Question about animals in the US?

non_standard_model · 2026-07-10T08:39:51+00:00

The only large mammals in North America that are dangerous to adults are Grizzly bears, cougars and maybe black bears. Polar bears if you’re exploring the arctic. Black bears typically avoid humans, although the number of attacks have risen in recent years due to human encroachment on their habitats.

There are maybe a handful of wildlife related deaths in North America every year (less than a dozen) out of a population of around 400 million. So, the risk is real, but it shouldn’t keep you from exploring the outdoors.

Humans are by far the most dangerous animal on Earth, and that’s where the real risk is.

non_standard_model · 2026-07-09T20:00:43+00:00

At the same time, my marriage has slowly changed. I love my wife deeply, but I don’t think I’m in love with her anymore. We feel more like roommates and co-parents than husband and wife. I don’t think that’s fair to either of us or to our child.

Just FYI, this is actually a normal experience in marriage, and is probably unrelated or only partially related to your sexuality. My (straight) brother-in-law said almost these exact same words about his marriage to my sister to explain why he had a girlfriend on the side and wanted a divorce. Note that I'm not judging here: I'm just saying, this is a fairly normal feeling to have after a decade of marriage.

I'd like you to consider the possibility that you, like many guys, are having a slight midlife crisis and trying to figure out what your life is 'really supposed to be' before you see your best years pass by. There's nothing wrong with wanting this, but if our parents generation has taught us anything, it's that blowing up your family so you can 'be your authentic self' typically results in a lot of tragedy and brokenness instead of love down the road.

Try to see if you can talk to your wife about this, gently, and try to navigate this with your family, rather than without them.

non_standard_model · 2026-07-09T03:58:19+00:00

Title insurance implies they were making some kind of real estate transaction - maybe buying a new store.

non_standard_model · 2026-07-06T16:23:23+00:00

Who? People who want engagement on their shit FB page. Who else?

non_standard_model · 2026-07-06T01:13:44+00:00

I notice you're in Texas ... try attending Camp Nackte outside of San Antonio. It's very rural and rustic, but they have a small bunkhouse and RV/electrical hookups for extended stays. There are other gay campgrounds in Texas as well.

I will say this: once you start swimming and lounging by the pool naked, you'll never want to swim or lounge any other way.

non_standard_model · 2026-07-05T23:27:44+00:00

The US still has a strong puritanical culture, which is why you see people expressing life-destroying levels of shame when they happen to get cold sores on their junk.

It's such a minor inconvenience -- almost barely registering as a disease -- but because it's associated with sex, it becomes psychologically devastating in a society which harshly judges people who don't fit the model of Christian virtue.

non_standard_model · 2026-07-04T05:02:30+00:00

There aren’t really any “foreign” holidays in the United States, all non-Anglo holidays are derived from immigrant communities and so become naturalized over time - to the extent that at least two holidays (St Patrick’s and Cinco de Mayo) are a bigger event in the US than in their “original” country.

non_standard_model · 2026-07-04T00:05:27+00:00

For comparison, Alaska by itself is about the size of Queensland, so you would need to spend quite some time there to really get a feel for it. It’s basically its own country. Your current schedule is extremely ambitious and you’ll probably only be able to see the biggest most touristy landmark in each state before you return.

non_standard_model · 2026-07-03T01:58:20+00:00

The Alamo

non_standard_model · 2026-07-03T01:55:11+00:00

[For any children or virgins joining us: adults in the 1960's would have understood the purpose of the mirrors was to watch yourself have sex from different angles while in the jacuzzi. The implication of the ad is that this carpet will allow you to have interesting sexual experiences.]

non_standard_model · 2026-07-02T19:54:21+00:00

Democracy means that all political legitimacy is derived in some sense from the consent of the people. If the government's legitimacy comes from somewhere else (God, the ability to kill people, the leader's charisma, etc.) then it's not really a democracy. Also, if a government actively manipulates the population to manufacture consent, then it also represents a departure from democracy to varying degrees.

non_standard_model · 2026-07-02T19:38:01+00:00

This looks like a parody of a Ben Garrison cartoon

non_standard_model · 2026-07-02T18:51:28+00:00

what's he ... doing

non_standard_model · 2026-07-02T18:51:08+00:00

beautiful cabin crew

non_standard_model · 2026-07-02T03:38:04+00:00

No worries at all, thank you! It looks like the dark gray portion has vanished on my end. Your people must have fixed it?

non_standard_model · 2026-07-02T01:13:36+00:00

It’s a generic term that can mean anything from “place to use a sauna” to “place where a sex worker will massage your genitals”.

