Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[BU508A]

I didn't know, that there are red 87V around. Seems to be the EX version.

Front:




Found this in the German ebay small advertisements, but it is not really a bargain. 380 Euro.

[Mr. Scram]

It IS the fucking food industry. If you're poor, all you can get to eat is shit food that's mostly simple carbohydrates. Even if you're willing and have time to cook it all yourself, decent non-starch vegetables and meats that aren't full of cereal fillers and/or injected full of water/sugar/salt cost a fuxking fortune. You think Super-size Me is ONLY about the fast-food industry? Con-Agra, Kraft and Monsanto control more than 80% of the food in the aisles of ANY supermarket. For the majority of ordinary people in major cities, there is NOWHERE ELSE to shop that they can get to. Even when you WANT to eat right, it's nearly impossible unless you're rich.

So yeah, it's easy to blame individual people; the generally punitive attitude of our society lends itself to that. But if you open your eyes, you soon start to see all the ways EVERYTHING that has any ties to ANYTHING commercial is STACKED AGAINST the average citizen.

And yes, that includes the food supply itself being actively poisoned; not only with chemicals so toxic they literally have to genetically modify food plants so they don't die from what's being sprayed on them, to everything grown in the state of Texas and California being irrigated with fracking wastewater trucked in from all over the south.

Why? Because it's more profitable, no matter how many people die. "Fuck 'em; they're not people. They're poor." EVERY town is Flint, MI.

mnem
"Not eating SHIT" should not be a privilege reserved only for the rich.

The current food landscape has been created by consumers. Things only get made if they get bought. Eating healthy on a budget is doable but takes effort and if one thing defines modern food it's convenience. Why do you think it's called fast food? Blaming the man for poor eating habits is that lack of accountability med was talking about. There are some who really are cornered by their financial position but in almost all cases it's a matter of prioritising and putting the effort in.

[bd139]

I didn't know, that there are red 87V around. Seems to be the EX version.

... snip images ...

Found this in the German ebay small advertisements, but it is not really a bargain. 380 Euro.

You have to be careful with the EX / intrinsically safe ones. Most of the main board is potted so doing any repairs is mostly impossible. There is one "for parts" one that has been sold at least 4 times recently in the UK after the buyer realised they don't have a chance in hell of fixing it.

[Mr. Scram]

It's funny how much a differently coloured boot changes the look.

[tggzzz]

It IS the fucking food industry. If you're poor, all you can get to eat is shit food that's mostly simple carbohydrates. Even if you're willing and have time to cook it all yourself, decent non-starch vegetables and meats that aren't full of cereal fillers and/or injected full of water/sugar/salt cost a fuxking fortune. You think Super-size Me is ONLY about the fast-food industry? Con-Agra, Kraft and Monsanto control more than 80% of the food in the aisles of ANY supermarket. For the majority of ordinary people in major cities, there is NOWHERE ELSE to shop that they can get to. Even when you WANT to eat right, it's nearly impossible unless you're rich.

So yeah, it's easy to blame individual people; the generally punitive attitude of our society lends itself to that. But if you open your eyes, you soon start to see all the ways EVERYTHING that has any ties to ANYTHING commercial is STACKED AGAINST the average citizen.

And yes, that includes the food supply itself being actively poisoned; not only with chemicals so toxic they literally have to genetically modify food plants so they don't die from what's being sprayed on them, to everything grown in the state of Texas and California being irrigated with fracking wastewater trucked in from all over the south.

Why? Because it's more profitable, no matter how many people die. "Fuck 'em; they're not people. They're poor." EVERY town is Flint, MI.

mnem
"Not eating SHIT" should not be a privilege reserved only for the rich.

The current food landscape has been created by consumers. Things only get made if they get bought. Eating healthy on a budget is doable but takes effort and if one thing defines modern food it's convenience. Why do you think it's called fast food? Blaming the man for poor eating habits is that lack of accountability med was talking about. There are some who really are cornered by their financial position but in almost all cases it's a matter of prioritising and putting the effort in.

There's a chicken-and-egg aspect to this too.

Many people are remarkably ignorant, either through laziness or never having been shown how to learn about things. In such cases it is unlikely they will make good choices - but it is ambiguous as to whether that is their fault. If such people make poor choices, then manufacturers have little incentive.

Additionally, nutrition is an evolving science, and recommendations change every decade or so.

[VK5RC]

Hi guys, you have forgotten the 5 basic food groups
Fat
Salt
Sugar
Coffee
Alcohol

Chocolate is a super-food
as it encompasses 3 groups in one!

