you joke but even the FBI encourages vpn use

He wanted a good plot arc leading up to robots not just starting with robots right off the rip

I love the Army Men games as a flawed but nostalgic childhood series and I’ve loved the idea of it ever since

Army Men Sarge’s Heroes has two Christmas levels, but the last one is the final boss where you fight a dreaded poodle. It’s flawed but I usually dust it off and give it a play. The Mean Greens also has a neat toy train level.

I was super stoked when Rising Storm 2 had their christmas event come out in 2018. It was a great mix of serious and fun gameplay with the army men concept done with a level of polish I’ve never seen. Before the game died out I had a ton of fun for several christmasses!

I have fond ptsd memories of being a radioman following the green faction commander around as he calls in artillery strikes. We got pinned down behind some legos. The game mode keeps all the base game sound effects so when the commander peeked out and took a hit I got to listen to the long agonising death sounds while fighting for a kid’s craft table lol

Completely unrelated but Hitman is also a go to. The Paris christmas level is amazingly well decorated

The Long Dark is not for everyone but for me it’s awesome

Museums?

Depends on the school but yes it’s ridiculous. For a while it seemed like everyone was encouraged to attend college but now it seems like trade schools are coming back in a big way. I think people realise they aren’t going to get anything useful for the time and money they put in for the jobs they want

Hallway, stairwell, outside the building, in your parked car, things like that

edit: op is talking about gaming, I was thinking phone calls and stuff. I’m a dum dum

The first time I saw this was right after the Texas ice storm and power grid failure a few years ago. A lot of people were suddenly stuck in their now unheated homes trying to get by with what they had on hand. That’s when people found out that containing most of the heat from a candle is better than nothing.

Word spread because most people had time to kill and the stuff to try it. If you are careful about it you could warm cold hands or get a mild radiation effect if you’re close to it.

But yeah it’s not going to heat a room to any comfortable level on it’s own. And you probably don’t need the $100+ ones they sell on Etsy.

Like plugging a power strip into itself

I can’t say I’m surprised it happened. I’m kinda surprised it didn’t happen sooner considering some of the games companies can play and the emotions involved when trying to care for loved ones. The timing sucks because the kids who had nothing to do with the business won’t have another Christmas without thinking of the time they had to bury their dad.

I’m glad that of all the options the shooter chose to be about as surgical as they could be. Better to target one heavily involved person than a mass shooting at a hospital, office etc where most people have nothing to do with big picture decision making.

Now I’m concerned about copycats that won’t be as considerate and kneejerk legal repercussions since I enjoy the 2nd amendment and use suppressors often. I think this is the first real crime I’ve heard of with a suppressor used. Nobody I know wants to see this be a regular thing but hopes this will be a wake up call higher ups need to change their practices.

A few thousand dollars per eye is what I heard but insurance covers a vast majority of that. You’ll have to do your research. Just don’t go to the cheapest place because again it’s your eyes

Lasik, prk and others. You’ll want the most experienced doctors you can so shop around. It’s your eyes after all.

Ask your current eye doc and they should point you in the right direction

gave smallpox to anyone who looked different than them

It’s not like they had a choice in who did/didn’t get it.

Knowing nothing about anything it almost seems like the mindset of a person who survives a suicide attempt where they realize the gravity of their decision only after they make it

Of all the ones they showed somehow the MLB game bit hit me hardest

MLB 99 and Knockout Kings were two of the coolest sports games my dad played when I was a kid

With your request in mind I ran the comment through ChatGPT, just for you. Enjoy!

Codec Transmission: Solid Snake & Nastasha Romanenko

Snake: [static crackles, the screen flickers to life, Snake’s voice low, gruff]
“Romanenko, I’ve been scanning through this comment section… It seems like everyone’s forgetting the bigger picture. They think just because the Cold War didn’t go nuclear, it was all just a close call that never could have happened.”

Nastasha: [calm and measured, her voice cutting through the static]
“Snake, you’re absolutely right. The assumption that the nuclear threat was just a matter of chance and never a real possibility… It’s dangerous. It underestimates the tension, the fear, the sheer madness that gripped the world for decades. The fear of waking up to a flash of light and knowing the world was about to change forever.”

Snake: [scoffs, a bitter chuckle escaping him]
“Yeah. I don’t think people really get it. All those years, the Cold War didn’t end with a handshake. It ended with a quiet sigh of relief. But we all knew it was a coin toss. Heads, we survive. Tails, we’re vaporized.”

Nastasha: [her voice hardens, as though drawing from memories of a time she’d rather forget]
“Exactly. Imagine living with that over your head every day. The dread, the constant knowing that at any moment, the world could be wiped out in a flash, and it wouldn’t be your fault. You’d just be collateral damage. It’s as if the people who lived in that time were somehow made of stronger stuff, able to endure the unimaginable.”

