Vietnam has just basically always fought to throw out foreign powers. That’s been various nations over time and for a while, it was us (from a northern perspective as many southerners did want us there and still have positive views of the US). However, now China is their main problem so they’re smart for seeing the battle lines drawn and picking the side that’s most likely to be net positive for them in the end.

They’re one of our strongest allies in the region and lots of commercial development has shifted there to skirt around trade issues with China while still benefiting from cheap labor. Their economy has exploded because of that. I’ve only been to southern Vietnam but it’s actually still surprisingly capitalist there. There’s a communist undertone to everything but I think they’ve learned to largely let the market work since it has been successful for them.

Still not enough quotes around that one lol

Y’all making fun of a kid in elementary school is pretty fucked

I meant on account of the getting shot at but I also wouldn’t enjoy the weather lol

50/50

They will or they won’t

Just last week I was watching a video and the guy wouldn’t shut up about his “big croc” and how much the actress should like it. They’re not even being subtle with their agenda anymore

Your recency bias is showing

I don’t trust these maps because what are these regions

That was the joke.

Some of those people are probably still going to Thailand for those dates lol

Nah you just have to hit the ramp in Southern California with enough speed

wtf does that second reply from andreistefanradu even mean? Humans don’t inhabit every place on earth nor do the “need” to…

I regularly use my mic while gaming and my primary game is Hell Let Loose where you HAVE to use a mic. I don’t use one while playing Halo because no one else does and, just like in other games, I really have no incentive to make connections with people when the lobby disbands every match. IMO this has been one of the worst trends in gaming.

My Xbox friends list is full of random people I met a decade ago playing CoD, Battlefield, and Halo. I made friends and I made enemies over comms. My mom got fucked by like a thousand random gamers. It was the Wild West but it was a hell of a lot more fun and engaging than being surrounded by people doing everything they can to complete their challenges so they progress their battle pass. The games carried more weight when I felt I owed something to the player beside me and I wanted to stick it to the nemesis I made on the other team over the past few games.

My Dad’s a contractor. I was ~5 when he did a major addition to our house for my newly born sister along with adding a second floor. I was around all that and helped him. By the time I was 10 I was constantly asking to go on site with him so I could make extra money to hit up blockbuster on Friday. Other things were just expected of me such as chopping down dead trees, mowing the lawn, and I was very young when I worked my first chainsaw to clear debris after a hurricane.

I think the pearl clutching at a teenager working is ridiculous. However, they probably shouldn’t have been roofing and definitely not up on a roof on their first day

Tbf I don’t think it mattered where you were from. Being deployed to Iraq sounded like it was fucking miserable for everyone

Just treat them like normal people. Because they are. It’s not that fucking hard. Gamers are just the weirdest mofos out there

What’s that?

“Massive, YUGE, super duper dangerous bombs that EXPLODE and can injure/hurt/maim/destroy/pulverize people when they’re hit by flying shrapnel, organ crushing shockwave, and other life-ending debris have been sent from Amerikkka to longtime ally, Israel (🤮). These explosives have been confirmed as being very mean and capable of KILLING PUPPIES.”

I hate this website because I’m constantly learning of new enclaves on the internet where there are gatherings of people thinking the most absurd, stupid shit imaginable. I was happier before I learned there are people that legitimately wish we were an English colony and I could have gone my whole life without knowing those limp dicked people exist. These people should be pushed off the eastern seaboard in a raft with a single paddle

Wow, thank you for all of the info! This is basically just what I was looking for by posting this

Honestly don’t remember exactly. That was also a screenshot from 2013 but I know I basically just did combinations of his name, unit, and the words “silver star”

Yes

Why are these videos so bad and why are they following me everywhere.

“DID YOU KNOW. In the movie, Saving Private Ryan, you can see in one scene that the American soldier reloads his M1 Garand rifle but you probably can’t guess why he does that. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland…. (45 seconds later) so when a soldier runs out of ammo, he is forced to reload the weapon he’s using”

Sorry, I wanted to give a thorough answer but I went on vacation and it just randomly hit me I never replied to you. I’ve only been in NYC for ~9 months so I’m relatively new here but these are the things I miss about Houston:

As mentioned, the low COL. It’ll blow your mind how far your dollar goes there compared to NYC and this genuinely impacts every aspect of life. I lived in the Heights which is arguably the most desirable area to be in (for young adults) and my apartment was twice the size and half the cost of my apartment here. It had a gym, a pool, grills, an elevator lol, common spaces where I’d get together with friends in the building to watch sports, and a private one acre dog park. All this was just a 15 minute drive from my office downtown. Those are all separate costs here with the common area now being a local bar with > $6 beer (we pay for a dog park and gym). I toured an apartment here a few weeks ago with no oven and only a mini fridge in the West Village that was $3,600. You won’t find anything like that in Houston because it would never be rented at any price.

Access to green space and space in general. I know NYC has done a good job with its limited space but it’s obviously very constrained with what‘s possible. A lot of parks are concrete squares just a few feet away from people obsessed with honking their horns. I’m yet to find a place here that feels secluded which isn’t news to anyone. In contrast, there was about a mile of trails directly behind my old apartment that felt like you were in the country so I’d take my dog on off-leash walks back there. Houston is vastly underrated in the access to green space. There are ~77 miles of well maintained trails along Houston’s Bayous alone (meaning you won’t be beside cars). My old apartment was a 10 minute drive from Memorial Park which is almost 2x the size of Central Park. Even most bars/restaurants in Houston will have a patio of some kind which is usually relatively quiet. I practically never feel alone in NYC and can go days without seeing the horizon which is strange to say but it honestly takes a toll on my mental health.

The food scene. Obviously NYC has a fantastic food scene but my favorite meals have largely still been in Houston. You’re also going to usually pay significantly less for your meals in Houston and it’s pretty rare that you MUST have a reservation to get a table unless you’re a large group. There are a lot of great fusion spots there and I’m biased to TexMex which is garbage here. In tandem with this, I’ve tried tons of coffee places here but none of them would break top 5 for me while Houston probably has 3 of my top 5.

The people. This is anecdotal so I wasn’t sure if I should even include it but whatever. My family is almost all there so I liked being able to see them easily. More broadly I think the people there are mostly very down to earth, laid back, and more my speed. I’ll also lump in with this that most people there are Houstonians and want to be there for the long haul. Almost everyone I’ve met in NYC says “I’m going to be here for a while then move” so it basically feels like relationships here have a countdown. In Houston you mostly just worry your friend will move to the suburbs.

There are negatives there and great things I love about NYC but you specifically asked for what I miss in Houston so there you go.

Edit: oh yeah. And HEB. Best grocery store I’ve ever been in where their knockoffs are usually better than the name brands. And don’t skip their sushi. It’s surprisingly great/cheap

Ah dang. Thanks for trying though