Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Ice-Tea]

Rules of thumb for cheese:

• hard cheese: English
• soft cheese: French, or a decent ripe Gorgonzola or Stilton
• a few other speciality cheeses when bored or seeking adventure
• avoid others, except for sustenance purposes

You can still get less good cheeses in the above, of course. Too many supermarket hard cheeses are rubbery rather than crumbly, and after you've had a decent truckle cheddar you'll only put them in a mousetrap (but peanut butter is more effective there!)

or some fine Dutch cheese

Some what now? 

[tonyalbus]

Rules of thumb for cheese:

• hard cheese: English
• soft cheese: French, or a decent ripe Gorgonzola or Stilton
• a few other speciality cheeses when bored or seeking adventure
• avoid others, except for sustenance purposes

You can still get less good cheeses in the above, of course. Too many supermarket hard cheeses are rubbery rather than crumbly, and after you've had a decent truckle cheddar you'll only put them in a mousetrap (but peanut butter is more effective there!)

or some fine Dutch cheese

Some what now? 

Gouda, Edam, Beemster, Leerdammer .. if you don't know these, you know nothing about cheese

nr. 6 in the world leader list:
https://www.farandwide.com/s/countries-produce-best-cheese-world-2dd14ff1cf3144c8

The history of cheesemaking in the Netherlands stretches back more than 1,600 years, so it should come as no surprise that the Netherlands is one of the leading cheese exporters in Europe. Because of the country’s geography, Dutch cheeses, including goat cheeses and sheep cheeses, are some of the most pure and natural in all of Europe.

Gouda is one of the most widely produced cheeses in the Netherlands, accounting for around 50 percent of the country’s cheese production. Cheese historians theorize that Gouda dates back to the end of the 12th century, making it one of the oldest cheeses in the world that is still in production.

[Ice-Tea]

Rules of thumb for cheese:

• hard cheese: English
• soft cheese: French, or a decent ripe Gorgonzola or Stilton
• a few other speciality cheeses when bored or seeking adventure
• avoid others, except for sustenance purposes

You can still get less good cheeses in the above, of course. Too many supermarket hard cheeses are rubbery rather than crumbly, and after you've had a decent truckle cheddar you'll only put them in a mousetrap (but peanut butter is more effective there!)

or some fine Dutch cheese

Some what now? 

Gouda, Edam, Beemster, Leerdammer .. if you don't know these, you know nothing about cheese

I know all of them. There's nothing wrong with any of these, and I'll happily include old ancient Gouda on my "like" list. But other than that, these are cheeses you put on your sandwich in order not to die, not so much to sit down and savour the moment.

[CDN_Torsten]

Two thumbs up for some nice Dutch Gouda - absolutely my favourite 'firm' cheese.

[tonyalbus]

Rules of thumb for cheese:

• hard cheese: English
• soft cheese: French, or a decent ripe Gorgonzola or Stilton
• a few other speciality cheeses when bored or seeking adventure
• avoid others, except for sustenance purposes

You can still get less good cheeses in the above, of course. Too many supermarket hard cheeses are rubbery rather than crumbly, and after you've had a decent truckle cheddar you'll only put them in a mousetrap (but peanut butter is more effective there!)

or some fine Dutch cheese

Some what now? 

Gouda, Edam, Beemster, Leerdammer .. if you don't know these, you know nothing about cheese

I know all of them. There's nothing wrong with any of these, and I'll happily include old ancient Gouda on my "like" list. But other than that, these are cheeses you put on your sandwich in order not to die, not so much to sit down and savour the moment.

partly agree, although a Gouda with some mostard is very nice with a drink...
have you tried Old Amsterdam ... thats so old taht it is salt and crispy ..of the salt cristals..

[fcb]

Pity there are no hills in The Netherlands.

[McBryce]

Try living with someone from the north of France, where you fear opening the fridge in case there's a lump of Maroilles inside!

McBryce.

[BU508A]

Pity there are no hills in The Netherlands.

Right, but there are mountains. The Dutch Mountains.

[tonyalbus]

Try living with someone from the north of France, where you fear opening the fridge in case there's a lump of Maroilles inside!

McBryce.

  ah yes!..

a friend of mine from CZ had cheese made from beer ... OMG... but the tast is great.!

[BU508A]

Try living with someone from the north of France, where you fear opening the fridge in case there's a lump of Maroilles inside!

McBryce.

  ah yes!..

a friend of mine from CZ had cheese made from beer ... OMG... but the tast is great.!

This one?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vieux-Boulogne

[tonyalbus]

Try living with someone from the north of France, where you fear opening the fridge in case there's a lump of Maroilles inside!

McBryce.

  ah yes!..

a friend of mine from CZ had cheese made from beer ... OMG... but the tast is great.!

