OnceDear's Blog

You got lucky with Wiz saying ok to .5% alcohol beer. I would have said no. What If you drink 10 beers in a day? That's like having a full regular beer,

Wizard said OK to '<0.05%' which is what our authorities permit to be called 'Alcohol free' Not '<0.5%'

There are four types; alcohol-free, de-alcoholised, low-alcohol and alcoholic beer.

These are defined by:

Alcohol-free beer = no more than 0.05% ABV

De-alcoholised beer = no more than 0.5% ABV

Low-alcohol beer = no more than 1.2% ABV

Alcoholic beer = contains more than 1.2% ABV

My bad. I mis-resd your percentage.

Stocked up on some supplies for the challenge $:o)



How did that get there?

But seriously, the whiskey miniature is for toasting in the new year and will be my last till April.

Extra practice dry day today: I've had a hot chocolate and will be going to bed early.

no buttermilk? I give you my secret weapon and you aren't going to use it?

Buttermilk!

It's not in my regular diet so I don't know if I'll like it and I can't say I've ever noticed it in the store.

In deference to your recommendation, I'll seek some out next time I go shopping.



Cheers.

warning: buttermilk is no less a matter of 'acquired taste' than whiskey is.



but you will agree there is no mixing the two

Though my challenge does not kick in for another 26 hours*, today I had no alcohol. Yesterday I had 1/2 a pint of beer, as I was cooking with beer.



Nightcaps of Hot Chocolate both nights.



Certainly no struggle yet



*00:05 UTC 1 Jan

Tomorrow, I'll be starting a 40 (UK) pint batch of home brew. It will be just perfect to open in April.

I need to get a siphon pump for when I bottle it, as accidentally sucking some wort into my mouth would be unacceptable.

It's begun. Last JD glugged at 15 sec before midnight.

Please track your weight during your challenge as I would like to know what effect the challenge and your diet has.

Tracking my weight, indeed.

I'll restrict it to PM with a select few.

Have invited gwae to do likewise as he is giving up soda for the same duration.

An insight to the British tradition of 'Dry January'



https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/ee7aa735-492c-42da-9ff2-e46adebf7a9e

I'll be doing updates here, more or less weekly. Here's an interim one.

4 days in and no problems at all.

I've been doing my annual tax return, which is usually accompanied by a few relaxation drinks $:o) but even that got to me no worse than 'Hmm. A drink would be nice.'

Liking the hot chocolate but not getting much joy from the orange juice, which just doesn't 'touch the sides' Found myself a bit tired in the afternoon, possibly related to the hot chocolate.

I know it's early days, but I'm also trying to eat better ( in between Christmas chocolate) and I've lost about a pound per day even with that.

Update.



Still dry with no real problems.

Frequently felt 'Hmmm a drink would be nice now' but no insatiable urge. Been pacing around a little, but nothing new there.

A few restless nights where I've been kept awake by trivia from the day-time. Unsure if that not being able to 'switch off' was down to lack of a night-cap.

Weight down just 4 pounds from the start. Too soon to say how it will trend.



Feeling 75% confident of success.



Will probably update fortnightly from now on.

the lack of buttermilk vitamins to replace lost alcohol vitamins is going to doom you ... j.k.



but did you find that the UK is a buttermilk free zone? if so I would find it remarkable as it is used in cooking over here

I've still not seen buttermilk in our shops. Apparently available in small tubs as a cooking ingredient.



I looked it up



In the shops



If I see some, I'll buy some.

Quote: odiousgambit

warning: buttermilk is no less a matter of 'acquired taste' than whiskey is.

But you will agree there is no mixing the two.

I definitely would shoot myself if I had to limit myself to 30ml. I can hardly hold myself back to drink just a quart, or 946 ml. Maybe 30ml is for cooking.



You have to admit, once you've downed some buttermilk, there's no way you can drink booze.

Quote:

You have to admit, once you've downed some buttermilk, there's no way you can drink booze.

