OK, now it's getting complicated. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />
"Das Laster" means "vice", not problem. The problem = das Problem.
Ich habe einen Laster, der Probleme hat. -> Probleme is plural of Problem. "der" is not the article, it's the relative pronoun ("that" in English).
"Ich habe den Tau mit dem Tau verbunden" - now it's getting even more complicated.
German has more casi than English. If you know Latin, then you know how it works. German has Nominative, Genitive, Dative, and Akkusative. The Problem is that you have to know for every verb with which casus it goes (horrible english, but I can't express it better). E.g. "stehlen" +Dative +Akkusative (to steal s.th. from s.b.). The order is not the same here, the Dative shows from whom you steal, the Akkusative shows what you steal.
"verbinden" +Akkusative "mit"+Dative.
In German you don't only have to declinate the nouns, you also have to declinate the articles, and adjectives.
"der"(Nominativ) "dessen"(Genitiv) "dem"(Dativ) "den"(Akkusativ) (masc)
"die"------------"deren"-----------"der"--------"die" (fem)
"das"------------"dessen"----------"dem"--------"das" (neutr)
Now, you can construct the sentence "Ich habe den Tau mit dem Tau verbunden". And you're lucky, because "Tau" doesn't change in the Dative and Akkusative casus. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
I am happy because the forum is joyful once again.
Ich bin glücklich, weil das Forum wieder freudig ist.
"seelenfroh" is correct, but very old-fashioned. "because" is (almost) always "weil", "because of" is "wegen". "Das Forum ist wieder freudig" is a correct sentence, but because you use it in a "weil" clause the "ist" wanders to the end of the sentence (don't ask me why).
Small hint: Forum is a latin word, therefore you can see it's neutral gender, because the ending is "um" (does sometimes help).
Feel like running away already? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
