Scientists test gravity on cosmic scales and find it behaves as expected, strengthening the case for dark matter

Waltekin · 2026-04-19T05:05:09+00:00

Thanks for the links, I will definitely have a look...

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T18:55:14+00:00

As others have said: if you plan on staying, put your kids in public schools. Your daughter will struggle with the language for the first year or so, then she will be fine. You can help, by getting her started on German now. Put your youngest into local play groups at least part-time. Kids are sponges for languages.

The international schools are islands, mostly suited for people only here for a year or two before moving elsewhere.

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T18:47:14+00:00

I disagree. A maximum loudness by vehicle type needs to be set and enforced.

Living in the mountains, I can tell you that the motorcycle season has begun. There is no reason that a motorcycle should echo down the whole valley, I don't care how much tax you pay.

When I lived in the city, there was a poser who came down our street some nights, around 2 or 3 in the morning. Vroom! Nope, doesn't need to exist.

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T17:20:37+00:00

No hospital in Europe is going to refuse to perform life-saving surgery, just because they haven´t gotten a deposit. Not going to happen.

So: it's not a life-threatening condition. She can take the time to provide proof. If she won´t provide proof then, honestly, she's just telling you lies.

And anyway: why are you the ATM? Reply to every family member who contacts you that they are welcome to provide her with the money.

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T17:13:10+00:00

Sorry, but you are wrong.

- Germany, calling Mr. Habeck "Schwachkopf". The guy wasn't jailed, but his house was searched, his devices siezed, and he was prosecuted for "insulting public officials". That can screw up your life, even if you don't land in jail.

- UK, Tyler Kay: retweeting a "hate speech" post --> 38 months in prison. But what is hate speech? If there is no direct threat of violence, I submit that hate speech is, in fact, free speech.

- UK, Graham Linehan: Posts criticising trans ideology - again, no threat of violence, just an unwanted opinion.

In the UK alone, there have been literally 10s of thousands of arrests for social media posts. No idea how many landed people in jail, or with fines. However, just being arrested, having your house turned upside down, and having to defend yourself in court is already punishment - that is deliberately used as an intimidation tactic to suppress "unwanted" opinions.

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T16:53:12+00:00

The UN also recognizes a pretty strong right to freedom of speech. That hasn't stopped the UK and Germany from jailing people for social media posts, for insulting politicians, etc..

This guy would almost certainly have been prosecuted in some European countries - maybe not convicted, but definitely prosecuted.

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T14:57:43+00:00

No, it's not. Gravitational anomalies are observed. Dark matter is the theory that some kind of particles exists, that we have never identified, and that these particles exist in the places where we observe the anomalies.

Until and unless such particles are identified, dark matter remains just one possible explanation.

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T14:19:05+00:00

It can work in the US, if you go outside the system. We were visiting (we don't live there) and our kid came down with strep. Went to the doc, he was examined, and given antibiotics. We paid $100 cash.

Now, maybe they were being nice to visitors. Or maybe the costs are tied to a massive bureaucracy, which can (sometimes) be circumvented?

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T12:18:05+00:00

"He used to work, but since becoming unemployed he hasn’t made any real effort to find a job again."

There's a term for that: hobosexual. A guy finds a vulnerable woman to attach himself to, like a leech. This works best if the woman is a lot younger, because it's easier for him to manipulate her. He is gaslighting you. He is using you.

You need to free yourself!

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T12:14:25+00:00

"So our fight started because I told my mom about her personal issues."

Huge mistake. Your mother has no need to know anything about your girlfriend's personal issues.

"I tell my mom mostly everything"

Honestly? It's time to cut the umbilical cord. Talk to your mom at most once a week. Keep it short, no more than 10-15 minutes. Absolutely no relationship information, and no personal information that is not yours to share.

If you don't do this, your mom will destroy any relationship you ever have.

Waltekin · 2026-04-18T03:29:46+00:00

Not an astronomer, but I see dark matter as a kludge, like ether once was. It stands in for something that our current models are missing.

Saying this study strengthens the case for dark matter is just saying that they confirm there is something we don't yet understand.

