Happy New Year! Well.. its a bit late for that but then I have been hibernating - cannot say the same for the Bears in the Western world where hydrocarbon guzzlers have ensured that these poor creatures have been denied their beauty winter sleep! However that discussion is for another site I plan to set up.
This year I have been feeling fairly benign and feeling a bit charitable towards my fellow human beings (mostly women). Alcohol is the joy of parties (and blind dates) - not only does it alleviate the pain brought about by an overbearing lout (who insists on dispensing advice on "teraflops" just when the sumptuous blond is beginning to look interested!), it is extremely useful in finding oneself some some extremely attractive companionship (break the ice, increased tolerance of all kinds, and most importantly the beer bus). To qualify alcohol as a necessary evil is an understatement - it is the nectar of the ... well... most evenings. However, such strategies are fraught with untold perils (for those who havent been following this chain of though.. click here) - not only can it lead to ackward moments (recoil with horror the next morning having bedded ET - blame beer goggles ), it can lead to the second-biggest bane of the drinking classes - a hangover (Work being the ultimate curse of the drinking classes). How dose one prevent / cure a hangover? Well here are a few useful tips:

1. Dont drink (ha ha ha ha ha...)
2. Dont drink yourself silly (ROTFL - where is the pont in drinking responsibly! There is a good reason why a Booze company has that as a logo!!)
3. Drink a liter of water when you get home (Precludes when taking the Beer Cab)
4. Drink a liter of water after you get up (Precludes having taken the Beer Cab)
5. As suggested by a lunatic health reporter ... exercise, ostensibly to increase blood flow to the brain. Balancing while walking, running, pumping iron (or most likely stumbling) is optional!
   
6. Sleep it off - preferably after getting rid of ET
   
7. Coffee - avoidable, it will give you more acidity and deprive you of sleep, antacids will reduce acidity but do nothing about the headache, asprin will cure the headache but do nothing (at best) about the acidity... possible solution: all of the ......
8. Food! Preferably raw greens and fruit - cut into 1 cm cubes, sprinkled with "Chaat Masala" and red chilly powder (Hit your local "Indian" corner shop - easily available and great with or after booze).
9. Drink dilute sports drinks (read: not drinking as a sport)!
10. Official (Government) recommendation is Bullion soup to replace "lost potassium". The same site also states "....even if you feel good the morning after heavy drinking, your ability to perform at your best will be diminished due to the residual effects of alcohol". Really..and here I was considering a double trapeeze act early sunday morning.

Moral of the story: keep a bottle of water handy by the bedside (preferably replinished every few days - the green stuff cannot be good for you); Drinking is unavoidable (why you would want to avoid it is another story); and dont believe the government when it comes to drinking (or anything else for that matter!).

Cheers all! I am off for my evening tipple...