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Thread: Alcohol consumption
My rule is that as long as I'm social drinker, I'm okay. It's not about how much, it's about when I drink it. I'll start to worry if I start to drink on my own. Just to clarify, I don't count couple of beers a day, or several glass of wine in the afternoon/for dinner, or even a shot or two as drinking. That's ok. By drinking alone I mean when I open a bottle of hard stuff and start pouring.
So, I usually drink a lot on weekends when I go out or on some social occasions (especially on a slava), and very rarely during the week.
So, I usually drink a lot on weekends when I go out or on some social occasions (especially on a slava), and very rarely during the week.
I'm not a drinker. I don't like the taste of alcohol. But I also don't believe in stepping on anyones right to kill their liver/brain with it. My brother is a drinker though. But he's been unable to stand on 2 occasions. That's his line. 
Does anyone else want to start a microbrewery? I want to really bad. After I hit the lotto I'll do it
Originally Posted by Strike For The South:
Does anyone else want to start a microbrewery? I want to really bad. After I hit the lotto I'll do it
Strike, I think I've found the way for you to lose some pounds. :)Does anyone else want to start a microbrewery? I want to really bad. After I hit the lotto I'll do it
Originally Posted by Koga No Goshi:
Strike, I think I've found the way for you to lose some pounds. :)
You are the 4th person to say that today.....Strike, I think I've found the way for you to lose some pounds. :)
Originally Posted by Strike For The South:
Does anyone else want to start a microbrewery? I want to really bad. After I hit the lotto I'll do it
You may want to read/listen to this.Does anyone else want to start a microbrewery? I want to really bad. After I hit the lotto I'll do it
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=16245024
Originally Posted by :
We have the highest per person comsumption of alcohol than anyone else but we also have the most teetotallers in Europe
Hmm interesting - are Russians and Poles counted? :) I like to mix alcohols. Generally i love vodka with beer. You have terrible hangover after it but tastes really good. Of course it has too be good vodka and good beer. We have the highest per person comsumption of alcohol than anyone else but we also have the most teetotallers in Europe
Other thing i like is Red Finlandia. Great vodka. Both smell and taste fantastic.
Someone here mentioned about Australia. What are beers there. How many alcohol. Here I must tell that hardly anyone can hold 12 beers (but beer have at least 5%).
Originally Posted by KrooK:
Someone here mentioned about Australia. What are beers there. How many alcohol. Here I must tell that hardly anyone can hold 12 beers (but beer have at least 5%).
Most beers are about 3-7%, with the average probably being just around 4%.Someone here mentioned about Australia. What are beers there. How many alcohol. Here I must tell that hardly anyone can hold 12 beers (but beer have at least 5%).
My wife and I tend to drink one bottle of wine per night with dinner about 5 nights per week. It would be 7 nights per week, but we pay a lot of attention to food/wine pairings and we often have at least 2 nights where we don't have a bottle that can conceivably fit with our meal. We are definitely not alcoholics, we do not crave alcohol and we can easily go without it indefinitely if we choose to. I don't think our consumption level is even remotely bad on any level, yet we are WAY, WAY over the recommended weekly consumption level. I think by medical standards we are considered very heavy drinkers, but again it's just a bottle between the two of us with dinner. We almost never get drunk and rarely drink anything outside of these bottles with dinner. In my opinion, either we're freaks of nature in our ability to lead normal lives while drinking this much, or the medical standards for heavy drinking are way too low. I'm undecided on what the right answer is.
Originally Posted by TinCow:
In my opinion, either we're freaks of nature in our ability to lead normal lives while drinking this much, or the medical standards for heavy drinking are way too low. I'm undecided on what the right answer is.
The latter. In my opinion, either we're freaks of nature in our ability to lead normal lives while drinking this much, or the medical standards for heavy drinking are way too low. I'm undecided on what the right answer is.
When I drink at parties, I drink in order to get completely drunk. There's no alternative to that. Usually takes about 5 litres(a sixpack at the pre-party, then around 5 pints at the pub) of beer coupled with 1/5-1/4 bottle of scotch. I do swap the beer for red wine from time to time though, and then it's 2 bottles of that. Basically the beer is the filler, I feel so alone without my good pal Mr. Alcohol in my hand 
The scotch is what makes my vision blur...
"Casual drinking", or whatever you may call it, at parties is an alien concept to me; if I'm not drinking to get shit drunk, I see no point in drinking at all. I'm a very, very happy drunk, by the way
As for drinking at other times, well... Not so much. There's the occasional beer when there's a football game on, as well as a bottle of wine when I'm trying to get lucky.
