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#111
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US going metric?
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#112
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US going metric?
"Greg Johnson" wrote in message ... Is my memory failing, or did NASA have a problem ten years, or so, ago with a launch where some calculations were made in metrics and some were not? I remember that too, and I thought that would be a good time to go metric, but it didn't happen. |
#113
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US going metric?
The joke is that folks shouldn't try to convert between systems. They
sometimes get the conversions mixed up. FFM Abe Kouris wrote: (me) wrote in message om... (Abe Kouris) wrote in message . com... [snip] more snips Those kind of "organic" units are common and don't convert well to arbitrary metric values. Trucks per mile * 1.6 = trucks per kilometer OOPS! If your snow removal guy lived in Europe or Canada, he'd be quoting you "trucks per kilometer," too. So what makes "trucks per mile" so organic? It's just an American quirk. By Gawd, we red-blooded 'Mericans ain't gonna use some pansy-assed system devised by a bunch of Frenchies! Totally irrational. The joke is that the US customary units are based entirely on the metric system. Abe (who is just finished his 0.5 liter bottle of Coke. Now, if the US goes metric, maybe we'll call it a "pint," but it will still be half a liter.) |
#114
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US going metric?
On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 18:41:59 GMT, "alohacyberian"
wrote: "MMcC" wrote in message ... "alohacyberian" wrote in message ... "Dave Smith" wrote in message ... Can you tell the difference between 84 and 85 F ? I have enough trouble No, but, I can tell the difference between 70 and 72. But can you tell the difference between 71 and 72? If a 2 degree F difference is as low as you can go then Celsius would work just fine as 1C is 1.8F But, as I said, media weather reporting and forecasting is unlikely to use decimals. KM Why would they need to? Like I said, if a 2 degree F difference is the smallest difference that people can percive (as you seem to attest to), then using Celsius would work perfectly as 1 C is approximately that. |
#115
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US going metric?
"Abe Kouris" wrote in message
om... "jj" wrote in message ... I'm curious, has there ever been an attempt at going metric in the US? e.g. using Celsius? How do people feel about it? jj snip And even today, Europeans apparently have some non-official, but core convenient, units in common use: the German "pfund" (500 grams), snip Strictly speaking, the use of "Pfund" in Germany is unofficial. You will never see the term in an official documentation. Even though elder folks still use that term, and sometimes, by imitation, younger ones too, I have met (younger) salespeople in Germany who will be confused by the term Pfund. - Similarly, the currency in the UK has gone metric, and there are still people who will spend a few bob... |
#116
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US going metric?
"DMW" wrote in message ... Most of that is just being forced to adapt to old Farenheit scale thermostats, and visits to the States and wanting to have a general feel for what the temp was like outside before I left the hotel room without a jacket. Well, we COULD just switch to Kelvin, and screw EVERYONE up...:-) Bob M. |
#117
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US going metric?
On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 18:56:20 -0800, Stephen Dailey
wrote: That's poor reporting, Steve. If the reporter came through the Peace Arch crossing then the Home Depot he/she was at is the one I use all the time. Not only did I buy a "Meter stick" a few weeks ago I also had a choice of about 4 brands of tape measures with both Imperial and Metric. As for the lumber they "call" them 2x4's but they are cut to a metric size very close to 2"x4". It also shows the metric size right on the bin label. - Dimensional lumber was sold in US sizes (e.g., 2x4, 4x6) - He couldn't find a metric tape measure There were others, but those are the two that stood out. Interesting considering this took place in a country that officially went metric ~30 years ago. === Steve Shoreline, Washington USA 6 Jan 2004, 1856 PST |
#118
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US going metric?
On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 07:56:52 GMT, Brian K
wrote: The US go Metric? Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Gay Paris. Ha, ha, ha. Hi Queenie! :-)))))) |
#119
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US going metric?
It seems to me I heard somewhere that Abe Kouris wrote in article
: (me) wrote in message om... (Abe Kouris) wrote in message . com... [snip] Actually, even the Frenchies and other Europeans resisted the metric system after it was introduced, but their 19th century authoritarian governments (Does "Napoleon ring a bell?) made it happen. And even today, Europeans apparently have some non-official, but core convenient, units in common use: the German "pfund" (500 grams), and German and Scandanvian plumber supposedly measure pipe diameters in "thumbs" or "inches." Strange belief that units should serve people, instead of people serving units. They use the units that serve them. [...] My personal suspicion is that by the time any wholesale conversion takes place, you'll see a fairly basterdized metric system around the world. No you won't the basis is pretty standardized, even in the few countries that don't use it in everyday life. Standardized weights and measures are essential for any kind of globalized economy. I'm already seeing "kilograms force" That's just *******ized physics, not *******ized metric system. [...] A guy I knew in snow removal measured in "trucks". I asked him how many tons or cubic feet and he didn't know. He knew how many trucks to the mile. That's just a question of precision, and the miles, being based on the foot, is, in the end, based on the meter, so he could estimate "trucks per kilometer" very easily. Those kind of "organic" units are common and don't convert well to arbitrary metric values. Trucks per mile * 1.6 = trucks per kilometer So you get more truckloads from 5/8 miles than from a whole mile? Methinks trucks per mile / 0.625 might be a better approximation for trucks per km. Unless, of course, metric trucks are smaller than imperial trucks. G If your snow removal guy lived in Europe or Canada, he'd be quoting you "trucks per kilometer," too. So what makes "trucks per mile" so organic? It's just an American quirk. By Gawd, we red-blooded 'Mericans ain't gonna use some pansy-assed system devised by a bunch of Frenchies! Totally irrational. -- Don |
#120
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US going metric?
It seems to me I heard somewhere that me wrote in article
: (Abe Kouris) wrote in message . com... [snip] [...] I've heard of metric "bricks" that aren't multiples of 10 of any metric unit. Then they're not metric units. What are they? Are they based on metric units or are they some non-standardized units that trademen use to cheat their customers? They are defined in metric units. But basically they are some variation on the old brick that was just redefined in metric units. Kinda like the 2x4 which isn't 2x4. The 2 x 4 and all other US lumber measures began life with raw lumber. After finishing a 2 x 4 was roughly 1 3/4 x 3 3/4. Someone cited the current measurement somewhere in this thread, and apparently it's shrunk even further, but not because of metrics. The trick is that we tack metric measures on to what already existed. -- Don |
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