Question of the Day - 28 November 2024

A few months ago, we received the following question: "The writer(s) of QoD sometimes call yourselves 'eternal optimists.' Given the state of the world these days, how do you justify that attitude?"

Well, today of all days, we'll say this. We figure that if it's in the world, it's here for a reason, even if we don't or can't know what that is. And being long-time subscribers to theodicy, we believe that everything is always for the best, even if it's not necessarily for our best.

To us, being grateful for everything, all the time (not just one day of the year), isn't an attitude, opinion, or even belief. It's a way of being.

And now, without further ado, we'll resume our tradition, introduced by DonZ, of rerunning our favorite QoDs on holidays. This is one we've always been fond of.

Do gambling and cannabis mix? 

For some people, they might. Everyone has his or her own preferences and patterns for operating in the world. We know people who've indulged every day for decades and can do all things normally, even high as a kite. Indeed, we were visiting one such friend, who smoked a big fat joint at 9 a.m. on a Monday morning just before going to her accountant to discuss her tax returns! Personally, that would never work for us, but a chacun son goût. 

For our part, we've never found any consciousness-altering substances to mix with gambling (or numbers in general). It seems to us that only slots would be conducive to playing stoned, since they take no mental effort and little concentration. 

On the other hand, though a couple of potheads might sit down to play, they’d quickly get distracted by the whirling reels, sound effects, and machine themes. Wild Cherries: Strawberries! Blueberries! Yum! The Addams Family: Lurch! Thing! Uncle Fester!

And Little Green Men: "Dude! Wouldn’t you love to be kidnapped by aliens?"

"Oh yeah, man. Tractor beams. Close encounters. Sexy Martians, yo!"

"I heard this one company in England sells alien-abduction insurance."

"No way, man! How would you collect?"

"I don’t know, man, but wouldja look at those Wild Witches on that machine over there? Didja ever see one wearing a bikini like that?"

"No, man, but I wouldn’t mind being the broomstick!"

"What? Huh?"

"Broomsticks, man! Witches and broomsticks? Get it?"

"Oh. Yeah, man. That's dope. And speaking of broomsticks, fire up that last phattie, will ya?"

"Yeah, man. This is some dank bud."

(Our apologies to anyone who might be offended by this reinforcement of "reefer madness" in such a way that detracts from the discourse. We mean no disrespect to the millions of responsible medicinal and recreational users of this particular herb.)

Anyway, again in general, cannabis slows reaction time and most forms of casino gambling require fast decisions, mainly due to the fact that other people are waiting for you to make them. The first time you slow down the action, other players are generally tolerant. But do so time after time and you'll quickly wear out your welcome, especially if you giggle about it. 

Plus, cannabis affects your memory and judgment. Slots and roulette don't require either, but pot is antithetical to playing any game that depends on mental acuity, which is true for most table games and video poker. 

Also, it's easy to find yourself confused. It takes concentration not to mix up hearts and diamonds, for example, in a poker hand, and any confusion will lead to playing poker badly, losing money as you go. 

Again, some people no doubt do fine at casino games (and tax accounting) after altering their consciousness, but we suspect that the vast majority, for the reasons above, do anything but.