Status update:-

Yayyyyy. 25% of the way into the 91 day challenge and all is well.

The mild urges that I've had to imbibe JD at bedtime have subsided. If I get the urge, I just distract myself with some hot chocolate. Lunch time drinking with buddies, or drinking when out having a pub dinner is now simple substitution of beer with tonic water and blackcurrent. Tonic and black is more expensive than beer :o(

Weight loss has stalled, in fact reversed a little.

A quick shout out to GWAE: Congratulations on 25% into your no pop parallel challenge.

Today, I encounter the biggest temptation to date. Caught me a bit wrong-footed:-

Making a batch of my signature Bolognese. I needed to open a bottle of my Cabernet to add a glassful to the sauce. I am resisting and won't take a sip, but it's surprisingly alluring. The rest of the bottle will probably haunt me till April.

The weakening has begun. Excellent! 



j.k. 



sooner or later we have to discuss this idea of temporary abstinence. it is not embraced by everybody, that's for sure. Maybe in the US some of the resistance comes from our Prohibition history - these things can be wrong-minded

Hi ODG,

Photo now appended. I really did pour it all in the pan and moved the rest of the bottle out of sight. It was an odd and unexpected temptation. Maybe because I'd not thought of a strategy or substitute like I had for the JD and beer.

I've now got totally used to not having the nightcap with no withdrawal. Not drinking beer in the pub has been a cinche. Maybe if it were summer, I'd get tempted while gardening. It's said that it takes about a month to break a habit and I can see that is true. Until you try it, you can't see the subtle change and no amount of description will do it justice.



Onto the psychology of the Dry January type abstinence that many Brits practice:

Maybe it is subtle institutional propaganda from our nanny state, but I do find myself receptive to the idea. I suppose it's something like a Sabbatical: A pilgrimage, or a period of introspection. Some of my Christian, Hindu and Muslim friends practice such restrictions out of religious observance and maybe there has been a cultural injection from our colonial years and years of multiculturalism. Maybe I just have too much time on my hands and maybe it's a difference in lifestyle between your country and mine. We Brits/Europeans tend, I suspect, to be more receptive to the idea of introspection and even acceptance of our failings. Unlike some on this forum, I don't think i know it all. Unlike those others, I embrace the change and don't rebel against it.

If nothing else, I'm testing myself. Proving that I'm in control, while acknowledging that it takes conscious effort to stay there. It would be oh so easy to say "I don't need to prove I'm in control, because I just am"

Incidentally, to make this a bit more challenging, I've dropped one of the big barriers to my failure. It's a bit perverse, but it was set that if I failed, my first drink would see me throwing $150 to moderators' charities: An expensive price of failure. I've decided that I will pay those donations, win or lose. $:o)

And to those who laugh at my 'Problem'. Frankly their ignorance is their problem.

Some of the criticism of dry January goes beyond 'irritation at fads' and goes towards the 'more harm than good' health wise. I think more harm than good is possible for someone who really does have a drinking problem, as I think it is well established that abstinence , oddly, does little to nothing as far as reducing the physical dependence. In other words, a drinker picks up right where he left off in the addiction spectrum. You might assume that a guy who has trouble stopping once he has one drink would find this is 'cured' for him at least for a bit, with say dry January, till he builds it all back up again, but this just does not happen [though surely there is a small effect at first].



In the meantime almost every drinker is plotting a big celebration once he has achieved such a goal, which may contribute to the wrong-headed thinking that is half his problem to begin with. 



Since you know I drink, it may surprise you that I think everyone who really drinks, discounting the people who nurse a glass at odd times only, is somewhere on the spectrum. I believe someone who really drinks, drinks too much sometimes - or is not really a drinker but instead in the discounted category above. I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 years of 'real' drinking for myself, not quite 50 I guess, and have to say a period of abstinence just doesn't strike me as something constructive - my approach has been to intentionally practice various ways of moderation, and I am thankful for being able to do that. Some can't do this and do risk needing to quit completely. 



