Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[RolandK]

Do you find the fault on ebay-kleinanzeigen.de:

[Cerebus]

Only $0.30/lb and in New York anyone with a suspect back we know nearby  eBay auction: #353263480395

That's less than scrap price. Copper (LME 1 month) $4.068/lb - which must make up 1/2 the weight, and steel scrap (LME 1 month) $0.198/lb.

[mansaxel]

[...]
In Sweden, CC fees are illegal.
[...]

What they really mean is, "CC fees are hidden" and you will pay the CC fees even if you pay cash!

The merchant agreement that the business owner signs with the bank to be able to accept credit cards specifically require the merchant to not give cash discounts, in order to make the CC fees less visible to the consumers.

In the US, this practice has been clamped down on, so today you can actually pay less at a gas station if you pay cash...

Inasmuch as the price is the same, yes, the same fees apply. However, as soon as "handling cash" is more elaborate for the business than emptying the till into the mattress, it starts to cost money. It's actually so that a lot of stores here have stopped accepting cash. Because it is expensive, cumbersome and dangerous.

Make of that what you will, but I'm thrilled with the convenience this offers. As I've written before; I never exchange money before traveling abroad (you know, going somewhere else, for work or leisure; we used to do it back in 2019..) because my credit and debit cards work better than money, except in Germany and where the mob rules the economy.

[SilverSolder]

[...]
In Sweden, CC fees are illegal.
[...]

What they really mean is, "CC fees are hidden" and you will pay the CC fees even if you pay cash!

The merchant agreement that the business owner signs with the bank to be able to accept credit cards specifically require the merchant to not give cash discounts, in order to make the CC fees less visible to the consumers.

In the US, this practice has been clamped down on, so today you can actually pay less at a gas station if you pay cash...

Inasmuch as the price is the same, yes, the same fees apply. However, as soon as "handling cash" is more elaborate for the business than emptying the till into the mattress, it starts to cost money. It's actually so that a lot of stores here have stopped accepting cash. Because it is expensive, cumbersome and dangerous.

Make of that what you will, but I'm thrilled with the convenience this offers. As I've written before; I never exchange money before traveling abroad (you know, going somewhere else, for work or leisure; we used to do it back in 2019..) because my credit and debit cards work better than money, except in Germany and where the mob rules the economy.

I haven't changed money before travel since the 1990's...  so I'm with you on this. 

The transaction costs of a credit card are significant, around 2%, give or take.   That may not sound like much, but if you think of it like this - which is the right way to think of it - the fees have to come out of your margin.  So if your store makes a 20% margin on goods sold, the fees are more like 10% of your margin!

The Germans (and Swiss) hate credit cards for a reason:  they were not born yesterday! 

[bd139]

The Swiss hate credit cards because they are cheap and enjoy complaining about things

I've seen my aunts in Migros...

[mnementh]

Or you could just figure it as what it really is: part of the cost of doing business, like the physical infrastructure and payroll you get rid of by not having to have dozens of cashiers and tills to manage cash at every transaction. ie: charging the customer for what saves you money overall is just plain  .

mnem
 

[Saskia]

I'd think the corporations charge what they can get away with.
Which is kind of unfair if they are doing that with commodity items that you need to sustain yourself.
Which in itself should give you an incentive to work on self sufficiency.

Which is hard if you pay up to 50% of your income in taxes plus 20% for social security plus have to cover for the cost of living (i.e. rent, food, stuff like that ...)

[mansaxel]

The Swiss hate credit cards because they are cheap and enjoy complaining about things

I've seen my aunts in Migros...

In Geneva I usually shop both in the Migros and the Coop, the former is in the railway end if the airport, and the latter is in a residential area a short walk from the airport. The Coop has better cheese, but the Migros beats it for wine. Or, one can shop basically the same wine in the "experience shop" at the airport for much more. 

Geneva is a town, to quote a friend who's been around in UN conferences a lot, best visited on a generous expense account. But, if one is there for EBU business, the office is just 15 minutes walk from the railway station / airport. And there's a hotel halfway.

[med6753]

Honestly, apart from Los Angeles I quite liked it there.

I once spent a 2 week vacation in LA. The only good thing about it was the girl I was with was...ahem... highly entertaining.   

