1.  Will you be drinking at the meetup?

2.  Are we allowed to laugh in front of you or do we have to keep it in email?

3.  Is there any way you can go to YearlyKos in Vegas and arrange, say, a dinner with Jerome and Maryscott?

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes

Here's another anecdote. I was at the same countryside houes last year, with the same friends (back then we were celebrating two birthdays). On the first morning after, I had this weird sensation on my face in my dream, I awoke but still had my eyes shut ... and it took me a few minutes to figure out that I was sleeping on the lawn outside and that my friend's dog was licking my face non-stop (and this dog is not particularly a face licker, or at least not for such long periods of time). I got up, saw that a few friends were passed out on the lawn too, turned around, and saw that the wooden terrace's wooden table was on fire. This friend of mine (girl) had lit these sweet cosy candles in oil the night before, but had left them on all night, and one had been consumed all the way to the base, the oil had overspilled, burned the plastic covering on the table, and then started burning the table, a table sitting like I said on a wooden terrace, and underneath a wooden roof covering linked to the house. The fire was a good 2 meters high and 1 meter large when I got up thanks to Rintintint's licking efforts. I thought "ok, I don't live here, maybe it's none of my business". Then I thought "ok Alex, time to wake up, it is your business, the house is about to go on fire. I thought "ok what do people do in movies to put out fires? ah yes, they cover them with blankets". So my alcohol-damaged brain thought that I should get something like a blanket. So I grabbed a newspaper and tried to put it out with that. Bad idea. My neurons were out and failing me. So I woke up a friend sleeping on the lawn nearby. Tried anyhow for some time "hey hey hey hey wake up hey hey there is a fire to put out". He finally got up, looked at the fire. I asked him "what's the best way to put out a fire". I was very calm, just not very intelligent. He looked at it for a good minute and told me "hum, I think water will work". So we got a few liters of water bottles and put out the fire, and saved the day for all the people sleeping inside.

I can't believe that people say alcohol makes people smarter.

Between this and Migeru's hirsute comment, I think I'm learning more about Europeans than I ever wanted to know...

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

Nelonen - the alternative TV channel - had their annual drunken bash tonight at Club 51 in downtown Helsinki. It even went so far as having live golden ladies lying in the buffet table. (Roman Bacchanalian theme).

Anyway, I got a bit pie-eyed, and then went to my brother-in-laws restaurant which has a knees-up on Thursday nights. (Our Lyon expert knows the place well)

Than I went for a train about 01.50 out into the night (full moon). I'll just catch some zeees I thought as I made myself comfortable on  the train. Classic mistake. I went 5 stops over (some 20 Kms) and landed in the god-forsaken siding of Nuppulinna on a fortunately warm night. As the taxi driver said "Don't do this in winter".

Anyway. I'm awake now---

You can't be me, I'm taken