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Posts by convex  

Joined: 25 Nov 2009 / Male ♂
Last Post: 28 Nov 2011
Threads: Total: 20 / In This Archive: 5
Posts: Total: 3928 / In This Archive: 32
From: Wroclaw
Speaks Polish?: un poco...wait
Interests: aviation

Displayed posts: 37 / page 1 of 2
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convex   
27 Nov 2009
Food / Tatar - a raw meat dish [28]

you can get trichnosis from eating the neighbors garbage disposal pig raw. millions of fresh mettwurst sandwiches are sold in german every week without a problem. if you don't trust your source, you probably shouldn't be eating it.

another quick tip for having tartar at a restaurant. the decent places will take the slab of beef out and grind it in front of you. i'm not sure if it's true or not, but i heard that there are a certain additional set of criteria that a restaurant has to achieve with regards to the storage and prep area if they want to sell tartar.

side note, any suggestions for good tartar? there is a place in klodko that was awesome, will dig out the name...
convex   
27 Nov 2009
History / Lifestyles of the communist elite [17]

I hear about how the communist "elite" were living the good life while the citizens struggled. I'm pretty well informed about the day to day life of the citizenry through the various periods of history in communist countries. Does anyone have any information on how the "elite" lived under communism. You hear quite a bit about excesses, but I haven't been able to find any information on people other than heads of state. Anyone have have an idea what kind of perks were given to which people/positions?
convex   
27 Nov 2009
Law / Transferring leased car to Poland. What to do? [3]

My company car is on Czech plates, both of the points in 1. made by Harry are true. I have never been pulled over here. On the other hand, pieces of my car went missing about every week. I just stopped replacing them, they stopped stealing them.
convex   
27 Nov 2009
Life / Stolen car parts [30]

How many of you have had parts stolen off your car?

Windshield wipers walked away in the middle of the night on a german plated rental car.

Body panel inserts, front grill, and the glass out of mirrors were professionally removed from my private car. I didn't replace the grill and the plastic body part, and bought some cheap stick on mirror glass replacements and slapped them on. Heating and autodimming doesn't work, but they've stayed put for the last 9 months...

Anyone else have experience with the car parts gnomes?
convex   
28 Nov 2009
Life / Stolen car parts [30]

you know, the grill was stolen from a dimly lit parking area in the center of the some old buildings in wroclaw... you wouldn't happen to have an SLK grill for sale, would you?
convex   
30 Nov 2009
Real Estate / How to find an apartment in Wroclaw [12]

Might want to try gumtree, lots of owner direct rentals there. Rentals are broken down into agencje and prywatne. You might have to spend a bit of extra time searching through the listings, but it's better than getting bent over by a key manager...
convex   
30 Nov 2009
Real Estate / Mortgage default rates in Poland [10]

Does anyone have information on current and historical mortgage default rates in Poland?
convex   
30 Nov 2009
Real Estate / Mortgage default rates in Poland [10]

Do you know what happens when someone can't make the payment? Do banks usually change the terms? Force a sale? Go straight for other assets?
convex   
16 Dec 2009
Real Estate / Prices of apartments in Krakow are collapsing further down in 2010-2011 [150]

Personally, I hope that Polish wages will go up so that housing becomes affordable, everybody would win in that situation. I'm not sure how that will happen without destroying the export market and all the "cheap labor" jobs. The US and the UK (among others) are proving over and over again that an economy that is powered by consumer consumption of imported products isn't sustainable in the long run.

Just to dig a bit deeper, do the people on the forum who are bullish on polish real estate see it as being affordable at the moment? What is the main reason that you would invest in the polish real estate market right now? Is it the supply and demand situation? The low interest rates on mortgages? The weak zloty (if you're investing from outside). Overall economic growth? What makes the Polish real estate market attractive to you right now?
convex   
16 Dec 2009
News / HUMANE TREATMENT FOR CHRISTMAS CARP in POLAND [55]

and children are not allowed to witness the act of killing

Really? Seriously? Kids might be somehow harmed if they found out where their food came from? Scary the way things are going...
convex   
16 Dec 2009
Law / Starting a distribution business in Poland [11]

handy:
Yes a one-person company is the sort of thing im looking at until such time as I have the capital to invest in a limited company.