But I have no desire to ever go back.

 

[SilverSolder]

Or you could just figure it as what it really is: part of the cost of doing business, like the physical infrastructure and payroll you get rid of by not having to have dozens of cashiers and tills to manage cash at every transaction. ie: charging the customer for what saves you money overall is just plain  .

mnem
 

Say your store takes in $20K per day.  You are paying the CC companies $400 a day for the convenience of not going to the bank...   can you do that for less?  -  I'm pretty sure you could hire two or three full time shop assistants in some countries, who could then also do other things in addition to going to the bank! 

It is more complicated than "the Swiss are being cheap" !   

[mansaxel]

I'd think the corporations charge what they can get away with.
Which is kind of unfair if they are doing that with commodity items that you need to sustain yourself.
Which in itself should give you an incentive to work on self sufficiency.

Which is hard if you pay up to 50% of your income in taxes plus 20% for social security plus have to cover for the cost of living (i.e. rent, food, stuff like that ...)

I pay around 35% in tax, give or take. (and that's a lot, most people pay around 31%) Social security included. Of course, we have VAT, and there are taxes on alcohol and fuels and so on, and of course the rampaging neo-libs (Thatcher / Reagan ass-lickers) like to add all that up just to prove that taxes are soooo high.

Self-sufficiency is a very hard thing to achieve. For starters, it is practically impossible in densely populated areas. (Germany has 231 persons per km², where Sweden has 22, only beaten by Finlands 16. ) and it more often than not puts a large burden on the environment. I believe we as a species can probably only survive by coöperating.

[bd139]

I believe we as a species can probably only survive by coöperating.

Yep. Self-sufficiency in a technologically advanced society requires cooperation. The other option is to live in a primitive society, which I think I'll pass on...

[BU508A]

In Geneva I usually shop both in the Migros and the Coop, the former is in the railway end if the airport, and the latter is in a residential area a short walk from the airport. The Coop has better cheese, but the Migros beats it for wine. Or, one can shop basically the same wine in the "experience shop" at the airport for much more. 

Geneva is a town, to quote a friend who's been around in UN conferences a lot, best visited on a generous expense account. But, if one is there for EBU business, the office is just 15 minutes walk from the railway station / airport. And there's a hotel halfway.

I think, your memory is misleading you here. Migros is NOT selling alcohol or tobacco.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g298020-i764-k5634350-Migros_supermakets_do_not_sell_alcohol_or_tobacco-Bodrum_District_Mugla_Province_Turkish_Aeg.html

[bd139]

That's probably because my aunts drank it all 

[Saskia]

42% income tax. about 1200€ social security / month on top, plus 900€ health insurance on top. With that I have to subsidize the rest of the world, my pension forecast sez 1900/month in government pension. Minus taxes and health insurance, naturally.

Welcome to the new German Democratic Republic.
As I said: I fucking hate it here.

Self sufficiency in:
get own energy, get own water, have your own water reclimation system, have your own hydroponic garden, hunt and fish. Repair what you can.

Can't do surgery at home, don't have the skills / tools.

[mansaxel]

Honestly, apart from Los Angeles I quite liked it there.

I once spent a 2 week vacation in LA. The only good thing about it was the girl I was with was...ahem... highly entertaining.   

But I have no desire to ever go back.

I have one bucket list item for the LA area, "Drive west on Sunset, to the sea".



Other than that, I just want to get out of town quickly. Trainspotting in Barstow, then on to Vegas and work.

Why do I not fly to Vegas? It requires a changeover at either Heathrow or O'Hare. LAX can be reached with a changeover at CPH which is much smaller and less affected by Airport Shit than LHR or ORD. And i hate flying domestic in the US. I've got something like a 50% failure rate on such flights, with delays, cancels, rebookings, missed connections, seating in coach with business class ticket, et c. Not again if it can be helped. I fly as close as possible, then drive.

[bd139]

42% income tax. about 1200€ social security / month on top, plus 900€ health insurance on top. With that I have to subsidize the rest of the world, my pension forecast sez 1900/month in government pension. Minus taxes and health insurance, naturally.

Welcome to the new German Democratic Republic.
As I said: I fucking hate it here.

Self sufficiency in:
get own energy, get own water, have your own water reclimation system, have your own hydroponic garden, hunt and fish. Repair what you can.

