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Friday, August 29, 2014

A NEW STUDY SAYS WOMEN DON'T LIKE YOUR BEARD AS MUCH AS YOU DO

(esquire.com)Perhaps we really have reached peak beard, just as scientists predicted. A new eBay Fashion survey of 1,000 people seems to indicate so. And as the scientists said, it might be because women just don't like your beard as much as you do. If that's the case, what's the point then, fellas? You didn't nurture your luxurious beard so you could stroke it while you sit around in your stinky sweatpants playing StarCraft, did you? No, I thought not. You did it to get chicks, and with only 55% of surveyed women saying they like beards, that prospect is diminishing by the second. But don't worry, dudes like them. A full 75% of men are backing them, which is great news if you want to just hang out with your friends playing hacky sack all day like a dirty high school hippy. Have fun.

And that's not the least of it. Nearly 52% of women wish there were fewer beards out there, which seems to indicate that some of the women who claim to be able to tolerate your glorious man-mane still wish there weren't quite as many of them out there in the world. Yikes.

And the survey says this all might be having an effect on the popularity of beards, at least on the Internet. Google searches for beards increased between 2011 and 2013, but took a nosedive in 2014, indicating that the early adopters are done with whiskers and that even the late comers know enough about them now that they don't have to search any longer. Probably because they're staring down at their very own crumb crusted face-nest as they silently weep after their girlfriend left them for a clean shaven used-car salesman that looks just like the Patrick Bateman of Scranton. Fare thee well beards, you sure were fuzzy.

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Saturday, August 23, 2014

Alcohol is still the deadliest drug in the United States, and it’s not even close

Unknown di 9:12 PM No comments:

This is more likely to lead to violence.

Which intoxicating substance is associated with the most lethal violence? Devotees of the Wire might presume that cocaine or maybe heroin would top the list, especially if you asked the worst causes of violence in poor, minority communities.

The correct answer, by far, is alcohol. It’s involved in more homicides than pretty much every other substance, combined. Alcohol’s relative importance has grown over the last fifteen years, as aging populations of cocaine users account for a declining proportion of violent crime. Here in Chicago, positive cocaine screens in the Cook County Jail are down by about half when compared with ten or twenty years ago. The same is true in many other cities.

Surveys of people incarcerated for violent crimes indicate that about 40% had been drinking at the time they committed these offenses. Among those who had been drinking, average blood-alcohol levels were estimated to exceed three times the legal limit. Drinking is especially common among perpetrators of specific crimes, including murder, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.

Correlation does not equal causation, of course. If offenders all stopped drinking, we wouldn’t see a 100-percent reduction in their crimes. Yet alcohol does play a distinctive role. It lowers inhibitions and, among some people, fosters aggressive behavior that ratchets up the risk that violence will somehow occur. In my own career as a public health researcher, I’ve come into close contact with many intoxicated heroin and marijuana users. In these moments, I’ve never had reason to feel that my safety was at risk. I have been present for some scary incidents. Almost every time, alcohol was in the mix, often as things were getting a little late in a tough neighborhood near a liquor store.

Aside from its role among perpetrators of violence, alcohol use is widespread among victims, too. If alcohol makes you more likely to be a perpetrator of violence, almost by definition it makes you more likely to be a victim in the same incident. Downing some liquid courage may impair your judgment, which makes you a little less wary or a little more vulnerable in obvious ways. It may narrow your options and thus create other risks, too. You’re less likely to leave that cutting remark unanswered. If you’re unfit to drive, you’re more willing to accept that ride home from a helpful stranger.

Recent data from the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System (IVDRS) bear out these trends. At my request, researchers at the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute analyzed 3,016 homicides occurring in five Illinois counties between 2005 and 2009.

(Thanks to Tracie Smith, Suzanne McLone, Maryann Mason, and Rebecca Levin and the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, for providing these IVDRS results. Such epidemiological data are essential for evidence-informed violence prevention policy.)

Many of the IVRDS findings are depressingly familiar to anyone who reads a newspaper. Two-thirds of the victims were African-American; only 11% were non-Hispanic white. Eighty-six percent were men. Seventy-seven percent were victims of gun violence.

Almost 40% of the homicide victims tested had some blood alcohol in their systems when they were killed. These data do not indicate actual blood-alcohol levels. Our previous work indicates that many homicide victims have alcohol in their systems above the legal limits for driving.

Other intoxicating substances were far less prevalent. About 10% of homicide victims had cocaine in their systems. (And roughly half of this group had also been drinking.) Opiates, in contrast, were only present in about 3% of homicide victims and appears to be a very small part of the story.

