3 ms·

After many years of hiring contractors, my belief is many are drunk all day long. I have found empty hard liquor bottles on finished work sites many times. It c

After many years of hiring contractors, my belief is many are drunk all day long. I have found empty hard liquor bottles on finished work sites many times. It could be because their bodies are in pain, but I have a good friend whose a painter who began his career at 16 in NYC and he said they always had a case of beer at 3pm.

jaza 2y ago
They're definitely drunk and reckless in the afternoon. Here in Sydney, at least, utes (aka pickups) drive like absolute maniacs around 3pm, no doubt as they're heading to/from the pub.
- SenHeng 2y ago
  I often see things like this on TV and it annoys me to no end. Our main character drives up to a pub/bar/restaurant of some sort, sits by the counter and orders an alcoholic drink. Proceeds to drive elsewhere later as though DUI laws didn't exist.
  - Hendrikto 2y ago
    The legal limit is not 0 in most places.
  - nkrisc 2y ago
    While any driving under the influence is inadvisable, most likely an adult having a single drink of the kind of beer you’d today get in a bar like that, is probably under the legal limit. Unless you weigh 120lbs or something. As long as you’re not chugging it, drinking a 12oz 4.5% ABV beer probably won’t be over the limit.
  - j-a-a-p 2y ago
    I personally like the characters who seem not under the influence of law.
cortesoft 2y ago
There are a lot of functioning alcoholics in the world, in all sorts of professions... there are probably a lot of people working in offices drunk most of the day.
toyg 2y ago
There is probably a historical element. Bricklayers and other tradesmen have traditionally been drinking beer (or cheap, watered-down wine) at lunchtime throughout Europe for centuries, since it was cheap, refreshing, and packing calories; in the past, alcoholic contents were significantly lower-grade, so it didn't interfere dramatically with their work. Add to it that, in the XIX century, "functioning alcoholism" was basically the norm for most men. Obviously things are different today: alcoholic drinks are now built explicitly to get you drunk as fast as possible, and hence are increasingly incompatible with modern living and working practices.

jaza 2y ago

They're definitely drunk and reckless in the afternoon. Here in Sydney, at least, utes (aka pickups) drive like absolute maniacs around 3pm, no doubt as they're heading to/from the pub.

SenHeng 2y ago
I often see things like this on TV and it annoys me to no end. Our main character drives up to a pub/bar/restaurant of some sort, sits by the counter and orders an alcoholic drink. Proceeds to drive elsewhere later as though DUI laws didn't exist.
- Hendrikto 2y ago
  The legal limit is not 0 in most places.
- nkrisc 2y ago
  While any driving under the influence is inadvisable, most likely an adult having a single drink of the kind of beer you’d today get in a bar like that, is probably under the legal limit. Unless you weigh 120lbs or something. As long as you’re not chugging it, drinking a 12oz 4.5% ABV beer probably won’t be over the limit.
- j-a-a-p 2y ago
  I personally like the characters who seem not under the influence of law.

cortesoft 2y ago

There are a lot of functioning alcoholics in the world, in all sorts of professions... there are probably a lot of people working in offices drunk most of the day.

toyg 2y ago

There is probably a historical element. Bricklayers and other tradesmen have traditionally been drinking beer (or cheap, watered-down wine) at lunchtime throughout Europe for centuries, since it was cheap, refreshing, and packing calories; in the past, alcoholic contents were significantly lower-grade, so it didn't interfere dramatically with their work. Add to it that, in the XIX century, "functioning alcoholism" was basically the norm for most men. Obviously things are different today: alcoholic drinks are now built explicitly to get you drunk as fast as possible, and hence are increasingly incompatible with modern living and working practices.