On Sat, 19 Nov 2011, Yaron wrote: > The only way I can even begin to describe the perspective I have on this > is imagine you used a very uncommon operating system, and everyone else > used Windows, and people would all get together and talk about Windows > all day and you just couldn't understand why people were even doing that > to themselves. None of us has to imagine the world we already live in. I'm glad I don't live in a world where people around me are always talking about drinking. One thing we know from research on alcohol consumption is that in the USA, people in their early 20s drink a lot more than at other times of life. This is associated with college, but I also think it is part of the mating behavior of Americans these days. But when someone says "have a beer" I don't think they mean we should get drunk or necessarily even drink a beer. It's more about getting together and talking. If you don't want the beer, just say yes to the "have a beer" invitation and then order something else. Mike