Poll:Alcohol

[W2R]

I think it's great that so many are getting great enjoyment and satisfaction from drinking. Go for it!

That said, I have personally seen lives torn apart, careers and marriages devastated, and health, fortune, and relationships irreparably damaged by alcohol. I have seen alcoholism up close and it isn't pretty.

Besides, it's fattening and expensive. Anyway, each to his/her own but my choice is to not drink.

 

[RonBoyd]

That said, I have personally seen lives torn apart, careers and marriages devastated, and health, fortune, and relationships irreparably damaged by alcohol.

As can be said of many things: Religion, Politics, Work, Play, Gambling, travel, non-travel, Marriage & other foolishness, ... in fact, almost every human adventure. Nevertheless, most (almost all)escape unscathed in spite of the risks.

 

[braumeister]

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day."
-- Frank Sinatra

 

[NW-Bound]

Beer can be fattening. Though I am not drinking everyday now, there was a period when I had a beer after work everyday, and found that I fitted a bit tight in my pants.

I am not sure about wine and liquor.

I think it's great that so many are getting great enjoyment and satisfaction from drinking. Go for it!

That said, I have personally seen lives torn apart, careers and marriages devastated, and health, fortune, and relationships irreparably damaged by alcohol. I have seen alcoholism up close and it isn't pretty.

Besides, it's fattening and expensive. Anyway, each to his/her own but my choice is to not drink.

As can be said of many things: Religion, Politics, Work, Play, Gambling, travel, non-travel, Marriage & other foolishness, ... in fact, almost every human adventure. Nevertheless, most (almost all)escape unscathed in spite of the risks.

A guy I know said buying stocks is gambling. The reason he gave was that any stock price might go down. And this was the same guy who was talking about upgrading from a nice home to an even bigger home right at the peak of the housing bubble. His reason? You can't lose money with houses, he said. He added that everyday there were so many people moving into our state, and they had to live somewhere.

 

[want2xplore]

That said, I have personally seen lives torn apart, careers and marriages devastated, and health, fortune, and relationships irreparably damaged by alcohol. I have seen alcoholism up close and it isn't pretty.

Same here. Don't touch the stuff; never did, never will. I have seen enough of the above to last three normal lifetimes.

 

[NW-Bound]

Following is a speech by Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat, Jr., a former judge and lawyer, delivered in the Mississippi House in 1952 when lawmakers were debating legalizing liquor. Sweat was elected to the House in 1947 at the age of 24.

"My friends,

"I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey.

"If when you say whiskey you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.

"But;

"If when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.

"This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise."​

- Noah S. Sweat, Jr.

 

[RonBoyd]

Following is a speech by Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat, Jr., ...

I'd vote for him.

 

[NW-Bound]

I propose a toast to that.

By the way, I found the following on a Web site.

Sweat said when he first gave the speech, the crowd sat in silence.

"When I finished the first half of the speech, there was a tremendous burst of applause. The second half of the speech, after the close of which, the wets all applauded. The drys were as unhappy with the second part of the speech as the wets were with the first half," he said.​

 

[skyvue]

I would need a "greater than 30 beers a week" category. "Only" drink normally 3 days per week (weekends mostly) but usually 12 or more when I do. Especially bad this time of year during football season. Saturday and Sunday's are spent in a local sports bar watching football all day.

Not something I am proud of but never less something I enjoy very much. Zero of these beers are drank at home as I do not even have any alcohol at the house. I really just enjoy the bar scene and like the social aspect as I am single.

 

[RonBoyd]

I would need a "greater than 30 beers a week" category. "Only" drink normally 3 days per week (weekends mostly) but usually 12 or more when I do. Especially bad this time of year during football season. Saturday and Sunday's are spent in a local sports bar watching football all day.

Not something I am proud of but never less something I enjoy very much. Zero of these beers are drank at home as I do not even have any alcohol at the house. I really just enjoy the bar scene and like the social aspect as I am single.

