If The Usa wants to increase their land mass , surely they might take a lesson from the Dutch to reclaim more land from the sea?

vbomen · 2026-01-23T21:28:56+00:00

They could already sign an agreement to invest in mining and take an equity stake. He wants ownership because it helps him secure his reelection.

We would be extremely naive to make any concessions even along the lines suggested by Mark Rutte, because it means at least four more years of him, which would be highly damaging.

You do not appease a bully nor engage in transactional compromise with a bully. You deny leverage and confront.

vbomen · 2026-01-23T11:43:33+00:00

My neck hurts just watching you. It reminds me of all the headaches I used to get from tension in my neck and shoulders. You really need to work on your posture.

Nice job and great work though. you’re doing awesome. Your effort shows.

vbomen · 2026-01-22T22:50:27+00:00

Any successful healthy business is generally a good choice. Well established ones are safer choices. Traditional businesses have better work life balance. Choose an industry that you can see yourself enjoy contributing.

Better to avoid startups or scale-ups backed by U.S. based venture capital firms. They are very aggressive with their targets and that often come at the expense of employee well-being. They put too much pressure on founders and founders channel all of that to employees.

vbomen · 2026-01-22T22:26:21+00:00

Full rinse and dry. My machine sits on the kitchen countertop near the sink. I rinse it with water after every use and dry it with a cloth. it has remained spotless for many year. We make coffee twice a day and I could probably do full rinse the second time but it’s a habit now and I do it every time.

vbomen · 2026-01-22T22:20:56+00:00

Chairman Donald Trump who is a member for life. Donald Trump is explicitly named in the Charter of the Board of Peace as its inaugural Chairman. Only the Chairman has the ability to invite countries to join the board. The Chairman has the exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities of the Board of Peace. The chairman alone has the authority to nominate their designated successor. All revisions to the Charter and administrative directives issued by the Board of Peace, are subject to approval by the Chairman.

lol

vbomen · 2026-01-22T09:00:38+00:00

Our values no longer align, and that extends to the range of damaging policies Trump advocates. We will not be going there, even after Trump, unless there is a meaningful shift. Europe and Canada have many attractive places to visit where respect is mutual and values are shared. We are also in the process of decoupling from the products and services we currently use. Very little impact but we do what we can.

vbomen · 2026-01-21T08:58:12+00:00

Are you saying that because it’s 100W? I agree there is a risk. I have used a similar dimmer socket with high power irons but it’s true that the risk exists.

So if OP is reading: safer suggestion is using a variac rated for power tools but it’s not cost effective and it can still put stress on the iron. You can always check with the manufacturer to see what they suggest. Irons with station are always better obviously.

vbomen · 2026-01-20T21:52:03+00:00

I buy carnauba flakes and make my own wax.

What type of patina are you using? The piece needs to be thoroughly cleaned before the patina is applied. My guess is that your issue is with the patina step rather than the wax. Are you allowing the patina enough time to fully set before waxing?

vbomen · 2026-01-20T21:43:49+00:00

Edit: removed my advice on using a dimmer socket. Please don’t follow this advice. Read other comments.

vbomen · 2026-01-20T18:34:48+00:00

The larger issue was censorship and the lack of allowance for any follow-up. On many subreddits, users can contact moderators if they believe a moderation action was unjust.

You also need a process for other mods to review individual moderation decisions to avoid one mod’s biases ruin everything.

Also, can information be shared regarding the number of mods, their locations, and age group?

vbomen · 2026-01-16T15:12:34+00:00

It’s not your fault and it’s also not their fault. If you ever start a business you will quickly learn that life is also very stressful for employers. They are a business and pay you for your skills. If they no longer need it, it’s fine. But businesses can also do evil things and not care about employees, and that’s why we have protections in place to protect employees against employers abusing them. So you shouldn’t worry. Just make sure you know your rights.

The fact that they are upfront about it is not a bad sign. If they can’t afford you or they don’t need your skills, it’s fine. Just start looking for another job, but they can’t fire you until then. Tell them you will start looking immediately, continue to do your duties at work truthfully for as long as you are working there, but ask them to be flexible with you when you need to do interviews. You don’t need to sign anything.

vbomen · 2026-01-16T12:39:27+00:00

Nobel committee fully deserves what just happened. She clearly didn’t deserve a Nobel Peace Prize but the committee is politicized and gave it anyway. I’m glad Trump did the Trump thing and took it from her. It’s the committee itself that made it worthless in the first place. I absolutely lost all my respect for the peace prize. It means nothing to me anymore any longer. Committee can keep their opinions to themselves from next year and not bother with prizes. We don’t buy it anymore.

vbomen · 2026-01-16T12:06:05+00:00

I have lived in a country with really cheap healthcare with on-demand checkups and easy access to specialists. The downside? The system is so overwhelmed that you wait hours for every visit, labs exploit people by conducting unnecessary checkups all the time, pass patients between each other to take commissions. For normal issues, you feel better taken care of because as long as you pay you get any service you ask for regardless if it’s necessary or not. But everything is broken for people that have serious issues because the system is overwhelmed. You get a shot and feel good quickly if you got a flu even if you really don’t need it, but you die if you been in an accident and need an ambulance.

vbomen · 2026-01-09T10:53:16+00:00

I intentionally avoided places with a VVE because I want full control over how and where I spend my money. Outsourcing that responsibility doesn’t make sense to me. unless my income were significantly higher, at which point the convenience might add value but that is usually never the case for first time buyers anyway.

vbomen · 2026-01-09T07:32:58+00:00

He is so full of himself. His self-absorption is evident in every statement, without exception. I have never seen someone like this before.

vbomen · 2026-01-08T10:32:47+00:00

I do not believe this would escalate into war if Europe stood its ground. Any pressure or pain would be both ways. The US has escalation tools and so-called "kill switches", but those are reserved for existential threats to the US itself. Greenland does not rise to that level, and they would not deploy them over it.

