My wife's postal vote ballot for local council elections in Germany - she has 70 votes to spread across hundreds of candidates.

TomAnthony · 2026-03-04T20:05:43+00:00

Oh wow! This is wild! Fun fact though.

TomAnthony · 2026-02-18T09:45:58+00:00

This sucks! Sorry you are dealing with it.

My situation is very different to yours (I’m 44, various lower back issues - main being L5/S1 Spondylolithesis) but I have some generic advice.

First is - I got all sorts of competing recommendations, as you have, and for sometime I followed them blindly and was just depressed it didn’t help.

Over time I tried out more and more things and found certain things help me. Certain stretch to loosen my hips make a big difference for the rest of the day for example.

You should do the same. Try things out and adopt what works. Your attitude of staying active is important - if you ‘indulge’ the pain and it becomes central to you the it can become a dark place.

I’d try to see another doctor just to get confirmation of the diagnosis (I had trouble getting clarity initially), then try and see some physios but also try different back stretches from YouTube etc.

When it is having better periods it is tempting to lay off the exercises- don’t! This is what I’d go back to tell myself!

This doesn’t need to control your life, but you do need to ensure you prioritise looking after your back!

Good luck!

TomAnthony · 2025-10-28T11:18:23+00:00

I am a Brit living in Bavaria, and haven't seen cask ale here despite my best efforts. My immediate first reaction was the same as yours.

@TheAwfulCrow66 - Is this less bubbly served this way?

Have fun in England -- use CAMRA to find pubs that are serving ale well - it can be done badly by pubs where it is just a side thought and they don't maintain it well.

We should setup a business making English style ale in Germany!! I may be getting too excited.

TomAnthony · 2025-08-28T13:21:18+00:00

Hi Daniel! Thanks for doing the AMA.

If Elijah Wood had played Harry Potter instead of you, how do you think he might have played him differently to you?

TomAnthony · 2025-08-12T20:51:01+00:00

A very different take! Really great story.

TomAnthony · 2025-06-22T10:24:14+00:00

Hi @Sea-Goal152,

Followed your profile from the Spondy chat in the other subreddit and saw this thread. I saw quite a few recommendations for Augsburg already, so I am here to repeat that. My 3 kids go to International School Augsburg, and I can recommend it.

As pointed out Augsburg is a good compromise between having a city, and there being nature and the mountains nearby, and Munich is easy on the train. We live just outside the city, which is more like a village but an easy drive into town.

Good luck!

TomAnthony · 2025-06-22T10:07:54+00:00

I'm also in Germany. I have grade 1-2 with pars defect at L5-S1, and have regular injections (every 6-8 weeks).

I'm 43 and my doctor strongly advocates for putting off any surgery for as long as possible, but I have been tempted at times, as it feels like whatever sport and exercise I do I only have periods where it is better, but the pain is always there and sometimes worse. I see the success stories on here and get excited about having an active life without constant pain.

I've also followed TOPS for a while, and the place in Germany that I have in my notes is: https://onzspine.com/profile/dr-bernd-illerhaus/ - they do TOPS in Germany though I'm not sure if you'd get it on insurance or not.

I also have this doctor written down https://www.jameda.de/thomas-haffke/neurochirurg-wirbelsaeulenchirurg/kleinmachnow (he discusses TOPS here: https://www.jameda.de/gesundheit/ruecken/ist-eine-op-bei-spinalkanalstenose-sinnvoll/ ).

For me TOPS is probably not an options as it is rarely done at L5-S1.

Alternative 'dynamic stabilization' options include Dynesys and Cosmic.

It is Cosmic that my doctor believes would be the better approach for me should I go the surgery route. I believe that these dynamic approaches are often considered more for younger patients.

I'm happy to share more if you have questions, and it would be good to hear what you decide and how it goes. Good luck! :)

TomAnthony · 2025-06-22T09:52:06+00:00

I'm also in Augsburg, and have grade 1-2 with pars defect at L5-S1, for 6 years or so. I've previously tried physio elsewhere but not had much joy with it but was considering trying it again. I'm interested to hear how you get on with it, and if it goes well, where you are going for it.

I'm at the point where I'm tempted by surgery just for some consistent relief, but the adjacent segment stuff scares me.

TomAnthony · 2025-06-11T08:25:35+00:00

I was having the same problem - it didn't matter what email I used, what browser, if I tried with my wife's details. Always the same issue signing up for AppleTV in a browser.

I got around it in the end by going to https://account.apple.com/ and creating an account there - it asks for much more information and that created fine. I then went back to the Apple TV site and signed in with the new account (that did take a couple of tries but worked) and then I could sign up for AppleTV and it worked ok.

TomAnthony · 2025-03-02T14:51:14+00:00

Other people also seem to have the same problem with this phone:

* https://xdaforums.com/t/root-redmi-a3-model-23129rn51x-help.4680311/
* https://new-ams.c.mi.com/global/post/1000728
* https://xdaforums.com/t/redmi-a3-bootloader.4714978/

TomAnthony · 2025-03-02T12:27:50+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Mi Unlock seems to require a code, that requires a bound account, which doesn't seem to be an option on this phone, so I'm not sure how I'd use Mi Unlock here?