Cheers!

 

[HFWR]

You think alcohol is bad, this is what happened at my last weed party...

YouTube - Reefer Madness

 

[braumeister]

I would need a "greater than 30 beers a week" category. "Only" drink normally 3 days per week (weekends mostly) but usually 12 or more

Some would call that "binge drinking" but I don't think there's anything really unhealthy about it, at least while you're young. Of course I assume you only drive while sober.

However, just to be on the safe side, I think you should keep an eye on the liver function numbers whenever you have lab work done for a physical. Some research says your style has less liver risk than daily drinking, but it's still a good idea to watch it.

 

[RonBoyd]

However, just to be on the safe side, I think you should keep an eye on the liver function numbers whenever you have lab work done for a physical. Some research says your style has less liver risk than daily drinking, but it's still a good idea to watch it.

Excellent (and extremely valuable) advice.

 

[skyvue]

Some would call that "binge drinking" but I don't think there's anything really unhealthy about it, at least while you're young. Of course I assume you only drive while sober.

However, just to be on the safe side, I think you should keep an eye on the liver function numbers whenever you have lab work done for a physical. Some research says your style has less liver risk than daily drinking, but it's still a good idea to watch it.

Yes, I admittedly would call it "binge drinking" myself. The bars in question are within walking distance of my condo.

I too was worried about liver function and therefore take a couple supplements aimed at improving liver health (milk thystle and SAMe). I did have a full physical 2 years ago and the blood tests showed no abnormal results and I was honest with my physician about the drinking. To be honest I was a bit surprised.

 

[FinanceDude]

Is your name Al Keyholic?

 

[Dawg52]

I wonder if this stuff is any good? I'm going to visit some family in AL this weekend and taking dear old mom. I bought a bottle kind of as a joke, but wondered if anyone here ever tried it?

Evan Williams Egg Nog, Pre-Mixed With Kentucky Bourbon

 

[NW-Bound]

Dunno, but I squinted at the label and thought it said 15% alcohol. It cannot be that bad then.

On the Web, several posters say to drink it cold.

 

[Dawg52]

Dunno, but I squinted at the label and thought it said 15% alcohol. It cannot be that bad then.

On the Web, several posters say to drink it cold.

Got it in the frig and the directions recommended chilled.

 

[Orchidflower]

This was a hard one to answer for me. Either choose the last box (I don't drink alcohol) or the next one up (fewer than 7 a week and 2 or less per occasion).

Bad allergy to alcohol, so I can drink one (1) once in a great while without making love to the old porcelain bowl.... But I will drink a beer or a Bloody Mary every great once in awhile and be okay. Yeah, I know...big sissy.

Guess I'm pretty much a non-drinker by most folks standards.

 

[ERD50]

Beer is #1 for me. Homebrew followed by microbrews.

I got into home brewing about 20 years ago for awhile. Bought a starter kit from a local store, brewed up my first batch with the supplied ingredients and absolutely loved it.

Same here. I started brewing my own in June, ...

I intend to get into home brewing when I retire. I have tried a (Mr. Beer.) I hope to do a bit better.

The best beginner reference I know of is howtobrew.com and I recommend all the information you find there. John is a friend, and I know his advice can be trusted.

Wow, lots of homebrewers within a few posts. We could start a thread, but there are already good forums on the subject. I visit:

The Northern Brewer Homebrew Forum • Index page (also a good internet supply house)

and

HomeBrewTalk.com - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Community.

I'll second braumeister's recc of the John Palmer book - but go ahead and buy it, the online version has a few sections that are out of date, and John does seem like a nice guy, dedicated to the hobby, so throw a few bucks his way.

w/o getting into it too much, I'll just say that you need good ingredients (if using extract, get dry or liquid only if you can assure it is fresh). Pay attention to sanitation (IMO, no-rinse Star-san is the easiest, cheap and reliable), pitch enough yeast, and keep your fermentation temperatures in control. Far too many people ferment way too warm, and this causes all sorts of off flavors (unless you want those flavors in some styles). I ferment my ales in the low 60's, and have started them off as low as 55F and that helps to keep them 'clean' tasting. For most ales, you can skip the 'secondary', and just bottle/keg from the primary, which saves some work and risk of contamination or oxidation.

