Hangover

Robert Calvert dispensed some free advice on hangovers while recently kicking back at a bar."Have toast with honey," he suggested. "The sugar in the honey counteracts the booze."Although it's no panacea, Mr. Calvert's recommended remedy happens to be a sound response to tying one on, according to Dr. Seymour Diamond, executive director of the National Headache Foundation."Honey contains a sugar known as fructose," explained Dr. Diamond, "and fructose is a sugar that helps alcohol burn off faster within the body."

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Orioles went about the task of cleansing the stain from one of their most crushing defeats as quickly as possible yesterday at dreary Anaheim Stadium.The day after Lee Smith blew a save opportunity that ultimately prevented the Orioles from sweeping four games from the California Angels, Rafael Palmeiro quickly headed the damage control.Palmeiro triggered a 15-hit day by hitting a three-run home run in the first inning and the Orioles didn't stop there, going on to defeat the Angels, 10-5, in front of 17,525 spectators who must have thought the World Cup final was blacked out locally.

The road calls, whispers: Beyond the horizon lies a world where you can be reborn. Think of Jack Kerouac, "On the Road" with Dean Moriarty; William Least Heat-Moon traveling the "Blue Highways"; Nat King Cole telling you to "get your kicks on Route 66."Bill Barich had moved to California in 1969, when he was 25. But now he was on the brink of middle age, enduring a marriage careening toward divorce. So, in 1989 he set out on a six-month journey, driving the highways and back roads from the Oregon border to Mexico.

You'll have to get through Monday night first, but there are some worthwhile restaurant options waiting on Tuesday morning. Slainte in Fells Point will start serving breakfast at 7 a.m., and the first of six English Premier League matches, West Bromwich Albion vs. Fulham, goes on at 7:30 a.m. It's a good reason to show off the kits you got for Christmas. Miss Shirley's restaurants in Keswick and the Inner Harbor are open from 7:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m. on New Year's Day, serving breakfast, brunch and lunch.

From the Real Estate Wonk blog: You never know for sure if the first upturn in home sales after a stretch of decreases is a blip or a trend until you can look back with 20-20 hindsight, but a homebuilding market research firm is ready to call December the start of a new era. "The fact that sales are positive on a year over year basis, and that contracts continue to trend higher in many submarkets, indicates that the 'Tax Credit Hangover' is...

Mike Royko is on vacation. In his absence, some of his favorite columns are being reprinted. This column first appeared on Dec. 27, 1974.This is the time of year when all sorts of advice is written about hangovers.The articles usually touch on three key points: What a hangover is, how to avoid one, and how to cure it.Defining a hangover is simple. It is nature's way of telling you that you got drunk. I've never understood why nature goes to the bother, since millions of wives pass on the information.

Mike Royko is on vacation. In his absence, we are reprinting some of his favorite columns. This column first appeared in 1987. THE WORLD OF SCIENCE is delirious with excitement over the discovery of new, efficient ways to get electricity from here to there. Or there to here, I suppose.It's said that these recent discoveries will have an enormous impact on the economy and our lifestyles and make possible all sorts of wondrous technological advances.One scientist was quoted as saying about the rapid development and potential of the new electrical conductors: "Nothing like this has ever happened in science before."

LIKE MANY of us, CSX Corp. borrowed boxcars of money in the 1990s. Loans to buy a piece of Conrail helped double CSX's annual interest expense to $520 million from 1996 and 1999 and at one point drove its debt-to-capital ratio, including off-books liabilities, up to 63 percent, a level past what many consider risky. Happily for CSX, its shareholders and the economy, corporate America is gorging at the same financial gravy train that has fed homeowners the past two years. The descendant of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad refinanced hundreds of millions in debt last year, including $600 million borrowed through the bond markets at rates that once would have been considered fantastically low. CSX sold $400 million worth of 10-year bonds at 6.3 percent, a once unheard-of coupon for a company whose credit is rated, as CSX's is, just above "speculative."

For many who spent yesterday at the Preakness infield, the hangover won't be the worst part of this morning. It'll be the YouTube video. For years, the Preakness infield was described as a drunken bacchanalia with a horse race encircling it. But for those who didn't attend, the best sense they could get of the rowdy spree came after the crowd had cleared out, as TV videos and newspaper photos showed tons of garbage being collected. The mainstream media - produced for a family audience - couldn't adequately describe the debauchery of the infield.

New Year's Day is a time of resolutions, of brand-new calendars and fresh starts. It's also a big day for hangovers. Tonight's popping corks and "Happy New Year" cheers can all too easily leave celebrants with a throbbing headache and a strong desire to put "no more champagne or (fill in the blank) ever again" at the top of their list of resolutions. So before it's too late, let's review some common-sense rules for celebrating. First of all, think ahead. If you're planning to party tonight, then drink extra fluids today.