Snake: [leans back, folding his arms across his chest as if in thought]
“I get what you’re saying, but there’s something that bugs me about this mindset—about the idea that because we made it out without a nuclear apocalypse, we’re somehow immune. Like we can just sit back and let the next generation think it was all a fairy tale. A close call, but nothing more.”

Nastasha: [sharp inhale, her tone biting with the weight of history]
“It’s not just a fairy tale, Snake. It’s a horrific reality that nearly became true. The weapons we developed were so powerful, so incomprehensible, that they could’ve ended everything, in an instant. The logic of deterrence kept the world balanced on a knife’s edge, but it could’ve just as easily tipped over. One wrong move, one miscalculation… and the world as we know it would’ve been gone.”

Snake: [pauses, his voice low and almost whispering]
“Yeah… and it wasn’t just the Soviets or the Americans. It was the whole world playing Russian roulette. Everyone was in on it. The whole damn planet was holding its breath for decades.”

Nastasha: [nodding, but there’s an edge to her words now]
“Of course, and let’s not forget—our failure to get rid of nuclear weapons isn’t just a product of rivalry or ideological differences. It’s the failure of humanity as a whole to look at the bigger picture. Instead, both sides clung to these weapons, clung to the idea that the power to destroy could somehow be the power to control. But it’s an illusion. A dangerous one.”

Snake: [his voice tinged with frustration, rubbing his temple]
“You’re not wrong. The Russians. The Americans. They’re all guilty. The U.S. has always had an unhealthy obsession with their bombs. It’s like they think the more they have, the safer they are. But what do we really have to show for it? More weapons? More power? More destruction?”

Nastasha: [quiet but firm]
“Snake, the reason we haven’t gotten rid of nuclear weapons is simple—fear. Fear that without them, we would be vulnerable. But the truth is, we’re already vulnerable. The real danger isn’t the lack of nukes, but the presence of them. A single mistake, a single reckless decision, and we’re all gone.”

Snake: [grits his teeth, anger simmering beneath his calm tone]
“Yeah, that’s the real kicker, Romanenko. People still want to build more. They want to keep creating newer, deadlier weapons, thinking that if they have the biggest bomb, they’ll be the ones in control. But all they’re really doing is inviting disaster. It’s not just about power, it’s about stupidity. We’re playing with fire, and everyone’s too afraid to put the damn match down.”

Nastasha: [her voice steady, but her words carry a weight of truth]
“It’s the same cycle, Snake. We see it in history, over and over again. Nations too proud, too stubborn to let go of what they think gives them an advantage, even if it’s ultimately self-destructive. The American and Russian leaders, they’re no different than the ones before them. They think they can control something as uncontrollable as nuclear weapons. They think their arsenal gives them strength, when in fact, it only guarantees our eventual downfall.”

Snake: [pauses for a moment, thinking hard, voice quiet but resolute]
“So what do we do? How do we fix it? The world’s not going to just wake up one day and throw its bombs away. This isn’t a utopia. It’s a battlefield, always has been.”

Nastasha: [a long pause, the weight of her answer hanging in the air]
“You’re right. There’s no magic solution. But we have to start somewhere. First, we acknowledge the truth—we need to get rid of these weapons. Not create new ones. Not stockpile them. We need to take the step forward, even if it’s one small step. A movement to dismantle nuclear arsenals, to make the world realize that we’re all in this together, and that no one is truly safe while these weapons exist. Humanity needs to look beyond the false comfort of nuclear deterrence and realize that there’s no real security in the threat of annihilation.”

Snake: [shakes his head, his voice heavy, almost weary]
“Yeah, maybe it starts with a conversation. But who’s going to listen, Romanenko? The powers that be? They don’t care about peace. They care about control. And as long as they hold the bombs, they’ll never let go.”

Nastasha: [sighs softly, her tone almost a whisper]
“Then it’s up to people like us, Snake. The ones who see the bigger picture. The ones who understand that the only way forward is to dismantle the legacy of destruction that we’ve built. We have to make the case, over and over again. It won’t be easy. But what else is left to do?”

Snake: [his voice hardening, his eyes steely with resolve]
“Then we fight. We don’t just stand by and let it happen. We keep pushing. One day, we’ll get through to them. And when that day comes, maybe, just maybe, we’ll see a world without nukes.”

Nastasha: [calmly, with a hint of resolve]
“That’s the only hope we have left. One step at a time. But we have to start somewhere.”

Snake: [pauses, then responds with a finality, his voice resolute]
“Yeah. And to answer your question, Romanenko? Nah, screw that. We’re not playing that game anymore.”

[The codec flickers, the transmission cuts out, the screen turning to static once again.]

and this sounds like and Ace Combat Zero radio call

This sounds like a Metal Gear Solid codec call

Yup just tried it! That’s great!

Wait WHAT?