Let's party again!

[wiseheart]

Well, folks, it's *that* time of the year again: I'll be 53 next Friday. So, it's time for the annual game of "let's the threads collapse". Come in, make yourselves comfortable, have a good time and bring your friends. Last years we had some 400+ comments, now we're in for the new record. ;)

This entry will be bounced up each day until October 9, so that all those who want can participate.

Update: On October 4, we had 195 comments on 2 pages. Well done. We still have got 5 more days, so let's see what we can do in that time. I have to say, the conversations in the individual threads were absolutely delightful. *is happy*

Update #2: On October 6, we had 270 comments - sadly, still on only 2 pages. Only 3 more day left to reach the ultimate goal, which would be 444 comments on 4 pages. But the discussions are great, so at the very least, we have the quality, if not the quantity yet. And that's more important, I'd say.

Update #3: On October 8, we had 388 comments, on 3 pages! Yay! I'm not very optimistic about Page 4, but I think the 444 comments might come together by the end of the day itself.

Pre-birthday gifts:
Got a wonderful bakery book from Mum, titled "Muffins and..." well, I seriously doubt that the English language has a word for the rest. Germans might know what Pogatschen are. They are small, salty or cheesy cookies, made usually of yeast dough... a Hungarian speciality. We already have quite a few recepies, but there are some in that book I never heard of. It will be a delight to try them out.

Also, I got the box-set of 2nd Season Torchwood from the most generous the_wild_iris! Thanks, my friend, you really, really made my day after two rather stressful weeks. I can finally watch the only episode I missed while we were in Belgium - the one in which Owen becomes a zombie. Heh!

Pre-birthday preparations:
I baked some strawberry flavoured muffins tonigh - not from the new book, from the carton box, I'm afraid, but for the colleagues they will do tomorrow.

Mum's bravely going down to the hairdresser's tomorrow, because, as she told me, "I can't look like this on your birthday!" Well, after not seeing a hairdresser for months, there's some truth in it.

The day after tomorrow, we're going to the "Blind Crow" for lunch. Unlike in English-speaking countries, lunch is actually the main meal of the day over here, so it will be great. The "Blind Crow" is a very nice little restaurant, and we can reach it on foot, which is the main issue, as Mum can't climb into any busses yet.


Final update:
Well, folks, the party will still be going on until midnight, CET, but I'm already declaring it a great success. We've made it onto Page 4, we've broken through the 500 (!!!)-comment-barrier, and I'm very happy.

Thanks everyone for participating, especially altariel, rcfinch, solanpolarn, the_wild_iris, theromangeneral and lhun_dweller, who've been working diligently and tirelessly to help me break the record. Should I've forgotten anyone, I humbly apologize.

Comments

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Oh, is that a chocolate cake? It looks delicious!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Looks yummy indeed! Plus, virtual cake doesn't make fat - well, fatter, in my case - so I can indulge without a guilty conscience.

Welcome to my local silliness, both of you! And your icon says all that needs to be said.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

The delightful smilla02 made the icon for me; I also have a fridge magnet saying the same thing. While the sci-fi fan in me thinks it may not be a completely true statement, it is certainly the only planet known to have chocolate and we should not take chances with important things like that! ;-)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Very true. We sci-fi fans have learned to be careful with generalizations. ;)

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

While generalizations can be useful, being nit-picky with details is just too much fun to refuse! What is the point about being a geek if you aren't going to do it properly? ;-)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Very true. We've got an image to protect. ;)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yep, chocolate cake. With added coffee to make the taste more intense. :-D

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

My family's birthday cake recipe does that too. I still don't drink coffee, but I wouldn't dream of making the cake without it!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Me, I'd die without proper coffee, I think. Meaning espresso, of course - we've learned how to make coffee while Hungary was part of the good old Monarchy. Coffee culture migrated to us from Vienna.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I meant to learn how to drink coffee, partly because at my grandfathers you would get coffee and a piece of his 'kedge' (=New Zealand chocolate fudge cake) at eleven, if you drank coffee. If you didn't you would get the task of washing up after breakfast in the kitchen! However, a friend of mine told me I would never get through my engineering degree without learning to drink coffee, which made the contrary part of me decide to prove him wrong. After that I just didn't bother learning...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Nobody say you *have* to learn to drink coffee. I've started during secondary school, for the simple reason because I liked the taste, and that's the main reason I still drink it.

People say it keeps them awake, but I believe it's more a matter of belief. I remember during college, Mum brewed me a huge mug in the evening, so that I could stay up late studying - well, I was snoring over the book within half an hour. :)

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I used to think drinking coffee was part of being a 'grown-up' and therefore something I should learn to do. Now I have decided that I like being awkward and this xkcd comic says everything that needs to be said about the definition of grown-ups.

While I am prepared to believe there is some physiological effect of drinking coffee, like you I do think most of it is in the mind. Perhaps there is also the fact that while you are drinking something (or eating something, for that matter) it is more difficult to fall asleep because you are actually engaged in some sort of activity. One of my teachers told me this was a trick of hers for not falling asleep when invigilating exams after staying up all night: bring a bag of small sweets and keep eating them all the way through the time she needed to stay awake.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of it which is in the head. The mother of my lady friend Susan used to be insomniac and took sleeping pills every night. One night she was so distracted she accidentally swallowed a small button that had come loose from her nightshirt instead of the sleeping pill - and it worked!

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Yes, the mind is a powerful thing! There is an episode of M*A*S*H* that deals with this, based on a true story: they run out of painkillers so they give the patients sugar pills (or possibly injections of saline, it was some time since I watched the episode) against the pain and it does help. There is such a lot we just don't know about the workings of our bodies!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I once read a little something (don't really remember what it was) about the miracle healings of Jesus. The author said that basically, He activated the natural self-healing powers of the human body which we're unable to access, most of the time.

Whether or not it's true, I don't know, but it's an interesting theory. After all, people are known to have jumped over 2-meter-high fences when in mortal danger - something they'd never be able to do otherwise.