Combs Spouts Off

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Posts Tagged ‘drinking’

Take this with a grain of salt, amigos

Posted by Richard on February 22, 2014

Today is National Margarita Day. You know what you have to do.


[YouTube link]

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Time for another Blogger Bash

Posted by Richard on April 25, 2011

It's been a while, so Billll has scheduled a Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash for next Saturday, April 30, at the Old Mill Brewery & Grill in Littleton, CO. It's a great venue, with quite good beers and excellent food. We'll have the "birthday room," a private area at the back, to ourselves. Festivities commence about 7 PM.

If you're a blogger, a friend or fan of a blogger, a blogger wannabe, or a blogger groupie, you're invited. Clever conversations, witty repartee, unbridled silliness, and a good time are guaranteed. 

Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash, April 30

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Protect your joints, have another drink

Posted by Richard on June 7, 2008

Need another reason to attend tonight's Blogger Bash? Well, just tell yourself that you need to drink more to protect yourself from a crippling disease. New research suggests that alcohol consumption can cut your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in half:

The Scandinavian researchers base their findings on more than 2750 people taking part in two separate studies, which assessed environmental and genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis.

The results showed that drinking alcohol was associated with a significantly lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. And the more alcohol was consumed, the lower the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

Among those who drank regularly, the quarter with the highest consumption were up to 50% less likely to develop the disease compared with the half who drank the least.

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight let us drink a toast to those Scandinavian researchers! Maybe a toast to each of the researchers!

Among those with antibodies to a specific group of proteins involved in the development of the disease, alcohol cut the risk most in smokers with genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis.

The authors conclude that their research reinforces the importance of lifestyle factors in the development of the disease, and that giving up smoking remains the single most important preventive measure.

Hmm, I don't know. It sounds like taking up drinking is a pretty important preventive measure, even for smokers, and by far the most important for non-smokers. But researchers are always reluctant to say positive things about "vices," no matter how strong the evidence. Bad for their employers' public relations and their chances of getting more grant money.

Nonetheless, good news for those of the imbibing persuasion. Skol!

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Avast! It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Posted by Richard on September 19, 2007

Today, September 19, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. So, say "shiver me timbers" to somebody. Or quaff some grog. Or maybe take The Official Talk Like a Pirate Personality Inventory (TOTLAPPI). In other words, have fun in a whimsical way today, because that's what talking like a pirate is all about. 

Q: What sci-fi TV series do pirates like best?

A: Faarrrr-scape. 

Arrr! International Talk Like a Pirate Day September 19

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Somewhat abashed

Posted by Richard on February 19, 2007

I’m sorry to say I missed Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash #6 Friday night. No real reason — I just spaced it out. For some reason, I thought it was next week. Oh, well — RMBB #7 will come around soon enough, I’m sure.

As for #6, Jed has more pix than you can shake a stick at. Click the thumbnails to see the large versions if you dare. The pictures prove that Jed’s right — Stephen Green has recovered from his grave illness and is looking good. Despite the really weird shirt. Publicola has a complete rundown on the festivities and attendees, along with links to other bash-posts. I liked Andy’s review best.
 

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Drink up, fatsos!

Posted by Richard on November 6, 2006

So, let’s say you’re one of the 65% of Americans who are obese. And let’s say you’re worried about the health consequences of those extra pounds — including double the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and arthritis, and triple the risk of diabetes. So, what are you going to do about it?

Well, you could walk more, join a gym, and start working out. You could forego that plate of ribs and order a nice salad with low-fat dressing.

Or you could just order a nice bottle of Shiraz to go with those ribs:

Good news for gluttons and anyone else who gets old: Scientists are looking for the antidote for age and disease in a glass of red wine.

Harvard Medical School and National Institute of Aging researchers have found that a natural susbtance found in red wine, known as resveratrol, countered the ravenous ways of mice fed a high-calorie diet and even prolonged their lives.

“Resveratrol can excuse most of the negative effects of being obese in the mice,” said Harvard Medical School professor David Sinclair, one of the study’s authors.

The study compared three groups of mice. The first ate a standard (30% fat) diet, the second ate a high-fat (60%) diet, and the third ate the high-fat diet supplemented with resveratrol.

The third group got just as fat as the second, but suffered none of the ill effects. Their hearts, livers, and other organs remained normal (in fact, somewhat healthier than the standard-diet group’s). Their blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity mirrored the lean group’s. And they lived longer:

… After 114 weeks, 58 percent of the normally fed mice and the resveratrol group were still alive, compared with only 42 percent of the untreated, high-calorie-intake mice. Sinclair reports that resveratrol reduced the risk of death from a high-calorie diet by 31 percent, leading to an increase in life span of 15 percent thus far. More accurate numbers will be available when all the mice pass away. "We are around five months from having final numbers," Sinclair notes, "but there is no question that we are seeing increased longevity." The researchers also note that the resveratrol-treated mice not only live longer than their untreated counterparts, but have more active lives, too–their motor skills have actually improved as they have aged.

