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Johan Bové

I am always very careful to ask a German, in German, if they already knew about a thing.

Johan Bové

Excuse me for metzgerei-ing the German Language.

Johan Bové

good that we have some time ahead of the USA to use it, as right around this time of day, afternoon in German, the system seems to be getting overloaded.

Johan Bové

is already helping me improve my German grammar. It's truly wondrous.

Johan Bové

The Germans are big on trying to "digitalize paper work" - they do try, but then there are others (Act on Proof is the Directive (EU) 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union ("Directive") adopted by the European legislator, which the German legislator must transfer into national law by 1 August 2022.) who think having everything related to employment contracts still works best when everything is printed out on dead trees; it's called the "Nachweisgesetz" - if employers not put new contracts (from August 2022 onwards) in paper they can be fined. So my employer, who was fully digitalised, has to go back to paper printed contracts.
Who wins with this really?
In English: https://www.engage.hoganlovells.com/knowledgeservices/news/the-reform-of-the-german-nachweisgesetz-a... and https://www.ecovis.com/duesseldorf-koeln/blog/2022/07/20/nachweisgesetz-arbeitsvertraege/

Johan Bové

Many German doctors use e-mail to inform other doctors that they have sent them a fax.

Johan Bové

Obviously there is a German word for installing and using solar panels on your balcony; It's called a "Balkonkraftwerk".

Johan Bové

I lost count of how many times I accidentally closed the browser window on Mac OSX when entering an e-mail address in a form field because I have the muscle memory of the @ symbol under the "Q" on a German PC keyboard.

Johan Bové

Discovering the excellent German band "Die Ärzte" only today - I have been living here ten years - after finding a live album on one of the mini discs I got second hand.

Johan Bové

Got my OpenPGP Key email IDs certified with my European eID through the German AusweisApp2 software made by Governikus - Check out their service here: https://pgp.governikus.de/pgp/index.html

Johan Bové

I got a finger nail infection on my left index finger, the condition is called _Paronychia_; it appeared suddenly and got swollen pretty fast and the infection became visible; so I went to the doctor and they decided to "drain" it. A bit painful, but it was good to have it done. Now my finger is wrapped in a lot of sterile gaze at least until next week. It's a bit annoying for typing. I was afraid of having more pain; but it has been manageable until now. Feeling fortunate about the German medical system. Apart from the pain killer, ibuprofen, I didn't have to pay a single Euro cent.

Johan Bové

Blog post idea: What is the state of electronic identities in Europe across different countries? As a Belgian living in Germany, I can already share the hint that the German eID system is not compatible with the Belgian one. Why is that and is something being done about that? Should there be an European eID?

Johan Bové

Hoping that because fireworks on new year's eve will be largely forbidden this year, the streets in German cities, will look much less like battle fields on January 1st. Totally supporting this covid measure to help keep the hospitals focused on treating Covid patients.

Johan Bové

After my father in law stopped drinking alcohol I drank a whole lot more drinks myself. And I’ve come to enjoy it too. We tried many different brands and kinds, but my favorite alcohol-free are the ones from the German brewery “Wunderbraeu” based in München. It’s probably impossible to find outside of Germany unfortunately. The brewery also prides itself about being bio, sustainable and CO2 neutral.

https://wunderbraeu.de/

Johan Bové

The bi-yearly German tradition of changing the season-specific tires on your car event has taken place today. Thanks to our company leasing, a quick flash of the "service card" and we were done with it.

Johan Bové

The Conrad store in is closing on February 15th. Another victim of how unfair competition from web shops and rental cost pressure is destroying physical stores. I’m not sure how many people lose their jobs; For me a joy disappears as I loved going through the store looking for cool new things.

Article on RP-Online (German) : https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/duesseldorf/conrad-schliesst-seine-duesseldorfer-filiale_aid-482501...

Johan Bové

Why is it so common at German home parties that the - often twenty-something - guests all feel the compelling urgent need to ALL loudly sing-a-long with the worst music known to man.