On the other hand, I applaud you for your efforts, and do concede there are arguments out there for what you are doing that have merit. Individuals differ.

an example of well thought out criticism different from mine:



http://theconversation.com/dry-january-a-convenient-distraction-for-the-alcohol-industry-106891

Hi ODG,

Thanks for showing the interest.

Quote: ODG

Since you know I drink, it may surprise you that I think everyone who really drinks, discounting the people who nurse a glass at odd times only, is somewhere on the spectrum. I believe someone who really drinks, drinks too much sometimes - or is not really a drinker but instead in the discounted category above. I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 years of 'real' drinking for myself, not quite 50 I guess, and have to say a period of abstinence just doesn't strike me as something constructive - my approach has been to intentionally practice various ways of moderation, and I am thankful for being able to do that. Some can't do this and do risk needing to quit completely.

Minor update.

This is day 45 of 90: I'm half way through my self imposed 3 month break from drinking.

I've not touched a drop. There's been very little urge to drink and I'm satisfied that I'll sail through the next 45 days.

Counting down is easier after this half way point. I'm looking forward to my next drink, but it won't automatically be at 00:05 on April 1st. I'm not spending the next 45 days wishing my life away.



Skipping the evening nightcap has led to an unexpected consequence: I've been going to bed much earlier, much more often, and getting up earlier. Night cap has been chocolate with full fat milk.



Weight is down about 5 pounds over the term. It was briefly down 7 pounds and never up above the initial weigh-in.



* And buttermilk still tastes like puke.

Congratulations on 45 days!

Yayyyyy. Two months completed out of three.

Still haven't touched a drop, and to be honest I'm not missing it any more. Feeling a bit more healthy and sleeping better and often earlier.

Have eaten smaller meals, about 1,200 kCals per day, for all of the past week and I'm now 7 pounds down for the YTD.

Still have that open bottle of red wine, left over from the ragu. Looking forward to a taste of that in April.

Also, just started to make a batch of Home Brew ale. That will be just ready to drink by then, but 40 pints should last a while.

congratulations! and regarding your homebrew ambitions, a sentiment for you that I have set to go at just the right time:



https://youtu.be/Tm-e-LfrU7g?t=3293

LOL. Where did you dig that up?

> LOL. Where did you dig that up?



that's a favorite in certain homebrewing circles



as you know, I make homebrew, and when I first started it didn't take me long to realize what I could imitate well was not American lagers but English ales - and my tastes in beer changed accordingly. I too celebrate that style!

Hello, I have such a question, can a withdrawal from a casino be the same as with this

[edit: Link redacted] ?

Update.



It's now day 80 of my 91 day challenge and in spite of some serious stress (Bloody Covid19), I'm still dry. I suspect that if I hadn't started this challenge, my alcohol consumption might have increased significantly. Wary not to let that happen, come April.

Spent the last 4 days 'Social distancing' as advised by the UK government. That comprises only infrequent short visits to the stores for essential supplies, and apart from that, I'm socially isolated along with Wife and an elderly family member. We can go for short walks together or apart, but the weather hasn't been great so it's virtual bug-in.

Stocks of drinking chocolate are depleted and Milk is mostly sold out in the nearest stores.

So my nightly hot choc night-cap has had to be restricted. Tonight's hot choc was made with water and was god-awful.

Can't get in a 'big monthly grocery shop' because of shortages, which means I have to trek from store to store getting what I can, when I can. Stores are rationing most things and completely out of many things. Chicken not available anywhere. Ground beef rare as hens teeth.

Spent today racking and making more beer and will have about 120 bottles ready soon. Looking forward to tasting some.

Pubs, restaurants and the gym are closed from tonight onwards.

take heart, most people pass over the ample supply of buttermilk!

Here in the UK, it's now April and I have completed my three months of abstinence. Yayyyyy.

