How much do you drink?

[Tricky]

Darat got me wondering when he posted in another thread saying that he considers a person who has a drink every week to be borderline alcoholic. I think that's a bit extreme, but I know we have a fairly wide range of drinkers here.

For the purposes of this poll, one drink is one pint of beer, one glass of wine, or one shot (1 1/2 oz) of 90-100 proof hard liquor.

No names, unless you really want to. I don't want to turn this into an AA meeting.

[geni]

Religion and Philosophy?
3 drinks a week but I'm a student.

[Tricky]

Originally posted by geni
Religion and Philosophy?
3 drinks a week but I'm a student.
Well, this is where the "drinking around kids" thread was. Plus, need I remind you of The Philosopher's Song (http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/immanuel.htm)

Immanuel Kant was a real p!ssant
Who was very rarely stable
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
Who could think you under the table
David Hume could out-consume
Schopenhauer and Hegel
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
Who was just as schloshed as Schlegel

There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya
'Bout the raising of the wrist
Socrates himself was permanently p!ssed

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will
With half a pint of shandy was particularly ill
Plato, they say, could stick it away
Half a crate of whiskey every day
Aristotle, Aristotle
Was a bugger for the bottle
Hobbes was fond of his dram
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart
"I drink therefore I am"

Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed
A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's p!ssed

[EdipisReks]

i'm an alcohol snob, and since i don't make very much money as student worker, i don't get to drink that often. however, i tend to get drunk every couple months on the weekend, usually on single malt scotch and grey goose.

[Yahweh]

How much do you drink?
Well, I wouldnt call myself a connoisseur....

[roger]

I didn't vote because nothing really seemed to fit.

During the summer I'll often have a beer with dinner, but often don't even finish the bottle. Other times I might have 2, very occasionally 3.

Winters find me sipping bourbon, scotch, port etc, after a meal.

Never really get drunk, occasionally slightly affected.

Never, ever 'go out drinking'. Boring.

Certainly don't have a planned drinking night.

Sometimes a six pack sits in the fridge for a few weeks before it is consumed. Other times it'll be gone in 2-3 days.

As I type this I am drinking a 2001 Artazuri Navarra wine, left over from dinner.

[Lord Emsworth]

Well, two or three times a year, but never very much (around one beer). I haven't been drunk for 2 or 3 years now, because I simply came to loathe it.

[toddjh]

I wasn't sure how to vote. I only drink two or three times a year, but I drink a lot on those occasions (I don't see the point of not going all the way! :)).

Jeremy

[bug_girl]

i don't drink at all, but i have epilepsy, and am heavily medicated.
Which is, IMHO, just fab.
I can have a happy little buzz by just standing up real fast.

Somedays though, i'd Really like a black russian. alas, i can't even have a sip of beer without immediately zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Suddenly]

Originally posted by geni
Religion and Philosophy?


I can connect everything. I only drink when I philosophize. Actually, more likely the other way around. I drink on average about once a month, usually almost to excess but not quite. I usually have a few when the stress level goes up to where my back starts to hurt. I kick off work and sip some bourbon and watch old movies or maybe make weird posts here.

There are a lot of serious boozers in my line of work. Some are mostly functional drunks that try to keep somewhat sober in the office; others go on semi-weekly benders that would embarass Dennis Rodman. One guy I knew came to trial reeking so bad that the judge could smell it and started yelling at the defendant, how dare he come to court drunk, etc. The lawyer had to tell the judge that he was the one that reeked, not the client. Didn't end well.

[Iamme]

I like the feeling of control. To know that I can open up a refrigerator door, if I so choose, and open up a cold one, that for years, in my early up-bringing, was something considered of the devil. For a while there, in my life, I think I had the attitude that I would make up for lost time!:hit:

Now I have gotten older and wiser and not as reckless and have scaled back to .5-3 drinks a day. I probably realistically average in the neighborhood of 1.5 a day, perhaps, as just a guess.

[arcticpenguin]

I voted "maybe once a year" because there wasn't an option for "maybe once every 3 or 4 years".

RE once a week: how much are they drinking that once? Are they getting drunk and doing stoopid things?

[UnrepentantSinner]

This thread belongs in Community and the Drinking Around Kids thread belongs in Social Issues.

The mods need to get on this stuff instead of playing EQ all night.

Oh, and I drink a lot, every day, sometimes twice a day. I believe the quality of my posts reflects that.

[Dids]

I put 1 or 2 per month, although it's closer to once per month or two.

But, I see at the moment "Never" is leading. How much is due to recovering alcoholics - I've got the idea the AA program seems to stress even the merest whiff of whisky and you're condemned again - and how much is due to the "just never started" crowd.