As for record drinking, well... I've been "russ"(norwegian graduation period), where I consumed 12 bottles of Jack Daniels in roughly 3 weeks, in addition to a lot of beer...
Oh, and as for starting age, I was drunk for the first time at 16. Roughly the average age here, I believe.
The scotch is what makes my vision blur... "Casual drinking", or whatever you may call it, at parties is an alien concept to me; if I'm not drinking to get shit drunk, I see no point in drinking at all. I'm a very, very happy drunk, by the way
As for drinking at other times, well... Not so much. There's the occasional beer when there's a football game on, as well as a bottle of wine when I'm trying to get lucky.
As for record drinking, well... I've been "russ"(norwegian graduation period), where I consumed 12 bottles of Jack Daniels in roughly 3 weeks, in addition to a lot of beer...
Oh, and as for starting age, I was drunk for the first time at 16. Roughly the average age here, I believe.
I'll only drink in social settings. By myself and it just as absolutely no appeal. I may have gotten drunk enough to be extremely stupid, but I would never become a jackass or anything. I just laugh a ton, but if I'm that bad it's with a ton of other people who are that bad.
The drinking age should be 18 AT LEAST here. I agree with the European approach. Allow kids to drink sooner and make it a hell of a lot harder to get a license and drive. Then again Europe is mein himmel so...
The drinking age should be 18 AT LEAST here. I agree with the European approach. Allow kids to drink sooner and make it a hell of a lot harder to get a license and drive. Then again Europe is mein himmel so...
I am probably the most qualified to answer your original question Don. 
An educational definition on alcoholism once goven me was: An individual who, no matter how often he indulges, must drink to total inebriation.
In other words, if every time you drink you must drink until you are drunk, than you have a problem. If you can not have a beer or two or even three and be satisfied, then you should take an honest introspective look.
What is too much? What is too often?
I think the two are related. I find it perfectly acceptable, and in fact healthy, to have too much on a rare occasion. That said, it would be "too much" to drink to excess routinely.
Now, for the more subtle issue: regular drinking. Moderation, responsibility, and accountability are the answers to this. Moderation is understanding your limits, your body's reaction to each drink as you continue. Responsibility here is whether you are willing to give up your keys every time you drink (And I mean EVERY time, no matter how much! Even ONE!) and similar actions. Accountability is whether you recognize how your behavior is affecting others, and whether you are willing to answer for your behavior.
As long as these 3 issues are accounted for, regular drinking is a personal choice and anybody who passes judgment on another for their behavior is a hypocritical snob unworthy of a relationship with you.
An educational definition on alcoholism once goven me was: An individual who, no matter how often he indulges, must drink to total inebriation.
In other words, if every time you drink you must drink until you are drunk, than you have a problem. If you can not have a beer or two or even three and be satisfied, then you should take an honest introspective look.
What is too much? What is too often?
I think the two are related. I find it perfectly acceptable, and in fact healthy, to have too much on a rare occasion. That said, it would be "too much" to drink to excess routinely.
Now, for the more subtle issue: regular drinking. Moderation, responsibility, and accountability are the answers to this. Moderation is understanding your limits, your body's reaction to each drink as you continue. Responsibility here is whether you are willing to give up your keys every time you drink (And I mean EVERY time, no matter how much! Even ONE!) and similar actions. Accountability is whether you recognize how your behavior is affecting others, and whether you are willing to answer for your behavior.
As long as these 3 issues are accounted for, regular drinking is a personal choice and anybody who passes judgment on another for their behavior is a hypocritical snob unworthy of a relationship with you.
Originally Posted by Divinus Arma:
Responsibility here is whether you are willing to give up your keys every time you drink (And I mean EVERY time, no matter how much! Even ONE!).
Huh. Every time I see people in other countries discuss alcohol, they stress how important it is not to drink and drive. Is it a huge problem in some countries? Here, it pretty much goes without saying... And I can't seem to recall any statistic here that showed it as a huge problem either...Responsibility here is whether you are willing to give up your keys every time you drink (And I mean EVERY time, no matter how much! Even ONE!).
