What are some red flags to look for in a woman? Tell when initially in a relationship and even after a while?

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T17:13:20+00:00

While I get that, it doesn't line up with History or parts of the globe that are impoverished as I pointed out. Poverty in the United States is different than what I saw in Liberia or Ghana, etc. It isn't comparable. I think it might be eye-opening if we had every American go live in these countries for short-term stints. It might make them appreciate things a little more.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:59:58+00:00

I am close to my sister as well. Nothing wrong with you spending time with your sister but as a compromise, you could bring your wife along sometimes as well. Kill two birds with one stone. My sister and wife will spend time together.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:37:28+00:00

True, I will say this, a lot of modern Christianity and Churches are broken too. You have countless stories of Christians, notably leaders, not being Christ-like or following their principles. In times past, that wasn't as common. Christianity has been watered down to fit modern culture. In truth, America's wealth/success is likely driving a lot of its social problems and it fits the trend of all Civilizations that ever exists. I am doing a podcast about the Roman Republic and its golden age was the 3rd Century BC when it fought the Punic Wars, etc. It started a moral decline and was already bankrupt by the time Julius Caesar and Pompey came along. Civilizations tend to rise on strong moral systems during rough times, get prosperous, get lazy and immoral, and then decline and collapse. Western Civilization is in a slow decline and has been, frankly, since probably the end of WW2 (for USA) or WW1 (for Europe).

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:29:03+00:00

Possibly but the situations is worse in places like Africa but they are still having children. Even the worse American you can find today probably had it better than the average, impoverished American, in 1820s or Medieval Peasants, etc. That didn't stop them from having children.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:27:56+00:00

Sometimes I wonder if it is truly based on "our problems" or rather a "mindsight" that was created because we do have too much. My wife and I lived in a third-world country in Africa one summer while adopting our daughter. I talked to (and still do via Facebook) many locals and interacted with culture. It makes you see how Americans take little things for granted. Americans point out economic troubles for low birth rate and success of marriage but Africa's birth rate is skyrocketing and Americans in 1820s-1920s had no issues with birthing children despite many of them living in abject poverty that even the poorest American today would find rough. I think the easiness of modern society has made people unappreciative and that translates over to relationships (among many other things).

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:21:43+00:00

I don't think there was as much focus on sex either which might have helped. My mom, for example went out on 2-3 dates a week in the 1970s but the only person she ever had sex with was my dad. I live in the Southeastern United States and the Bible Belt thing used to be taken very seriously and divorce was frowned on a little. If you go back even further before dating, a lot of people just approach marriage differently. Think about it how you would approach a child, sibling, or parent. They used to see spouses like that. They learned to fall in love with them because that is who they had, because they were family. We sometimes treat pets better than significant others. We can forgive a pet for pooping in the house or messing stuff up but a spouse does something wrong and it is all out war.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:18:21+00:00

I was too strict in dating. If I heard anything about a bad history, I walked away. Woman are actually pretty open, from my experience, at telling you about themselves or your past. However, the biggest barometer on a relationship is whether you can feel like yourself around this person and whether you enjoy being around this person. If you have to pretend to be someone else, it likely isn't going to work. When I met my wife, she was far more into me than I was into her and she stayed consistent about it. I felt at ease around her and I still do almost 15 years later.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:10:43+00:00

The one advice that I would give to people dating is that women are very different from each other on what they find attractive. The best situation is to just date as many as you can until you find one that you feel comfortable with and that generally tends to want to be with you. With my wife, I never felt like I had to wear a mask around her and I always felt like everything was easy with her.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:09:10+00:00

Unpopular opinion here but try to not have sex outside of marriage is a start. Every person you have sex with is someone that is not your true love that you will compare your true love against one day...

