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139 posts, 12:59 today
TT and TL reported as hosting malware
It's like a venereal disease. You don't think about the consequences at the time, it takes seconds to get infected, but weeks to get it cleared up. If only there was a condom for external advertisers, Toytown wouldn't be on the infested list, and EB wouldn't be pulling out his hair. Remember children,…
5 posts, 12:45 today
Czech Republic - Where to do shopping
8 posts, 12:45 today
Donna Summer dead at 63
Posted image Donna Summer, the graceful and commanding singer who ruled the disco era with hits like "Last Dance" and "Bad Girls, winning five Grammy Awards, died Thursday in Florida. She was 63. The cause was cancer, according to a statement released by her family through her record label Universal Music.Donna Summer…
6 posts, 12:11 today
Starting a kinderkrippe business
7 posts, 12:11 today
How to check tire pressure in the car
19 posts, 12:08 today
Children's teeth advice
41 posts, 12:04 today
How to answer this interview question
What, as Al Chockycino, übermod of a major European social web forum? Big oversized thrones are a mistake,mate. It even makes a pro like Scarface look a bit small in that still shot. Congrats, btw, on getting to stage 2. This goal planning stuff has been continually growing in use around the hiring world since…
18 posts, 11:48 today
Relegation match Hertha against Düsseldorf
40 posts, 11:20 today
Ex-roommate's father threatening Mahnverfahren
I'm confused. You had a contract with your room mate and the landlord? You were giving the money to your room mate who was supposed to pay rent etc to the relevant companies? It turns out he was giving it to his father who was then passing it on to the relevant companies? Surely if there is no contact between you and…
16 posts, 10:10 today
New TAN-Brief registration - Commerzbank
7 posts, 10:07 today
Flying on British Airways...
40 posts, 09:59 today
Kindergarten sends me a Mahnbescheid
The first thing you need to do is reject the Mahnbescheid within the required period (within two weeks). If you dont do this, your debt becomes "official" and can be enforced - If you do this they will have to take you to court and you will at least win some time. On the actual debt situation however, Im not…
31 posts, 06:37 today
When is 'müssen' a must?
Yep, as said above - so obvious that it just had to be seen. In this case, müssen is used as an intensifier. The sentence would not be wrong if you wrote " ich kam nach Hause und sah, daß..." but it sounds very matter-of-fact, there's no emotion or emphasis in it. "ich musste sehen, dass" puts…
38 posts, 05:54 today
How low will the Euro go? EUR/USD below 1.30
43 posts, 00:42 today
Familial Violence - What to Do?
Posted image You may find this web site helpful in preparing yourself for your sister's visit. I wonder if it might not be easier for her to approach the subject in a more clinical, impersonal manner? Try to get her to switch into her "doctor mode" instead of "wife defending husband" mode. Either way, if she…
4 posts, 23:14 yesterday
Self employed chef wants to set up business
88 posts, 19:54 yesterday
Favourite internet radio stations
12 posts, 18:38 yesterday
Sky Anytime+ in Germany
77 posts, 18:38 yesterday
Thoughts on starting a small business
I have a shop, I work 6 days a week minimum and it takes over your life. My advice would be sell online first then you know if you have something people actually want before going into bricks and mortar. It sounds like fun but its like having a child, it is a physical tie that dictates everything about how you spend your…
8 posts, 17:39 yesterday
Australian Gas BBQ and fitting issues
25 posts, 17:19 yesterday
Pay-as-you-go mobile phone options in Germany
10 posts, 16:38 yesterday
Norwegian Independence Day (May 17)
8 posts, 15:02 yesterday
German State Pension Forecast
59 posts, 12:35 yesterday
'Scheinselbständigkeit' and German pension system
No, as an Existenzgründer (= start-up self-employed) you have to explicitly apply for not paying into the state pension system. If you apply within 3 months of starting up, then you will be exempted from the compulsory contributions into the German state pension system from the very start (over 400€ a month if you…
9 posts, 03:53 yesterday
HfMDK Frankfurt School
I have just finished my Master of Music at the HfMDK Mannheim. In my personal experience it is not easy to get a place at a music school here in Germany. The auditions are extremely competitive with students from all around the world auditioning. It is not uncommon to see 50-100 (depending on the school and instrument)…
16 posts, 00:50 yesterday
Tax number in Düsseldorf - Up to date information
Thanks for this post - I switched from UK employment to DE employment contract this month and had to get myself my Bescheinigung fur den Lohnsteuerabzug 2012 to get paid without emergency tax. Even though I live in Hamburg, I just followed this post instructions and all worked out perfectly. The only thing to add is to…
79 posts, 16.May.2012
The kindness of strangers
Back in November of '94 I was hitching between Montreal and Sackville. I got dropped by a boarded up motel at a nowhere junction on the TransCan, in the middle of the sticks in New Brunswick. Traffic was nonexistent, and the light was beginning to fail, and I was seriously considering kicking in a window on that motel…
97 posts, 16.May.2012
Stranger knocking at door
wot Counselling for not wanting to answer the door? That's a lot of work I have to catch up on, then. As westvan said, you're under no obligation, socially, culturally, emotionally or otherwise, to open your door to anybody you don't feel like. If I'm not waiting on a package and am not expecting any visitors,…
48 posts, 16.May.2012
Fixed €350 monthly freelancer tax
I think the article is a huge exaggeration at the least, and perhaps even a work of fiction. According to this article in Focus, which is the only independent major source I could find, von der Leyen plans to introduce some kind of mandatory old-age savings plan for freelancers. It doesn't say anything about making…
34 posts, 16.May.2012
Is university education now free in Germany?