They're not very expensive. You can get a shelf z.o.o. for €2500, ready to go immediately. It would be more hassle than it's worth to go from an "IchAG" to a z.o.o.
convex   
17 Dec 2009
Food / Polish Restaurant Prices [20]

You forgot about the cost of the flight to Poland, time off work, taxi, hotel (if there are no return flights same day).

If you calculate all that in, £6 seems like a winner in the UK.
convex   
18 Dec 2009
Travel / train @ bus from warsaw to budapest? [17]

no prices online for international trips, you have to fill out a form

polrail.com/sections/store/quoteprice.html

If you're feeling sadistic, eurolines will take you there for 70pln
convex   
18 Dec 2009
UK, Ireland / Poles working and living in the UK [25]

By the way - Pole that living in the UK is "immigrant".
But Britts in Poland are "expats". Funny thing. :-)

That is interesting, because most of the foreigners that live here are on a local salary, no expat contract, legally registered... That indeed sounds like an immigrant to me...
convex   
21 Dec 2009
Food / Polish cocktails [7]

Know of any Polish cocktails?

Szarlotka is about the only one that I know of.

1:3 zubrowka and apple juice.

Anyone have more?
convex   
21 Dec 2009
Love / A suitable birthday gift for a Polish lady? [26]

birthday is different than a nameday

as for the gift, i personally enjoy chocolate on my nameday or birthday, always a winner. books work too..

high school teacher in wroclaw starts off at about 1800 a month before taxes.
convex   
21 Dec 2009
Love / A suitable birthday gift for a Polish lady? [26]

In Wroclaw, public school teachers start off at 1800 a month before taxes. Yea, it's pretty low. It's still better than what train drivers...and tram and bus drivers make.

A good birthday gift for an American woman is as suitable for a Polish one. Stop being so hillbillish!

amen.

only thing is, a lavish gift to a married woman from a foreign guy might cause a bit of tension...
convex   
21 Dec 2009
Real Estate / Is it normal to pay 22% tax on renting a flat? [15]

From what I understand, you have to pay VAT on housing if renting from a company, not from an individual (it's taxed as income on their behalf)....BUT, it should already be included in the advertised price. Just like buying a car, groceries, etc.

Edit: Alright, seems like jonni is much more competent on this...
convex   
23 Dec 2009
Food / Looking for Cider around Poznan Area [16]

but its the only option as far as i know

I make applewine at home. It's really easy and if you give it a shot of carbonated water, a little sugar if you're into that kind of thing, and you've got good cider. Takes about 3 weeks...but it's way cheaper, tates better, and you get a whole jug of it.
convex   
23 Dec 2009
Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]

Hi I have a CCW in the states.

Likewise, I don't leave the house in the states without my browning. Here, I have never once felt the need to carry. Our neighbors to the south in the Czech Republic have the right to carry, but I never felt the need to in the 4 years that I lived there.
convex   
23 Dec 2009
Food / Looking for Cider around Poznan Area [16]

Please share your recipie, if you please :)

ehow.com/how_2093695_make-apple-wine.html - This is a good one to follow

I follow pretty much the same steps except I don't add ascorbic acid or wine tannin and use lemon juice as the acid blend. I like it cloudy, so I skip the campden tablet and drink it straight away (if you do this, make absolutely sure that everything you use is sterile, good way to make yourself sick!). I'd also suggest pressing your apples instead of buying store bought. You can play around with the type of apple to get what you like.

You might have to order some stuff, but it will last you forever because you don't need much of it for a batch:

burgundy wine yeast
yeast nutrients
pectic acid

hydrometer
airlock

The good news is that you'll be placing that order with a place that more than likely sells beer making supplies... so you can make it a christmas order and get everything you need to make beer too. Applewine is a lot easier than beer, but once you get beer brewing down you start getting snobbish because you can make exactly what you like at home. Beware, it's addictive.
convex   
24 Dec 2009
Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]

The more guns you have in a society the more violent the criminals will be.

Like in the UK? Switzerland? The Czech Republic? Jamaica?

But in all honesty, if a government has to take guns away from its populace in order to attempt to bring down gun related deaths, it means that the police force isn't doing a good enough job protecting the people in the first place.

I think one of the important things to look at in places like the UK is not only the number of gun deaths that are now occurring (and the overall violent crime rate for that matter), but how many people are intimidated by the guy with a gun.