If you watched “60 Minutes” Sunday night, then you know that sugar has joined the ranks of red meat, coffee, cigarettes and other foods that should be shunned like adulterers in an Amish village. New Food Police studies have found that sugary snacks and drinks share similar health risks with alcoholic beverages like Jim Beam and some of the stronger aftershave lotions. In discussing these findings, noted San Francisco busybodyologist Dr. Robert Lustig said he would like to see kids being carded when they try to buy Cokes. Once busted, a sugar delinquent would have to attend 12-Step “Sucrose Anonymous” meetings … SPEAKER – “My name is Harry, and it’s 10 days since my last Twix bar.” CROWD – “Hello, Harry!”/Doug Clark, SR. More here.

Question: How much of a sweet tooth do you have?

Journalist Steven Smith said he is a caffeine addict. “As with all addiction, it defies real explanation. You know the taste isn’t great but I love the taste,” said Smith, temporary faculty lecturer of the School of Journalism and Mass Media. “It’s not always the best thing to consume, sometimes you get jittery and its keeps you from going to sleep, but its just become so much a part of my daily routine and my life that I can’t imagine being without it. I am an addict.” Smith said he started drinking coffee as a junior in high school and he probably drinks about three quarts of coffee a day — a consumption that has been consistent for the last 30 or 40 years. “I am a coffee slut,” Smith said/Rhiannon Rinas, RAWR, UIdaho Argonaut. More here. (photo illustration by steven devine | rawr)

Question: How addicted to coffee are you?

Item: 'Homey … but not home': Increase in local coffee shops keeping people connected, satisfying their caffeine fix/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: “Travel + Leisure” recently produced a list of the top towns teeming with soulful coffee shops. The winners included the obvious: Seattle and San Francisco. While the Lake City didn't make the cut, some might wonder why, as the coffee culture has been swiftly taking over here, Jenicek said.

Question: Is there a strong “coffee culture” in the Coeur d'Alene area?

Did you drive by Java recently and feel a sudden Bowl-of-Soul shaped hole in your soul that made you want to smoke a bowl of a different kind of soul when you saw the place locked up and emptied out? Relax, junkie. They were merely putting up a fresh coat of paint and had to close up for a bit to accomplish this task. You weren't the only one worried - I received several panicky emails wondering if i knew what was going on (I didn't) as well as several customers at my bar who were driven to drink over the situation. Well, they're always driven to drink, but as long as they don't drink and drive, I'm okay with that. Anyway, they are now open once again and life in Cd'A can carry on as normal/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.

Question: How would you be affected if Java on Sherman ever closed its doors?

Bills have been introduced in the Washington Legislature that would make coffee the official state beverage and Tenino sandstone the state rock. The Olympian reports the coffee bill was introduced by Rep. Barbara Bailey of Oak Harbor. The rock bill was introduced by Sen. Dan Swecker of Rochester. In other proposed legislation, Rep. Jim McCune of Graham has introduced a bill to make English the official language of the state/Associated Press. More here.

Question: What could be considered the state drink of Idaho?

My wife is an addict. She can’t go a day with out a cup (or seven) of hot black coffee. This doesn’t bother me. I adore the aroma of brewing coffee filling the house and I enjoy an occasional cup. But my wife has a problem. No, she doesn’t drink too much. I jest about her her being a coffee addict, but I know people whose java addiction is a serious issue that makes Bekah look like a recreational user. Bekah’s complication is not the rate of her consumption.  Her dilemma is the quantity of mugs used during the course of a day. She’ll brew a pot, start sipping her first cup and set it down somewhere to carry on with the rest of her day. An end table, the kitchen counter, the bathroom, window sills, on top of the TV in our bedroom - she’s fairly indiscriminate in where she abandons her cup of coffee/Nic, Rants, Raves, & Random Thoughts. More here.

Question: Are you a coffee addict? Do you leave your half-filled coffee mugs laying around everywhere?

Here’s a handy dandly litte chart that will help you determine the difference between really wide-awake and you know– death.

According to the information provided I should be safe If I limit my coffee intake to less than 90 cups per day and keep my Monster consumption under 60 cans. I’m not too worried.

How much caffeine do you consume on an average day? What’s you preferred method of consumption, coffee, energy drinks etc?

I’ve consumed a lot of coffee the last couple of days, hanging out with my kids in Cour d’Alene and Spokane. I always order coffee, never the mochas or sundry other drinks offered at the various coffee shops, in sizes from 8 ounces to 20 ounces. Usually, I ended up drinking the last half of the 20-ouncer cold, if i finished the drink at all. On Facebook, Cindy wonders about the need to have big cups of coffee in the morning: “Theoretically,” Cindy says, she “likes the idea of BIG coffee cups, but finds the coffee gets cold quickly. So, she fills the cup half full, and then wonders what is the point of having a BIG cup?

Question: What size of coffee drink do you order at your favorite coffee shop? Or what size of cup do you use for your own brew at home? Any secrets for keeping the coffee warm?

RE: DanG’s criticism of Councilman MikeK’s coffee break

More than a year ago, the LCDC installed an elaborate catheter and drainage system for me under the desks in the Council Meeting Room. It was expensive, but it allows me (with my admittedly small bladder) to drink more coffee than any small army could consume without having to get up and use the bathroom, thus ensuring I don’t fall asleep, and to solve another problem which I’ll also share in a moment. The problem we didn’t foresee is that the coffee intake system they installed doesn’t have near the capacity as the discharge system, so I have to continue to get up in order to keep the equilibrium of the coffee in-to-out ratio/Councilman MikeK, Huckleberries Online. Full post below.

Question: Do you have a problem with a council member leaving the chambers briefly to grab a cup of coffee and return?