[I used to drink 2-4 500ml cans every night for a few years, then stopped one day cold turkey just after I got engaged. No nagging from the fiancee or such, just she cannot drink, so drinking myself seemed selfish. I just suffered two evening of hands wanting to do things, so just had a pint glass of water handy instead.]

[Ratman_tf]

Once or twice every few months.

My dad drinks every day.

My uncle drinks every hour, and while I've never seen him without a drink, I have seen him with two...

...and he used to drive a logging truck. While intoxicated. :eek:

[evildave]

I might drink two or three drinks in a week, on average. Occasionally more, but not often, sometimes none in a month.

Generally, I don't get anything out of it. I like cider. I like beer. They're just fizzy drinks, like soda. It's always been a razor thin line for me between feeling any effect at all and being violently sick, so drinking a lot doesn't really appeal to me... unless I just feel like making myself sick.

[Kimpatsu]

I drink so much, sometimes even Dubya makes sense, but I'm not as thunk as drinkle peep I am.
:p :D *Hic*

[Ove]

Every Tuesday i have ONE pint of exellent beer, usually Killkenny Draft or a similar. Every Friday and Saturday i have ONE luxory beer, usually Belgian or a Danish from a Microbrewery. I never go out on a pub to get drunk. When we are out playing i get two to tree beers the whole night (i have to drive home). Finally once or twice a year we go to a party and i gets plastered, .... sometimes.:D

[MRC_Hans]

A drink a week makes you a borderline alcoholic? That's plain silly. Not even AA would suggest that.

I drink two glasses of wine a day (always with dinner). Health-wise that is actually beneficial (although a tad expensive in calories if you are trying to loose weight ;)), but I would concede that it could bring you to the border of alcoholism. Not the quantum in itself, but the habit of relaxing with a glass of wine could make you loose control during some crisis.

I never get drunk at parties, in fact, I cannot remember when I was last drunk (yeah, too drunk to remember? ;) - no, i think not---).

Hans :p

[Kimpatsu]

And now, even the Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) is getting in on the discussion... (comparator)

[The Don]

Among my friends I'm considered a moderate drinker but among this crowd I'm a sot.

I personally don't think that drinking a couple of stiff G&Ts, a bottle of wine, a couple of beers and a malt whisky or two is excessive - as long as you don't do it every day and don't ever, ever, ever attempt to operate an automobile after drinking - even the next morning.

When I was a little younger I was a member of a dining society which used to budget for a bottle of champagne, two bottles of claret and a bottle of port per person - we always ran out of drink

I guess I have three or four drinks, three or four times a week.

And none at all in Jaunary to help get rid of that festive paunch

[Brown]

I don't drink alcohol at all.

Contrary to some folks' beleifs, this is not a moral statement on my part that alcohol is somehow evil. I just don't like alcohol. I don't like the taste, and I don't like the effects.

When I first came of age, I could hardly wait to start drinking. I had been told that drinking alcohol was really a great thing. But when I tried various beers, wines and mixed drinks, I found that they all tasted awful and that they did not produce any effects that I deemed pleasurable. So after much experimentation, I decided, "Screw this." I decided that I wouldn't force myself to drink something I considered repulsive just to be "social."

It's not that I'm morally opposed to drinking. (I am morally opposed to drunkenness and to any activity undertaken during an alcohol-impaired state, such as driving a motor vehicle, that may hurt others.) The moral choice I've made is simply this: "Don't participate in activities that you find unpleasurable."

Personally, I find it hard to understand how anyone could enjoy certain alcoholic drinks, but I accept the fact that they do. I just wish that some drinkers would return the courtesy, and accept that I just don't like to drink.

[Crossbow]

For special occasions, two or three times a year.

Sometimes, not even that often. There have been times when I have gone two or three years between drinks. I am a very cheap drunk and asuch it takes very little booze before I get silly.

[Darat]

Interesting - I didn't know this board was frequented with such a group of

SATAN WORSHIPPING KITTEN MURDERERS

social drinkers.

I last had a drink a few months ago - an Irish coffee and will probably have a mulled wine or Irish coffee over Christmas at some time.

[ehbowen]

I've never started, for mostly religious reasons. True, the Bible never says, "Thou shalt not drink," but the Proverbs make the point that the wise man, especially the man who has responsibilities, should abstain (chs. 23 and 31). Besides, I spent six years in the Navy under constant pressure and scrutiny--had I gone to the bar and had a beer, it would have impaired my Christian witness to others.

