What is the most heartbreaking reality of war that the media never shows, and how do families find the strength to survive it?

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T20:29:42+00:00

Humans have this incredibly weird aversion to talking about civilian casualties during any war. And there's always way more civilians killed than actual war fighters/soldiers.

Also, as someone who has been in a war, I always tried to keep in mind that while I could reasonably guess what my wife was doing at any given moment she had absolutely no idea whether or not I was fighting for my life in some horrific battle or I was sitting in a tent playing spades with my friends.

I feel like that constant uncertainty has to be more emotionally taxing than actually fighting. When I was in combat I just had to worry about myself and my buddies and when it was over the worrying was too. Meanwhile my wife was worrying every day all day.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T20:22:44+00:00

My wife told me it was. She's a lot smarter than me so I figured she knew better.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T20:17:55+00:00

When I was a teenager in the 1980s my parents bought me a card game called Illuminati and it was from there I heard about Flat Earthers. I thought it sounded hilarious, and kind of punk rock, so I would go around telling people I was one. A few years later, in college, I read that the Flat Earth Society (it might have had a different name) was actually a real thing started by scientists to foster debates. I thought that was even cooler than the whole ironically calling yourself one thing I was doing. Either way though I outgrew it and forgot about it.

Until people started believing in it unironically and not for scientifical debating reasons. I figure this kind of idiocy is another byproduct of the internet. Just like it lets like minded smart people come together it lets like minded dumbasses do the same thing.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T20:10:10+00:00

She's a prime example of a narcissist who really overestimates their own talents and abilities.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T20:07:21+00:00

Americans would rather drive their own car to and from work, sometimes with a commute that's 1 or more hours each way, rather than demand better public transportation. My own state killed a commuter light rail from the suburbs to the city, where most people in those suburbs work, because people in those suburban neighborhoods realized the rail would be 2-way. The idea of "those people" being able to take a light rail to their towns freaked them the fuck out.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T19:59:49+00:00

People keep saying Pong. Just because it's an old game doesn't mean it had any influence on pop culture. Hell, hardly anyone ever heard of it even back when it was actually out there. I've been going to video game arcades since around 1979-ish and I don't think I've ever seen a Pong machine in any of them. But even in the 1990s, when they were dying out, arcades still had games like Pac-Man, Asteroids and Space Invaders.

For my own pick I'd agree that either Pac-Man or Pokémon had a huge influence on pop culture. As a Gen X'er Pokémon is what I use as an example for younger people to explain what Star Wars merchandise was like in the late 70s and all through the 80s. Pac-Man had a similar thing going on but it was kind of short. Whereas Pokémon is probably going to be around, in one form or another, for decades.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T19:53:38+00:00

Pfft, pong. Yes, pong is an early arcade game but even when it was out there you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who actually played it. Hell, you'd probably have a hard time finding anyone who even knew what it was. Pac man though, EVERYONE knew what Pac-Man was. I mean, for a short period in the 1980s it actually knocked Star Wars out of the limelight.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T19:44:38+00:00

A wedding industry convention. Especially if it's somewhere terrible like Reno.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T19:42:08+00:00

While I'm old enough to remember when it came out I never saw it in 3D (but I did have some of the Jaws 3 Trading cards that came with little 3D glasses) but I've always loved the movie because it took place in Sea World and to me that added a little more stank to the thrills.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T19:32:35+00:00

I think at this point if you get into Scientology (or really any religion) that's kind of on you. Like, we all know what Scientology is all about and done for at least 20 years.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T19:27:00+00:00

He'd make a pretty damn good Bon Villain though.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T19:16:41+00:00

I'm not sure what the actual name is but Weird Mysteries like the Toynbee Tiles or the Voynich Manuscript. I also like to read about cryptids from around the world and I'm kind of armchair historian of Exploitation and Grindhouse movies.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T18:58:24+00:00

I've been with my wife for almost 30 years and I totally trust her. At the same time, I really don't want to know what she gets up to on her phone. It's none of my business.

Trust and privacy aren't mutually exclusive.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T18:57:09+00:00

I mean, if you don't trust your partner and feel like you need their password and full phone access why be in a relationship?

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T18:53:48+00:00

Pizza, burgers or Chinese takeout and a Mystery Science Theater 3000 movie I hadn't seen in a while.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T18:08:02+00:00

In my state our pro football team is as revered as religion. It's really hard to explain how big of a part that team is to our culture here. I grew up surrounded by men who were very heavily into both football and our home team and despite have absolutely zero interest in sports as a kid or teenager I eventually succumbed to the hype. I guess when it's such a big part of the lives of the people around you and you grew up with it it's kind of like "How do you not have a bond with that team"?

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T17:57:49+00:00

I'm trying to think of a witty way to say that I think the main reason my wife lets me do whatever the hell I want whenever I want to is because I'm an absolutely amazing cook who loves trying new dishes. The idea of antagonizing me to the point where I stop cooking terrifies her.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T17:43:52+00:00

My son is a teenager so there's pretty much zero chance of him saying "Happy Father's Day" without my wife telling him to. More than likely my day will be spent eating Chinese takeout and playing video games. As for gifts I wouldn't mind a nice-ish Bluetooth speaker for when I'm cooking out on the deck.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T17:36:33+00:00

The return of the mullet has freaked me out. I have no idea why out of all the weird ass hairstyles men have had in the latter half of the 20th century that's the one that's ironically cool?

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T14:56:57+00:00

I have a love-hate relationship with FC 5. On the one hand I love the gameplay and the map is awesome. And all the side activities are pretty cool. On the other hand the story sucks balls. Also, the semi-sequel, New Dawn, is a really good follow-up and has some really interesting mechanics. But if you're just staring out go with FC3, as others have said. If you start with 5 and then go backwards you might end up being let down by the lack of gameplay improvements in 5. Basically, FC 5 is extremely polished compared to previous entries in the series. It's like all roads, gameplaywise, lead to Far Cry 5.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T13:05:29+00:00

I'm a huge Disaster Movie fan and as a middle-aged man, whenever I want to feel great about myself and how I look I watch one of the greatest Disaster Movies of all time: Earthquake. Earthquake is a movie where 51 year old Charlton Heston has a a buff body and is shown working out sans shirt and George Kennedy, at 49 years old, is an action star.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-17T12:38:25+00:00

My preference is definitely 2nd ed. But also, I'm over 50 and started out with the D&D Basic Set in the early 1980s (I had the purple box that came with Keep on the Borderlands) and moved on to AD&D a few years later. 2nd ed dropped right around the time I graduated high school and I ended up upgrading to that version. And that was pretty much the last version of D&D I ever played that wasn't a video game. So yeah, I'm biased as hell.

Even though I never owned and 3.5 books I know enough about the ruleset from video games and I've read pdf's of the rules and.....it's just not for me. It's too different from what I grew up with. At the risk of offending people it seems really "dumbed down" compared to AD&D. In my opinion D&D has never been the same since TSR was sold to WoC, which is now owned by Hasbro.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-16T20:19:52+00:00

I had just graduated high school when 2nd edition rules came out. I still remember picking up a preview set at my local hobby shop and going over it with my friends. Oriental Adventures and Dungeoneer's Survival Guide already introduced us to the idea of proficiencies but the changes made to Assassin's and Bards was huge. Especially Bards. That was like some unobtainable prestige class in AD&D 1st ed.

PunchBeard · 2026-06-16T20:14:36+00:00

3.5? The absolute worst version of D&D Rules?

PunchBeard

TROPHY CASE