Not saying we're the perfect law-abiding people though of course, that would be rather silly as I've been slapped with a fine of roughly 1000USD for driving under the influence myself
To my defence, I have to add that it had been 12 hours since I stopped drinking, it was the morning after and I thought I was completely sober, and my alcohol level was 0,23, if I had waited another 20-30 minutes I would've gone clear.... The most expensive half hour of my life
Pfft, I have never ever given away my keys when drunk, no matter how drunk.
Originally Posted by HoreTore:
Is it a huge problem in some countries?
The further west you go in the US, the more our cities are planned/built around the automobile. So that when you get to California, for example, any city over 10,000 in population virtually requires the average Joe to own and operate a car. There are precious few 'corner groceries' or neighborhood pubs, or walking-distance theaters, etc., not to mention everyone needing to commute to workplaces and schools.Is it a huge problem in some countries?
So, although DWI is not an epidemic, it is much higher than it ought to be, because everyone is accustomed to hopping into their Honda to go here and there, and then return home. Giving up the keys, as DA points out, is a seemingly un-natural act in such an environment - and one therefore to be applauded as the epitome of personal responsibility and accountability.
-edit-
Originally Posted by Husar:
Pfft, I have never ever given away my keys when drunk, no matter how drunk.
In my 3 years in Germany, I never drove a car. Didn't need to. Pubs, theaters, work, everything was either within walking distance, or a short hop away on excellent public transport.Pfft, I have never ever given away my keys when drunk, no matter how drunk.
Originally Posted by HoreTore:
Huh. Every time I see people in other countries discuss alcohol, they stress how important it is not to drink and drive. Is it a huge problem in some countries? Here, it pretty much goes without saying... And I can't seem to recall any statistic here that showed it as a huge problem either...
Not saying we're the perfect law-abiding people though of course, that would be rather silly as I've been slapped with a fine of roughly 1000USD for driving under the influence myself
To my defence, I have to add that it had been 12 hours since I stopped drinking, it was the morning after and I thought I was completely sober, and my alcohol level was 0,23, if I had waited another 20-30 minutes I would've gone clear.... The most expensive half hour of my life
Hmm, which Norway do you live in? Huh. Every time I see people in other countries discuss alcohol, they stress how important it is not to drink and drive. Is it a huge problem in some countries? Here, it pretty much goes without saying... And I can't seem to recall any statistic here that showed it as a huge problem either...
Not saying we're the perfect law-abiding people though of course, that would be rather silly as I've been slapped with a fine of roughly 1000USD for driving under the influence myself
To my defence, I have to add that it had been 12 hours since I stopped drinking, it was the morning after and I thought I was completely sober, and my alcohol level was 0,23, if I had waited another 20-30 minutes I would've gone clear.... The most expensive half hour of my life
It's rather normal that people are caught DWI.Rarely does an evening go by that I don't have at least one glass of wine with my dinner, even if I'm dining alone with only my television set for company.
Weekends? I still hit the clubs on occasion, and will often have 10 drinks or more of an evening out.
But with a few very rare exceptions, my own body tells me when it's time to stop. At a certain point, the drinks just start to taste bad and I know it's time to go home.
Weekends? I still hit the clubs on occasion, and will often have 10 drinks or more of an evening out.
But with a few very rare exceptions, my own body tells me when it's time to stop. At a certain point, the drinks just start to taste bad and I know it's time to go home.
Will occasionally go out and get hammered, not often, and not since I got back from Melbourne (four months ago), had a horrible experience there that I won't go into. Still had fun on my birthday weekend (a few days ago), without getting totalled.
That said Rudd's comment was an absolute joke, if I am going to drink, and I go out most weekends, I'll be having more than that.
Sasaki's comment was probably the best, it's not what, or how much you drink, it's how you act. And some of my acquaintances can be total idiots when they get on the alcohol.
With the DUI thing, I never ever give up my keys, have had people try and remove them though(idiots). I never drive after drinking... ever. Easiest way around it.
So yeah don't go out for the purpose of getting plastered, just go and have fun (which is possible without drinking, but easier when half-cut).
My take on this issue,
Curio
That said Rudd's comment was an absolute joke, if I am going to drink, and I go out most weekends, I'll be having more than that.
Sasaki's comment was probably the best, it's not what, or how much you drink, it's how you act. And some of my acquaintances can be total idiots when they get on the alcohol.
With the DUI thing, I never ever give up my keys, have had people try and remove them though(idiots). I never drive after drinking... ever. Easiest way around it.
So yeah don't go out for the purpose of getting plastered, just go and have fun (which is possible without drinking, but easier when half-cut).
My take on this issue,
Curio
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