I'm not absolutely opposed to drinking, and I may do it some day, especially if it is, say, wine with a meal. My parents drink occasionally--a six-pack every three months or so--and I had no problem serving them wine and champagne during the thirtieth and thirty-fifth anniversary dinners I and my sister gave them.

So maybe someday--but not yet.

[MRC_Hans]

Originally posted by Crossbow
*snip* and asuch it takes very little booze before I get silly. Somebody HAS to say this: Actually it takes none at all. ;)

Hans

[MRC_Hans]

Originally posted by Brown
I don't drink alcohol at all.

*snip*

Personally, I find it hard to understand how anyone could enjoy certain alcoholic drinks, but I accept the fact that they do. I just wish that some drinkers would return the courtesy, and accept that I just don't like to drink. Good point. I use a personal rule: I offer guests alcohol once. Unless they actually say "maybe later", I don't repeat the offer if they decline. They know all they have to do is ask if they change their mind.

Hans

[Wile E. Coyote]

I've never had a drink and don't plan to start. I really have no interest in the effects of alcohol as I prefer to have all my facilities intact if I have the choice.

Also, alcoholism, though denied, runs through my family. I don't want to be a slave to that, and I tend to be easily addicted to pleasurable things.

I have nothing against others drinking (in moderation). I find drunk people obnoxious and drunk women repulsive.

[Samus]

There's no option in the poll for me. I drink occasionally, maybe 3-4 times a month. During those times, I have 1-2 beers. Sometimes, weeks will go by where I don't have a drop, then I'll have a beer a couple times during the week.

I don't drink hard liquor, I rarely keep beer in the apartment. I don't like wine, I don't like to get drunk. If I had to stop drinking beer for some amount of time, that would be alright.

I like to taste different beers, just to see what they're like. I usually only drink with a meal, or immediately following a meal.

I came of legal drinking age with no fanfare. As I recall, I spent the day at work, then came home, did some stuff around the house, then went to bed. I have no interest in becoming so drunk I cannot control myself.

And I respect those that don't like alcoholic drinks at all. If I didn't like the taste of beer, I'd never drink anything alcoholic, either.

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by Brown
I don't drink alcohol at all.

I always knew you were inherently untrustworthy. :D

[Matabiri]

Originally posted by The Don
Among my friends I'm considered a moderate drinker but among this crowd I'm a sot.


You're pretty much the same as me. I'm wondering if this is related to different social attitudes towards drinking in Britain (the pub is an extension of your front room) and America (bars are full of Bad Men).

Any chance of a breakdown by location?

[Nyarlathotep]

I drink about one drink per night. I find a glass of wine before bed to be very relaxing, but other than that I don't drink much at all except for on special occasions.

[pgwenthold]

Originally posted by Wile E. Coyote
Also, alcoholism, though denied, runs through my family. I don't want to be a slave to that, and I tend to be easily addicted to pleasurable things.

This brings out a point I want to make. "Drinking lots of alcohol" does not make someone alcholic. Alcohol is a dependency, basically it is addiction. In fact, as WEC notes, one can be predisposed to alcohilism by genetic factors.

Drinking a lot can lead to an alcohol problem, and this is what we are referring to when you say that it can be caused by 1 drink a week (I know, it is was an AA crack). Yes, 1 drink a week in principle _could be_ an alcohol problem. However, alcoholism is a clinical question, not a question of usage. One can be an alcoholic and never touch a drop (true alcoholics on the wagon, for example), while others can be drunk all the time and not be alcoholic. They probably have an alcohol problem, though.

In my opinion, it really comes down to stopping. If they can easily stop, they are likely not alcoholic. If they can't, i.e. the dependency, they more than likely are.

My neighbor growing up drank all the time. He spent every night in the bar. And then when he got home, he wasn't pleasant. This went on for probably 30 years. He was getting drunk 5 - 6 days a week. Finally, one night he went over the line, beat up his wife, and got hauled off in cuffs and thrown in the clink. One condition of his probation was that he never drinks again. That day, he quit cold turkey.

That was more than 5 years ago. He hasn't had a drop since, and is a really nice guy when sober. Moreover, the adjustment wasn't too hard. All he had to do was to get himself out of the friggin bar. No bar, no booze, no problem. This guy isn't an alcholic. He had a huge drinking problem, and let the booze screw up his life. You know those smokers that say, "I could quit if I wanted"? That was him with his drinking. He just never had enough motivation to want to quit. When he did, he just stopped drinking.

