Steve44 (u/Steve44) - Readit News

Steve44 commented on Why does Swiss cheese have holes? usdairy.com/news-articles... · Posted by u/QueensGambit

Freak_NL · 3 months ago

I'll never understand how people can think 'Gruyère' and then imagine cheese with holes in it…

A fun fact: the Dutch don't usually think of Emmentaler when you say 'Zwitserse kaas', but of these paper shakers filled with grated Schabziger:

https://www.gourmandgazette.nl/2023/12/08/zwitserse-kaas/

Those have been sold as 'Zwitserse strooikaas' for decades.

Steve44 · 3 months ago

> I'll never understand how people can think 'Gruyère' and then imagine cheese with holes in it

I've put a lengthier response to the parent post, but look at https://classicfinefoods.co.uk/dairy/5713-french-gruyere-pgi... as that may solve our quandary.

Steve44 commented on Why does Swiss cheese have holes? usdairy.com/news-articles... · Posted by u/QueensGambit

enopod_ · 3 months ago

Emmentaler and Gruyère close in texture and flavour and interchangeable? Oh boy, if you ever travel to Switzerland, I recommend you to keep your opinions on cheese to yourself. ;) Emmentaler has holes, is low in salt and has a taste which is on the bland side (I personally don't like it), whereas Gruyère has no holes, is saltier and has a much richer and "rounder" flavour. It comes in different stages of ripening, from young, which is soft in texture and mild, to old, which is hard and has a much stronger flavour. I personally like Gruyère mi-salé a lot, the semi-ripened one. It's close to a perfect cheese if you ask me.

Steve44 · 3 months ago

> whereas Gruyère has no holes

TIL that Gruyere from France is different to Swiss and it must have holes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruy%C3%A8re_cheese > The PGI documentation also requires that French Gruyère has holes "ranging in size from that of a pea to a cherry", a significant departure from the Swiss original. Peter Ungphakorn, a Swiss local and an international trade expert, comments that the French Comté cheese could be a closer match to the Swiss version.

And there is a good image of Gruyere with holes here, https://classicfinefoods.co.uk/dairy/5713-french-gruyere-pgi...

Steve44 commented on Why does Swiss cheese have holes? usdairy.com/news-articles... · Posted by u/QueensGambit

kleiba · 3 months ago

The term "Swiss cheese" is a constant source of amusement for people from Europe... you know, like, there is only one type of cheese made in Switzerland...

Steve44 · 3 months ago

In the UK it's fairly common to use the term "Swiss cheese". Most people would know you are talking about Emmental or Gruyere and it would have the bubbles/holes in it.

Although they are not the same cheese, they are quite close in texture and flavour and are fairly interchangeable to the point where I don't think a significant number of people could tell you which was which.

There is also the Swiss Cheese Model which is when several unfortunate events all line up to cause a major incident.

Steve44 commented on A man who changes the time on Big Ben mylondon.news/news/zone-1... · Posted by u/simmerup

3eb7988a1663 · 3 months ago

Stupid me, I assumed there was a tiny clock driving the mechanism that was just geared up to trigger the bigger machinery. That instead looked like a regular clock scaled up to Big Ben size.

Also - those guys are insane. The "safety harness" was a wooden plank chair with some ropes dangling you over the abyss.

Steve44 · 3 months ago

That was a TV presentor from a children's programme called Blue Peter.

If you think that looks dicey, search for the video of when another Blue Peter presenter,John Noakes, cleaned Nelsons Column in Trafalgar Square. Note the overhanging wooden ladder and the entire safety equipment was a pair of flared jeans and platform boots!

He also climbed the mast of HMS Ganges which is possibly even more heart stopping.

Steve44 commented on What does it mean to be thirsty? quantamagazine.org/what-d... · Posted by u/pseudolus

aredox · 6 months ago

It is still weird to see the health fad/moral panic/potomania in the US, about "drinking enough water". This is a borderline mania, that doesn't exist in other countries- including ones with hot climates.

https://www.menshealth.com/health/a60249105/how-much-water-t...

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/do-americans-drink-mo...

https://www.delicious.com.au/drinks/article/why-we-so-obsess...

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/waterlogged-america-d...

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/08/drinking-...

https://archive.ph/Y0W7e

No, you are not "chronically dehydrated". The rest of the world isn't, and you wouldn't be either if you drank "only" two liters a day instead of a full gallon.

This is one more symptom of that "freethinking" country that falls for every con.

Steve44 · 6 months ago

We had an office worker who became obsessed about dehydrating, undoubtedly after watching too much social media. She carried the bottle everywhere.

She arrived at work one day in a state of panic because her water bottle spilt in the car and she was terrified of becoming dehydrated during her 15 minute commute.

And no, there wasn't anything medically wrong with her.

Steve44 commented on What does it mean to be thirsty? quantamagazine.org/what-d... · Posted by u/pseudolus

moi2388 · 6 months ago

First off, it doesn’t have to be plain water. Secondly, the two liters a day was two liters of moisture, not drinking two liters a day; food is included in this amount

Steve44 · 6 months ago

> food is included in this amount

When my wife was ill a few years ago the doctor suggested Angel Delight[1] to help maintain fluids. Until then it hadn't occurred to me you're still effectively drinking half a pint of milk when you eat a bowl.

