Thought I should introduce myself, before I start flooding the board with questions and problems.
I've been a home brewer for over 10 years and have been making cheese for about 1 1/2 years. I'm starting to take cheese making a bit more seriously, with an eye to maybe making it my retirement career, several years down the road.
I've mostly made soft cheeses - mozzarella, ricotta, chèvre, etc. The few hard cheeses I have done usually end up with some off putting molds and don't develop a good rind. I've been using a cooler with frozen milk jugs as my cave, which could be a source of my problems. No control over temp or humidity. I just got a 9 bottle wine cooler off Craig's list that is holding a small blue and a large Stilton. More on those in the appropriate forums.
I've been reading the forum for a bit now, and it is like drinking from a firehose. Thanks to all those experienced folks for being willing to share their knowledge.