[Thanz]

Originally posted by pgwenthold

My neighbor growing up drank all the time. He spent every night in the bar. And then when he got home, he wasn't pleasant. This went on for probably 30 years. He was getting drunk 5 - 6 days a week. Finally, one night he went over the line, beat up his wife, and got hauled off in cuffs and thrown in the clink. One condition of his probation was that he never drinks again. That day, he quit cold turkey.

That was more than 5 years ago. He hasn't had a drop since, and is a really nice guy when sober. Moreover, the adjustment wasn't too hard. All he had to do was to get himself out of the friggin bar. No bar, no booze, no problem. This guy isn't an alcholic. He had a huge drinking problem, and let the booze screw up his life. You know those smokers that say, "I could quit if I wanted"? That was him with his drinking. He just never had enough motivation to want to quit. When he did, he just stopped drinking.
I see the distinction that you are trying to draw, but I don't completely buy it. What is the difference between the self-described "alcoholic" who has had a drink in 5 years and your neighbour?

From what you describe, I'd say that your neighbour is an alcoholic, but he was able to stop drinking. Not all alcoholics need a 12 step program - it doesn't make them any less alcoholics. I just don't think that you can really say "This guy isn't an alcholic. He had a huge drinking problem, and let the booze screw up his life." It just doesn't make sense. If he let the booze screw up his life, it was because he was an alcoholic. He just needed to lose enough to make him quit.

On the other end of the spectrum, I don't see how having one drink a week could be considered either an alcohol problem or the person an alcoholic.

Anyway, I usually have a drink a day with dinner - either wine or beer. Sometimes I will have a scotch or port after dinner.

[LW]

No options for me.

I usually drink perhaps one or two ciders (or beers) in each two-week period, and half-a-bottle of wine with food perhaps every second month.

In addition, on average about 5-6 times a year I'll have a long dinner during which I consume about 6-7 portions of alcohol (1 glass of sparkling wine, 1-3 schnaps, 1-2 glasses of wine, cognag).

I've never drinked so much that I'd have a hangover.

[pgwenthold]

Originally posted by Thanz

I see the distinction that you are trying to draw, but I don't completely buy it. What is the difference between the self-described "alcoholic" who has had a drink in 5 years and your neighbour?

From what you describe, I'd say that your neighbour is an alcoholic, but he was able to stop drinking. Not all alcoholics need a 12 step program - it doesn't make them any less alcoholics. I just don't think that you can really say "This guy isn't an alcholic. He had a huge drinking problem, and let the booze screw up his life." It just doesn't make sense. If he let the booze screw up his life, it was because he was an alcoholic. He just needed to lose enough to make him quit.


To make an analogy, it's like the difference between a drug user and a drug addict.

Addiction is a biological issue, a physical need. Heavy usage may be the result of addiction, or maybe not. Being able to quit easily indicates that there was not a strong physical need or physical dependence. He relied on booze for a crutch, surely, but was not physically dependent on it. That is the distinction I'm making.

He let the booze screw up the life of his family and others. It may be because he was an alcoholic, or maybe it was just because he was a thoughtless human being who didn't care a rat's butt about the people he was hurting. You can be uncaring without being an alcoholic, you know (think of this: suppose he was never with his family because he was constantly traveling all the time. Would he be a "travelic"? For that, we'd just say the guy has a problem. Why is he traveling? Not because he can't stop, but he doesn't care.)

Many people make the same mistake with depression. They seem to think that being sad (even uncontrollably sad) means they are depressed. Well, they are depressed in the sense that they are sad, but that doesn't mean they have mental illness. Clinical depression has physiological origins. While sad events can make you sad, they won't make you clinically depressed.

Lastly, in terms of "one drink being an alcohol problem," note that I said it _could_ be a problem. For example, if you had severe liver problems, one drink could put you in the hospital. I would consider a weekly trip to the hospital a problem, wouldn't you? Similarly, if you are on a restricted budget, drop $8 a week on a glass of fancy brandy might be more than you can afford. Yeah, they are a stretch, but they _could_ be problems that arise from just 1 drink a week.

[HarryKeogh]

i never drink alone.

about once or twice a month i'll attend a party or go to a bar/club and get bombed.

so for me it's feast or famine. i either don't touch the stuff or get s-faced.

[Thanz]

Originally posted by pgwenthold

To make an analogy, it's like the difference between a drug user and a drug addict.

Addiction is a biological issue, a physical need. Heavy usage may be the result of addiction, or maybe not. Being able to quit easily indicates that there was not a strong physical need or physical dependence. He relied on booze for a crutch, surely, but was not physically dependent on it. That is the distinction I'm making.
Here is where we part company. I do not think that something MUST have a biological component to be considered addiction. It can be a psychological addiction. Further, in a case like your neighbours, I am not sure how one can consume that much alcohol over that period of time and NOT have it form some sort of addiction.

