Thursday, July 28, 2011

For That Deep Down Body Thirst


A recent Spanish study takes the whole "Great Taste, Less Filling" debate in a whole new direction.

From WTAM 1100 in Cleveland:
Researchers at Granada University in Spain said drinking beer after strenuous physical activity can be beneficial for the body.

The scientists said their study found beer can help dehydrated people retain liquid better than water alone, The Telegraph, a Biritsh newspaper, reported Friday.

Professor Manuel Garzon, who led the study, said the bubbles in beer can help quench thirst and the carbohydrates in the beverage can help make up for burned calories.

The study involved a group of students asked to perform strenuous activities at a temperature of about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Half of the students were given a pint of beer after their exercise and half were given a pint of water. Garzon said the hydration affect on the beer drinkers was "slightly better" than the sober group.

Juan Antonio Corbalan, a cardiologist who has worked with Real Madrid football players and Spain's national basketball team, told The Telegraph he has long recommended beer to professional sportsmen after exhausting activities, as the drink is optimal for rehydrating the body.
I wish this news had broken 15 years ago. It would've made three-a-days at football camp a lot more interesting.

My friend Deirdre with the find.

Charge It to the Game

How do Stanley Cup champions get down? They go to a major casino and buy out the bar, of course. TD just sent me the picture below, which is purportedly the final tab rung up by the Boston Bruins after a night of partying at Shrine, a gourmet restaurant inside the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.

Shit. Got. Real.


Note the $100,000 bottle of Ace of Spades Midas located near the bottom of the receipt. I'm a diehard Penguins fan, but now I'm starting to like these Boston boys a little more...

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Living the High Life No More


If you live in Minnesota and are a fan of Miller Lite or other Miller products, stop reading now and get to the store now to stock up. Seriously, go NOW. You can read about why when you come back home.

From CNNMoney.com:
The MillerCoors brewing company will soon be forced to pull 39 brands of beers from every restaurant, bar and liquor store in the state of Minnesota.

It's all because the company wasn't able to renew their brand label registration far enough in advance before the state's government shut down.

"What that means is they're not able to either distribute or sell their product in this state," said Doug Neville, spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

When Andrew Oliver of Minneapolis heard the news, he headed over to Surdyk's Liquor to stock up on Miller Lite, his wife's favorite beer.

"We just had a kid, so she's looking forward to Miller Lite."
No longer found in Minnesota flavor.
It's well-documented that Miller Lite is my go-to when relaxing on a budget. And since I'll be in Minneapolis (and likely still broke as a joke) in October, I'm not too happy to be hearing this news. Drinking Bud Light makes me feel kind of like a traitor. I'm guessing it's something similar to how a Dale Jr. fan feels when forced to get behind the wheel of a Ford. But Coors Lite is basically pond water in a can, so...

Maybe I can convince a manager to buy me something from the adults' menu.

The 5 Levels of Drinking

Larry Miller with his classic analysis of a night out at the bar.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Scoping the Scene

This could be bigger than "Angry Birds".

From The Huffington Post:
With its reliance on facial detection software and discreet cameras keeping a watchful eye on the front door of various nightlife hotspots, SceneTap is sure to be an app that raises more than a few eyebrows when it launches in some 50 Chicago bars next weekend.

As Forbes reported, the app will provide its users with statistics on how many individuals are at nearby participating nightspots at any given time, in addition to some basic demographics on who is there, including age and gender, picking up where other popular apps like Foursquare left off. The software reportedly scans a person's face, eyes, nose and general facial structure in order to determine sex and age -- and has a success rate of 85 percent in determining gender and 80 percent in determining age within a six-year range, according to FastCompany.com.
This application's potential for bargoers is astronomical. It's always disappointing to get to the bar and find out that it's dead that night. Or to find out it's a veritable sausagefest. For the bars themselves, though, this could potentially become a problematic Catch-22.

If your bar is experiencing a slow start to the night, the situation normally corrects itself. A few people come in, then a few more, then a few more. There's a snowball-effect to gathering a crowd; seeing other people in an establishment can often lead to others choosing to come in as well. Human beings have a tendency to act like lemmings, and this is something that businesses—and marketing firms—have been feasting off of for centuries (in fact, the very creation of SceneTap is a testament to this principle of human nature). But if potential lemmingscustomers check ahead of time and find out that very few other people are there, then you've likely eliminated the very catalyst that helps a crowd grow.

There's also another way this hurts bars: It makes it convenient for people to go somewhere else. If you've just driven a half hour to pick up your friends, get to the bar, and find a parking spot, and then you walk inside to find a disappointing turnout, the cumulative effort it would take to choose another establishment and then get your group to it is often enough to dissuade you from doing so. Call it the "Fuck it, we're here" effect. You may be turned off by the lack of a crowd, but at the very least you and your friends are likely to have a drink while deciding whether to tough it out or find greener pastures. Sometimes one drink will turn into two, and two into three. And while all of that is going on, the aforementioned hearding mentality is taking place among the other people arriving at the bar. But if your phone tells you that no one's at the bar before you even leave your house, then how much more effort does it take for you to change your plans and go elsewhere? And when everyone else is doing the same, the bar with the low initial turnout is doomed.

With all of that being said, if they start running this service in Pittsburgh (or if I find myself in another city where SceneTap is active), I'll probably use it. As a bar patron, the advantages are just too valuable. But if I was a bar owner, I would definitely be wary of a SceneTap future, and what it will mean to the way I do business.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Gear Up

From Two In The Shirt (click here to purchase); I think I just found something to rock at the next cookout this summer.

Wifey Material: Hunter Moore

This Australian model-&-Moore knows how to pregame.

From Twitter:
My early morning pre party cocktail in the bath ;-)