Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Only Britain knows how to do a proper Sunday roast.  I always head for the nearest carvery every time I visit!

Roast beef makes fantastic sandwich filler, with some salt, pepper, mustard...  caveman style.

Yeah that's tomorrow lunch. Stir fry day after. Curry day after that. 

As for carvery, yep. Our local one is pretty good and certainly makes up for the "can't be arsed" days. The local "nearest decent pub" is pretty good, if a little pricey and not that close, The Kings Head in Teddington. Last time I went:



Incidentally around the corner from time and voltage nuttery central in the UK (National Physics Lab)

I'm going to nibble some beef now 

[mnementh]

Nice but here is one mistake that you don't want to make, you'll never guess what the problem is here, but it is bling related.

   That's always been good advice for those playing along at home. I DON'T DO LED bling (okay, maybe a strip or two of illumination LEDs around the edges, but none of this dancing rainbow lights shit); one of the first things I did once I got the PC back on the network was to install my RGB Fusion drivers so I could turn OFF the pulsing wave Unicorn Blarff mode which the Waterforce GPU defaulted to. 

I don't buy LED components if I can avoid it; particularly anything near my data channels. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I feel having multiple oscillating PWM LED power rails and oodles of WS21812 LEDs (they are SOOO fucking noisy) all generating unnecessary EMI and heat (each individual LED is approx 3V@.06A, with some of the newer high-intensity ones being 3V@.180A) right on my RAM or my HDD is a STUPID recipe for disaster on a system I'm already OCing and pushing beyond spec.

mnem
In short: Fuck Dat Noize.

[tggzzz]

That looks pretty tasty.

This is what I just made and ate. Got so much beef left I don't know what to do with it now

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Nowadays people buy it at the supermarket, which competely misses the point of bubble and squeak or bread pudding.

[AVGresponding]

At least you hope the pound will retain some value while this Cfuk marches on Hope those 'allegedly' in charge can now get the International deals/treaties etc done in time before the population at large gets hit to badly by the fallout.

Not to optimistic on that TBH, I think that they want to turn the clock backwards by a few decades to when the workers were scared to say boo to a goose and would work for slightly more than a bowl of rice a day.

More than a few decades to go back to such a situation, surely? The 1960s, 70s, and early part of the 80s were the most militant era for the unions (until Thatcher destroyed their power).

Rather amusingly, the exchange rate graph clearly shows the pound losing most of its value in the first decade or so of our membership in the EU (then the EEC ofc).

Naturally some would see that as causation rather than mere correlation, but even a die-hard anti-EUer like me can see deeper than that   

[Brumby]

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Nowadays people buy it at the supermarket, which competely misses the point of bubble and squeak or bread pudding.

People buying bubble and squeak?  That's just so messed up.

[AVGresponding]

Natural progression Brumby; after all, everyone used to make their own Yorkshire puddings, meat and potato pies etc etc.

Economy of scale makes it cheaper, modern capitalism ensures people are time-poor so they buy ready made stuff more often.

[Specmaster]

Sod you, now you've made me hungry, have to get something to nibble on now 

[Cerebus]

At least you hope the pound will retain some value while this Cfuk marches on Hope those 'allegedly' in charge can now get the International deals/treaties etc done in time before the population at large gets hit to badly by the fallout.

Not to optimistic on that TBH, I think that they want to turn the clock backwards by a few decades to when the workers were scared to say boo to a goose and would work for slightly more than a bowl of rice a day.

I'm all in favour of a weak pound.



SEK-GBP exchange rate

Erm, that shows GBP currently getting stronger versus SEK.

Just like EUR got stronger versus SEK over a similar period (this just shows the last 60 days).



I don't think you're in favour of a weak pound, I think you're hoping for a strong Krona and long term trends (the last 5 years) suggest that you may be waiting for quite a while.

[bd139]

That looks pretty tasty.

This is what I just made and ate. Got so much beef left I don't know what to do with it now

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Nowadays people buy it at the supermarket, which competely misses the point of bubble and squeak or bread pudding.

Totally agree. I have a principle that I only buy ingredients myself. I rarely if ever buy anything ready made. Firstly you're right; it's really missing the point of some of the great left overs based meals. But secondly it does you out of the enjoyment of making the stuff in the first place and the fact it tastes a hell of a lot better if it's not made to manufacturing specification. The peak of this idiocy is Marks and Spencer mash potato. I pick on the brand because it's ridiculously expensive. Literally it takes about 2 minutes to peel and chop a couple of potatoes and about 2 minutes to mash the damn things with a bit of butter and white pepper and tastes about 50x better than Mr Whippy mash. Ugh.