He let the booze screw up the life of his family and others. It may be because he was an alcoholic, or maybe it was just because he was a thoughtless human being who didn't care a rat's butt about the people he was hurting. You can be uncaring without being an alcoholic, you know (think of this: suppose he was never with his family because he was constantly traveling all the time. Would he be a "travelic"? For that, we'd just say the guy has a problem. Why is he traveling? Not because he can't stop, but he doesn't care.)
True, but how can you tell the alcoholic from the plain jerk? I have spoken to people who sound very much like your neighbour, but they classify themselves as alcoholics. They too could say that they could stop at any time - as evidenced by the fact that they did in fact eventually stop. However, what one of them told me is, I think, very true: he was telling a friend that he wasn't an alcoholic, and that he could stop at any time. His friend told him that he couldn't because he hadn't lost enough yet. It wasn't until he almost lost his family and quit drinking that he realized how true those words were. I suspect your friend was in a similar situation: he would not have been able to stop until he had his own "wake up call".

Many people make the same mistake with depression. They seem to think that being sad (even uncontrollably sad) means they are depressed. Well, they are depressed in the sense that they are sad, but that doesn't mean they have mental illness. Clinical depression has physiological origins. While sad events can make you sad, they won't make you clinically depressed.
I think that depression is more complex than this. While there may be a physiological basis, I don't think that it is required for a depression diagnosis. Some theorize that depression is an expression of anger, for example.

Lastly, in terms of "one drink being an alcohol problem," note that I said it _could_ be a problem. For example, if you had severe liver problems, one drink could put you in the hospital. I would consider a weekly trip to the hospital a problem, wouldn't you? Similarly, if you are on a restricted budget, drop $8 a week on a glass of fancy brandy might be more than you can afford. Yeah, they are a stretch, but they _could_ be problems that arise from just 1 drink a week.
This is more than a stretch. While those scenarios are somewhat plausible, the original comment of one drink a week being a borderline alchoholic is not related to these scenarios. For the vast majority of people, one drink a week does not make you anything close to an alcoholic.

[Aoidoi]

Hmmm, years upon years in the Episcopal church with a sip of wine every Sunday, then college with a whole lot of time holding a cup of something generally foul and drinking only enough to not get mocked, into working and having a drink or 2 when some of us manage to get out of work and shoot some pool, which varies from weekly to bimonthly depending on schedules.

I put myself in a drink or 2 every month, but 6 months will go by without any and then I'll have 2 each week for a month.

Amongst my HS friends still in the area this puts me as just about the heaviest drinker, amongst my college friends this makes me about the lightest. At work... well, probably somewhere in the middle, I think towards the low end.

I'm actually mostly with Brown. I don't drink beer because I don't enjoy it. At the moment I drink Bacardi & Coke because I like the taste. Of course, I don't like it any better than regular Coke, so it's kinda pointless, but I drink it when playing pool anyway.

I have no particular desire to become drunk. I have on several occassions tried to do so (or been obliged to do so), but frankly I get bored long before I get drunk. At my size it really takes a determined effort to get enough alcohol in me to affect me (though the rest of the offensive line in college never seemed to have that problem).

So there you go... no particular problem with alcohol, just don't bother with it all that often.

But, when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself. Just me and my Bud Weiser. Just me and Jack Daniels.... Johnny Walker...
(Sorry, forget the exact lyrics)

[Yahweh]

I wish De_bunk spent more time on the Religion and Philosophy board...

If he show's up, this is for you, De_Bunk:

Rich Eggnog


6 Large Eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup Brandy

1 1/2 cup Rum

4 cup Milk

4 cup Cream

1/2 cup icing sugar

Nutmeg for sprinkling purposes


Separate the yolks from the whites. Beat the yolks slowly while simultaneously adding sugar, do this until the mixture is pale and golden. Now slowly add in the brandy and rum, then beat in the milk and half the cream.

Set aside just before serving, then whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the eggnog mixture whip the remaining cream and icing sugar until thick top each glass of eggnog with whip cream and a shake of nutmeg.

Makes 8 servings.

[hammegk]

At a guess, 20 full-blown alkies, over 1/4 of the sample.

That's maybe 3 times more than would be expected in a random sample of US adults.

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by hammegk
At a guess, 20 full-blown alkies, over 1/4 of the sample.

That's maybe 3 times more than would be expected in a random sample of US adults.
Not everyone on this board is American...

[jj]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
Good point. I use a personal rule: I offer guests alcohol once. Unless they actually say "maybe later", I don't repeat the offer if they decline. They know all they have to do is ask if they change their mind.