Seriously though - exercise is very important. But I agree that the food choices esp for the 'battlers' can be very poor. Often very poor passed on family health knowledge, few opportunities and little formal real health education.

[Specmaster]

Never before have I seen salt, coffee and alcohol given as food groups, wishful thinking I think on the last 2, salt can be a killer.

[Specmaster]

Thank you. The prey always escapes me 

There is a problem here and that is people are paying too much for stuff. I'm not inclined to pay too much for stuff so I always lose. It's not that I'm being cheap either; just a simple risk assessment suggests people are basically insane! 

Totally agree, if something has been our hands and been restored etc then its worth the money, but so many people just see what previous ones sold for without paying attention to its overall condition and hence seller expects too much for them, even when not working and silly buyers will bid stupid money thinking its going to a quick and easy fix, which it can be sometimes and others its fit for tossing in the bin 

[bd139]

salt can be a killer.

I wouldn't worry about salt. This was based on work by Lewis Dahl in the 1950s which had about as much statistical validity of the assertion that the number of pirates dwindled due to global warming (see gospel of the flying spaghetti monster). Later information shows pretty much no correlation: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2897%2909092-2/fulltext ... some cult argumentative reading here from the BMJ as well: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2127329/pdf/9284674.pdf

As always with nutrition; balance and exercise is key. Avoid fads, marketing, eating cults and quick food fixes and you'll be fine.

Edit: big thing to watch out for is that medical "experts" are terrible at statistics and mathematical things usually. I'm not sure why. Anesthetists excluded - they are pretty good because they dont last long if they aren't . Watch the whole "statins" thing blow up in the next decade as an example...

[Mr. Scram]

I wouldn't worry about salt. This was based on work by Lewis Dahl in the 1950s which had about as much statistical validity of the assertion that the number of pirates dwindled due to global warming (see gospel of the flying spaghetti monster). Later information shows pretty much no correlation: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2897%2909092-2/fulltext ... some cult argumentative reading here from the BMJ as well: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2127329/pdf/9284674.pdf

As always with nutrition; balance and exercise is key. Avoid fads, marketing, eating cults and quick food fixes and you'll be fine.

Edit: big thing to watch out for is that medical "experts" are terrible at statistics and mathematical things usually. I'm not sure why. Anesthetists excluded - they are pretty good because they dont last long if they aren't . Watch the whole "statins" thing blow up in the next decade as an example...

Avoiding fads, eating cults and quick fixes is spot on. The right ballpark isn't rocket science, but most people simply opt for quick fixes because they think it'll allow them a way around what they consider the grind and some basic discipline.

[bd139]

Avoiding fads, eating cults and quick fixes is spot on. The right ballpark isn't rocket science, but most people simply opt for quick fixes because they think it'll allow them a way around what they consider the grind and some basic discipline.

I think it's slightly more complicated than that. In a world of noise, stress and poverty for a lot of people, there is no time to think before you do and no money to have a choice (bad food is cheap and fast!) so habit sets in. It's a form of poorly contrived efficiency. And then it catches up on you. I've been there.  It's easy to point fingers at the food pushers, but there is only supply because there is demand when there shouldn't be.

If you look at the average high street here, it has descended into rows of fast food outlets. And this is because people have hauled their ass home finally at 8pm barely able to stay alive so they can sit in their box room until they have to get up at 6am the next day to go and sit in an office miles away purely sited for corporate status. Their only awake and "corporeal" time is during the commute and that's mostly standing up. That kebab shop looks pretty good then because the mind desires something to provide gratification in an otherwise empty life and instinctively we go for carbs as we've not evolved much past our stoneage scavenger bodies. Been there too

I'm not there now. I don't commute. I don't have that ball and chain. I can run a good 5 miles. i can climb 1000ft easily. But it took for me to throw my entire life away and take a lot of risks to get there. And most people are afraid of that. I was and I'm not sure I recommend being left with £12 to your name on at least 2 occasions

Collectively we created a monster as a species and now it's eating us.

Edit: I'd argue most of us are victims of circumstance and necessity. Bring on Star Trek replicators. That would end everything overnight.

[kj7e]

Currently on a goal to trim up and loose 25lbs by November   

I picked up our rapidly growing puppy the other day, who now weighs in at 25lbs and thought to myself, how much easier it would be to cycle up hills if I lost all this weight.  So  gonna make it happen, down 5 lbs in the last two weeks.  Less wine, more water.

