Rochester told the historian Gilbert Burnet that, "for five years together he was continually drunk; not all the while under the visible effect of it." He was repeatedly banished—and as often recalled—by the King he scurrilously lampooned. Drinking made him "extravagantly pleasant"; it also led to disgraces such as the destruction of a royal sundial and a brawl at Epsom in which his friend Mr. Downes was killed.
"Famous poet", referred to Byron, is... quite an understatement. A more appropriate definition would be something like ROCK'N'ROLL SEX GOD who occasionally wrote poetry.
2D Goggles is a fantastic read. It's funny and entertaining, packing a huge number of references to real facts (thanks in great part to Babbage's own self-glorifying writings). Half the fun is reading the notes and discovering Lovelace really did meet Brunel, Babbage really did hate street musicians, and so on.
It brings to life a certain exhilaration in English society during the industrial revolution, when people thought every problem could be solved with the right (steam-based) technology... not unlike what you might find in the Bay Area these days.
(by telling you this, I'm making my chances of winning worse, aren't I? aagh)