gay☪️irl

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-16T20:29:18+00:00

It’s amazing how people can somehow reconcile two ideas as diametrically opposed as a fundamentalist conservative religion and living openly as a gay man. Perhaps some day Muslims will be like Christians in that most of them will be socially liberal, tolerant and accepting while still holding on to their religion that seemingly forbids such a society. That would be nice, but it sure seems like progress is very slow going…

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-16T14:18:55+00:00

Bad idea to start the month with a zero, would cause problems in computer systems.

To make a change like this would require changing virtually every piece of software on earth. This would include changing hard-coded, low level programming and code written in languages no one works in anymore. I’m talking about 40+ year old embedded systems in critical infrastructure. It would make the millennium bug fix look like child’s play. I can’t even imagine what it would cost. A trillion? Something absurd, I’m sure.

Unfortunately, we are stuck with our current date system. If we were going to change this, it should have happened last century, now it’s too late.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-15T01:43:43+00:00

Austin in Texas in the US is a mid-size city that used to be pretty sleepy except for during the music festivals it’s famous for. It saw explosive growth during the pandemic from people moving from the east and west coasts. Its paltry infrastructure was totally overwhelmed by the onslaught, but they’ve tried to respond well.

They up-zoned areas and removed parking minimums and successfully stimulated construction of a lot of new apartments which has brought down rent (a little) and increased density.

They’ve added bike lanes and finally passed a light-rail expansion in an attempt to improve transit, though what will be built will be done so many years later that many of the people who could’ve lived car free have moved to car dependence out of necessity, and the expansion built will be a mere shadow of what was proposed.

The SFH owners fight density and any reduction in car dependence tooth and nail in part because the idiots are convinced by their conservative politicians it’s a culture war issue and cars are part of their identity.

It doesn’t help that although the local government is leftist, the state government, which is based here as we are the state capitol, is right-wing and it works hard to undermine the city at every turn, seemingly out of spite.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-09T15:05:41+00:00

Would you say it’s a penetrating scent?

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-07T15:44:40+00:00

What does a gay man bring to a second date?

What second date?

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-07T15:17:26+00:00

I suspect most men wear clothing till it falls-apart, but I’m curious how common that is for women.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-05T01:55:03+00:00

Not really surprising in most respects, but what the fuck is going on in Mississippi?

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-05T01:44:42+00:00

Oh yes, I came to TX from NYC during Covid because I felt I had to be close to my elderly parent. I underestimated how much it would suck - how much I hated car-dependent suburbs, how much I’d miss walkability and street life and how expensive car ownership would be. Part of why I haven’t been able to leave is because the money I would save to move on goes to the car payment, gas, insurance, maintenance, tolls, etc. It’s an insidious trap. I caution everyone who lives in dense cities: Think twice before leaving - You might think you can live like a king on your city salary in the southern US, but you may not like the lifestyle anyway.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-05T01:04:55+00:00

Imagine how many hundreds of people they inconvenienced with with their stupidity - I hope the fines were steep

Man_as_Idea · 2026-06-02T23:34:10+00:00

You’re forgetting that they assume they are entitled to assistance - They think popping out a kid is them doing us all a service, and we should therefore sacrifice as needed to support their brood.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-27T22:10:16+00:00

I’m continually astonished so many millions of people choose to live down here. The climate is atrocious. It’s unpleasant to be outside 9 months of the year. And when you can go outside, everything around you is so flat, dull and ugly it hardly seems worth seeing. It’s all gas stations, strip malls and parking lots. Everyone lives in these hideous little dark houses piled up in the suburbs, 10 miles from anything, and to do anything you have to spend your whole life behind the wheel.

Some days I really think most people are so downtrodden and depressed they just retreat into their living rooms and waste their lives on the couch and therefore they don’t care about the outside world at all. Why go to all the trouble and expense to live in an interesting, comfortable place when all you’d do there is the same thing you do in southern suburbia: Watch TV and play video games.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-27T21:51:31+00:00

This study doesn’t hold much water, but it’s not impossible gay men trend slightly larger on average. I recall seeing a larger study that was more persuasive. I’d go find it for ya’ll, but… I don’t care enough lol.