This one?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vieux-Boulogne

It is a little square box, 1x1x6 cm long...if i remember correct it was a green/white little cardbordpaperbox..
http://www.tresbohemes.com/2017/04/beer-cheese-pivni-syr/

[shakalnokturn]

While we're in cheese here's a little TEA to go with it, an extract from an old LeCroy paper referring to the 9400 scope:

[mansaxel]

or some fine Dutch cheese

Not a bad idea. Though, the breakfast buffet at the Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam had but two kinds;

"Jonge kaas" and "Oude kaas".

I THINK that the last hotel I stayed at in Amsterdam, fairly close to the RAI (Because IBC, the broadcast trade show) had some more kinds.

Although my memory is somewhat clouded by the appearance of profiterôles on the dessert part of the breakfast. I took a picture of them and sent to the wife, stating "look what I found on the breakfast buffet", who intermingled those with my mentioning of seeing space cakes in a shop window the evening before, and she replied "They had WHAT on the buffet?"

"Totally plausible, yes, only in Amsterdam, yeah"

[med6753]

Being from across the pond and not living near a specialty cheese shop limits my exposure to different varieties but I can tell you that I don't think I've had a European cheese that I didn't like. Most USA cheeses are garbage but there are what I consider some very good sharp cheddar's. Maybe not as good as from the UK but to me they are what I consider a good cheese to be. Anyway....


I think we can put a "cap" on this K vs k controversy. Reference the 3 pictures....

Fluke 8800A (vintage) - K
Fluke 8010A (newer) - k
Fluke 87 (newest) - k

We Yanks may be crude, uncivilized, and unsophisticated but we do eventually achieve enlightenment. I guess it's just our rebellious nature. Apparently we finally got the memo that "k" was the proper term for 1000. Now all you EU/Brexit folks have to realize is that depending upon vintage with respect to American equipment and documentation you may see "K" or "k". If you do see it used improperly just bite your tongue, hold your nose, and keep it moving. It ain't hard to do. 

And to open up another can of worms. Yesterday I was watching Carlson's latest video. He happen to mention that he only deals in "uF" and "pF", not in "nF". I don't know what prompted him to make that point but I happen to agree with him. But don't yell at me. He's Canadian. 



     

[bd139]

Fucking Royal Mail. Managed to deliver a tracked package but no sign of it.

Hermes are better these days 

[Microdoser]

Ok, I'm about to indulge in the British hobby of whinging....
Amazon are not making me happy at the moment, maybe I might get some better news soon. After my Son's car get damaged outside his front door, he has invested in a doorbell camera that also senses movement (adjustable for the sensitivity to avoid false alarms etc) and this records video footage of anyone lurking in the vicinity of his front door / car. So I thought about getting one as well, so I ordered one from Amazon and it arrived today, and so I have not yet got round to installing it.

Tonight I was looking at it on the Amazon website, only to discover it is now some 30% lower price than I paid 3 days ago  I'm not happy.

I have sent the seller a message informing them that if they can't refund me the £20, I'll return the one I got today and reorder at the current price 

 

On the plus side, Amazon has such a 'customer-focused' returns policy you are able to do this.

[Microdoser]

Rules of thumb for cheese:

• hard cheese: English
• soft cheese: French, or a decent ripe Gorgonzola or Stilton
• a few other speciality cheeses when bored or seeking adventure
• avoid others, except for sustenance purposes

You can still get less good cheeses in the above, of course. Too many supermarket hard cheeses are rubbery rather than crumbly, and after you've had a decent truckle cheddar you'll only put them in a mousetrap (but peanut butter is more effective there!)

For Italian sauce texture, Carbonara for example, Pecorino Romano. For Italian flavour, parmesan. For blue, Roquefort.

For everything else, vintage or mature cheddar. Unless, of course, you are doing a cheese board in which case put a bit of everything on there with some nice crackers.

For a special treat, but good luck finding it, Lancashire Tasty (yes, that is what it is called). It is not made like other cheeses and has an amazing depth of flavour.

[Microdoser]

And to open up another can of worms. Yesterday I was watching Carlson's latest video. He happened to mention that he only deals in "uF" and "pF", not in "nF". I don't know what prompted him to make that point but I happen to agree with him. But don't yell at me. He's Canadian. 

On Digi-key you can get uF and pF but not nF caps. It has 10000pF and then the next value is 0.011µF, not 10 or 11 nF

[BU508A]

I'm finding this habit not using nF kind of irritating.
Why not use all the allowed prefixes, such as mF, uF, nF, pF?
I cannot see a problem with that.      