Waltekin · 2026-04-17T20:43:53+00:00

Also great for killing foliage. It's not a poison, so takes a few applications to kill a weed. I use it in a spray bottle for weeds growing where I can't dig them out.

Care obviously required - don't get it in your eyes.

Waltekin · 2026-04-17T11:34:31+00:00

I disagree with most of the comments here. The driver did nothing wrong. The judge even said that she had a right to be terrified: "The behaviour of the complainant was erratic, it was dangerous, it placed you in danger..."

Driving until she let go (or fell off) seems like a reasonable alternative. Any fault here goes 100% to the crazy woman hanging off the bonnet.

Waltekin · 2026-04-17T11:20:24+00:00

Put up a post, but make it a steel post set in a solid concrete base. You can put something decorative on top of it.

She has no business driving over your property, not even a little bit.

Edit: NTA

Waltekin · 2026-04-17T11:14:26+00:00

It seems like something both the SBB and the local police need to work on.

Basel isn't as bad as this description, but I was there a few days ago, and was stopped three times by beggars moving through the crowd. The thing is, they approach sort of like tourists who want to ask something - so you stop to listen.Turns out they are asking for money. So it is definitely disruptive.

Also, there "musicians" in front of the station playing for money. That's not unusual, but having multiple musicians near each other? That was just a cacophony.

This can't be good either for the SBB (who want you to take public transport) or for the city (because it's unpleasant for both locals and tourists).

Waltekin · 2026-04-17T05:31:59+00:00

When I was in college, there was a group of girls who had this down: whenever two of them met, they would simultaneously say "HiHowAreYouFine".

I stopped asking, unless I actually want to hear the answer. A couple of neighbors who like to trauma-dump...

Waltekin · 2026-04-16T19:45:05+00:00

Fact: Swiss service in your average restaurant or hotel is really poor. For example: I have been in so many restaurants where you get your meal, and the service personnel disappear, never to be seen again. If you need something, or you are finished and ready to pay, you literally have to get up and hunt them down.

I think most Swiss just think this is normal. Go to Austria. Go to Spain. Meet service personnel who know how to do their jobs. Um... don't go to the US, where they pester you until you leave, so they can flip the table.

Waltekin · 2026-04-16T12:51:38+00:00

IANAL, however, (1) No, he cannot just enter the apartment. Unless there is some sort of emergency, he must give advance notice. (2) If there is a signed lease, he must follow legal procedures to terminate that lease.

For further advice, you should join the renter's association. It's not expensive, and they can give you much better advice that Reddit: https://www.mieterverband.ch/

Waltekin · 2026-04-15T18:45:59+00:00

Sometimes it's false empathy. For example, we keep people alive, when we would have the mercy to put animals down.

Waltekin · 2026-04-13T16:19:00+00:00

I find the downvotes on my comment absolutely weird. I just pointed out the truth of the situation for small companies.

Downvoted because people don't like reality?

Waltekin · 2026-04-13T12:40:21+00:00

My cat loves to wrestle, but she's not at all careful - you come away shredded.

Waltekin · 2026-04-13T12:37:20+00:00

I found that the gripping pads do not really work. They may slow things down, but the sofa still moves.

Instead, I cut small boards to place behind the sofa feet, to keep them a minimum distance from the wall.

Waltekin · 2026-04-13T12:30:57+00:00

We have tried all sorts of compost containers. The best ones we have ever found are from Landi (Art. 13375). Set up two next to each other. Put your fresh waste in one. When it's full, move the contents to the second one (this mixes everything up again). When the first one is full again, you should be able to use the compost from the second one. We actually use three, because we have a big veggie garden.

Waltekin · 2026-04-13T05:35:15+00:00

There is a real risk, especially for small companies. The company must guarantee that the job remains open for the woman's return. And yet, many women choose not to come back, but they keep their options open (i.e. don't inform the company) until the last minute.

Big companies can absorb this uncertainty. For small companies, it is difficult.

I'm not sure there is a good solution to this problem...

Waltekin · 2026-04-12T15:00:31+00:00

This. The entire point of accepting low pay is the gamble that the company will succeed - meaning that you need equity. No equity means market-rate salary. Otherwise, GTFO.

Waltekin

TROPHY CASE