pmd

  We watched the Street religiously every Monday and Wednesday. There's the (true) story of when Deirdre was having her affair with Mike in the late 70s. The night she went back to Ken coincided with a midweek match at Old Trafford - the tannoy announced the news at halftime and a big cheer went up lol

Gary Halpin, Irish international hammer thrower and rugby union player has died. He was only 55. RIP.   https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/former-ireland-rugby-international-gary-halpin-has-passed-away-aged-55-40126751.html

  That's a bit oxymoronic!

  I would certainly demand a good severance package. I don't have direct experience in Germany but in Ireland, I went through a redundancy and those affected also got access to an Employment Consultant and could go to job interviews during their notice period. I'm not sure what is the norm in Germany, perhaps others could advise.   As for leaving on good terms, I think you have to make a judgement on this by how big or small the sector you are working in is. 

There is a really dangerous 4 way intersection in my neighbourhood. The primary axis is the Haupstrasse. The problem is traffic (specifically LKWs) wanting to turn left (from the Hauptstrasse) through a break in the oncoming traffic at the intersection. There is a amber flashing left arrow for them while the pedestrian crossing at the top of the connecting street has a green. The major issue is pedestrians, scooters and bikes (I know the latter should be using the other side of the street) trying to cross 'late' from the same side as the LKW is coming from.   What causes the problem is that because the left-turning drivers can turn through a gap, they tend to make hasty decisions and accelerate when a gap presents itself, right into the pedestrian crossing.   Also, as the traffic moves forward from the stop line when the amber arrow appears - there is no way to make eye contact with the first driver. This can be done when they are stopped on red at the stop line and the pedestrian is already at the crossing.   Is there any point contacting the Stadt about this? Ask for a delay in the Amber Arrow appearing? Has anyone successfully changed traffic light timings like this? It's got to the stage were I won't cross even on green if  I come late to the junction and there is traffic waiting to turn. I have seen others though have near misses.   Thanks for any advice. I'm in NRW by the way.    

   Yes, it was really 'dumb' wasn't it!! Silly me. Thank you for pointing out the 'dumbness' of it. And you even created a lovely little picture. Thank you.  

  I'm afraid I only have Wikipedia as a source but it says no helmet restrictions in Germany:   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet_laws_by_country   (Sorry, should have read the remainder of the thread)

Ah, Germans and cycling. I'm not sure when cycle lessons in Grundschule started but it seems to have had the opposite affect on a huge portion of those that took part. And it's not just younger cyclists - everyone age group seems to be affected.  Most of the things have already been mentioned. Others: The cyclist going down the one-way street; ditto but on the footpath, full pelt; the cyclist not looking behind and doing a proper hand signal when changing lanes etc.    Another thing that irritates me  - you see a whole family out for a cycle but it's only the kids wearing helmets. If the adults deem it necessary for the children to wear them, why do the adults insist on not wearing them? 

 

  Well, I think we all want to know if the boat he doesn't like rocking turns out in fact to be the love boat! Good luck   

  I think most people have enough cop on to know when they have to take a couple of days off - or at least it was the case when I worked in Ireland. Of course, there were a couple of co-workers who were notorious for pulling sickies..our IT company had a few rounds of redundancies in the 2000s, funnily enough they were let go early on. On the other hand, we had a guy that would come in sneezing and coughing,  it drove everyone crazy in meetings. It wasn't even the case he was indispensable to the team. 

  Sorry, she is the landlady, she doesn't get to pick and choose when she gets involved. If you have a valid concern, she has to intervene. That's the responsibility of property ownership.   In these types of disputes, you have to document everything. I would write a letter to her documenting the number of times you were forced to park on the street in a month because of your neighbours. Include photos. Make clear because of security, winter weather etc, parking on rhe street is *not* an option for you.   Now see how much the rent is for a garage in your home town. Calculate the price you would have to pay to rent the garage for this time. In my letter, I would say that unless a dividing wall is built, this is how much rent I will withdraw paying.   This will get your landlady involved.  

