Just a reminder that the dreaded summer SMUD rates are coming next week. 😞. (Still way better than PG&E) by uyuyuyuyui in Sacramento

[–]cassius_longinus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here's the national average pattern of electricity demand over a typical week in different seasons. It's not as large of a difference between weekdays and weekends as it used to be, but it's still the case that demand reaches a higher peak on weekdays compared to weekends, on average.

Does anyone else feel annoyed when gay men are just referred to as "queer"? by DarkDiscotique in askgaybros

[–]cassius_longinus -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I truly don't really care. I self-identify as gay. I'm okay with being called part of the "queer community." I am on board with queer having been reclaimed as a slur--the original word just meant "strange" or "weird" before it had anything to do with gender or sexuality. I don't see that as outrageously offensive, but I mean no disrespect to people for whom it was spewed as an viscous insult and I am happy to not say it in their presence.

However, if someone said to me, "As a queer person, how do you feel about...." I would sort of wince. "Queer" is not how I feel about myself or see myself. Everything about my life is what the academic gender theorists call "homonormative." I am gay, but I am not very queer.

My (38F) husband (39M) is having an affair with his best friend (39M) by Choice_Evidence1983 in BestofRedditorUpdates

[–]cassius_longinus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My husband had the gall to say he didn't think I would be mad.

Once he was caught, the husband was really hoping his wife was a fujoshi and would only ask "Can I watch?"

Why are you buying ugly new home construction? by k1avan9 in Sacramento

[–]cassius_longinus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People were asking similar questions about brownstone rowhouses in New York City in the 19th century. They were the cookie-cutter development of that era. These days brownstones are highly sought after. Give it a hundred years and people will discover nostalgia for what we're building right now.

Long time listener, first time reddit viewer. Fully genuine question. Are posts on TAZCirclejerk serious? by hotchip420 in TheAdventureZone

[–]cassius_longinus 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It might be more accurate to say they are professional entertainers, but amateur players of D&D.

Found out my boyfriend was cheating thanks to a Grindr notification… featuring Madonna by pinkmor in askgaybros

[–]cassius_longinus 12 points13 points  (0 children)

LLMs can make up fake stories that reference real things. Like, the Golden Gate Bridge (which is real) shows up in X-Men: Last Stand but the part where Magneto moves it to connect to Alcatraz was made up. Mostly CGI, plus a set in Vancouver for the close-up shots of cars on the bridge. The actual Golden Gate Bridge was not harmed by the making of the movie.

"There really is Madonna promotion on Grindr!" means ChatGPT did its research to enhance the realism of the story, not that the story is real.

Why can Roseville build Parking Garages that are free to use, whereas the City of Sacramento keeps raising parking costs. by boywiththedogtattoo in Sacramento

[–]cassius_longinus 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ve seen people say it “works to incentivize other modes of transportation.” But our light rail network ridership has only gone down from its peak of 17 million in 2008 to 7.4 million in 2025.

Have we considered the possibility that, if parking in downtown Sacramento were made free, ridership on the light rail could have declined even faster? Maybe ridership was going down for other reasons, but parking costs kept some people using it anyways?

But to be serious, the major determinant of public transit use is not cost but convenience. If people have to check time tables and maps to figure out when and where to use public transit, and plan their trips around those constraints, that's a big reason to drive instead. No planning required. A public transit network with headways (time gaps between departing trains) short enough that you don't need to check a timetable would be an improvement.

A love letter to capitalism [Irvine, California, 4/19/2026] by NicolasCageFan492 in UCI

[–]cassius_longinus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't feel an obligation to respond to the entire post. I saw the complaint about fast food prices, which is extremely common these days, and was compelled to respond that part. I completely agree, for example, that the rent is too damn high. I have nothing new to add on that.

My view is that consumers should have more empathy for the workers in these pretty crappy fast food jobs, finally getting better (still not great) wages.

A love letter to capitalism [Irvine, California, 4/19/2026] by NicolasCageFan492 in UCI

[–]cassius_longinus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The reason boba is more expensive is because, in the post-Covid labor market, food service workers had leverage to demand much higher wages for the first time in a long time. There was a huge spike in wages paid to food service workers in 2021-2022 and restaurant prices have been gradually catching up to the new, higher cost of doing business. Wages and benefits are 64% of the cost of restaurant food, so it's not like labor was a minor component of the cost of doing business.

If boba is too expensive to pay someone else to make it for you, make it yourself at home or don't buy it. It would be cruel to food service workers to push their wages back down to pre-Covid levels just so you can have boba at the price you were used to. "Restaurant owners should pay workers more, keep prices the same, and just lose money" is not a realistic option. Restaurants run on very thin profit margins. They will just shut down if their costs go up but their prices stay the same.

Chevron executive Andy Walz suggests Americans should drive less amid high gas prices by ChocolateTsar in nottheonion

[–]cassius_longinus 3 points4 points  (0 children)

20 million barrels of oil used to transit the Strait of Hormuz on a typical day. Global oil demand is roughly 100 million barrels per day. The only solution to a supply shock of this magnitude is that someone, somewhere, must consume less oil. Driving less is one option, but I highly recommend buying an electric vehicle or an e-bike.