Of course, there are caveats. To get as much resveratrol as the mice, you’d have to drink a hundred or more glasses of wine (depending on which news report you believe) — clearly, supplement capsules would be a more practical choice. And everybody from the science reporters to the researchers is mouthing the usual warnings that you always hear regarding nutritional supplements:

While resveratrol supplements are available at many health food stores, experts caution that no one knows whether the compound will work the same way for humans and, perhaps more important, whether high doses of resveratrol are harmful in the long run.

It’s worth noting, though, that researcher David Sinclair founded a company to develop resveratrol-related drugs (in which he and Harvard Medical School have a financial interest).

And Sinclair has been taking resveratrol supplements himself for three years already.
 

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Avast! September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Posted by Richard on September 20, 2006

Arrr, what a bilge rat I be! I forgot to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day today! Well, I’m off to quickly quaff some grog. I leave you with the link to the official site, me hearties, and with a quick riddle:

Q: Who is the favorite singer/songwriter of many pirates?

A: Arrr-t Garrr-funkel

Arrr! International Talk Like a Pirate Day September 19

 
UPDATE: Craig Ferguson on CBS’ Late Late Show remembered Talk Like a Pirate Day. That’s appropriate, I suppose, since having a Scottish accent gets you a long way toward talking like a pirate — Scotsmen are good at rrrolling their arrrs. As a thanks to Craig, here’s a joke from tonight’s monologue (from memory):

Deal or No Deal is back. … This has to be the dumbest game show ever. "Do you want money or more money?" … It’s like "Let’s Make a Deal" for stupid people.

 I just love the Ferguson monologues. For more reasons why, see this earlier post. Mmm, good grog.
 

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Yikes! Another blogger bash!

Posted by Richard on August 24, 2006

Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash 5.5Honestly, sometimes I don’t know where my head’s at. I meant to post a link to the official announcement of Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash 5.5 about 3 weeks ago — and RSVP, too. Oh, well, it’s not until Friday — plenty of time.

Here are the details: it’s Friday, Aug. 25, about 6ish, at the Moon Time Bar (formerly Minturn Saloon), 846 Broadway, Denver. David J said it’s "Open to bloggers, commenters, significant others, and random passers-by." I think that means you’re invited. Go to the official announcement to see who else is attending and to RSVP.
 

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Doctoral disarmament

Posted by Richard on June 12, 2006

Via Jed at FreedomSight came news of Wadcutter’s big announcement:

Today I successfully defended my thesis.

I’m Dr. Cutter now! And it only took me seven years!

Holy crap the last couple of months were stressful. I think I’ll go on a two-day bender to calm down.

Some of us Denver-area bloggers with an interest in academic achievement, firearms, and beer (not necessarily in that order) — including Jed, David A, David J, and Nick — were discussing an appropriate celebratory event, such as going shooting or gathering at a local watering hole. Steve "Dr. Cutter" Whipple endorsed the general idea with the immortal words:

We could go shooting, or drinking, or shooting then drinking, or whatever. 

Well, the plan’s been finalized: it’s a Mini Blogger Bash (but no cool graphic so far) at the Baker Street Pub in Lakewood on Saturday, the 17th. Jed has all the details, including directions, and he’d like you to shoot him an email if you plan to attend — just so he can alert the bar if it looks like we’ll be a sizable mob.

Meanwhile, I’m wondering who’s going to break the news to Whipple that he has to give up his guns.

Yeah, I know it sucks, but that bill snuck through the legislature with little attention and almost no vocal opposition. Buncha damned Democrats voted for it ’cause they hate and fear guns. Buncha damned Republicans voted for it ’cause they hate and fear "pointy-headed intellectuals."

In the wake of all the Ward Churchill stories, I can appreciate how a Republican legislator would feel compelled to vote for this bill. It was politically expedient. Especially with Churchill making speeches urging "direct action" — with the implication that he meant killing the "fascist pigs" — and scores of CU academics eagerly supporting him. Who wants a bunch of scraggly, tofu-breath, wanna-be revolutionaries from Boulder running around armed?

The irony is that Churchill doesn’t even have a doctorate, just some bogus "Master of Enlightenment" from an "alternative" college for creating a series of finger-paintings of indigenous peoples.

Nevertheless, the law — which goes into effect July 1 — states that "no Ph.D., full professor, assistant professor, or associate professor may possess a firearm in the state of Colorado, except in the performance of military service or when called upon by civil authority."

Sorry, Dr. Cutter. I really think they should have exempted Ph.D.s in physics, chemistry, engineering, and a few other carefully chosen fields. But they didn’t. Can I have your GP100? Or maybe the Police Service Six? I like Rugers. 🙂
 

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