Was bubble and squeak and cold cuts as well here. Had that after Christmas dinner this year which was a nice flashback to those days as well. My mother was there as well and both agree that it was good but not as good as my grandmother's was (probably because she put lard in everything!) 

So plan this week is beef, tomato and lettuce sandwiches tomorrow for lunch. I'll do myself a nice stir fried beef thing on Tuesday. Then beef masala on Wednesday in the slow cooker.

tggzzz: am I going to have to arrive early at Harwell this year to get in the queue in front of you? 

[Cerebus]

The local "nearest decent pub" is pretty good, if a little pricey and not that close, The Kings Head in Teddington.

Used to be a regular watering hole of mine. That was one of the pubs that Chris from LGC (they share the Teddington site with NPL) used to hand out his free ex-'offical smoking machine' fags in.

(On past history here people will be starting to think "He knows the insides of a lot of London pubs very well", to which I just have to plead 'guilty as charged'.)

[mnementh]

Nice job. That’s making me want to swap my power supply out for a modular one 

Yep, I'm glad that I swapped over to modular supplies last time I rebuilt mine. Not that I wanted to showcase mine at all, but it just makes installation so much easier and it does aid smoother airflow because you have just the cables you require and no more. I have not installed any LEDs in mine at all.

Yeah, it's nice to have room in the bottom of the case for your spare MB/Case bits & pieces and the manual, etc.

mnem
And the children when they misbehave.

[Cerebus]

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Tuesday was rissoles...

[bd139]

The local "nearest decent pub" is pretty good, if a little pricey and not that close, The Kings Head in Teddington.

Used to be a regular watering hole of mine. That was one of the pubs that Chris from LGC (they share the Teddington site with NPL) used to hand out his free ex-'offical smoking machine' fags in.

(On past history here people will be starting to think "He knows the insides of a lot of London pubs very well", to which I just have to plead 'guilty as charged'.)

Hahaha. Small world isn’t it. I frequented too many London pubs as well. I think it comes with the territory.

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Tuesday was rissoles...

Ooh I want kidney bean rissoles now. I accidentally ordered 8 cans of kidney beans from Ocado and have only made chilli so far. Thanks for inspiration. 

[tggzzz]

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Nowadays people buy it at the supermarket, which competely misses the point of bubble and squeak or bread pudding.

People buying bubble and squeak?  That's just so messed up.

Yup, e.g.
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-bubble-and-squeak/684225-305123-305124
https://www.m-s.gr/en/product/4-bubble-squeak-cakes/

[mnementh]

At least you hope the pound will retain some value while this Cfuk marches on Hope those 'allegedly' in charge can now get the International deals/treaties etc done in time before the population at large gets hit to badly by the fallout.

Not to optimistic on that TBH, I think that they want to turn the clock backwards by a few decades to when the workers were scared to say boo to a goose and would work for slightly more than a bowl of rice a day.

That is EXACTLY what they're doing in the US. Damned uppity workers; how dare they expect not to be poisoned, swindled and dismembered for the sake of a rich man's PROFIT...?!? 

mnem
Bigger. Faster. Louder. It's the American Way of doing everything; including the rise & fall of Empire...

[tggzzz]

That looks pretty tasty.

This is what I just made and ate. Got so much beef left I don't know what to do with it now

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Nowadays people buy it at the supermarket, which competely misses the point of bubble and squeak or bread pudding.

Totally agree. I have a principle that I only buy ingredients myself. I rarely if ever buy anything ready made. Firstly you're right; it's really missing the point of some of the great left overs based meals. But secondly it does you out of the enjoyment of making the stuff in the first place and the fact it tastes a hell of a lot better if it's not made to manufacturing specification. The peak of this idiocy is Marks and Spencer mash potato. I pick on the brand because it's ridiculously expensive. Literally it takes about 2 minutes to peel and chop a couple of potatoes and about 2 minutes to mash the damn things with a bit of butter and white pepper and tastes about 50x better than Mr Whippy mash. Ugh.

My least favourite concept is bottled water, doubly so when the variants like "with a dash of lemon" occupy all the shelf space, leaving no space for interesting food. If you want a dash of lemon, add it FFS.