Can't do surgery at home, don't have the skills / tools.

That only works until you get old and fall to bits. Then you die.

[mansaxel]

I think, your memory is misleading you here. Migros is NOT selling alcohol or tobacco.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g298020-i764-k5634350-Migros_supermakets_do_not_sell_alcohol_or_tobacco-Bodrum_District_Mugla_Province_Turkish_Aeg.html

In Schweiz they do. Perhaps not in Turkey. Hint: the Tripadvisor posting is for Bodrum in Turkey.

MfG, der kleine Besserwisser 

[BU508A]

I think, your memory is misleading you here. Migros is NOT selling alcohol or tobacco.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g298020-i764-k5634350-Migros_supermakets_do_not_sell_alcohol_or_tobacco-Bodrum_District_Mugla_Province_Turkish_Aeg.html

In Schweiz they do. Perhaps not in Turkey. Hint: the Tripadvisor posting is for Bodrum in Turkey.

MfG, der kleine Besserwisser 

Nope, they don't sell alcohol in their stores. They sell it in the Denner stores or in gasoline shops.
https://faq.migros.ch/de/detail/die-migros-bietet-in-ihren-filialen-alkoholhaltige-produkte

I know this, because I'm living 15km away from the next Migros store and I'm very familiar with their selling rules in Switzerland. :-)

Mounty, der bessere Besserwisser.   

[SilverSolder]

[...] you get old and fall to bits. Then you die.

Make sure your journey to the destination is a pleasant one!

[med6753]

More. These are before cleaning pictures. It's actually not all that bad. I've seen MUCH worse. 

The swing out B Sweep Circuit. With this later generation 500 series you can see that sand state is slowly taking over.



The PSU. In here toobs still rule and transistors drool. 

 

Look at the size of that PT. No wonder this mofo is so heavy. 



This is a real surprise. The vertical circuit is almost completely sand state.



And here is the final vertical amplifier. All sand state.

[mansaxel]

I think, your memory is misleading you here. Migros is NOT selling alcohol or tobacco.

In Schweiz they do. Perhaps not in Turkey. Hint: the Tripadvisor posting is for Bodrum in Turkey.

MfG, der kleine Besserwisser 

Nope, they don't sell alcohol in their stores. They sell it in the Denner stores or in gasoline shops.
https://faq.migros.ch/de/detail/die-migros-bietet-in-ihren-filialen-alkoholhaltige-produkte

I know this, because I'm living 15km away from the next Migros store and I'm very familiar with their selling rules in Switzerland. :-)

Mounty, der bessere Besserwisser.   

Yes, I can read that. And it is au contraire with my memory. And, if I click on the online shop link on that page, I can go directly to the link I posted, with a large assortment of upper (as in above Lac Leman) Rhône wine.

I'm admittingly confused.

[BU508A]

I can spot some electrolytic capacitors fun for Papa Smurf ... 

[BU508A]

I think, your memory is misleading you here. Migros is NOT selling alcohol or tobacco.

In Schweiz they do. Perhaps not in Turkey. Hint: the Tripadvisor posting is for Bodrum in Turkey.

MfG, der kleine Besserwisser 

Nope, they don't sell alcohol in their stores. They sell it in the Denner stores or in gasoline shops.
https://faq.migros.ch/de/detail/die-migros-bietet-in-ihren-filialen-alkoholhaltige-produkte

I know this, because I'm living 15km away from the next Migros store and I'm very familiar with their selling rules in Switzerland. :-)

Mounty, der bessere Besserwisser.   

Yes, I can read that. And it is au contraire with my memory. And, if I click on the online shop link on that page, I can go directly to the link I posted, with a large assortment of upper (as in above Lac Leman) Rhône wine.

I'm admittingly confused.

The reason is: you can buy it it in the online store. But the company behind is not the same as for the real Migros stores. That's why they can sell alcohol and tobacco. I assume, it is a similar construct as with the gasoil stations (Migroil).

[tggzzz]

Geneva is a town, to quote a friend who's been around in UN conferences a lot, best visited on a generous expense account.

When I was working in Geneva for a short while, I worked in Switzerland but went to France for my lunch (and midmorning coffee break)