[Mr. Scram]

Currently on a goal to trim up and loose 25lbs by November   

I picked up our rapidly growing puppy the other day, who now weighs in at 25lbs and thought to myself, how much easier it would be to cycle up hills if I lost all this weight.  So  gonna make it happen, down 5 lbs in the last two weeks.  Less wine, more water.

Slow and steady wins the race. It's all about making lasting changes, rather than crash diving into your goal and oscillating all over the place as a result. That's why temporary diets don't work either.

[mnementh]

It's orificial. 50-something orbits of this ball of mud have occurred under my feet as of today. In that time I've seen everything from crystal radios to proof of quantum entanglement; from the birth of the information age to the inevitability of the disinformation age, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to children being murdered for cellphones. It's been a helluva ride.

Let's see what happens in the next 50. 

mnem
Everybody needs something to believe in; I believe I'm going to eat myself a pie.

[Mr. Scram]

It's orificial. 50-something orbits of this ball of mud have occurred under my feet as of today. In that time I've seen everything from crystal radios to proof of quantum entanglement; from the birth of the information age to the inevitability of the disinformation age, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to children being murdered for cellphones. It's been a helluva ride.

Let's see what happens in the next 50. 

mnem
Everybody needs something to believe in; I believe I'm going to eat myself a pie.

Here's to not dying today, but having another chance tomorrow! 

[BU508A]

Let's see what happens in the next 50. 

[tautech]

It's orificial. 50-something orbits of this ball of mud have occurred under my feet as of today. In that time I've seen everything from crystal radios to proof of quantum entanglement; from the birth of the information age to the inevitability of the disinformation age, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to children being murdered for cellphones. It's been a helluva ride.

Let's see what happens in the next 50. 

mnem
Everybody needs something to believe in; I believe I'm going to eat myself a pie.

Many happy returns mnem, hope today's a cracker mate ! 
Done the big 60 a few months back and it's not that flash getting older but enjoyed all the fuss on the day so make sure you lap it up too. 

[tggzzz]

It's orificial. 50-something orbits of this ball of mud have occurred under my feet as of today.

Welcome to your sixth decade.

[bd139]

It's orificial. 50-something orbits of this ball of mud have occurred under my feet as of today. In that time I've seen everything from crystal radios to proof of quantum entanglement; from the birth of the information age to the inevitability of the disinformation age, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to children being murdered for cellphones. It's been a helluva ride.

Let's see what happens in the next 50. 

mnem
Everybody needs something to believe in; I believe I'm going to eat myself a pie.

Congratulations on making it this far   

[mnementh]

Shhhh.... I'm napping.

mnem
"It only seems like that many of them, dear..."

[bitseeker]

There is a problem here and that is people are paying too much for stuff. I'm not inclined to pay too much for stuff so I always lose. It's not that I'm being cheap either; just a simple risk assessment suggests people are basically insane! 

Yes, that tends to be the case with Fluke gear, though it's not reserved only for their kit. Many HP and R&S things go for too much money, too. Apparently, the growth in repair videos has increased purchases of broken items on eBay, which has made the overall starting prices for "parts/not working" listings go way high, too. Hundreds of dollars for a parts unit 20 MHz CRO?

[med6753]

It's orificial. 50-something orbits of this ball of mud have occurred under my feet as of today. In that time I've seen everything from crystal radios to proof of quantum entanglement; from the birth of the information age to the inevitability of the disinformation age, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to children being murdered for cellphones. It's been a helluva ride.

Let's see what happens in the next 50. 

mnem
Everybody needs something to believe in; I believe I'm going to eat myself a pie.

Congratulations on making it this far   

Happy birthday....I think. 

[BU508A]

It's orificial. 50-something orbits of this ball of mud have occurred under my feet as of today. In that time I've seen everything from crystal radios to proof of quantum entanglement; from the birth of the information age to the inevitability of the disinformation age, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to children being murdered for cellphones. It's been a helluva ride.

Let's see what happens in the next 50. 

mnem
Everybody needs something to believe in; I believe I'm going to eat myself a pie.

Hey mnem,

since I'm not the brightest candle on the (birthday) cake, it took a little longer to realize, that today is your birthday. 

Congrats to that!

If I would have your address, you'd probably received this:




Oh, sorry! Wrong t-shirt.      

Here we go:



And, a birthday is not complete without a birthday tune.
But, since nearly everybody is singing "Happy Birthday", here is a "Ständchen" from Germany.
Let me know if you want a (bad) translation. 



All the best,

Mounty

[PA0PBZ]

[Specmaster]

Happy Birthday mnem, good fun blowing your candles out