Is Brian Bitter??

But Lester, you can't deny what happened to Roy Castle. A non-smoker contracted cancer through all the smoke he inhaled while working in pubs. Very sad story and I wonder how angry he was when he found that out...

And the most important part of this is that there are two options here. Smoke or don't smoke. An individual's choice. But why should the person who doesn't smoke have to endure somebody elses bad habit? I don't think that's fair.

Peace,
Adam.

"But Lester, you can't deny what happened to Roy Castle. A non-smoker contracted cancer through all the smoke he inhaled while working in pubs. Very sad story and I wonder how angry he was when he found that out..."

I don't know who Roy Castle is, but I do agree that it sucks.

"And the most important part of this is that there are two options here. Smoke or don't smoke. An individual's choice. But why should the person who doesn't smoke have to endure somebody elses bad habit? I don't think that's fair."

I agree with this - in fact, this is similar to what I posted initially. But what I'm saying is that, if the restaurant that Brian was at had a strict "no smoking" policy, then the people who were smoking are in the wrong. However, if it was stated nowhere that you can't smoke, then the smoker(s) were techincally in the right: if there was an ashtray on the table, and no one affiliated with the restaurant came up to them and asked them to stop, then there is no problem. Brian could have politely asked them not to smoke - there are other ways other than flipping out on a patron to get them to co-operate with you - but, if he's that concerned about second-hand smoke, then a simple call-ahead to a restaurant asking them if they have separate smoking and non-smoking sections is certainly hardly an issue.

Also, a smoker chooses to be such, and it's a two-edged sword, really, a "damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't" issue: if Brian complains to a smoker that his smoke is making his experience less enjoyable, Brian comes off as whiny and selfish; if a smoker complains to Brian that he has the right to smoke where he wants and when he wants, then he's coming off as uncooperative and selfish. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation, and Brian should be able to accept the fact that there are smokers out there unable to kick their habit, no matter how bad it's perceived, whereas smokers should accept the fact that there are people out there who are allergic or sensitive to their cigarette smoke and should be a little more considerate.

Be my guest PS, use and abuse me at your will! ;-)

You bastards!!!

The word's Brian and bitter made me think my ship had come in. Some genius had at last made a Brian bitter.

I could see it now - cool with a thick texture but a bit too aged and with too much hair on it's head.

*forget it, cancel the order*

Just an FYI, but cigarette smoke is not the only cause of lung cancer. There are many potential causes, including some that spontaneously appear for no discernable reason, therefore the fact that someone who did not personally smoke tobacco but who worked in an environment where other people did smoke developed lung cancer does not mean that the second hand smoke was unquestionably the cause of the cancer. Its a potential or possible cause but it cannot be proven conclusively. There are too many other extraneous factors that occur or develop during one's lifetime which cannot be accurately measured or accounted for after the fact of the cancer diagnosis. The only thing that can be said conclusively is that first hand smoking is not cause it, assuming the individual truly did not smoke. It can therefore not be said that there is a direct causal connection between a specific individual's lung cancer and second hand smoke based purely upon that person's assertion, no matter how strongly the person may have believed it to be the case.

LOL ROTFL "The real question here is how many of you have had somebody come up to you while you are eating a meal and fart in your face?"

Well, Farlander - smoking did kind of kill his father, you gotta cut him a little slack. For the record, I thought he was right on the ball with that one.

I've always thought Brian seemed a bit...smirky. Never really bitter, just very smirky. Margoish. Most smart people are.

Richard - does this mean you are going to swoop down from Mount Olympus and converse with we mere mortals more often? I look forward to it.

Sorry geeks, but I can't agree. Smoking killed my grandmother, and it's going to kill my mother too, but that's no reason to abandon reason. I mean, he stated things that were simply not true. All this "second hand smoke" kills stuff is demonstrably factless propaganda generated by "massaging" the data.

I hate smoking, and I hate being around people who smoke, but that changes nothing. Sitting close to a table full of people smoking is not going to give you cancer, period. I can see there being serious effects if you're around it all day every day, like whats-his-name that everybody's on about. (But then, how many people were in the exact same conditions as him but never were affected?)

