You might be surprised how many of those wimpy sailors at ONI are wearing combat related medals. Gone are the days when sailors stayed safely out at sea or risked a bad sunburn at exotic venues like Barbados. These folks get sent to Iraq and Afghanistan just like the Army and Marines.

And all of them can kick your old raggedy butt...old man.

How many ships were you on? i was on three before I became an oyster trainer and one after I retired.

Ha! Love to see you two "discussing" shipboard life and combat life of Sailors. After 34 years in the Navy I am on my very first ship - USS WISCONSIN (BB-64); still haven't seen any "combat". Learning a lot about what Sailors did aboard Battleships in the 1940s, 50s and late 80s/early 90s........ I'm glad I was an OT. Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't all of our messages (RAINFORM/FLASH/EVALS and even LITERALS) in uppercase format? In hindsight that seems childish.

I suspect that it may have something to do with speed at which some messages had to be typed. Having to hold down the shift key to make uppercase initial capital letters at the beginning of sentences etc. would probably slow down typing slightly. Also going back to correct an uppercase letter when it didn't come out uppercase would also take time. Then there is the guessing if some words should have an initial capital letter or not. Maybe the DOD actually used some logical thought back then and decided just to use uppercase? DOD think logically???? ; - ) I'm sure Ed can shed more light on your question and clarify this.

In April 2013 the U.S. Navy began a change away from an all caps-based messaging system, which was begun with 1850s-era teletypes that had only uppercase letters. The switch to mixed-case communications was estimated to save the Navy $20 million a year and get it caught up with current Internet protocol.

The answer to your question.....though it has absolutely nothing to do with the discussion...is two. Now we've established that I've been out of sight of land for an extended period of time....not sure what that proves.

You're sore that my section had to constantly "pickup" your section back in the 70's, you can't hit a driver straight and you're very, very old.

Sail boats in Bermuda DO NOT COUNT. And if medals have anything to do with it, just look at the little leader of N. Korea, he has probably 75 pinned to his chest and he's never been out of his country. He probably got one just for talking to Dennis Rodman. Remember, old is just a word and a state of mind. Last time I saw you, your hair was pretty much all white.

ALL CAPS WAS/IS DUE TO 5 BIT CODE (ORIGINALLY CALLED BAUDOT THEN ITA2) NO OTHER REASON THAN THAT. LESS BITS PER CHARACTERS THE FASTER YOU GOT OFF THE AIRWAY AND USS NEVERSAIL COULD GET ON. YOU CAN'T REPRESENT ALL THE UPPER AND LOWER CASE LETTERS WITH ONLY 5 BITS. THERE ARE ONLY 32 COMBINATIONS POSSIBE WITH 5 BITS.

I assume the new format is ASCII or something of that nature. Didn't read the link so I don't know if it said.

Do shrimp boats out of Key West or tuna boats out of San Diego count??

I make my trips out of siGHT of land (1 count per ship regardless of how many times it went) to be about 10. Only stationed on one, the rest were TAD or post Navy time. And, yes, I got sea sick on every one of them.

Jim....it's abundantly clear to me that your synapses are not functioning at 100 percent. I have serious reservations about your ability to continue as an officer of the court.

Historically, the vast majority of people who choose to opine about the color of my hair are those in a deficit condition.

Want to take a shot at hitting a driver, too?

I never went sailing in Bermuda. Ellis and I were too busy hitting straight drivers. My sea duty was limited to service aboard the USNS Albert J. Myer and USNS Naragansett. I think the Masters kept a 45 onboard.

Actually you're right about the driver, i hit a nice hook that gets a few more yards than hitting it straight.

At your advanced age, you need all the extra yards you can get....probably up to 220 yards now.

Say hey to Deb for me.