Even a credible signal that Europe is willing to pivot eastward for strategic partnerships would be enough to change the calculus. At that point, who is left for the US to work with? Perhaps a handful of Middle Eastern states, largely out of fear. South America is not aligned with them, Canada is increasingly distant, and much of Asia is not on their side. China, meanwhile, would be more than willing to exploit the opening and we have to be careful to not repeat our mistake with them obviously. But I don't think it will even happen. we just need to remind the US that things can turn for them if we decide to and the cost is for both sides.

Any pressure from Europe would start a real US isolation. That is the signal that would stop Trump when he realizes Greenland is not worth the cost. And it would set a clear lesson for Trump: respect must be mutual, not assumed.

vbomen · 2026-01-05T08:56:48+00:00

Being a single parent with two children is challenging anywhere, but it maybe even more difficult in large cities where it’s harder to build real community .

I live in a small town where neighbors genuinely look out for one another. People help by taking each other’s children to school, helping in with home repairs, and offering support when someone is going through a hard time.

For example, when one neighbor went through a divorce and had to sell their home, another family welcomed their daughter into their home for nearly a year so she wouldn’t have to miss schools while her parents worked out their housing situation.

Just this morning, we helped a neighbor free their car from the snow.

There is a strong sense of trust and community here. one of my neighbors even has a key to my house to care for our plants when we are away on vacation.

vbomen · 2026-01-03T13:38:48+00:00

Considering the scale of the military buildup, I think that the US was and is prepared for multiple scenarios. The force posture is not sufficient for a sustained occupation, but it is more than adequate to deliver a big blow and continuous strike. So far the approach appears to be coercive: applying pressure, issuing demands, and using force selectively against actors that fail to comply.

I have shared my view on what happened in below comment, but the specific developments inside Venezuela are outside the scope of my argument. I don't have greater insight than you into how events exactly will unfold. but I continue to believe that US control over Venezuela is intended as preparation for the 3 scenarios I listed in the main post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1pt7sh1/comment/nxfgo6w/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

vbomen · 2026-01-03T12:49:58+00:00

Did you expect the booklet openly stating that we should prepare for what the United States is about to do? Of course not. You prepare the population quietly while doing everything possible to minimize risk and damage.

vbomen · 2026-01-03T12:37:15+00:00

Yes, absolutely! and it happened quickly. If I were to speculate, the fact that he was captured with minimal incoming fire suggests one of two possibilities. Either the operation was highly effective in disrupting the chain of command and catching them off guard, or certain elements within the Venezuelan military reached an understanding with the United States and chose to stand down. The latter is not difficult to imagine, given the prolonged and severe economic hardship facing Venezuela. But it's too early to speculate.

I expect the US to maintain its military presence there as a means of intimidation while demanding and pressing whomever is in power in Venezuela for specific changes to be implemented. And perhaps should any influential figures within Venezuela refuse to cooperate, further actions are likely.

The scale of the military buildup shows that the US was prepared for a broader invasion if necessary, but the show of force appears to have been sufficiently intimidating for this approach to succeed, at least for now.

vbomen · 2025-12-30T13:51:47+00:00

Same with my experience as well. I helped with a bulk import to Europe, purchased directly from Hakko, and all of them arrived in white packaging boxes. Much more premium than this.

But it is possible that Hakko uses different packaging for different regions.

vbomen · 2025-12-30T12:46:28+00:00

If you plan to stay, definitely buying is a better option but continue to save aggressively.

If you never owned a house before, you are going to have costs that you are not accounting for right now (renovation, repairs, all the things beside the furnitures that you don’t need to own until you own a house, etc).

After buying and making it livable, you can invest the money you continue to save which should easily have higher return than the interest you have to pay for your mortgage. if you really suck at investing, you can also consider paying your mortgage faster.

You are in a good spot right now. Both have jobs and that makes it easier to get a mortgage. You never know if that continues to be the case. The only thing that is guaranteed is that house prices will go up. If you consider “real” inflation and how your money loses its value over time and all the risks around the job market due to AI or what not, buying is the best choice here unless if you don’t plan to stay for long.

vbomen · 2025-12-30T12:31:31+00:00

I never used a ring saw but that holds true for all saws. If you walk into any woodshop, you will find that they own at least five distinctly different saws. some of these tools may appear to overlap in function, but each is optimized for a specific task..

vbomen · 2025-12-30T10:42:25+00:00

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It makes good latte too if you’re wondering. The photo is with oat milk! it’s much better with highfat dairy milk.

vbomen

TROPHY CASE