As a scientist (sort of), Brian should know better than this. If he's angry about it, then he can rant all he wants on his website, but he should refrain from making outrageous claims like that.

Yes, but some of us do not want to sit in clouds of acrid acetone. I don't know where brian's getting his stats, but I Agree with his position head-on.

Smoking killed my grandmother, and it makes my hands ache. Don't ask.

No, I don't think he's bitter. He's just a human, and under big pressure, and still he writes his thaughts for all to see. I admire him, think he is a beautiful person. So what if he gets boring sometimes, it makes him a human. I'm even more boring while babbling about cancer and non smoking:) I just think he's a great guy, not actually bitter.

I'm just glad i read this so i don't idolize him, he's just a human being, and he has his opinions, just like anyone, i'm glad i found this out :)

He's turning to an boring old fart.

As Hans said in the chatroom, he doesn't want fans, he wants friends.

I, a smoker, am no longer his friend.

*sniff sniff*

Ah well no Xmas card from the May clan this year.

geeks:

"Yes, but some of us do not want to sit in clouds of acrid acetone. I don't know where brian's getting his stats, but I Agree with his position head-on."

As I said neither do I, but the restaraunt was fine with it. Brian said it was not a "smoking restauarnt," but that's wrong. If there were ash trays available, or if the management did not ask them not to smoke, smoking is explicitly allowed, and that seems to be the case here. If Brian doesn't like it, he can just not eat there. Nobody is forcing him to be exposed to it, and I say the government has no right to dictate to a business that it can't allow smoking inside its own doors. Brian disagrees, and I say that is ridiculous.

"Smoking killed my grandmother, and it makes my hands ache. Don't ask."

It killed mine too, and as I said, my mother is soon to follow. This has nothing to do with it.

I admire Brian for his absolute time management... what is he? He practically does everything and is everywhere... Even I, a mere lazy student, have little time to do such things like write every day in my website... and answer emails? :| Never seen a celeb doing that, actually.

He bitches and complains in his soapbox, but that's because it's his soapbox. If someone doesn't want to read it, don't. :-| No hardship about that... I would be somewhat disconcerted to find other people constantly criticizing what I say and what I feel. I suppose he's a celeb and should be more careful about what he says... but that would be very "fake" at the same time.

I read only interesting bits. (Why would anyone try to read everything in that site unless it's all interesting?) What I usually do is taking an advantage of the fact that his messages are clumped in one page. That way, I can ctr+f --> meaning keyword search on the page. Usually my keywords are "concert" and "Freddie".

Regarding the latter keyword, here's an interesting excerpt.

"Dear Rui

To be honest - these are hard questions for me to answer! Freddie was a strange mixture. There were areas he applied himself to totally, and his penetration in these areas was immense. There were also areas he had little interest in, and therefore would avoid completely. At table tennis he was highly skilled - and he took a pride in it, and was merciless! In most other sports he would not participate. He said to me - "I hate to play games I can't win!!!" Maybe this is the closest I can come to answering your question - Freddie was a person who was not shy of unbalancing his life quite deliberately to get to the place he wanted to be. I think some of us do this UNconsciously - often in an unfocussed way. And some of us CONSCIOUSLY DON'T allow ourselves to do this. we try to remain all-rounders in life. Maybe that means we have a tendency to become "quite good" at everything !! Now there's a thought !!!

Freddie a futurist? A determined free spirit, I would say !

Love bri"

I simply love these letters.

I have to say, he does come across as a bit of a whinger about some things but I'm well with him on the smoking thing.
I think it's people's choice whether or not they want to smoke, and since I choose to be a non smoker I really resent going out and coming home reeking of other people's cigarettes. Often it really pisses me off and can ruin what could otherwise be a perfectly enjoyable night out.
Soon a law is going to come in here banning smoking in workplaces, which will include bars and restaurants.
I can't really understand why people resent having to go outside to smoke - people are going to be pissed off with me for this but they made their bed, so they can lie in it.
I have no problem with people who smoke but hell - keep it away from me!