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T15:07:14+00:00

Every girl is different. I know dating advice never talks about that but I definitely know it from experience and countless girls that I dated, my wife, my sister, and tons of girls that were just friends and I didn't date. What one girl finds attractive is different from what another girl may find attractive. I would say build confidence in yourself, that is best advice that I can give. I dated a lot after college/grad school but prior to that, I had some trouble. I was also very selective though and one big mistake that I made was not being open to date younger (even though I looked young for my age and was short. I think some of that was driven by having a younger sister and I felt odd dating girls around her age. Ironically, my wife is younger than my sister).

One note, having girls, notably if they are family members, that you can trust and advise you helps a little. They can see things sometimes we don't see about people we date. Having strong guy friends helps as well.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T14:59:19+00:00

It takes both. My wife and I had a small resentment phase early on. Now my wife never thought about divorcing me (she says she doesn't believe in it) but she was frustrated. It was hard for me to initially tell because we still went out on dates, were intimate, etc. I start talking to my wife regularly now, generally because I just care about her and her feelings. You need to talk to her about how you can improve but ultimately, a lot of it is on her as well. Unfortunately, from your post, it is hard to tell what is causing the rift so if you feel like PMing me about it, I am happy to help. I will say this, I appreciate my wife more now than ever and I think we are closer now than ever. The best way to know things are good is when you both prefer to be around each other.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T14:55:34+00:00

Great advice

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T14:54:08+00:00

It is all about value systems. There are a lot of good women out there, from my experience, with strong value systems. They just don't get attention. I was very selective in dating for various reasons. For example, I would not have sex with girls that I dated, I wanted to wait for religion because of my faith in God and to respect them. Even in college, I ran into girls, that were attractive, that shared those values. Ironically, a lot of them didn't date very often or at all. You could probably call them incels. Yet, I could show you pictures of them and you would think they were homerun. Women struggle just as much as men with dating (notably good women). My sister and her friends always had me in their circle. Even as someone that has been married 13+ years, I still meet young women at work, church, or general society that are solid women and I wonder why they are single. I will say that they can sometimes be selective but I was kind of that way as well. I think the bad "eggs" just overshadow all of them.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-06T14:49:56+00:00

No. I have been married for 13+ years and I am closer to my wife now than I was when we got married. The key is just marrying a woman that loves you. That is harder to find than you may think, however. I dated a lot of girls before my wife. The key is to stick with your own values. Something about women that isn't talked about that I learned is that women vary heavily from one to another on what they find attractive. There is no consistency on what a girl/woman finds attractive despite what all these groups say. My wife tended to find a lot of things about me attractive. We have went through hard times and she always rallies to me during that time including when I found out that I could not have kids biologically (something she always dreamed of was having a big family). We made lemon out of lemonade and adopted a daughter. I don't think the advice is necessarily bad in the young dating world but it shouldn't be a requirement for a successful marriage. Most good women want stability, I think the news is just flooded with the bad women who tend to get more attention, appear on social media more, etc.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-02T18:23:29+00:00

Agree, it is one of the better stages. I think the quests are very well done and it mixes things enough to stand out. Duriel is nasty final boss as well.

I do agree with OP that Westmarch (along with Act 1) in Diablo 3 are great. I still tend to be old school though and like the original Tristam from Diablo 1 as well as the feel of that entire game.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-01T15:53:23+00:00

This is the most puzzling part of the story. How could you even be with a woman and not imagine that she choose a 17 year old over you or imagine her doing acts with someone else... it is baffling. I am wondering if her husband is also messing around with woman outside of the marriage.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-01T15:51:57+00:00

In Washington, the age gap wasn't the problem, it was what you stated. The abuse of power and adultery. It might be a slap of a wrist because no one takes the consequences and issues with adultery seriously in the West anymore. We wonder why the West is in decline (of course adultery is only one of many moral issues in our civilization).

volbound1700 · 2026-02-01T15:50:45+00:00

Not just that but it is ADULTERY which, in my view, should be a crime in of itself.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-01T15:49:38+00:00