Disparities by age are especially pronounced. Homicides among adolescents and young adults are a special problem in Chicago.

Alcohol is the only substance that frequently appears among young homicide victims. Cocaine (and, to a lesser extent, heroin) is a much more important part of the story among victims age 35 or older.

IVDRS researchers report other interesting patterns, too. Alcohol is a more important part of the story for intimate-partner and friend homicides than it is for stranger- and for gang-related homicides. Alcohol is more likely to be found among victims killed with sharp instruments or hand-to-hand than those killed with firearms. Whatever the method or circumstance, alcohol is almost always an important part of the story.

What to do?

Many different kinds of data could be added to underscore the obvious: Alcohol misuse is a core part of our violence problem. Alcohol misuse is a multi-faceted challenge, especially when alcohol is so deeply embedded within American life. No one policy can adequately address these broad problems. No one wants to prohibit alcohol, either. Prohibition is contrary to our national traditions and values. Fortunately, much can be done short of that.

Efforts such as South Dakota’s 24/7 sobriety program indicate that more careful monitoring of individuals who have committed alcohol-related offenses can reduce recidivism without imposing draconian penalties. Specific measures to support, deter, and monitor alcohol-involved offenders remain a special area of research and policy interest.

Treatment matters, too. In 2011, about four million Americans were both uninsured and satisfied criteria for alcohol disorders. Many have other characteristics that place them at especially high risk to become victims or perpetrators of violent crimes. The Affordable Care Act, the greatest expansion of alcohol treatment resources in American history, should improve treatment access to many within this group. ACA’s Medicaid expansion is particularly important for this group. Implementing strong service linkages with correctional and mental health care will be particularly important for violence prevention in this group. ACA provides the financial foundation. The practical nuts-and-bolts will matter greatly.

Aside from expanding access to conventional treatments, ACA provides funds for screening and brief interventions for problem drinkers who present in emergency departments and other medical settings. It also seeks to strengthen links between substance abuse treatment services and primary care. These unglamorous components of health reform are especially important given evidence that the dominant majority of problem drinkers will never access the specialty addiction treatment system.

No ordinary commodity

Perhaps the single most important measure would be to increase alcohol excise taxes, which have badly eroded with inflation. Duke University’s Philip Cook has estimated that the 1991 federal excise tax increase saved 7,000 lives just in its first year. Cook reports that increases in state alcohol taxes would appreciably reduce accident and injury fatalities, as well as deaths from liver disease.

We might also revisit some of the unfortunate ways alcohol permeates our popular culture, too. The push to sell beer at this year’s FIFA World Cup games rightly attracted criticism. Alcohol-related sponsorships of sporting and cultural events have also attracted controversy in several countries. Beer companies routinely sponsor ultimate fighting, boxing, and other combat sports, creating a particularly unfortunate resonance with alcohol’s role in promoting violence.

Maybe our first step is to recognize that we indeed have a national alcohol problem. In the words of a famous treatise in this area, alcohol is no ordinary commodity.

I sometimes hear people say that we should legalize and regulate marijuana the way we’ve handled alcohol. I certainly hope we do better.

By Harold Pollack August 19

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Friday, August 22, 2014

10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD DO WITH BEER

Unknown di 10:31 PM No comments:

That IPA is good for a lot more than drinking. Though, maybe you should use the leftover Hamm’s for some of these.

GET BETTER SLEEP

Hops can work as an herbal replacement for sleeping pills. If you find yourself having trouble getting to sleep, try washing your pillow cases with a few spoonfuls of a hoppy IPA mixed in with the water. The hoppy scent will help you drift off into dreamland better than counting sheep ever could.
CLEAN COPPER AND CAST IRON

Beer can clean everything from battered coins to your favorite pot. Soak your copper item in beer for 5 to 10 minutes and then use a soft cloth to buff the surface and remove stains. It really is that easy.
RELAX YOUR TIRED FEET

Try soaking your feet in beer after a long day at the office. The enzymes in beer can soften calluses on your tootsies. Fill a container with enough warm water to cover your ankles and then add half a bottle of beer to the mix. Kick back, relax, and let the brew perform its magic.
POLISH FURNITURE

Find a can of half-empty beer you forgot to finish last night? It could make a decent furniture polish. Put a little flat beer on a soft cloth and then rub it into your wooden coffee table. Much like with a traditional polish, you’ll end up with a shiner and more richly colored table.
SEASON FOOD