Hans

I don't even serve guests. I tell them where the beverages are, and keep an eye out if somebody starts to look too, err, indulgent.

(I have a personal strong dislike of drunk drivers. Drink all you want, as long as you're under self-control, just don't do anything responsible afterwards. And I'm not kidding about that self-control part, either. Biochemistry can be treacherous.)

[jj]

Originally posted by hammegk
At a guess, 20 full-blown alkies, over 1/4 of the sample.

That's maybe 3 times more than would be expected in a random sample of US adults.

What's the data your guess is based on, Hammegk?

What do you consider an "alkie"? Does the ability to stop at will make any difference in that determination?

[hammegk]

Originally posted by Kimpatsu

Not everyone on this board is American...
No s**t, sherlock ...

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by hammegk
No s**t, sherlock ...
No, Watson. Someone has stolen our tent...!

[hammegk]

Originally posted by jj


What's the data your guess is based on, Hammegk?
A selection of the nevers, the weekenders, and the several per dayers.



What do you consider an "alkie"?
No accepted general definition exists. Obviously, alcohol related problems.


Does the ability to stop at will make any difference in that determination?
Sure. Anything is possible.

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by hammegk
Sure. Anything is possible.
Including squaring the circle...? :p :D

[Beleth]

One glass of red wine with dinner, every dinner it's feasible to.

Doctor's orders.

Seriously.

[hammegk]

Originally posted by Kimpatsu

Including squaring the circle...? :p :D

Well, my calculator says a square 1.77245 on a side has the same area as a circle with radius 1.00000 . :D

[roger]

Originally posted by hammegk
Well, my calculator says a square 1.77245 on a side has the same area as a circle with radius 1.00000 . :D

QED :D

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by hammegk
Well, my calculator says a square 1.77245 on a side has the same area as a circle with radius 1.00000 . :D
OK, clever dick, now try striking a light using a burned match and a bar of wet soap. :p

[hammegk]

Originally posted by Kimpatsu

OK, clever dick, now try striking a light using a burned match and a bar of wet soap. :p

Sure. I just take the burned match, soap & a cigarette aboard my boat, throw the ciggie away, and the whole shebang is a ____?

[c4ts]

Originally posted by Kimpatsu

Including squaring the circle...? :p :D

This thread has lost all semblence to rationality.

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by hammegk
Sure. I just take the burned match, soap & a cigarette aboard my boat, throw the ciggie away, and the whole shebang is a ____?
The whole shebang is afloat, proving that you're wet. :D :p

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by c4ts
This thread has lost all semblence to rationality.
Yeah, but we're too drunk to care... :p

[jj]

Originally posted by hammegk


Well, my calculator says a square 1.77245 on a side has the same area as a circle with radius 1.00000 . :D

Exactly 1.77425? :)

[jj]

Can't actually answer this one.

Some months, zero alcohol. Some a glass of red wine every other night or so.

It's a rare day that I go beyond one drink a day. I'm too clumsy, as my detractors here will be willing to tell you.

[c4ts]

Originally posted by hammegk


Well, my calculator says a square 1.77245 on a side has the same area as a circle with radius 1.00000 . :D

Please draw the squared circle.

[Normstock]

I have 2-3 drinks a month. I used to have 2-3 drinks a night, but a new relationship, a screwed up digestive system and impending fatherhood have conspired against me in the recent years. I miss my drinking buddies sometimes, and I miss a tidy buzz sometimes too. I don't miss the detached brainstem headaches some mornings though....

[roger]

hmm, sitting here sipping a pretty amazing (for the price) Botryris Semillion, posting away, alone, does that make me a drunkard?

[evildave]

I seem to recall that the USAF had a "problem drinking" rate of 50% among all of its members when I was in (1985~90).

Of course, that's not a representative sample of "US citizens", either.

O' course, when I visited the UK (where I spent a month in Ufton and discovered cider), I also discovered that everyone I met there drank an astounding quantity of alcahol very regularly.

Perhaps that's "small samples" talking, but definitely what seems like a LOT of drinking to me is light drinking to others.

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by c4ts
Please draw the squared circle.
It's perfectly possible to do the logically impossible, such as making an isocoles triangle with two 90° sides...

(Its not the best image one could create in 5 minutes...)

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by roger
hmm, sitting here sipping a pretty amazing (for the price) Botryris Semillion, posting away, alone, does that make me a drunkard?
No, just friendless. :D

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by hammegk
No accepted general definition exists. Obviously, alcohol related problems.

