OT news server woes

AAURRRGGGGH!! The family has been waiting forever for broadband to
hit this area. Finally a company comes in with wireless braodband,
much faster that our old dialup. Sign up, installers come and do their
thing, wow!, look at those pages load. Then I get settled in and find
out they don't do usenet!! I search for a free server and try the one
someone (Rich Z IIRC) recommended in Germany, and they have changed up
their site, no english registration. So I'm trying to get caught up
using Google Groups, but I hate the web based format, they don't offer
ABPF, and no killfile! I didn't realize I was addicted till I couldn't
get on here. Maybe I'll just take up drinking.