snoboy Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 JoshK said: in the "OMG Colorado" thread I wish so bad we would switch to metric. Do you honestly think a country that run by George W would be "un-patriotic" enough to switch from the good ol' retarted english system to metric, tho? Not a chance. Also remember the entire southern half of this country would be thrown into disarray just at the mere thought of having to learn to convert. Don't worry there's no need to convert. We didn't. Canada just uses the good bits of each system... I love it when the two map sheets next to each other are not in the same units... Whistler is 40 km north of Squamish, and it's at 2200'. Quote
JoshK Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 Yeah, that's an interesting one, since the aviation system runs on feet, not meters worldwide. This is, perhaps, one thing that is better off left alone. It's hard enough that english is also the official aviation language, so you sometimes hit that barrier. It would be even worse to have people getting elevations messed up. Quote
catbirdseat Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 How many people know off the top of their heads how many ounces are in a tablespoon for crying out loud? How many bushels in a peck? Ha ha ha. Hanging on to this antiquated system imply demonstrates backwardness and arrogance. It is no doubt costing us economically. Quote
iain Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 yes, we would go far with the metric system. at least 10 furlongs. Quote
Fejas Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 I know that there are 16oz. in 1lb. and there are 28g. in an 1oz. and there is 7g. in 1/4oz and 3.5g in 1/8oz. and a dimer is .7g or .666666666666666g. but that's the most I get out of the metric system... Quote
snoboy Posted March 25, 2003 Author Posted March 25, 2003 catbirdseat said: How many people know off the top of their heads how many ounces are in a tablespoon for crying out loud? How many bushels in a peck? Ha ha ha. Hanging on to this antiquated system imply demonstrates backwardness and arrogance. It is no doubt costing us economically. 1 Tbs = 1/2 oz = too much time in the kitchen! Bushels and pecks, who knows? I use feet and inches and I use kilometres. I buy my gas in litres, but I still talk about MPG. A good day in the backcountry is 5000' on my 188cm skis, wearing my size 11.5 boots with the 75mm NN toe. And who knows how much is in a "gallon!?" Quote
JoshK Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 Even the british finally abandoned this jackass system for the most part. It's time we realize how fucking stupid it is. I again point to the hicks, rednecks and general over the top "pro-USA" folks who would see this as doing away with american heritage and knuckling under to those damn euros. I sometimes wonder if this country would have been better off with the southern half being it's own entity. Quote
iain Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 the problem is football. everyone measures stuff in football fields. Quote
Fejas Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 JoshK said: Even the british finally abandoned this jackass system for the most part. It's time we realize how fucking stupid it is. I again point to the hicks, rednecks and general over the top "pro-USA" folks who would see this as doing away with american heritage and knuckling under to those damn euros. I sometimes wonder if this country would have been better off with the southern half being it's own entity. Fuck no!!! then we would have to get a passport just to enjoy them Texan Women... awoooh!!! Quote
snoboy Posted March 25, 2003 Author Posted March 25, 2003 I read an article about the metric system once. There are "standards" of the kilogram (2.2lbs) distributed around the world for calibrating things from. Once in a while they get all the standards together, and compare them. Well, the French one was slightly lighter than the rest of them. Since that is the standard, all the rest were determined to be too heavy. Something like that anyway. Quote
Fejas Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 I knew Pe-air was try to jip me on that Kilo i bought from him... Quote
Dru Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 snoboy said: I read an article about the metric system once. There are "standards" of the kilogram (2.2lbs) distributed around the world for calibrating things from. Once in a while they get all the standards together, and compare them. Well, the French one was slightly lighter than the rest of them. Since that is the standard, all the rest were determined to be too heavy. Something like that anyway. they dont use that anymore the new standard is exactly 1 trillion, 375 billion, 094 million, 282 thousand, 258 hydrogen atoms (no deuterium or tritium). same as for atomic clocks. Quote
Attitude Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 Dru said: they dont use that anymore the new standard is exactly 1 trillion, 375 billion, 094 million, 282 thousand, 258 hydrogen atoms (no deuterium or tritium). Counting the little bastards is a pain in the ass, though. 1 atom 2 atoms, Hey, quit moving! Quote
Alpine_Tom Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 Fejas said: I know that there are 16oz. in 1lb. and there are 28g. in an 1oz. and there is 7g. in 1/4oz and 3.5g in 1/8oz. and a dimer is .7g or .666666666666666g. but that's the most I get out of the metric system... Don't forget 7000 grains to the pound. You need that for reloading. Quote
Alpine_Tom Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 For some stuff metric seems simpler. But when someone says "she was a tall girl, she must have been 1.78 meters" do you have any idea what that means? You can pull out your scientific calculator and punch it in, but kind of slows down the conversation. Quote
Dru Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 it means she is 5cm shorter than me is what it means... Quote
iain Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 sure it means if light were in a vacuum, it would take around 5.9x10^-9 seconds to travel her height. Quote
Attitude Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 It makes some of the locals feel better when they can say their wang is 12 cm long. Quote
Greg_W Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 Corps of Engineers is already using metric measurement on some of their designs for buildings and such. I notice that some topo maps show elevations in meters, too. Quote
Dru Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 Attitude said: It makes some of the locals feel better when they can say their wang is 12 cm long. yeah, what Mae West said, "forget the five feet, tell me about the nine inches" just doesnt translate to metric well. Quote
freeclimb9 Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 Heavy snow falling today in the Wasatch. But nothing like the Colorado dump. Quote
JoshK Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 Baker amazes me. a very light front pushed through last night and baker still dragged 8 inches out of it. Quote
PaulB Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 JoshK said: Even the british finally abandoned this jackass system for the most part. It's time we realize how fucking stupid it is. The fun part in the UK is that while they are officially metric, many speed signs are still in mph, while most distances are shown in km. Quote
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