When I started this, I'd never imagined that I would end it confined to my own home for the forseeable future. So, no going to the pub for a celebration meal and drink.

In deference to this forum, I won't take that first drink until the forum also reaches April in the Pacific Time Zone.

And it is DONE!

Three months without so much as a taste of alcohol. I wasn't confident at the outset, but with the support of members here, I got more and more confidence and less and less inclined to drink. So much so that I nullified one of my incentives in that I'm going to pay out on my side wagers with Wizard and BeachBumBabs to support their charities. But I'm now calling on them to support mine:Shelter UK

It's been pretty stressful this last month with the COVID situation and now I'm required to stay home isolated for at least 3 months. I sure know how long three months feels!

Take care folks.

>100% deposit match promo



goes to show that +EV moves are still 'gambling' as the chance for failure did loom



>I just have to hope that the funds arrive some time in the next week or so



that's the part I can not accept. I'm still a hold-out when it comes to online gambling

Thanks ODG,

I was unreasonably reckless at the start of play. I COULD have met the wagering requirements with negligible risk and virtually guaranteed a modest profit ( subject to them letting me get away with stuff ) but instead I threw down some big wagers to try to save time and be greedy* and just ran bad for a what was only a few minutes. I cursed myself as I went to bed having thrown away my advantage.

To be left with a big wagering requirement just to get my own money back was a dumb position to put myself in and I knew it.

On the next morning, I played pretty minimalist and had a long session of steady good fortune. To cash out at all was very lucky, but to cash out a big profit was icing on the cake. There is a bit more to this, which I'll share by PM.

You are not wrong to be wary of gambling online, but it's a case of estimating and mitigating the risks of default.

Well, I'd rather expected that the online casino MIGHT cry 'bonus abuse' and withhold my money.



But no. The profit from my Black Friday adventure just hit my bank account.



NICE!

its ok

Hmmmmmfffff.

Rang Paypal. Advisor said that there is no problem with my account and no log of an incoming transaction having been attempted or being rejected. I'm inclined to believe them and suspect he problem was at the casino. sending end, of the transaction. Have attempted to withdraw similar amount, spread over 2 smaller transactions. They are currently marked as pending and should arrive by tomorrow, on past form. Just in case PayPal are going to start messing me about, have pulled all my cash credit from there.



Meanwhile... caning the free play that the casino are falling over themselves to give me lately.

It really irks me when companies pull the "blame the other guy" routine. When that happens I do a three way (not the good kind) and make them talk to get me a resolution. Hope you get your cash.

Quote: VCUSkyhawk

It really irks me when companies pull the "blame the other guy" routine.

Funds came through OK on the retry.

So I accept that this was a transient system fault. I do think it was at the casino end and I was disappointed that they tried to blame PayPal.

Forgiven this time.

another online gambling story to horrify me - and this in the [comparatively speaking] paradise for gambling of the UK



I think this sort of thing bothers me more than the average guy



how does one go about laundering money this way anyway? I mean really. Usually today it involves having cash earned illegally on hand and you need to make it look legitimate. Seems to me Paypal would be getting the money after it was already laundered, unavoidably so, or what am I missing?

This was just a glitch in a £600 withdrawal. My take-away lesson is to only maintain a modest balance and not the rent money. It hasn't put me off the gaf or off online gambling in general.



Money laundering regs are a bit absurd. Basically the government insisting that there is always a 'know your customer' obligation for transactions over a few £K Having the ability to pretty much anonymously move funds from person a to person b with no audit trail seems to be what the Gov are concerned about. It's all pretty dumb and 'big brother ish' if you ask me.

I don't know if it was the casino blaming PayPal. It was probably the casino clerk simply blaming the outsider since otherwise he might have to actually figure out what was wrong and perhaps even rectify it himself.



I would never process transactions in the same amount, only similar amounts but never the same. You want to be able to differentiate transactions without worrying about the time of the transaction. So if someone puts 100 into my paypal account, I will withdraw 102 or the like.