[tonyalbus]

I'm finding this habit not using nF kind of irritating.
Why not use all the allowed prefixes, such as mF, uF, nF, pF?
I cannot see a problem with that.      

maybe nF en mF look the same in crapy copies 

[mnementh]

Rules of thumb for cheese:

• hard cheese: English
• soft cheese: French, or a decent ripe Gorgonzola or Stilton
• a few other speciality cheeses when bored or seeking adventure
• avoid others, except for sustenance purposes

You can still get less good cheeses in the above, of course. Too many supermarket hard cheeses are rubbery rather than crumbly, and after you've had a decent truckle cheddar you'll only put them in a mousetrap (but peanut butter is more effective there!)

or some fine Dutch cheese

Some what now? 

Gouda, Edam, Beemster, Leerdammer .. if you don't know these, you know nothing about cheese

nr. 6 in the world leader list:
https://www.farandwide.com/s/countries-produce-best-cheese-world-2dd14ff1cf3144c8

The history of cheesemaking in the Netherlands stretches back more than 1,600 years, so it should come as no surprise that the Netherlands is one of the leading cheese exporters in Europe. Because of the country’s geography, Dutch cheeses, including goat cheeses and sheep cheeses, are some of the most pure and natural in all of Europe.

Gouda is one of the most widely produced cheeses in the Netherlands, accounting for around 50 percent of the country’s cheese production. Cheese historians theorize that Gouda dates back to the end of the 12th century, making it one of the oldest cheeses in the world that is still in production.

*POLEAXED by food infodump from utterly unexpected quarter*

I'll admit to being pretty much completely ignorant of cheese; it's probably a good thing, because if I did I'd probably be the size of a Winnebago instead of merely a ordinary 4-door sedan. 

There are so many European bloodlines in my Heinz-57 gene pool that I'm hopeless; I love cheese and pasta, cheese and rice, cheese and bread, cheese and pie (mmmm.... sharp Cheddar shaved onto a HoneyCrisp Apple Pie... droooool...), cheese and potatoes... the sharper the better, and if it's browned almost to burning it's just right.

While I do like and enjoy a number of American-produced cheeses, it's primarily the real European recipes with some caveats:

Most of what is called "American cheese" it to real cheese as margarine is to butter. In fact, most of it is made of the same exact kind of shite whipped vegetable oil.

If it's not aged at least a year it is inedible, even the so-called Italian blend cheeses. The crumbly shit that's mostly powder is not cheese either. FFS, get some real grated or flaked hard Parmesan and Romano on/in your pasta and salads!!!

There are a few domestically-produced so-called "Swiss" cheeses I can tolerate; the sharper and nuttier the better, and I best like a Cheddar that's sharp enough to cut you back, but not so dry it crumbles.

And don't even get me started on shredded American "Pizza cheeses" and "Mexican blends"... they are a fucking abomination in their own right... 

So I'm not a complete heathen... but pretty close.   

Maybe there's hope for me, but I doubt it.  I really just cannot abide most "non-cow" cheeses or "ripe" cheeses; with few exceptions, they make me *blerk!* involuntarily.

mnem
moo.

[mnementh]

Pity there are no hills in The Netherlands.

Okay, that's just nucking futs. And I now live literally 2 blocks away from a registered Curling club. 

mnem
"Heyyyy!!! No chunking the ice, ehhhhh...!!!" * locals=*

[mnementh]

Fucking Royal Mail. Managed to deliver a tracked package but no sign of it.

Hermes are better these days 

Yup. Odds are it'll mysteriously show up tomorrow, even though it was "delivered" today. At 7-8PM. After the carrier had gone home.

Because it is so much more important in this day and age to have pretty metrics rather than accurate ones.

You know, so you know which routes need to hire more carriers. 

mnem
But the bean-counters... there's never any shortage of them on the fucking payroll... 

[med6753]

And to open up another can of worms. Yesterday I was watching Carlson's latest video. He happened to mention that he only deals in "uF" and "pF", not in "nF". I don't know what prompted him to make that point but I happen to agree with him. But don't yell at me. He's Canadian. 

On Digi-key you can get uF and pF but not nF caps. It has 10000pF and then the next value is 0.011µF, not 10 or 11 nF

Mouser for the most part is the same.

[mnementh]

Ok, I'm about to indulge in the British hobby of whinging....  Amazon are not making me happy at the moment, maybe I might get some better news soon. After my Son's car get damaged outside his front door, he has invested in a doorbell camera that also senses movement (adjustable for the sensitivity to avoid false alarms etc) and this records video footage of anyone lurking in the vicinity of his front door / car. So I thought about getting one as well, so I ordered one from Amazon and it arrived today, and so I have not yet got round to installing it.

Tonight I was looking at it on the Amazon website, only to discover it is now some 30% lower price than I paid 3 days ago  I'm not happy.   I have sent the seller a message informing them that if they can't refund me the £20, I'll return the one I got today and reorder at the current price 

On the plus side, Amazon has such a 'customer-focused' returns policy you are able to do this.

In all honesty, they'd rather you just return it; no, seriously.

They have "lower price" as an option in the drop-down dialog, and their automated system can handle it all without involving a single human being.

mnem