Public university tuition is determined at the state level. IIRC, only Bavaria will have tuition from 2012 on- but confirm that. No public university teaches entirely in English, and most of the programs taught in English are at the graduate level. The better your German, the easier the time you will have studying here,…
12 posts, 16.May.2012
Best (cheapest) way of buying pounds
18 posts, 16.May.2012
Using a Fritz!Box DSL router in the UK
37 posts, 16.May.2012
Things not to do at apartment viewing
I once had a nutter friend who was pissed off at a particular real estate agency. Just to waste their time he called to view a house near a school, and while the agent was talking, he wandered off to a window with a view of the playground. He pulled a rifle scope out of his pocket and watched the playground through it.…
80 posts, 16.May.2012
Cancelling a gym membership
7 posts, 16.May.2012
Short term contract in London as a Freiberufler
42 posts, 16.May.2012
Solidarity tax may be against the Constitution
Posted image For the first time, a German court has ruled that the Solidarity Supplemental Tax (Solidaritätszuschlag) is unconstitutional. The Financial Court of Lower Saxony has forwarded a claim to the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe for a final decision. Originally, the tax was introduced in 1991 as a temporary measure to finance…
20 posts, 16.May.2012
Holiday schedule 2012 makes me happy!
Me too! I tentatively mentioned to my boss the day before she left for her christmas break this year that I would like to have a three-week holiday next year in order to visit my little sis in Oz - and that I was thinking of taking those three weeks in December followed by the christmas break. For three weeks and two…
6 posts, 16.May.2012
Advice for civilian moving to Stuttgart
Greetings, GiusiM! Well, that´s a lot of information you´re after! Fair enough. You´re new so here´s a little tip: go top right to the Search button and type in a few phrases such as " Americans moving to Germany ", " Cost of living in Germany " etc and you´ll find loads of relevant threads…
79 posts, 16.May.2012
Foolproof recipe for chocolate chip cookies
Posted image I finally mastered making chocolate chip cookies!!! Many thanks to Irenee, Smith, and to everyone else who posted and gave advice. As I live in Munich I didn't have access to Wurzener Kuchen Mehl. Therefore, I used the EDEKA 'professional' 405 flour and a bag of their regular 550 flour instead (just…
6 posts, 16.May.2012
Contest a bill for unclear service
30 posts, 16.May.2012
Wasting time by posting celebrity gossip
15 posts, 16.May.2012
Homework Mum helping out ...again!
Posted image So, this is the fair in question? Looks almost like the Cannstatter Wasen. I think I'd go with Jahrmarkt.Ein Jahrmarkt(andernorts auch Messe oder Kirmes) ist seit dem Mittelalter ein mehrtägiger Markt, der in einer Stadt einmal jährlich stattfindet und besondere Beachtung genießt. Heute wird die Bezeichnung auch…
53 posts, 16.May.2012
Photos taken with your mobile-phone's camera
23 posts, 16.May.2012
Choosing b/w public or private mandatory insurance
I am assuming that HR/Payroll have told you that must make a decision stats because they need to feed your information (i.e. the applicable insurance costs) into the software to compute and pay-out your salary...right? Now, the decision about health insurance is not one you should do in haste - their a re a lot of issues…
6 posts, 16.May.2012
E301 document for non-EU denied
48 posts, 16.May.2012
Laws about painting an apartment upon moving out
17 posts, 16.May.2012
Planning a hens' day in Dingle
96 posts, 16.May.2012
Men with beards - What is their problem?
Posted image The great thing about beards and beard fashions is that while they distinguish one community from another, they also transcend barriers built by religion, caste and class. After all, only a man who sports one himself can truly appreciate another man’s beard! ze dudes…
29 posts, 16.May.2012
American looking for a job in Germany
I totally agree with Cincy. When my wife and I were still in the States she was applying and stating that we wanted to move overseas, or we planned on moving. When she changed it to say that we will be overseas it completely changed the number and types of response. All of a sudden potential…
77 posts, 16.May.2012
Measurements in Germany - Measuring, inches to what?
Wolf32, just in case you're wondering, here's a few more measurements in Germany. 1 million microphones = 1 megaphone 1 million bicycles = 2 megacycles 2000 mockingbirds = 2 kilomockingbirds 10 cards = 1 decacards (or is it 52 cards = 1 deck-a-cards?) 1/2 lavatory = 1 demijohn 1…
5 posts, 16.May.2012
Working student in Berlin - Salary question
17 posts, 16.May.2012
Foreign Income and Taxes, double tax?
40 posts, 16.May.2012
Do a good deed every day!
Well, found a very wet and barely moving bumble bee (now named Burt) on my balcony and took him inside to dry off. Gave him some agavedicksaft, which kept him very happy for about an hour. Burt dried off, regained his strength and we let you go. Flew in two big circles and then up over…
4 posts, 16.May.2012
Alexander Marcus, what is the deal
46 posts, 15.May.2012
Why do some men love assholish behavior?
I saw the same at a wedding reception once: husband ignoring wife but talking to and dancing with other women. She spent most of the time sitting with other guests she had not met before. You'd think he'd be worried she'd leave him eventually. If his only attraction is money,…
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