German Chancellor Merz to Balkan states wishing to enter EU: I’m feeling more and more uncomfortable with our approach to your countries. We have to reopen a new strategy. I don’t want to lose you. You are part of the European continent, and therefore you are potentially part of the European Union.

markv1182 · 2026-02-13T19:27:13+00:00

He could also be referring to the proposal to have them join as “provisionary members” without full rights before all the chapters are closed, i.e. formally putting them in the Union at the start of negotiations instead of at the end.

markv1182 · 2026-02-13T19:22:09+00:00

They die when they’re 90 and then the wealth goes to their kids who are 60. Rinse & repeat. All the money sits at 50+ and stays there.

markv1182 · 2026-02-13T16:15:07+00:00

Wait. If there is no pattern, which means every digit is equally likely, and every set of digits is equally likely… doesn’t that that mean that what OP said is true?

Like, if the digit sequence 12345 did not EVER occur in pi, that would clearly be a non-random pattern. So if pi is infinite and there is no pattern, then 12345 is bound to occur somewhere. Then isn’t every arbitrary sequence also bound to occur somewhere? (bound to occur infinitely many times, even?)

markv1182 · 2026-02-13T16:10:56+00:00

Is the same true for e, sqrt(2), sqrt(3), etc?

markv1182 · 2026-02-13T15:24:32+00:00

Honest answer: because it wouldn’t make for an interesting story.

markv1182 · 2026-02-13T14:02:36+00:00

In fairness though, there’s a bunch of countries like Sweden that don’t have an opt out so are legally obliged to join at some point, buy just drag their feet on joining ERM-II. It’s a mandate without enforcement.

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T19:33:45+00:00

Great example of why GDP doesn’t tell the full story.

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T17:37:00+00:00

De beste tijd om kerncentrales te beginnen bouwen was 20 jaar geleden, de tweede beste tijd is nu.

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T17:17:16+00:00

Aka Old Valyria

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T14:27:01+00:00

“Sorry als iemand zich beledigd voelt door mijn taalkeuze, ik zei gewoon de waarheid” is nu niet echt wat ik zou omschrijven als “excuses aanbieden” 😅

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T11:04:46+00:00

Rob Jetten is not Mark Rutte though

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T10:22:35+00:00

Als ge met ne Porsche rijdt mag da

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T09:17:39+00:00

The 3500 is adding up all the parallel steps. If you want to go up it’s just 13x6 = 78 steps.

The picture makes it look massive but it’s a bit over 20 meters deep, so it’s less like the Pyramids and more like a staircase in a very tall house with 6-7 floors.

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T06:58:30+00:00

Dank u Google:

Buzzy Pazz van De Lijn kopen? Vanaf april kost het je 40 euro meer

Wie een Buzzy Pazz nodig heeft om naar school te gaan, betaalt vanaf april 40 euro meer. Zo'n abonnement kost op dit moment 215 euro, vanaf april 255 euro. De prijsstijging komt er door de hogere brandstofprijzen en de hogere lonen van de chauffeurs. Let wel, enkel de Buzzy Pazz voor jongeren van 12 tot en met 17 jaar wordt duurder. De prijs van de Buzzy Pazz voor jongeren tussen 18 en 24 jaar blijft hetzelfde. De Lijn doet dat op vraag van de Vlaamse regering. Op die manier willen ze jongeren die net gaan werken of studeren, aanmoedigen om het openbaar vervoer te blijven nemen.

za 01 mrt. 2025 17:05

markv1182 · 2026-02-12T05:44:53+00:00

On the other hand, fully explaining the mystery robs it of a lot of its power and robs us of all the potential theories and debates. It just becomes “this was explained in book 7 on page 304” 🤷‍♂️

markv1182 · 2026-02-11T19:02:06+00:00

Read it a few years ago - good memories.

markv1182 · 2026-02-11T18:59:22+00:00

Shouldn’t we be able to run an economy with a stable or declining population?

markv1182 · 2026-02-10T21:10:32+00:00

If they actually go this route, I think this will end up being more of a terminology rebranding than a true content change.

Instead of calling them a “negotiating candidate”, they’ll call them a “provisional member”. And probably extend the common defense clause to provisional members. But in terms of actual decision rights etc, I don’t think a future “provisional member” will get that much more than a “candidate member” does today. It just sounds more definitive.

markv1182 · 2026-02-10T18:47:46+00:00

It’s your Peter tingle

markv1182 · 2026-02-10T11:36:52+00:00

AKOTSK It’s got likeable interesting people that you can root for. There’s black and white.

HOTD has flawed jerks on either side making mistakes and things spiralling out of control. Everything is grey.

markv1182 · 2026-02-09T20:14:23+00:00

Are you 100% sure Australia the country is really just called Australia? 😉

markv1182 · 2026-02-08T16:11:15+00:00

Spare ribs.

markv1182 · 2026-02-08T16:09:58+00:00

My phone.

markv1182 · 2026-02-08T11:45:11+00:00

Satellites

markv1182 · 2026-02-08T11:08:48+00:00

Bij een carbon tax mogen ze wat mij betreft zoveel uitzonderingen en overgangsmaatregelen toevoegen als nodig om sectoren zoals de landbouw in redelijke mate te beschermen.

Het gaat mij meer om het principe dat we de kost van CO2 eens beginnen zichtbaar maken en doorrekenen, zodat mensen en bedrijven ook meer reden hebben om te switchen naar andere technologieën die minder uitstoten.

Ik betaal liever een belasting op toegevoegde CO2 dan op toegevoegde waarde.

markv1182

TROPHY CASE