Phil Spector, legendary record producer and convicted murderer has died in prison    https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/phil-spector-death-age-cause-lana-clarkson-b1788588.html

I just read an article about Brexit charges and fees for British exporters. There is a 'disbursement charge' mentioned for parcels:   and third, a “disbursement charge” which is set at different levels in each EU country with a minimum of about €14 per parcel, or calculated as a percentage of the value of the goods, whichever is the higher, plus VAT in the destination country. This covers the costs of the tax authority in the recipient country inspecting and processing the parcels.   https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/17/shock-brexit-charges-are-hurting-us-say-small-british-businesses?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

  The Vennbahn - I watched this on YouTube only a few weeks ago: https://youtu.be/KEM_cp6hVeM

OP, by the sounds of it, the only disability that has any relevance here is your co-worker's lack of ability to work effectively with others. If there were a genuine problem, you would have heard about it much sooner and through the correct channels.

In my limited experience of the German property market, it seems that at least advertising the property properly through the Makler/in opens up the house sale to the 'free' market. My wife and I moved to a new (nearby) town in 2012 and wanted to buy a house. Even then, there was a shortage of modest family houses on the market (compared to what I was used to in Ireland). In the subsequent years, I know why - so many private sales. Family, friends of the family, colleagues all seem to get first bite of the cherry. I'm not so naive to think the same doesn't happen in Ireland or the UK. It just seems there, you can make a generous offer on an advertised house and see if money talks. In Germany (again, in my limited experience), you often don't even get the opportunity to know the house was for sale.

Michael Apted, film director and acclaimed documentary maker has died:   https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/08/michael-apted-director-seven-up-dies-79  

Gerry Marsden has died it has been announced:   https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/gerry-marsden-death-illness-b1781737.html   He was 78 (the same age as Paul McCartney) - for some reason, I always thought he was older.

I think you have to differentiate between your neighbour breaking the Covid rules and breaking the noise rules. I would leave the breaking of the Covid rules for now - priority for you is getting sleep. Also, getting the Polizei involved could escalate things unnecessarily.   First off, I would talk to the Mother simply about the noise. Say you are contacting the Ordnungsamt. Hopefully, the son gets the message. However,  you should start to record everything in a diary. You could use a noise meter and video the noise levels (Perhaps the Ordnungsamt can recommend a recognised app etc).    If the son starts being responsible, why not reward him with a pair of decent headphones for his birthday (maybe suggest it to his mother as a gift idea)?    If the son is not playing ball, then I would start the DIY drilling at 9am    Btw I would also install smoke alarms in the communal spaces because a dropped cigarette in the basement is obviously a serious issue.      

  I like our local Lidl (and Netto) too. Uncomplicated and friendly. We have a local Norma and an Edeka also. Never go to the Norma but the Edeka is expensive. Recently, I noticed one of their trolleys dumped. I took a photo of it and as the store is on my way home, I popped in to tell them about the trolley. The manger I spoke to literally said 'where?' and not a single word of thanks. I only go there now if there is no other alternative. There is a large HIT Supermarket a bike ride/  car drive away too - when you are used to the discounters, the range on offer is just a bit of a head-wreck. 

  To be honest, I have not heard of this brand before. Even though everything is now made in China, I would always stick with something from Skywatcher, Celestron, Orion or Meade for a beginners scope. Or TS-Optics or Omegon (German Astronomy shops)   70/400 or 70/700?   The first number (70mm) is the aperature of the objective (front) lens.   The second (400mm or 700mm) is the focal length of the tube.   A 700mm tube will give more magnification than a 400mm for a given eyepiece.   The 700mm will give a smaller field of view than the 400mm for a given eyepiece.   E.g. You have a 25mm eyepiece This gives a magnification of 400/25= 16 in the 70/400 scope (like a big pair of binoculars).  In the other scope, you get a magnification of 700/25=28.   Typically you would have a range of eyepieces: 32mm, 25mm, 18mm, 12mm, 9mm, 6mm(or a zoom eyepiece) giving a range of available magnifications and fields of view.   Finally, these types of beginner telescopes are called Achromatic refractors. An inherent issue in the design of the objective lens will be that on bright objects, you will see a purple fringe. This will be less noticeable in the 60/700 scope.    

Naming a dishwasher like that today would get you in hot water!

http://www.manuals.group/results.php?search=DISHWASHER SIEMENS LADY PLUS 45