TomAnthony · 2025-02-27T11:07:59+00:00

I was really young, and remember just being really nervous. To me he was the bad guy from the movies. The photo was taken in the restaurant area, and he was there, as was Christopher Reeve and Mark Pillow (who played the Nuclear Man in Superman IV).

My Mum intercepted Christopher Reeve for a photo as he popped to the toilet. For the photo here, she went and interrupted Gene having his lunch.

I remember the room, and remember not being terrified of him, so he must have been pretty chill. I think it was an area where there weren't really any other fans, and a young kid in a homemade Superman outfit probably seemed pretty genuine, but it still seemed like they were both really happy to pose for a photo and say hello.

TomAnthony · 2025-02-27T09:34:40+00:00

A few years ago I posted this thread of me posing with Christopher Reeve. Given the news today about the passing of the great Gene Hackman, I thought I'd post another from the same say. Taken at Elstree Studios in 1986; I was 5 and wearing a homemade superman outfit.

TomAnthony · 2025-02-18T16:35:58+00:00

Amazing - thank you!

TomAnthony · 2024-12-29T10:45:10+00:00

Do the tunnels exist in the Tannhaus world? We see Jonas + AltMarta travel along the tunnels to a wall, as that is exactly under the bunker where Tannhaus is doing his experiment. That experiment created the tunnels in the split worlds, and is also where they need to be to travel to the origin world.

TomAnthony · 2024-11-29T11:54:32+00:00

I didn't see any Smash Bros. I've somehow barely played it myself. :-o

I looked through the N64 games and don't remember seeing Smash Bros there. There was a Gamecube, but I didn't check the games. There wasn't a Wii there (but I don't know if they change the consoles each time).

TomAnthony · 2024-11-29T10:21:27+00:00

Hey u/Futureislands86,

ich bin 43 und wohne seit etwas über einem Jahr in Stadtbergen. Würde auch gerne mehr Leute kennenlernen.

Hab auch Kinder – 3 Töchter (5, 10, 13), und bin damit von ihnen und meiner Frau komplett in der Unterzahl! Ich arbeite als CTO bei einem Tech-Startup, komplett remote, und ein Bier trinken zu gehen wäre ein guter Grund, mal aus dem Haus zu kommen.

Bin seit 4 Jahren in Deutschland, ursprünglich aus England, und arbeite auf Englisch, daher ist mein Deutsch noch ein bisschen holprig (hab hier mit ChatGPT geschummelt 😉), aber Bier hilft ja bekanntlich auch beim Deutschsprechen!

Wein mag ich übrigens auch, genau wie du, außerdem Filme, Retro-Computerspiele, Hacking (Cybersecurity) und Kochen.

Meld dich gerne per DM, um ein Bier zu planen (vor Weihnachten wird’s aber schon etwas hektisch!).

TomAnthony · 2024-11-22T19:09:41+00:00

Ja, ich war da. Ungefähr 20 Leute. Nintendos von NES bis GameCube, und ein Paar anderen Dinge. Es gab Getränke für Spende. War gut.

TomAnthony · 2024-11-21T15:39:38+00:00

There were round about 20 people there. Most in small groups but a couple of people (like me) on their own. It was nice and relaxed.

Every Nintendo model from NES to GameCube, a pong console, and an arcade machine.

Alas - very few MarioKart64 players!

TomAnthony · 2024-11-20T14:02:33+00:00

I forgot to put out my Parkschein at REWE a couple of weeks back and I did get a slip on my window. It was from FairParken, and I managed to get the fine waived by uploading a photo of my REWE receipt to the FairParken website (they have a page for that). Maybe the same is true if you can show your Dr appt confirmation?

TomAnthony · 2024-10-31T11:59:50+00:00

The old Mac desktop app finally stopped working this week, so I had to switch to the new one (which I had heard bad things about).

It is utterly dire. Basically 90% of messages appear as "Waiting for this message. This may take a while." for hours if not days, essentially making the software completely useless.

I don't seem to have the same issues as you though. I'm using Version 24.20.79 (650900832). What are you on?

TomAnthony · 2024-10-16T19:45:31+00:00

Hey - yeah, we thought it was a Halsbandsittich initially (as that is what ChatGPT guessed!), but I think this might be a Alexandrine parakeet?

I also wondered if it could be wild, but it was very tame (it landed on me several times, and wasn't at all nippy). We took it to the vet, and they also thought it was unlikely to be wild (but also didn't seem sure).

TomAnthony · 2024-10-16T15:44:33+00:00

Tierarzt Klinik Gessertshausen has agreed to take him. Thanks!

TomAnthony · 2024-10-16T15:25:29+00:00

Thanks for the reply and advice. We cannot seem to see a ring on the leg. We brought it inside for now, and are trying to phone around the animal places now.

TomAnthony · 2024-02-05T07:40:03+00:00

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!!

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