White privilege! Although unlike Ted Kennedy, Paul Pelosi didn't actually kill anyone in his DUI accident. Democrats are getting better at drunk driving. https://t.co/VdCaOAsagD — Paul Epps (@paulepps) June 8, 2022 Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Alcohol
PBR or Ass?
See You in Hell, Henry Ruggs III
[See You in Hell is a feature by our guest blogger, Satan — PE] Greetings mortals — A (now former) Las Vegas Raiders football player named Henry Ruggs III was driving around town at over 150 mph with a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit when — 150 mph?! God damn that’s a fast car! Where was I? Oh yes — when he smashed the car into another car, killing a woman and her dog. It’s my observation that Ruggs is not getting one percent of the nationwide vilification that another former member of the Raiders organization, Jon Gruden, has gotten. Gruden didn’t kill anyone but he did write some emails 10 years ago in which he used provocative language about homosexuals and people with big lips. To paraphrase Dave Chappelle, “You can kill a woman and nobody cares but you better not hurt the feelings of a gay… Read more →
Long Working Hours Killing 745,000 People a Year?
The research found that working 55 hours or more a week was associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared with a working week of 35 to 40 hours. The study, conducted with the International Labour Organization (ILO), also showed almost three quarters of those that died as a result of working long hours were middle-aged or older men. Often, the deaths occurred much later in life, sometimes decades later, than the long hours were worked. Is this science? You know, people say “follow the science” but most people aren’t smart enough to understand science, let alone explain it to others. Lots of problems with this one, starting with the fact that “associated with” doesn’t imply cause and effect and doesn’t mean the same thing as “hard work is killing a specific number of people every year.” Were obesity… Read more →
HW’s Whiskey Reviews: Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye
I know it’s customary in talking about whiskey to talk about “notes” of vanilla, toffee, hammers, etc. But let me just say that I like my whiskeys the way I like my women: dark and rich. Rating: Read more →
Keys to Marital Longevity
Both partners should drink heavily and/or watch a lot of television. Get a dog. Read more →
Heaven’s Door
Did you know Bob Dylan has a line of American whiskeys? Merry Christmas to me! (From me.) Read more →
Hitmen Take Credit Cards?
Soda Sticker Shock in Seattle
Seattle is trying to discourage its citizens from drinking sugary beverages by imposing a 1.75-cent per ounce tax on all sugary drinks sold in the Emerald City. A $15.99 case of Gatorade at the Seattle Costco now has an added tax of more than $10. A case of Coke is now $7.35 more expensive than the Diet Coke or Coke Zero. Sticker shock! What will people drink instead of sugary beverages? Coffee. Seattle drinks a lot of coffee. Is coffee good for you? What if you put sugar in it? Beer. At these prices, it’s cheaper than soda. Diet soda. Are artificial sweeteners better for you than sugar? Fruit juice. Not taxed but contains a lot of sugar. Should there be a tax on all-you-can-eat buffets? How about a tax credit for eating a vegetable? Or maybe — just maybe — the tax code was not designed for and shouldn’t… Read more →
Camille Paglia on Hefner, Trump, Masculinity, Feminism, Etc.
The Hollywood Reporter has an interview with the always articulate and interesting Camille Paglia: Before the election, I kept pointing out that the mainstream media based in Manhattan, particularly The New York Times, was hopelessly off in the way it was simplistically viewing Trump as a classic troglodyte misogynist. I certainly saw in Trump the entire Playboy aesthetic, including the glitzy world of casinos and beauty pageants. It’s a long passé world of confident male privilege that preceded the birth of second-wave feminism. There is no doubt that Trump strongly identified with it as he was growing up. It seems to be truly his worldview. But it is categorically not a world of unwilling women. Nor is it driven by masculine abuse. It’s a world of show girls, of flamboyant femaleness, a certain kind of strutting style that has its own intoxicating sexual allure — which most young people attending… Read more →
Give Me a Flaming Russian
If you listen closely, you can hear “Great Balls of Fire” playing on the jukebox. (Kidding, there’s no sound.) Read more →
EppsNet Restaurant Reviews: Don Pisto’s
Our son and his girlfriend took us to a Mexican restaurant in North Beach for Sunday brunch. Later, at the airport, when I couldn’t remember the name of the place, I googled “san francisco mexican brunch” and it came back as the first result. Don Pisto’s is (according to Google) synonymous with Mexican brunch in SF. I can recommend the huevos rancheros, breakfast burrito and the pork tamale and eggs. I also had a margarita. Maybe because I ordered it at the bar and it was poured right in front of me, but there was mucho tequila in the margarita. I don’t always drink margaritas, but when I do, I often order a second one. That option was not even on the table on this occasion. Rating: Read more →
It’s National Margarita Day!
