The first article on this subject talked about directly asking a woman about her past. While I acknowledge that the direct method is my chosen way of doing things nowadays, I also understand that my chances for being lied to are the greatest with that technique. I'm perfectly fine with that because I'm very good at recognizing when someone is a bullshitter. I realize that some guys are just getting their feet wet in the relationship and dating world, so their bullshit detector might not be up to speed. Additionally, the direct method can ruin a relationship even if things have Read More

As a military kid, I was fortunate to live a lot of different places at a young age. Before I was 18 I'd lived in nine different states and had been to many more. After college I continued my nomad-like existence before finally settling down on the west coast. An obvious benefit of having lived in all four corners of the U.S. is the opportunity to meet and date many different kinds of women. I use the word “different” loosely because the older I got, the more I realized that from sea to shining sea, American women are pretty much the Read More

Looking through old family photo albums, I've noticed an unmistakable trend. Each generation has more and more snapshots to show off. Of my grandparents, there are only a handful of pictures. Of my parents, there's somewhat more—important occasions like their graduation or their wedding day. When I was 21 my grandmother sent me a thick photo album filled with dozens of baby photos, and I'd say there have to be at least a few hundred photographs of me in existence, many of them on social media. Then there's the current generation growing up. Half my cousins are busy making babies right now, Read More

I lived in Australia for a long time and, coming from the UK, I loved the laid back lifestyle. Great weather, easy-going people, with a safe and high standard of living. I was eating out every night for $10-15 AUD, I had an apartment near the beach in Sydney for $1000 AUD a month, I was a 10-minute drive from downtown, and it was 50 US cents to the Aussie dollar. Things like registering a car, getting a driver's license, signing a lease, opening a bank account were all smooth, easy, and cheap! Australia has a “friendly” government with a “for Read More

Frequent readers here will recognize the name of Cui Pertinebit, which has appeared here as both a commenter and as the subject of an article. I have received a letter from him, which takes the form of a Christmas benediction to the ROK community. While it is always pleasurable to receive a letter from a friend, that satisfaction is doubled when the sender is a man of learning and sincere devotion to the virtuous arts. Intelligence and a patient devotion emerge from his words, as a incipient flame gleams from a bed of smoldering coals; and we are warmed by the Read More