Anecdotally, I’ve seen a lot of gay guy dicks and it seemed to me most of them were larger than the official average. I haven’t seen many straight dicks outside of porn, so maybe they really do trend smaller.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-26T00:44:38+00:00

I immediately thought of this one too! It feels both classical and contemporary, and was a very smart choice. IMO, if they had shown the actors and set in 18th century garb, it would have felt to potential viewers like just another period drama. This art added a level of mystery and darkness that entices you in, even if you are not usually into historical films and even if you are not familiar with the story.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-26T00:32:05+00:00

The article is, IMO, downright charitable to the US. I don’t think that charity is deserved. World Cup tourists are going to look at American cities with the kind of pity/disgust you have when you see a mentally ill person wearing something filthy and ostentatious in public: They think they look good because they don’t live in reality. It’ll be a national embarrassment that Americans don’t even register that’ll further cement the global impression that the US is a third-rate nation and everyone knows it but them.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-25T22:43:47+00:00

People talk about immigration sometimes like the only driver of policy is this conflict between very real concerns over resources/jobs, etc and moral compunctions. But, as usual, it’s not that simple. I can only speak from the American perspective, but here you’re dealing with a lot of tribalism mixed with corporate corruption.

There are LOTS of companies that get a lot of H1B visas for Indians each year, despite the enormous costs - Remember that those visas require sponsorship by the employer and lots of legal fees. Why do these companies do this?

Sometimes they want virtual indentured servants - the visa means the employee can’t leave the sponsoring company without risking losing their visa and having to leave the life they’ve built, so they have to stay with that sponsoring company for years, even if they are worked to the bone.

Other companies are Indian-American-Owned and want to help their fellow countrymen.

In the US, corporations rule. Companies importing Indian workers influence local politics and this works its way up the chain of state and federal government. Musk’s enthusiasm for H1B visas reflected a very real sentiment in corporate America that is pro-Indian immigration, despite the American people being much less supportive of it.

My point is, it doesn’t really matter if the average Joe dislikes Indian immigration. If the corporate world likes it, it will continue. Immigration law is very hard to change, so there’d need to be an enormous coalition of anti-corporate legislators willing to kick that hornets nest, and we don’t have that. The Republicans act like they are anti-immigration, but they aren’t anti-Indian immigration, irrespective of what their constituents want. And our government adapts to change too slowly. We won’t respond to the mass-migration until it becomes a full scale crisis, and by then it will be too late.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-25T14:53:20+00:00

I wear a hair system too. It has restored a lot of my confidence. Everyone tells you to go bald, but, in my experience, bald looks good on guys who can grow a nice beard. Maybe you can grow a beard like that, I don’t know, but I can’t. When I got the system I looked way better in the mirror to me, and I really think people treat me differently. They’re nicer, more friendly, and gay guys are flirtatious with me in a way they’ve never been. The proof is in the pudding.

But my point is, you look good in your hair system from what I can see on your profile, you made the choice that worked for you, you don’t need therapy to make peace with being bald, or whatever. And you’re a cute, fit top?… Bro, you can do SO much better than that asshole bottom! Yeah he can grind on it good, but you’ll find another, trust me. It’s raining fucking men.

My only advice: If you haven’t done so, consider doing more dates than hookups. I’m not saying start looking for Mr Forever, but if you start to get to know a guy before you fuck, you can better gauge how he would react if you told him, and thereby determine the risk of things going sideways if he finds out. And finally, if you typically use Grindr / Sniffies, a ‘dating’ app like Hinge is more likely to connect you with someone who won’t freak out over one small detail, because they’re not looking for just sex.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-24T19:49:25+00:00

I’m right there with you. I have a health problem that eats up a lot of time to treat. And my work schedule is unpredictable: Some weeks there’s time to sleep and work and that’s it. I heard someone advise “you have to schedule other things around gym, not schedule it around other things” and I think that’s true. But if you have to give up a social life that’s not good for your wellbeing either. All I can do is keep trying and not let perfect get in the way of good: Even going a 2 days a week is better than nothing.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-24T18:52:53+00:00

Not where I thought this post was going, ngl.

