Nice music reference. The “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends” sequence was the ring tone for my father in the last ten years of his life.
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I’m in again. I topped off my tank last night watching football. Also dieting again unfortunately.
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Nothing new
I’m in for season #3…nary a sweat. Carry on, one and all…
One tip I used last year for dinners/events - as per many in wine country, I discretely spit if I’m tasting something special or want to assess a food/wine match.
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I am in for the first time! The amount of wine, meat, gravy and sweets got a bit extreme during december 
.
So no wine and no sweets in January. I think I eat pretty healthy normally, so no change there.
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Indeed!!!
(for some of us the excess started in late november)
Cheers 
A Christmas photo with my son was far more humiliating than my lying mirror. I am going to try intermittent fasting (eating fewer hours each day) and cut wine down by 25%. This is now called Damp January. If all goes as hoped, I might push beyond January and make it more of a norm.
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I feel ya! Visited my parents in Florida over the holiday break. Their dining room table faces a mirror and I had to look at myself while eating breakfast each morning. 
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I got lazy last night and did not post.
Day 2 was a piece of cake. Lots of activity during the day with my brother in-law’s family heading to the airport. (He lives in San Clemente; I should hook him up with some of you OC Berserkers.) My wife’s folks headed back to Fargo today.
A little more about ELP. Brain Salad Surgery was their 4th studio album, an important number for a lot of bands of that era. Back in the day, record companies made multi-album deals. For some bands, the 4th album was the one that finally broke through. For others, it was a career-defining moment. (For lots of others, it was the kiss of death.)
Here are a few 4th studio albums:
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Rush - 2112. Rush decided to go down swinging. The label was demanding a single; Rush emerged with the sidelong title suite and the rest is history.
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Queen - A Night at the Opera. Their previous album, Sheer Heart Attack, got folks to take notice. Bohemian Rhapsody, the first single from A Night at the Opera, was an all time mic drop, a “single” that was twice as long as anything else on the airwaves.
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Kansas - Leftoverture. Lead singer Steve Walsh had a case of writer’s block. Guitarist Kerry Livgren was under immense pressure to come up with most of the material, and he delivered. Livgren presented Carry On Wayward Son to the band after the band had completed rehearsals and were heading to the studio. It is still a classic rock staple.
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Genesis - Foxtrot. The apocalyptic Supper’s Ready became an all-time longform prog opus, and imo laid the groundwork for Peter Gabriel’s departure
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Journey - Infinity. The first album with Steve Perry, Infinity began the shift from a Santana-esque guitar band to an arena-filling juggernaut. Lights and Wheel in the Sky were the first little tremors. A few albums later, I slow-danced with Beth Williams to Open Arms at an after school party hosted by the choir teacher. She was a rebel. Good times.
Steve Perry left Journey in 1996, and the band soldiered on with replacement singers and a raft of internal squabbles. I didn’t even know he had released new music until I heard this track last month on American Airlines’ in-flight entertainment. “Most of All” is a radio mix from 2020.
That vibrato!
Stay dry, folks.
Patrick
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I feel seen.
Brain Salad Surgery? 2112? You are my people! At least you would have been in high school. The hell with wine. Let’s go fire up a bong.
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I’ll be joining the Dryuary crowd from Jan. 7th (last day of christmas vacation) till Feb. 8th (my wife’s birthday).
Further in 2024: no wine on weekdays (with Friday night counting as weekend)
And: Cutting wine purchases by half.
Let’s see how it goes…
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Sounds good.
Hey now, let’s not go too far…
Barbarian!
Me too. Except it’s Monday - Thursday (i.e. drinking Fri-Sun), but limiting my consumption on those three days to exactly a half-bottle (about 2.5 glasses) per night. Which is still quite an improvement over 7 days a week of 2/3-3/4 of a bottle…
Am in, but not excited about it. Had an Athletic Brewery non-alcohol IPA with lunch and it felt like it was defeating the purpose
Also aiming to only eat meat sourced from small farms or via hunting/fishing. To that end, I’ve got a half-carcass (beef) from Pure Country Farms, some Morgan Ranch beef (of course) and a bunch of venison and duck in the freezer. May not be 1:1 linked to Dry January, but directional to the overall “be healthier” theme.
Good luck to the rest of you!
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It was cake day at work (remember I am also doing no sweets). This will be a tough month
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Days 3 and 4 are in the books…
I tried a non-alcohol Oktoberfest beer on Thursday. If I squinted my eyes, it tasted kind of like a Pilsner? I tried a non-alcohol Pilsner tonight, and it was actually fairly decent. Good zip on the palate and a pleasant bitterness on the finish. I could get used to – ah, who am I kidding.
Let’s go with some old time country music…
Stay dry, folks.
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72 down, 672 to go.
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If you read the Bloomberg article that Todd posted about Berserker Day, there are several hop infused seltzer waters that got good reviews. Maybe they are an option.