By now you may have tried your hand at dishes like beer-battered chicken. But don’t stop there. Your favorite brew can be used as a substitute for water in thousands of recipes. Next time you go to cook rice, consider replacing the water in the equation to get a whole new flavor from the basic food. Beer can also be used to steam seafood, in sauces and breads, and even to give your morning pancakes an extra kick. Beer can chicken, too.
BREAK UP RUST

Having trouble removing a rusty screw? The carbonation in your favorite beer can help break down rust. Pour a little bit over the screw, wait 15 seconds or so, and then give that unhelpful hardware another try.
REMOVE STAINS

Got a stain on the carpet? Beer can be a quick replacement for carpet cleaner in a pinch. Pour a little brew on the stain, let it soak in, and then blot the stain with a clean cloth. Once you’ve removed the stain, you’ll need to use soap and water to remove the beer from your carpet.

Much like any other cleaner, be sure to give the beer a test drive on a hidden piece of carpet to make sure it works and doesn’t leave behind any ugly marks before pouring it all over that spot in front of your TV.
GIVE YOUR HAIR A PICK-ME-UP

If you’re suffering from dull, dry hair, beer can give your locks a new lease on life. Create your own beer shampoo by first boiling a cup or two of your favorite ale on the stove. Keep the brew cooking on medium until only about 25 percent of it is left (at this point you’ve cooked off all the alcohol). Allow it to cool, and then mix your reduced beer with shampoo until you get as much liquid as you started with. Together their forces will rejuvenate your hair and have you geared up for happy hour.

If DIY isn’t quite your thing, you can also buy a variety of beer shampoos for the same experience.
TRAP UNWANTED PESTS

It turns out cheese isn’t the only snack mice can’t resist. Create your own mouse trap by pouring a little beer in a tall bucket. Build a ramp on the side so mice can get in. They will be attracted to the suds and will come in and drink but won’t be able to get back out.
PROTECT YOUR LAWN

Beer can also be used to remove slugs from your garden. Pour a few inches in a plastic Tupperware container and put it out at night where you typically see the slimy pests. They’ll climb in overnight for a drink and get stuck inside.

http://www.esquire.com/
By Emily Price on August 21, 2014
Originally published by Popular Mechanics

US OPEN FASHION GUIDE, ON THE COURT AND OFF

Unknown di 10:23 PM No comments:

http://www.esquire.com/ By John Hendrickson on August 20, 2014

Clockwise from top left: Classic 4" match short ($30.75) by Boast, boastusa.com; 3-stripes trefoil track pants ($55) by adidas, adidas.com; Argyle track jacket ($90) by adidas, adidas.com; US Open "RLX" polo ($98) by Ralph Lauren, ralphlauren.com.

Tennis, anyone?

The 134th edition of the US Open kicks off next week in Flushing, Queens. It's a short subway ride from Manhattan, and it's one of the more stylish sporting events that graces New York City. The annual tournament marks the near-end of summer, which makes this a perfect time for players and spectators alike to take stock of summer whites before fall. Here's an array of tennis apparel inspired by the sport's fashion heyday: the 1980s.

Tennis fashion, in a greater sense, has always been inspirational—iconic men like Fred Perry and Rene Lacoste were professional tennis players before they were fashion magnates. The classic Adidas Stan Smith tennis shoe is having a moment right now(really, it has yet to go out of style since the line debuted in 1971), and so are classic nylon gym bags like the Pilot Barrel Duffle from Jack Spade (below).

All of these items will work whether you're on the court or watching from the grandstands. Or, more likely, a bar.

Clockwise from top left: Tortoiseshell Wayfarers ($140.62) by Ray Ban, farfetch.com; Performance leaf logo baseball hat ($28) by Boast, boastusa.com; Pilot nylon barrel duffle ($298) by Jack Spade, jackspade.com; Roller crew socks ($8) by adidas, adidas.com; US Open logo wristband ($5) by Wilson, wilson.com; Classic III wooden fiberglass composite ($59.99) by Davis, ebay.com; Stan Smith shoes ($75) by adidas, adidas.com.

And, in case you need a refresher before the tournament gets underway, check out this helpful infographic from the fine folks at Boast to remind yourself of how the damn game is actually played.

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A NEW STUDY SAYS WOMEN DON'T LIKE YOUR BEARD AS MUCH AS YOU DO

Alcohol is still the deadliest drug in the United States, and it’s not even close

10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD DO WITH BEER

US OPEN FASHION GUIDE, ON THE COURT AND OFF