, 07:18:37 AMFrom my experience, I don't find much of what is written in this article surprising:
As per this article:
"My son is currently on that ship and listening to him say that he and his shipmates constantly think about jumping off the ship just for relief is so hard to listen to," one worried parent wrote to Stars and Stripes in July. "We are all tucked in at night in our beds at night meanwhile our loved ones are out there fighting with no understanding as to what they're defending."
Sailors aboard Lincoln separately described an incident in which a crew member was prevented from jumping from the ship.
"We already had an instance where watch standers had to stop someone from jumping," one sailor said. The ship's crew was informed about the incident, which occurred a few months ago, during a ship-wide announcement, sailors said."
The Navy did not respond directly to questions about the incident."
My only real surprise is that the above reads like it was an isolated incident. Now, this sort of thing was not an everyday occurrence on my old boat. But, it did happen often enough for the novelty of it to have worn off. Back in the day, in most cases, unhappy sailors went over the side to set themselves up to receive General Discharges, rather than to actually commit suicide. They typically jumped from a forward sponson deck near the bow of the ship, so there would be plenty of opportunity for them to be spotted in the water by the lookouts as the ship steamed past. And, the jumpers often enlisted a friend to watch and report to a lookout that they had see someone jump. I also remember that during our departure for the Mediterranean in the fall of 1973, my friends and I watched something like six different guys jump overboard, from different parts of the ship, between the time we cast off in the harbor, and the time it took us to reach the middle of the breakwater. And, one of them really impressed us by doing a swan dive off of the flight deck.
It is not my intent to make light of any of this. Because, it honestly appears to me that as bad as being aboard an aircraft carrier was back in the day, it's much, much worse today.
As per this article:
"My son is currently on that ship and listening to him say that he and his shipmates constantly think about jumping off the ship just for relief is so hard to listen to," one worried parent wrote to Stars and Stripes in July. "We are all tucked in at night in our beds at night meanwhile our loved ones are out there fighting with no understanding as to what they're defending."
Sailors aboard Lincoln separately described an incident in which a crew member was prevented from jumping from the ship.
"We already had an instance where watch standers had to stop someone from jumping," one sailor said. The ship's crew was informed about the incident, which occurred a few months ago, during a ship-wide announcement, sailors said."
The Navy did not respond directly to questions about the incident."
My only real surprise is that the above reads like it was an isolated incident. Now, this sort of thing was not an everyday occurrence on my old boat. But, it did happen often enough for the novelty of it to have worn off. Back in the day, in most cases, unhappy sailors went over the side to set themselves up to receive General Discharges, rather than to actually commit suicide. They typically jumped from a forward sponson deck near the bow of the ship, so there would be plenty of opportunity for them to be spotted in the water by the lookouts as the ship steamed past. And, the jumpers often enlisted a friend to watch and report to a lookout that they had see someone jump. I also remember that during our departure for the Mediterranean in the fall of 1973, my friends and I watched something like six different guys jump overboard, from different parts of the ship, between the time we cast off in the harbor, and the time it took us to reach the middle of the breakwater. And, one of them really impressed us by doing a swan dive off of the flight deck.
It is not my intent to make light of any of this. Because, it honestly appears to me that as bad as being aboard an aircraft carrier was back in the day, it's much, much worse today.
#66
Principia Discussion / Re: Have a Zealous Zaraday!
Last post by Abbot Mythos - August 12, 2026, 06:09:17 AM'Tis Zaraday, the 5th day of the season of Bureaucracy, in the Year of Our Lady of Discord 3192!
It is recorded in our sacred Principia Discordia that Apostle Zarathud was "a hard nosed hermit of Medieval Europe, Chaosphe Bible Banger, and "Offender of The Faith."
Apostle Zarathud, no doubt, confronted the SacredCow Chao at the Chaos Crater, in what is now Sounio National Park, which is located to the east of Athens. So, Discordians who enjoy the great outdoors may wish to pilgrimage there someday. But, be forewarned, to my knowledge, the crater does not contain a bowling alley. You just can't have everything, all at once, in the same place.
And, I have no idea how, or why the Sacred Chao spoke Chinese, or even how Apostle Zarathud and his disciples knew the Sacred Chao was speaking Chinese. The answers to those two questions are part of the Erisian Mysteries.
Hail Eris!
All Hail Discordia!
It is recorded in our sacred Principia Discordia that Apostle Zarathud was "a hard nosed hermit of Medieval Europe, Chaosphe Bible Banger, and "Offender of The Faith."
Apostle Zarathud, no doubt, confronted the Sacred
And, I have no idea how, or why the Sacred Chao spoke Chinese, or even how Apostle Zarathud and his disciples knew the Sacred Chao was speaking Chinese. The answers to those two questions are part of the Erisian Mysteries.
Hail Eris!
All Hail Discordia!
#67
Apple Talk / Re: Dispatches from the Bone Y...
Last post by chaotic neutral observer - August 12, 2026, 02:13:49 AMQuote from: Doktor Howl on August 10, 2026, 05:35:24 PM3. The well is haunted. More about that later.
I will follow this thread with considerable interest, not to mention dismay.
#68
Apple Talk / Re: Open Bar: Subpoenaed by Co...
Last post by Faust - August 11, 2026, 11:12:38 PMhttps://bsky.app/profile/aiptcomics.com/post/3mstdscfcl22f
Very weird timing.
Im assuming at least one of you is the ceo of Image.
I'll take the small wins when they come.
Very weird timing.
Im assuming at least one of you is the ceo of Image.
I'll take the small wins when they come.
#69
Apple Talk / Re: Dispatches from the Bone Y...
Last post by Doktor Howl - August 11, 2026, 09:17:25 PM*Wander out back with a coffee*
*Clyde and Inky are dangling off of a C130 by their fall protection lanyards singing "Stay up late" by The Talking Heads*
Rodrigo: "What the fuck? Aren't you going to do something about these guys?"
Me: "Yes. I am going to compliment them on their taste in music."
*Clyde and Inky are dangling off of a C130 by their fall protection lanyards singing "Stay up late" by The Talking Heads*
Rodrigo: "What the fuck? Aren't you going to do something about these guys?"
Me: "Yes. I am going to compliment them on their taste in music."
#70
Aneristic Illusions / Re: The Resistance 2.0!
Last post by Doktor Howl - August 11, 2026, 08:10:47 PMSo. How's this resistance thing coming along?