And it doesn't cost much to get started if you want to keep equipment costs down (some people like to buy gadgets, I'm past that phase). I'm doing all-grain batches now in the kitchen, using two 5 Gallon tamale/canning pots (cheap, and you might find them used) for the boil, I mash in a couple 5 gallon buckets (free from bakeries) with paint strainer bags ( cheap at Home Depot), and 'dunk sparge' into the brew pots. After the boil, I follow the Australian 'no-chill' method, and transfer into a plastic bucket fermentor and let it cool overnight on the porch. So no need for chilling equipment. Bottle about 4 weeks later, and start drinking when it's matured (a couple weeks, maybe longer for more complex/stronger beers).

Enjoy!

-ERD50

 

[harley]

I'm somewhere in option 1, although sometimes I go for months without a drink. Just dpends on the mood. See my sig line for more details.

 

[Koolau]

Yes, I admittedly would call it "binge drinking" myself. The bars in question are within walking distance of my condo.

I too was worried about liver function and therefore take a couple supplements aimed at improving liver health (milk thystle and SAMe). I did have a full physical 2 years ago and the blood tests showed no abnormal results and I was honest with my physician about the drinking. To be honest I was a bit surprised.

Just to be on the safe side, you might look up some psych type "tests" (of the multiple choice variety - e.g., "Have you ever...?") on the net to see if your particular pattern(s) of consumption are placing you at risk. (Alternately, you could ask your Doc for similar info but then it might be "documented" in your records. Not necessarily a good thing when getting insurance.)

The liver function tests will show damage (only after the damage is done) while the "psych" type tests could give you an early warning if you happen to need one.

I got what I'll call an early wake-up call 30 years ago and quit. Based on family member's history, it seemed like a good idea at the time and still does. I'm sure I missed some fun by my decision, but then again, I may have missed out on some real health issues as well as heart ache. A fair trade in my book.

As always, YMMV.

 

[freebird5825]

I would need a "greater than 30 beers a week" category. "Only" drink normally 3 days per week (weekends mostly) but usually 12 or more when I do. Especially bad this time of year during football season. Saturday and Sunday's are spent in a local sports bar watching football all day.

Not something I am proud of but never less something I enjoy very much. Zero of these beers are drank at home as I do not even have any alcohol at the house. I really just enjoy the bar scene and like the social aspect as I am single.

I hear no denial going on here.

If you average the number of ounces of beer over the number of hours watching sports, you may find you are relatively in the safety zone. Add some pizza and wings and your absorption is slowed right down.
As long as you leave the car keys in your pocket and call a cab after one such day, who cares? As long as it is not hard liquor (more alcohol concentration per fluid ounce), your body will process the small amount of alcohol in a reasonable manner.
Have fun and stay away from the steering wheel.

 

[John Galt III]

I think driving the next morning with a huge hangover, tired brain, and oceans of bright, bright sunlight to navigate through can be quite risky as well. ( Not intended as a criticism of anyone. I've experienced the hangover driving myself, and found it challenging.)

 

[RonBoyd]

And those Freakonomics guys ask this important question:

Do We Drink Because We’re Monogamous, or Are We Monogamous Because We Drink?

From the cited (by them) article:

The inspiration came from a casual observation (over a glass of wine) that the two social/religious groups that do allow polygamy ((parts of) Mormonism and Islam) also do not consume alcohol. So we wondered whether this was a coincidence or not. We collected information on the historical evolution of both (mono/polygamy and alcohol use) and on cross-cultural/country evidence. We found that there is a positive correlation between alcohol consumption and monogamy both over time and across (pre-industrial) societies

A single glass?