It's lovely when a free rider cruises in for some free advice; and then thoughtfully takes the time to blame us before he cruises back out. May his shots forever stay absolutely exactly as he wants them.

I don't post here much, I'm definitely a newbie but I don't think the OP was totally off base with his initial comment about the snark in Jim's post. Personally speaking, I didn't read it that way but I could see how someone could. Nonetheless, I don't know what more the OP wanted after Jim basically apologized for the comment.

Reading this has reminded me to be a little concerned about temp control though. With the HX machine, I really have gotten lax about it and just pull a shot after the steam flash stops. Maybe I should experiment with it a bit more though and track the flush times.

I didn't read Jim's reply as "snark" either (emphasis added):

another_jim wrote:1. We kind of assume everyone knows that sour == too cold; bitter == too hot; that's espresso 000
2. Not all machines are highly adjustable

Sure, it was a rebuke, but one of the most gentle nature when taken in the context of Jim's three prior helpful responses (including a graph to demonstrate his point!). If I asked a basic question in some forums as the OP did without searching, I would have been firmly told to RTFM. The site guidelines recommend that newbies do a little homework before posting questions, otherwise the influx of repeat questions will drive experienced people away. I mused about this dilemma in What to do about newbie noise. In the end, I choose to either (a) politely summarize existing resources / discussions of the question or (b) let others respond. But I don't get terribly upset if someone else chooses option (c), suggest the OP do some upfront research before posting.

That said, now that David has said his goodbyes, I will again reflect on the limits of online text-only communication and say no more. Those who wish to discuss site policy on "newbie threads" are welcome to do so in the site's Suggestion Box.