I was getting a craving for some Chik-Fil-A from reading the comments but then I remembered they are closed today. 

1) Quartz vs Ceramic Chemistries:
I am aware of three major MH chemistries, those being sodium-scandium, sodium-thallium-indium, and dysprosium-thallium-cesium. As far as I am aware these are QMH chemistries. Are different chemistries used for CMH lamps, and if so what are they? I've heard of the early tin-sodium lamps but I am thinking more mainstream.

2) Pros and Cons:
So there's a few different chemistries, what are their pros and cons? I see some MH lamps with vacuum outers and some with nitrogen outers, when is one preferable over the other? Also some MH lamps lack reflective end coatings, when is this necessary?

3) Probe Disconnection:
Most probe-start lamps disable their probes with a bimetallic switch. Typically this is done by shoring the probe to the electrode near it, keeping the resistor in circuit. However I have heard of lamps that actually isolate the probe. Why wouldn't everyone do that? It's wasteful to keep the resistor in circuit.

4) Probe Boosting Circuitry:
According to this lamptech page, GTE Sylvania developed a metal halide lamp which used two resistors and a zener diode to increase the voltage available at the probe. I haven't the slightest idea how this would be at all possible without the use of a capacitor, but I said the same thing for FEC ignitors and I understand them now lol. How does this arrangement work?

Thanks!

Very cool, it would be cool if the coated version was like the classic coated MV with the tops ad bottom clear.

External driver is probably more practical for something like this. You don't have to worry about cramming it in the lamp base and I'm assuming this is mostly intended to retrofit HID luminaires, which most of them already have a provision for mounting auxiliary equipment anyway. 

Whoaaa. I found a working SDW-TG White SON (HPS) installation in the wild! It is in a very small Albert Heijn (upper class) supermarket at Haarlemmerplein, Amsterdam.

It is in the back of the first picture - the bread/bakery department, where they were used traditionally to accentuate the yellow and brown tint of fresh bread. You can see the yellow hue. They all were different colors due to them probably being aged out. One was aged so badly that it was as yellow as a normal SON. Close up in 2nd and 3rd.

The rest of the store was a mix of TL5 and yellowing PL ceiling cans (the phone's auto white balance makes it look way more crisp than it does), with here and there a LED ceiling can. The shop's exterior is under renovation. It will probably be a matter of weeks, maybe months before the interior is done as well.

I felt too awkward to go around taking pictures in the supermarket to get more detailed shots.

So do an autopsy before funerals )

Not ye, but getting annoying question from my wife when I will throw them away... According to symptoms it was classical broken bondwire weld: Started by internal flashing between normal light and only one side glowing way brighter than the other (to me clear sign of two chains in parallel), after some time it died completely...

Hello,
I am desperately looking for 2 Thorn LEMNIS or information on where still installed. I am Italian currently relocated in Germany, but can travel and can pay for fixtures/postage.

They belong to my childhood since where installed in a sea location in Italy I used to go.

Because of some relationship problems I missed opportunity to recover some units and are the only ones missing from that town.

Thanks for everybody who will be helpful.

I'm officially on budget, so I can't get anything from Cracker Barrel as of now, but next time I do I will have to give their fried chicken a try.
Speaking of chicken, today... well, yesterday, I got me a spicy chicken sandwich from Chic-Fil-A, (no pickles, add pepper jack cheese) a three
piece chicken strip, and since it was a cheat day, I decided to go ahead and get a S'mores milkshake. MID 8 out of 10... that spicy chicken sandwich
was so good, so juicy, and DEFINITELY fresh! The chicken strips weren't as fresh, but still fresh/hot.... Dipped them in their slight berry-ish tasting
BBQ sauce and almost cried like a baby.👶 When food causes me to want to tear up like that, the food is stupid good. The S'mores milkshake can be pretty
addicting! Epic combination right there.

I went to the local Frituur in where I’m staying in Belgium and got a large cone of Frites/Fries for breakfast! 😋

CrackerBarrel is the ONLY place I eat fried chicken that isn't in sandwich/tender/nugget form .