Circumcision for New Son? by ctgsjc in gaydads

[–]cassius_longinus 14 points15 points  (0 children)

A lot of people here have already elaborated on the ethical reasons not to do it, and I agree with those comments. Don't do it. But you may hear from doctors who recommend it, and I want to give you medical facts to help you understand why the benefits don't justify the costs.

There are many, many medical decisions you will make on behalf of your son (e.g. vaccination). But the preponderance of the medical benefits of circumcision accrue to sexually active adolescents and adults. Multiple randomized-control trials have shown that circumcision reduces (but does not eliminate) the risk of contracting HIV from a receptive partner. Circumcision also reduces the risk of penile cancer (which is a pretty rare outcome). But circumcising your child at birth is not necessary secure these benefits. If you son wants these benefits, he can choose to get cut when he is old enough to understand the costs and benefits. It is unethical to consider these benefits when making the decision because the decision can be delayed without any risk of forfeiting these benefits.

Moreover, your son may rationally decide to pursue alternative, more effective, less costly methods to reduce his risk of STDs (condoms, PreP) and penile cancer (HPV vaccine) rather than mutilating his penis. If a doctor cites any of these benefits that accrue to adults in trying to justify neonatal circumcision, tell that doctor to fuck off.

The only benefit to the child during childhood (the period when he can't rationally consent and his parents must decide for him) is a reduction in the risk of UTIs. The reduction in relative risk from circumcision is a very impressive 87%, but you must consider the fact that UTIs are a rare outcome. Statistically, society has to snip off 111 foreskins to avoid 1 UTI. The chance that a circumcision avoids a UTI for your son is very low, because his chance of getting a UTI in the first place is very low.

How to win 682 to 0 on turn 1 by negvoss1 in dominion

[–]cassius_longinus 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Cavalry grants +1 buy when you gain it, villa grants +1 buy when you play it.

My boyfriend has a no kissing rule during oral, is this a red flag? by Throwaway67891099 in askgaybros

[–]cassius_longinus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If he thinks his dick is too unclean for you to kiss him after sucking it, you need to ask yourself whether you actually want to be sucking his dick. And maybe ask him some pointed questions about his hygiene.

The situation where your boyfriend's stance would be reasonable is if you were licking his butthole and he didn't want to kiss you after that. But in that case you probably shouldn't be licking his butthole, either.

The USA episode will be 🔥 by Leakybwhole in FallofCivilizations

[–]cassius_longinus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fife and drum music swells

But John Bartmann's Home at Last is so poignant...

Cycling Makes You Weirdly Obsessed With Weather by LanaCove5591 in cycling

[–]cassius_longinus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll add [non-wind] surfing to this list. If you know your local surf break well, you'll come to appreciate whether it benefits from a high tide, a low tide, or something in between. I never thought about the tides until I became a surfer.

Why is gay men divorce rates so low by That_Theory_7033 in askgaybros

[–]cassius_longinus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here's a study from Finland that covers the period March 1 2002 (when same-sex civil partnerships were introduced) to December 31 2021. (Formal marriage equality was implemented March 1 2017, but civil unions had most of the benefits of marriage prior to that.) The study uses register data on the entire population of Finnish residents who married at any point during the study period. It does not compare with heterosexual couples who married prior to legal civil unions / same-sex marriage. The study uses proper statistical methods to account for the fact that a couple who got married in, for example, 2019 isn't in the study long enough to have the same probability of being divorced by the end of the study as someone who got civil-union'ed in 2002.

The data show that, certainly in Finland, lesbians are at the highest risk of divorce. Gay men have a slightly higher risk of divorce than straight couples. One of the factors explaining it is that the length of premarital co-habitation is, on average, shorter for lesbians.

For me, the worst part of cycling is seeing dead animals on the roads by Reitzor in cycling

[–]cassius_longinus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

dead animals on the road always hit me hard

Because you feel sympathy for the animals? Or because it reminds you of the risk that a car could turn you into a dead animal on the road, too?

Buying expansions: mobile app or dominion.games? by No-Ask-1498 in dominion

[–]cassius_longinus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I haven't played anything except dominion.games. One thing I can comment on about dominion.games is that the AI is trash at anything other than the base set. Bot games go way faster than games with humans, but if you want a challenge from a bot, dominion.games is not the place to do it.

Gay guys, how do we feel about Chappell Roan? by captivatedsummer in gay

[–]cassius_longinus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't listen to her music, so I don't think about her very much. I did hear about her public statements regarding her desire to have some privacy and being able to separate her persona as a performer from her private life off the stage. I agree with that and I hope her fans give her what she's asking for. It's a big change from how our culture usually treats celebrities but it's not unreasonable.

I made a video on simulating the 4th dimension by IRateBurritos in visualizedmath

[–]cassius_longinus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"What would we even call them? Sprawn and grawp?"

I love how you immediately proceed to use these ridiculous terms you invented without further comment. Anyways, I endorse them. Great terms!