There are far too many other "concepts" like that, e.g. tinned tomato with basil/chilli/X. There's probably an X=chocolate on some shelf somewhere.

tggzzz: am I going to have to arrive early at Harwell this year to get in the queue in front of you? 

Not sure if I'll make it; I'll have to see how the biceps are doing. I have at least started driving, but I'm not sure I want to cart heavy stuff around.

[tggzzz]

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Tuesday was rissoles...

Never had those; I prefer having meat with a little more flavour than yesterday That's one reason why I normally leave fresh meat well past its "best before" date before eating it.

[tggzzz]

At least you hope the pound will retain some value while this Cfuk marches on Hope those 'allegedly' in charge can now get the International deals/treaties etc done in time before the population at large gets hit to badly by the fallout.

Not to optimistic on that TBH, I think that they want to turn the clock backwards by a few decades to when the workers were scared to say boo to a goose and would work for slightly more than a bowl of rice a day.

That is EXACTLY what they're doing in the US. Damned uppity workers; how dare they expect not to be poisoned, swindled and dismembered for the sake of a rich man's PROFIT...?!? 

mnem
Bigger. Faster. Louder. It's the American Way of doing everything; including the rise & fall of Empire...

And the poor sods that can't escape the "gig economy", e.g. uber drivers.

[Specmaster]

At least you hope the pound will retain some value while this Cfuk marches on Hope those 'allegedly' in charge can now get the International deals/treaties etc done in time before the population at large gets hit to badly by the fallout.

Not to optimistic on that TBH, I think that they want to turn the clock backwards by a few decades to when the workers were scared to say boo to a goose and would work for slightly more than a bowl of rice a day.

More than a few decades to go back to such a situation, surely? The 1960s, 70s, and early part of the 80s were the most militant era for the unions (until Thatcher destroyed their power).

Rather amusingly, the exchange rate graph clearly shows the pound losing most of its value in the first decade or so of our membership in the EU (then the EEC ofc).

Naturally some would see that as causation rather than mere correlation, but even a die-hard anti-EUer like me can see deeper than that   

Not really, I still remember my first wages, 55 years ago it was £130 a year contrast that to my last annual wage of £42000 (not allowing for deductions)

[Cerebus]

More than a few decades to go back to such a situation, surely? The 1960s, 70s, and early part of the 80s were the most militant era for the unions (until Thatcher destroyed their power).

Rather amusingly, the exchange rate graph clearly shows the pound losing most of its value in the first decade or so of our membership in the EU (then the EEC ofc).

Naturally some would see that as causation rather than mere correlation, but even a die-hard anti-EUer like me can see deeper than that   

What that graph is showing, more than anything else, is a crushed post-war Germany growing into the foremost economic power in Europe.

[Specmaster]

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Tuesday was rissoles...

Never had those; I prefer having meat with a little more flavour than yesterday That's one reason why I normally leave fresh meat well past its "best before" date before eating it.

SWMBO won't touch anything more than a day over its best before date, in the bin it goes.

[tggzzz]

As a kid, Monday evening meal was always cold cuts plus bubble and squeak.

Tuesday was rissoles...

Never had those; I prefer having meat with a little more flavour than yesterday That's one reason why I normally leave fresh meat well past its "best before" date before eating it.

SWMBO won't touch anything more than a day over its best before date, in the bin it goes.

Depends on what it is; I'd do that with a salad or precooked rice etc.

OTOH I have one ingredient in my cupboard marked "best before Dec 1992", and I occasionally throw some of those dried mushrooms in a stew. I also have homemade strawberry (Cambridge Royals from the Chivers farm at Histon) jam from 1987; I'm waiting for a special occasion to open it.

But you have to have some powers of observation and an understanding of biology and chemistry. Go to a supermarket and you will find the "aged for 30 days" meat is much more expensive than the unaged stuff.

[med6753]

Here's the PSU board removed from the 485. All modular so removal is easy. This will be the first real test of the Hakko FM-203. I'm anxious to see how it will perform.

All that's being done this round is the beaded tants. The axial electrolytics will remain for now. To be replaced another time. Unfortunately they have to be more expensive axials because of height constraints.

I've noticed some trends with failures on beaded tants. With some exceptions values 10uf and lower seem to hold up well. It's the 15uf to 47uf tants that seem to fail the most. With 47uf being the worst of all. Has anyone else noticed this?

Anyway, off to work....

[bd139]

Yep same observation here. 

[Specmaster]

You have a few of the little buggers there to swap out thats for sure.