I have some questions.

I had been absent from the wine blogosphere through much of August and the first part of September. We moved and that always takes much of one’s time. Packing, unpacking, setting up the new place, finishing remodeling and dealing with plumbing emergencies leaves little time and energy for creative thinking or writing.

Each day went by in a flurry of work. Sweat and dust and new cuts and bruises marked the passing of time. The completion of yet another task marked progress. Somewhere in there, I had to do my day job (the one that actually results in a paycheck). I found that having a home office is fraught with some difficulties and can be scary when the network goes down.

At the end of each day, tired as I was, I would grind my teeth thinking about all the things I did not get to do and how much I was falling behind with my blog, web site and OWC commitments. I didn’t drink very much wine, either. Not even for the pleasure of it. I was just too damned tired. (more…)

Young adults and alcohol.

There has been much discussion lately about lowering the legal drinking age. Tom Wark has argued strongly for lowering the legal drinking age in the past and has again spoken in support of the idea.

Lowering the legal drinking age will not do anything to reduce road fatalities and it will not make 18, 19 or 25 year-olds more responsible with alcohol. The parenting attitudes and practices of an entire country would need to change to affect a difference in the behaviors of 18-25 year-olds.

Not that it would be easy. And it would not happen overnight. Then, there is the fact that we are still dealing with individuals whose brain development is not always ready for truly adult decisions. (more…)