Wrong. The NIH (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/booklet.htm) has a formal definition in laymans terms and the shorthand general definition is "a craving for alcohol and continued drinking despite adverse consequences."

Obviously the consequenses will be more severe than missing the commode when vomiting.

[fishbob]

I like beer. I like wine. I like champagne, and bourbon, and tequila, and whisky, and scotch. I learned, through personal experience, a long long time ago that waking up with a hangover hurts a lot - much more than I am willing to ever deal with again. My last over-indulgence was more than 20 years ago.

I have a little wine with dinner fairly often. Sometimes a beer instead. Sometimes a beer or two on a weekend afternoon. I wait for special occassions for the other stuff.

[EvilBiker]

Originally posted by roger
hmm, sitting here sipping a pretty amazing (for the price) Botryris Semillion, posting away, alone, does that make me a drunkard?

Ah, a man after my own heart. What price?

My wife and I will knock off a bottle of good, nay , excellent!, red wine a night, me probably taking 2/3 of it.

We HAVE to drink them, you see - it's called cycling the cellar ;)

I blame the glasses we use, personally. We have these bloody humungous crystal thingies that hold 700 ml, 50 ml short of the bottle contents. Having two glasses a night means the bottle is gone pretty quick. No, we don't fill the glasses all the way, that's not the point ...

[roger]

Originally posted by Kimpatsu

No, just friendless. :D I hate you! :D

[roger]

Originally posted by EvilBiker


Ah, a man after my own heart. What price?

My wife and I will knock off a bottle of good, nay , excellent!, red wine a night, me probably taking 2/3 of it. Oh, I don't know exactly, call it $23. I was at the wine shop earlier last night and pricing some Trockenbeerenauslese. At 85 and up, I just walked away. :)

My problem is I'm a wine snob. Not so much that I need expensive wines, but most wines are just a pleasant drink to me, not particularly noteworthy compared to a beer, a sparkling apple cider (non-alcoholic), etc. I can take it or leave it. But those wines where the winery has gone all out on - heaven. So I don't tend to drink much wine. Lately I have gotten the best bang for my buck by staying away from the Cabs, etc, and spending on after dinner wines that you are happy sipping tiny amounts of, and that you can leave uncorked for awhile - tawny ports, etc. 2 oz of fabulous wine beats a couple of glasses of average/good wine, and actually works out cheaper.

[Kimpatsu]

Originally posted by roger
I hate you! :D
Join the queue.
So does everyone else.
;)

[Thanz]

Originally posted by c4ts


Please draw the squared circle.
How about a logo?

http://www.csranch.ca/images/ranch_logo.gif

[Thanz]

Originally posted by c4ts


Please draw the squared circle.
Or did you mean this squared circle?

http://raw.wwe.com/results/120103/images/25.jpg

[Sandy M]

A couple of glasses of white wine (I get migraines from red) at Thanksgiving and Xmas.

Rarely even at parties, since I'm usually the designated driver.

Occasionally a glass of white white at home with dinner - maybe once in a 2-3 month period. If I should happen to go out for dinner, perhaps one margarita before/with dinner.

That's about it. I find that migraines are a wonderful aversion factor vis-a-vis drinking. If more than the amount of alcohol in one normal margarita will set one off.... I won't even chance it. White wine seems less of a problem in that regard.

[Kimpatsu]

Well, here I am sitting at my desk at work, with a hangover from over-indulging last night. Blecchhh...

[Iamme]

Fishbob---You sound like a walking George Thorogood song.:D

[hammegk]

Originally posted by UnrepentantSinner


Wrong. The NIH (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/booklet.htm) has a formal definition in laymans terms and the shorthand general definition is "a craving for alcohol and continued drinking despite adverse consequences."

Obviously the consequenses will be more severe than missing the commode when vomiting.

If that does it for you, fine with me.

[EvilBiker]

Originally posted by roger
Oh, I don't know exactly, call it $23. I was at the wine shop earlier last night and pricing some Trockenbeerenauslese. At 85 and up, I just walked away. :)

I'm lucky in that I have a wife who works in the industry, so we get wine at rock bottom prices. Our current everyday house wine is a '98 gold medal Cab Sav which costs us roughly, oooh, $3.25 a bottle. Market price is about $8.70.


My problem is I'm a wine snob.

Yeah, I've become one too, it seems. I suppose it was inevitable - once you get seriously introduced to excellent wines, you find it difficult to go back to the arbitrary stuff you used to drink. Not that I'm complaining, mind :)

On dessert wines - if you ever get a chance, keep an eye out for a sparkling Botrytis from Nederburg, called Private Bin 2001 Noble Late Harvest - sounds unusual, but it's worth it's weight in gold. It's made in the charmat method, and it just rocks. Get a couple of bottles for your grandchildren to enjoy while you're at it :)

Oh, the wife works here. (http://www.stellenzicht.co.za)

[plindboe]

I drink, therefore I am.