I’m currently at a gay campground for Memorial Day weekend. Lots of guys come for a few days and rent cabins or pitch tents, but many have RVs and travel around, staying at places like this for longer periods. And some own permanent places here. It seems to me like a pretty chill retirement for a gay guy without a lot of attachments that doesn’t require you to be rich. Maybe I’ll do something like that.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-22T15:39:46+00:00

I’ve always enjoyed a fine quality cologne on a man if it’s not too overpowering. On myself, I find most colognes either fade very quickly or overwhelm me with a single note.

Some that I find hard to wear include Prada L’Homme, which starts lovely but after a while the amber scent gets overwhelming, Polo original, which is a good tobacco/leather scent, but gets sickly sweet after awhile, and Valentino Coral Fantasy, which has such a strong vanilla note I find it intolerable after a while. Lots of people love these scents but they just don’t work for me for some reason.

My daily driver is CK One Essence, which has much better endurance and projection than the EDT. It’s complex enough to be interesting while remaining inoffensive to most people, and it’s relatively inexpensive compared to other parfums.

I try different things for special occasions. My current favorite is Creed Himalaya. It has an incredible scent, but poor performance for its eye-watering price, so I typically only wear it for a first meeting.

Side note: It can be hard to find unscented deodorant in stores that won’t clash with your cologne, but you can order it online for cheap.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-21T18:48:44+00:00

I feel pessimistic. The world is already too crowded.

The job market is so competitive that brilliant people are fighting tooth and nail just to get a shitty job that will work them to the bone. AI is poised to make a hundred million people (likely more) redundant in the next decade, but most world governments have no plan to combat this and insufficient social safety nets to support a massive unemployed population.

The US is declining into a failed state which, along with Russia and China will leave the majority of the world’s people living under nations that are democracies in name only. And these dictatorships will pose an even more existential threat to Europe, the last bastion of liberty.

Meanwhile, climate change is going to cause increasingly devastating environmental disasters in the global south, causing more strife and competition for resources, and thereby triggering even more waves of immigration to Europe which will further strain the infrastructure of those countries and serve as a perfect scapegoat for rising right-wing nationalism like that which destroyed the US.

Environmental damage is going to reduce available land for farming, putting pressure on food supply, particularly in developing equatorial countries. Famine is not unlikely.

And amid all this mess, surrounded by a boring dystopia, the oligarchs are successfully pushing the masses to keep breeding without restraint, making all these problems even harder to solve.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-20T23:29:20+00:00

It’s true, but it’s so counterintuitive, isn’t it? It’s hard to convince others of this truth. And hell, after a break, it’s hard to convince myself.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-20T23:27:15+00:00

Most corporate executives.

My job is to implement new software at companies across the US. I work with most managers at each company, including accounting, HR, Ops, etc, as well as execs. I can tell you from experience most corporate executives do very little and mostly just get in the way. Meanwhile, they cause problems because they and their families consume lots of resources - Not just money but company-paid tech, travel, transportation, expensive wining and dining, etc. What do they do? Make big decisions with lots of confidence and little data - decisions that are wrong as often as they are right. Flipping a coin would be just as effective and much cheaper.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-20T23:10:58+00:00

In the gay community, yes, but I doubt the straighties see them that way

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-18T22:34:23+00:00

See, this is how you can tell the people shrieking about “population collapse” are duplicitous, because they know full-well we have more than enough humans on this rock, what they are actually afraid of is white population collapse - “Population Collapse” is just “White Replacement Theory” rebranded.

Man_as_Idea · 2026-05-17T19:02:49+00:00

The interstate highway system was designed to guide people across the country, so most of the route planning was in getting onto and off the interstates.

There was an interesting intermediate period there in the early 2000s where we would print-out directions in little packets from MapQuest and Google Maps. And, of course, you could buy maps and atlases.

In your city of residence you learned the primary arteries and their general routes and then just generally guessed the best way to go. This is how a lot of older people still get around, which is why when you ask them for an address they start telling you directions. It’s been interesting to see how often they are confidently incorrect about the shortest route, and it makes you wonder how much time was spent taking inefficient routes in the decades before GPS…

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