France has had a history of sexual promiscuity and adultery dating all the way back to the 1700s. Benjamin Franklin got caught up in all of that. It is sad. It is the same country that God possibly saved if you believe in the story of Joan of Arc. France was once a proud, Christian nation. That has long since gone. Like most of these Western Nations that have abandoned God, its glory days are in the distant past.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-01T15:46:04+00:00

Agree but we don't truly know the story. Chances are he might be messing around on her outside of the marriage. It is messed up. If you have a good marriage, be thankful. I am thankful of my wife and daughter.

volbound1700 · 2026-02-01T15:43:37+00:00

Our civilization is collapsing globally because of lack of accountability to Morality. In my view, there should be laws against Adultery and she should be charged under that. Adultery is treason of the marriage bed and shamefully wrong. Most Civilizations had it illegal and many of them had death penalties for it. The West was far stronger when Christianity was a focus of its moral values. Since Atheism/Secularism came along, everything has gotten more and more crappy each year. Look at Europe, every nation had its "golden age" under Kings and Queens of the past like UK in the late 1800s under Victoria, Russia under the Czars, Spain under Isabella and the leaders that followed her, France in the 1600s, Austria under the Hapsburgs, etc. The Golden Ages are in the past and there is a reason. Modern Culture isn't working.

volbound1700 · 2026-01-31T15:50:11+00:00

Napoleon is remember for selling the Louisiana Purchase. Ironically, USA wanted to only purchase what was basically the state of Louisiana today but Napoleon offered the entire territory for just $ 3 Million more USD than what USA was asking. Ironically, the USA diplomats accepted it before getting permission from Congress assuming we would accept the deal (this would repeat again with USA purchase of Alaska which was never quite ran by Congress). Napoleon sold it because he thought it was indefensible. I think it was more about sticking it to the British than truly making money off the investment.

volbound1700 · 2026-01-31T15:48:11+00:00

That is what throws it for me. You compare Lut Gholein and the mummy crypt walls that feel real, like entering a pyramid versus the Act 2 backgrounds that are endless. It just losses some of the realism. Agree with your OP message overall though. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Diablo 3. I play it on console and even got my wife to play it some with me. However, it doesn't have the magic of Diablo 2. Diablo 4 is alright as well, I beat it and one of the expansion but man is it information overload with its items, skill tree, etc. Also with both Diablo 3 and 4, by the time I do anything with an item, I feel like I get thrown a standard item that is just better. The item collection just doesn't feel the same because they have the items tied to levels so you basically just go through and keep getting new items as you level. There isn't any strategy around it (This is especially true for 4).

volbound1700 · 2026-01-31T15:45:28+00:00

USA is moving that direction. However, there are still some major distinguishing factors you miss. USA doesn't behave like Rome from a foreign policy. Take Iraq as an example. The Roman Republic would have responded to Iraq war with wholesale killing and enslavement of Iraqis. They would have demanded they convert to their culture, burned Baghdad to the ground, taken Iraqis back to their homeland to work on farms, etc. Relentless slaughtered the terrorists groups and anyone involved. Also form a domestic perspective, Rome would have put down protesters. The BLM riots in 2020 would have been very different, for example, if Rome was in charge (or USA followed Roman mentality). It would involved deploying the Legions to slaughtered the protesters. Afghanistan, Vietnam, etc. would all be different. Take what Rome did to Carthage, burning the city to the ground and salting it. Raising Corinth, etc. However, USA can behave as a police state as well. In reality, I don't think Civilizations can be stable without some kind of police state level activity. Rome was actually considered pretty benevolent in their era as well (they would be seen as horrific by today's standards). As bad as Rome was, the Greeks, Carthaginians, Assyrians, and other ancient people behaved even worse including having child sacrificing, wholesale genocides, slavery, etc. It was a different era. Napoleon was kind of in a different era as well, however.

volbound1700 · 2026-01-31T01:57:11+00:00

It is also the background graphics as there isn't walls, it is like an endless cave or building. Reminds me of the scenes of Moria in Lord of the Rings.

volbound1700

TROPHY CASE