[Ove]

I think the major difference between USA and the continent in this matter is very basic. To many Americans alcohol is a way to get drunk, period. It is seen a "the devils tool" and even liberal thinking people sees it as "a bit naughty". It probably comes from the fact that a lot of the original immigrants was, to put it nice, very religous (sekterian to be blunt) and very condemning over the good things in life (Amish-role-model).

It has been mentioned before but the difference is very clearly seen if you look at bars. In USA a bar is a place where men go to get drunk and grope at the waitresses. Nice girls certainly don't frequent bars, and children are definitely NOT allowed. "Sam's bar" was a good example, how many women (not staff) did you see?

In contrast an english pub is, as someone said, "the extension of your living room". The whole family meets at the local pub, talking, singing, eating, watching TV, playing Dart ...etc. Yes they have a pint or two but they very rarely gets drunk. The kids grow up with the knowledge that alcohol is nothing special, somethings the adults drink because they like it.

Regarding alcoholism. I had a brother in law once (they are divorced now). He did not drink much but if he drank it lasted two or three days. He could go weeks, even months where he did not touch alcohol but then, if he had one beer, he went on a rampage. He simply could not stop. That is not alcoholism in the defined way but i say it is just as bad.

[Gregor]

Evilbiker

My business partner recently returned from a 18 day South Africa trip. He loved the country. And he couldn't stop complementing the wine. He said it was wonderful and dramatically inexpensive.

It's unfortunate that we have to spend $20 - $30 for a really good varietal red here, and you can get a better wine there for $7.

Oh well.

[EvilBiker]

Originally posted by Gregor
Evilbiker

My business partner recently returned from a 18 day South Africa trip. He loved the country. And he couldn't stop complementing the wine. He said it was wonderful and dramatically inexpensive.
Glad he enjoyed it!


It's unfortunate that we have to spend $20 - $30 for a really good varietal red here, and you can get a better wine there for $7.

Oh well.
Well, then, what better reason to visit??

I really don't understand the price difference - it's not to do with a discrepancy in disposable income, for one thing. Rand to dollar, the wines are still way cheaper here.

One thing that I do know to be true - our cheap wines (average house wine type, non-vintage, blended) are far superior to the stuff you would get in, say, Spain or even the States, and they cost a pittance. In some cases it could work out to under $2 a bottle for a very pleasant table wine....

[pillory]

why this thread isn't moved?

[jimmygun]

Jeez...I think I win. I drink as much as I can afford. During the good times lots and lots, during the skinny times not so much. I come from a family who's tolerance to alcohol is legendary and the gene didn't skip me. My grandmother could drink 24 bottles of Labatts 50 in a single setting, right out of the box warm. People who didn't believe me were afforded the opportunity to witness it. She was over 75 years old and weighed about 110 pounds, the last time I had someone over to see it.

On the weekend I will imbibe a 24, during the week maybe another 24. I never drink and drive and I never miss work because of beer. I am able to set it aside for some months if it is needed, sometimes I am the designated driver and I don't drink that night and my wife gets to drink some wine.

I only drink when I am in a good mood, I can't waste good beer on a miserable mood. I only drink 5% beer, non of that Silver Bullet Coors (the training bra of beer) for me. As I stated I drink a lot and seldom get into a bad mood. Sometimes I am the only one drinking and sometimes I am the only one not drinking. I never get hangovers no matter how much I drink the night before. Like my grandfather, the booze will probably kill me but he lived to 84 before it did.

[Humphreys]

Why are 'you' Americans so far behind 'us' brits in the drinking department?

I am shocked at the poll results. What lovely livers you must all have.

Pansies.

[Rat]

I also drink about as much as I can afford. And I'm not overly picky about taste. I tend to drink lager, bitter, vodka, wine, or occasionally gin. Or schnapps.

I drink almost every day, and often to excess.

Define alcoholic how you will. I don't want to stop drinking, so whether I could is neither here nor there. I ENJOY it.

Must start homebrewing soon.

Cjeers,
Rat.

[Schizobunny]

Originally posted by Tricky


No names, unless you really want to. I don't want to turn this into an AA meeting.

No AA meeting. Oh well.

Hi my name is Bob(Audience: Hi Bob) and I've had a drinking problem fo two years. Oh wait sorry. I'm not even old enough to drink yet. I'm only 14.