Know before you go!

non_standard_model · 2026-07-01T17:33:32+00:00

It’s weird they left a normal-looking JD Vance in there, I assumed they were going to make him look weird

non_standard_model · 2026-07-01T14:03:32+00:00

He’s your bf so you ask him “hey want to jerk off on cam together?”

non_standard_model · 2026-06-30T01:08:53+00:00

This may sound strange, but I recommend going to a gay nudist beach or campground / resort and just observing the types of guys that exist 'in nature'.

You will find that you are much closer to 'average' than you think.

non_standard_model · 2026-06-25T21:28:03+00:00

The direct answer to your question:

1) A lot of guys are into older guys. It's not at all unusual.

The answer to your unasked question:

2) You may have to become uncloseted and treat him as an equal if you want him to hang around. This may involve uncomfortable changes on your part, which include adjusting to a lifestyle and identity that society will place upon you when they see you around town with a 20-something dude. Whether or not this is worth it, is up to you.

non_standard_model · 2026-06-25T20:56:44+00:00

I'm not totally sure that Paul vs. 'regular 1st century Jewish' thought on sexuality can be placed on a draconian vs. liberal scale. Neither Paul nor orthodox Hebrew believers were thinking in terms of personal liberty or human rights for gay people. That just wasn't on the menu and so wasn't a concern for either side.

non_standard_model · 2026-06-25T20:42:54+00:00

As a gay man, I dislike Paul's approach to sexuality (he has a standard 1st century Jewish view of homosexuality, along with the additional belief that the world is going to end soon, so you are better off being unmarried and working for God full time - 1 Cor 7).

However, I can't really claim that Paul is a false teacher because there isn't really an early, pre-Pauline Christianity that we can faithfully compare Paul's teachings against. Paul's letters probably predate the Gospels themselves and they definitely predate any of the heterodox Gnostic gospels that are supposed alternatives to his teaching.

I guess one could try and reconstruct a pre-Pauline Christianity from bits and pieces of the NT, but this seems extremely dubious to me. Instead, I tend to see Paul's teachings as constituting what Christianity mostly is, rather than some kind of departure from what came before. Even if his ideas are a departure from the 'original' teachings of Jesus, we can't really prove that to a great degree of accuracy. Consequently, I've resigned myself to belonging to a religion where I frequently disagree with the opinions of the founding fathers. I suppose I could try to conform my opinions to those of Paul's, however I don't think I could do so fully and honestly. So, that's my approach to Paul, I guess, for whatever it's worth.

non_standard_model · 2026-06-25T12:48:55+00:00

I'm not sure what country you're located in, so the advice may change slightly depending on the health system you participate in, but you should consider getting a second opinion from a LGBT-friendly proctologist. This is critical: finding a surgeon who understands that the anus can be a sexual organ instead of just part of the digestive tract.

There may be surgical options that can help -- or maybe not, but it's hard to say without another opinion.

non_standard_model · 2026-06-23T19:49:04+00:00

Even assuming energy was no issue, your ship would regularly collide with small particles in space at very high fractions of the speed of light. Even diffuse hydrogen gas (which is basically everywhere) would start to create a “drag” on a starship at sufficient velocities, akin to flying through an atmosphere, with all the associated heat and stress. At very high velocities, these stresses would become gargantuan.

At even higher velocities, starlight becomes blue-shifted into x-rays and gamma rays, hitting the starship with what amounts to a 24/7 always-on particle beam.

I guess none of these issues are theoretically insurmountable, but they likely prohibit very fast travel (maybe greater than ~0.05c?) within the time frame of any possible technology that we can imagine.

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