[1] It's an instant dessert / mousse that you mix up with milk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Delight

Steve44 commented on I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad pilledtexts.com/why-i-use... · Posted by u/Fred34

Steve44 · 10 months ago

I don't have a lot to add other than I'm still using a T61p several times a week. It's got by far the best screen[1] I've ever had on a laptop and the keyboard is also lovely.

It's running Win7 and I only use it for RDP onto work. The battery is screwed, perhaps lasts 10 seconds so just enough to cover quickly moving it.

[1] 1920 x 1200 and very matt. It's just stunningly clear and easy on the eyes with great colour rendition.

Steve44 commented on Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air phys.org/news/2025-03-sci... · Posted by u/PaulHoule

baranul · a year ago

Keep seeing these "possible breakthroughs" in breaking down plastic waste, but no concrete time frames on expanding to scale nor real world costs. Meanwhile, the mountains of plastic continues.

Finding it also odd that biodegradable plastics and safer alternatives are going quiet. As if the new scheme is to keep fossil fuel companies rolling, with the promise that one day a solution to get rid of incalculable mountains of plastic will be found. Don't worry, feel free to plastic pollute, because one day there will be a solution.

Steve44 · a year ago

> Finding it also odd that biodegradable plastics and safer alternatives are going quiet.

They tend not to be a good solution to anything.

There are a couple of ways of making degradable plastic. One is to add something to their manufacture so they break down into shorter chains which their supporters tell you will then further break down. These are generally referred to as OXO degradable.

Another is to use bio based plastics such as PLA or cellulose. These both have poor performance compares to oil based plastics.

All of these also require industrial composting where they add no nutrition to the compost, effectively just bulking it out. They [generally] do not break down when littered or even placed in a domestic compost heap.

There is also a problem because these plastics are virtually impossible to sort from recyclable plastics so if they get in each other waste stream the whole batch can be rendered contaminated and useless.

Steve44 commented on Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air phys.org/news/2025-03-sci... · Posted by u/PaulHoule

whywhywhywhy · a year ago

Always seemed like greenwashing to care about the straw in the drink that’s on a plastic cup with a plastic lid from the beans shipped in a plastic bag and render the experience of trying to drink it as tedious as possible.

Steve44 · a year ago

I believe the issue with straws is they were hard to recycle because they were lightweight and often mingled with other materials, such as cups, napkins, and food waste.

They were generally made from PP which is widely recycled as a material.

They are also commonly littered and as they don't break down in the environment led the not only being unsightly but also clogging up waterways and direct damage to wildlife. Paper straws can still be littered, but break down so don't cause the same physical problems in the longer term.

Steve44 commented on Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air phys.org/news/2025-03-sci... · Posted by u/PaulHoule

piokoch · a year ago

There is no such a thing like "plastic". The article is about PET - polyethylene terephthalate, there are hundreds other "plastics", which different chemical propensities. The problem is not actual act of recycling, but figuring out what a given piece is made of. PET is popular - 70% of all bottles are made of it, but there are those 30%, so the most expensive part - sorting - has to be carried anyway. Plus we target only bottles.

Recycling is a great example of the rule "Privatizing Profits and Socializing Losses". Business is packing their stuff in whatever they want and then citizens, authorities has to deal with the wastes business produced.

Why we can't force to use for bottles/packaging a single type of plastic? Why we can't force easily removable labels on the bottles (the glue that is used to stick half plastic/half paper labels is a deal breaker for simple recycling), I think only in Japan this is mandatory. Why we allow making packages (especially for take-away food from pseudo-paper (which is a paper with plastic coating), which is not recyclable at all and, in fact, is much worst than plastic, but business claims that "now we are eco, see, we use paper for packaging)?

Why we allow to use for packaging whatever business wants? Why the cost and effort of the recycling has to be on people and local governments?

Steve44 · a year ago

> Why we allow making packages (especially for take-away food from pseudo-paper (which is a paper with plastic coating), which is not recyclable at all and, in fact,

I agree that plastic is in most cases a better solution, however you are wrong to say the paper+PE board can't be recycled. Currently here in the UK they are not collected in household waste, but many businesses are recycling them and there is a lot of capacity available.

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/ds-smith-makes-100-uk-coffe...

https://www.thefirstmile.co.uk/online-waste-services/busines...

Some of the issues are the collecting and sorting streams, then there are the commercial aspect of how to sell on the recycled material because it needs to be commercially viable.

> "Privatizing Profits and Socializing Losses"

The UK has recently introduced Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging legislation where the theory is the brand owner pays for the entire recycling and collection process of any packaging they put onto the market. Note this isn't just takeaway & food packaging, it's everything. The system though is an unworkable mess, it's so complicated trying to track every item of packaging and who is responsible for paying the tax down the entire supply chain.