Recently, everything got screwed up for me with my bank and Amazon.

I noticed that my bank account was processing this weird amount relating to an Amazon charge. What struck me as significant was not just that I didn't recognize the amount as a recent purchase but that the bank indicated the transaction was "processing" for hours and hours and hours. This meant that I could make no electronic inquiries about it during that time. After twenty or thirty cell phone minutes were wasted, I finally told the fraud division at the bank to cancel the transaction that had been "processing" for about twelve hours.



It turns out that it was my Amazon annual charge and they had failed to email me a reminder that it would be going thru my account as they would normally do three days before bank submittal. So now I can't watch Amazon videos, order from Amazon Prime or Amazon, see my orders list, or do anything.



I should have just let the darn thing be "processing" as long as the bank wanted to process it.

>Am I forgiven for only blogging my good sessions?



yes



and shame on me. I'm sure it is pure envy as my lifetime losses are in the negative column. Not too bad though, my main problem is I tip [see how the need to defend oneself pops up!] I've been think ing about blogging about my lifetime results. But it's harder when it is overall negative vis a vis your lifetime 'still up'



there I go again!

i started keeping track of my wins and loses (poker, vp, craps) for the past 4 years.

went up to +$17k then tumbled down to +$5k, then last year hit $10k worth of w2-g in $1 vp in 1 day!

im now at +$18k.

The great thing that I remain conscious of is that this entire bankroll started out at £100 buy in and I've had 4 1/2 years fun with it and I'm not done yet. I did once say that I'd quit completely if it went this bad, so I won't predict what I do when it's completely depleted. Probably lob in a fresh 10k.



LOL @ w2gs. We don't have to worry about tax on winnings here. It would be a b1tch to calculate and pay tax on each upswing and not get to reclaim it.

What game do you normally play?

Online RNG Perfect Pairs blackjack with house edge 0.41%

>my suspicion that it's teasing me.



If I ever run into a game that teases me with money, I'd allow myself to be teased fairly indefinitely. In other words, if these places will 'let you win' at small bets but not at larger bets, haven't you cracked the secret? I understand playing all day just to make enough money to buy a small bag of peanuts would get old, but this seems to be more than that.

I've got to pull the data together to show what happened when I tried to plod on towards £100 and ended up losing the lot.

Will update the chart soon.

So... There was the reasonably successful freeroll. I'd turned £2 into £50 and took a pause,

Here's what happened next...



I thought I'd try to grind that £50 up to £100. Big silly mistake.Succesfully ground it up to £73...

... Then lost the bloody lot. Oh-hum: It was a freeroll to start with.



But what the heck: Buy in for £100 to see what I could do.

Lost the bloody lot.



Buy in for £200 to chase back that £100

Lost the bloody lot.



Buy in for £500 to chase back that £300

Nearly lost the bloody lot: Lost £200 of that buy in and started to feel depressed.



Clawed, Gnawed and Ground my way back to recover that £800 worth of buy in + £1.50 profit. Time to rest.

It was a doubled up £70 wager that turned me round at the low point

OK. We resume the story...

I find myself having an online balance of £801.50, having just bought in 3 times and damned near losing £800. But clawing back my buy in was no compensation for the original £50 that I'd lost

The universe owed me £50 and I was going to fight for it. That £800 was my ammunition. So, back to the game. And it very nearly went tit-sup again. Certainly became another exercise in chasing losses.

I managed to turn that £801.50 into a pathetic £178 before beating the universe into submission and grinding my way to £852.50

Don't try this at home. It's how dumb ass degenerate gamblers spend their time.

Note the classic 'ramp and plummet' pattern to the chart. It was a consequence of generally playing 5,10,15,20,25 progressive..

I try hard to not be cynical but in spite of it wind up being suspicious about how your sagas always get you back to even, but glad you did

Sorry for the cynicism. So by way of atonement,

Is this software supplied by the casino?

Quote: FleaStiff

Is this software supplied by the casino?