Well, happy birthday Hein. 🎂 How many candles?

My birthday doesn't play a special role*; several times I've forgotten it and was reminded of it after the fact by well-meaning people who think it ought to play a special role for me.

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* Except in the minds of bureaucrats who focus on certain ages for purposes that aren't always to my benefit.

Well, happy birthday Hein. 🎂 How many candles?

My birthday doesn't play a special role*; several times I've forgotten it and was reminded of it after the fact by well-meaning people who think it ought to play a special role for me.

________________

* Except in the minds of bureaucrats who focus on certain ages for purposes that aren't always to my benefit.

Greetings Hein!!

What you said is right 'thoughts change over time'. May be it differ from person to person.

During my childhood, desperately used to wait for birthday and other festivals too for celebrating. Now least bothered. But social media reminds about B'days. If you are Facebook member wishes flow.

Karl Pfeifer

dear Karl, I think it's very kind of you to devote yourself to my question. When I asked it, for the special personal reason, I did not expect at all that I would be congratulated as the first reaction. So thank you very much. At some point I had already mentioned it in a discussion: Especially when you're older - and you won't belong to the very young generation any more, I think - then you're not looking forward to presents anymore, but to the fact that it can still be experienced (if nothing comes in between). And somehow I am also glad that the "party" only lasts one day and then everything is normal again: One has done the thing with decency - not in the nursing bed, in the hospital or in a coma, but in a "normal way".

Thank you very much, Hein

Jetty Ramadevi

That's very, very nice of you to congratulate me, dear Jetty, and that I'm getting a bouquet of flowers is of course a very special attention, thank you very much. Fortunately, I am still able to participate in RG, I have to finish a research project that I have been committed to for several years, otherwise I participated in the ongoing discussions. At an advanced age you think more about the past than the future, which is why the upcoming birthday plays more and more of a role with reference to the question: Will I still experience the next one? At the moment, I have reason to hope so.

I thank you for your congratulations and wish you and your work all the best for the future.

Heartily, Hein

Dear Hein, happy birthday!

There are a lot of professors who are already at advanced age, yet still very active in lab research, like Prof Thomas McGee in Iowa State:

https://news.engineering.iastate.edu/2015/06/11/materials-science-and-engineering-professor-emeritus-thomas-mcgee-celebrates-90th-birthday/

And you are also one of them, and certainly is our model.

Ligen Yu

Dear Ligen Yu, thank you for your good wishes. I have seen the picture of Prof McGee, he has become 90, I am not sure if I will reach such a high age; even though all locomotion is a little slower and involves a small risk of accidents, I actually feel quite comfortable and thank you very much for your words.

Best for you, Hein

Happy birthday Hein Retter .... To me its a day of reckoning, rethink, review and further planning to molding myself more contributing for the betterment of humanity, to be more submissive to my Creator, to get prepared for a better afterlife. Stay happy forever! Thanks.

Rabiul Alam

Dear Rabiul Alam, thank you for your congratulations! In the meantime there is back business as ever, with me. Especially I thank you for your good wishes directed into the future. I will not live too long. So it is more important for me that other people in the world who are not as well off as I am, because they are threatened or starving, are better off. Why this injustice in the world?

The thought that something better will come after death gives them hope, that is important in order to continue to exist. But unfortunately this does not change the injustices they suffer here in their lives. We are obliged to help to change this.

Greetings, Hein

Ligen Yu

Thank you very much for your friendly comment. Yes, I am active in RG, but primarily in order to finish a project, which needs much work. The discussions are only a by-product. The hold our mind clear, I hope.

Dear Hein,

How is your daily food intake? It is a normal physiological condition for us to have anorexia (anorexia of aging) when we advance in years. But it will result in bad effect on our health if we have not treated it properly. As anorexia is associated with autophagy which breaksdown protein into amino acids, we will not feel hungry and don't have the desire for eating. Yet we still needs food to maintain the homeostasis of the gastrointestinal tract. So eat-but-little is the best strategy for anorexia of aging.

Also cooking and use of antibiotics in our daily life have killed the microbiome in our food, and lead to our malnutrition and lacking of the essential nutrients in our body. So try to introduce some microbiome by eating raw fermented foods. I myself have raw fermented rice everyday, and it is really good for my health.

As you know, Dr Mahathir becomes the new Prime Minister of Malaysia last year at the ago of 93. And I have the belief that everyone of us can reach such an advanced stage if we can preserve ourselves properly.

Cheers, Ligen

Better late than never,

Happy birthday

I wasn't raised in environment were birthdays are celebrated, sometimes I passed my birthday without noticing ☺, but there is always a month in the year were I get the occasion of thinking about me (age, family, achievements, relationships...) and each year it is quite different.