My margarita just saw its own shadow. You know what that means? Six more margaritas! Olé! Fiesta! It's Monday, so you probably don't need an excuse to lift a celebratory margarita. But in case you do, here it is. Posted by Los Angeles Times on Monday, February 22, 2016 Read more →
Lose the Pastels and the Mopey Attitude
Americans love gay people. Since this photo has been posted, it has 60,000 shares, 60,000 comments (including presidential candidates) and 640,000 (that’s six hundred and forty thousand) likes. In the short time since the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling there’s been a national competition to see who can demonstrate the most elation about it. (OK, if you’re gay, a few bad apples will dislike you based on that alone but that’s true if you’re identifiable as a member of any group, which we all are.) I’m afraid about the future. I’m afraid people won’t like me. Leave out the part about being homosexual and you could post a picture of anyone. The percentage of Americans who can’t get through the day without medication — I’m including self-medication via alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, food, etc. — is a lot closer to 100 than it is to zero. Nobody’s life is a fairy… Read more →
The Perfect Summer Beverage
What’s better on a hot day than ice-cold lemonade? Rum and coke? Yes, but I can’t drink that at work. I need to start working from home in the summer months . . . Read more →
The NFL Doesn’t Condone Alcohol Abuse?
Kudos 2 @nflcommish for continiung his firm stance that the NFL does not condone alcohol abuse pic.twitter.com/WEbpJiJ1H3 — PFTCommenter (@PFTCommenter) January 25, 2015 Read more →
Ovid Had Some Off Days
Ovid had some off days: "There is more refreshment and stimulation in a nap, even of the briefest, than in all the alcohol ever distilled." — Broethius (@Broethius) December 30, 2014 Read more →
Academically Speaking, I’ve Still Got the Geedus
I took a Computational Finance midterm over the weekend on Coursera. I’ve taken a few Coursera classes before — they had quizzes, problem sets, programming assignments, essays — but none of them had a midterm or final exam. It’s the first academic exam I’ve taken in at least a couple of decades, and the first exam ever in which — because it was online — I was able to participate in the company of my life partner, Wild Turkey. Here’s my result: I lost the one point on this question right here: If you understand the question, it’s obvious which one of the four I missed, but it may not be obvious what the right answer is. It wasn’t to me, anyway. My wife asks, “Did you see the grading curve?” “No, but when you score 149 out of 150, you leave it to others to worry about the curve.” Read more →
What Happened in Vegas: Hollywood Theater
We spent a few days in Las Vegas over the holidays. Of course what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but I will go so far as to say that we saw a magic show at the MGM Grand Hollywood Theater featuring a performer whose name — I will say this much — is the same as a Charles Dickens character. I expected him to be self-absorbed and boring but he was actually unassuming and funny. Good show. The Hollywood Theater will sell you a tropical drink, like a daiquiri or a pina colada, in one of these silver chalices for $19 and you can take it home with you. Non-alcoholic drinks are also available and with the non-alcoholic drinks, they throw in a package of M&Ms or a bag of kettle chips. Alcohol or M&Ms, take your pick. I love my chalice. I have it at home with me… Read more →
Modern Baptists
Mr. Pickens knew that once he got his preaching diploma, he would open a church for modern Baptists, Baptists who were sick to death of hell and sin being stuffed down their gullets every Sunday. There wasn’t going to be any of that old-fashioned ranting and raving in Mr. Pickens’s church. His Baptist church would be guided by reason and logic. Everyone could drink in moderation. Everyone could dance and pet as long as they were fifteen—well, maybe sixteen or seventeen. At thirty, if you still weren’t married, you could sleep with someone, and it wouldn’t be a sin—that is, as long as you loved that person. If you hit forty and were still single, you’d be eligible for adultery not being a sin, as long as no children’s feelings got hurt and it was kept very discreet. But you still had to love and respect the person; you couldn’t… Read more →