"Andrew VK3BFA" wrote in message
...

Bloody metric measurements - great system, couldn't and wouldn't argue
against it. But.....

Consider this scenario, good people. Ducted heating furnace in the
roof was having a good go at coming through the ceiling (being a
skilled metalworker, and a RCM lurker, I knew straightaway something
was wrong..) Turned out to be crappy install job, vis
1.Vent pipe not sealed properly (so it leaked)
2.Was sitting on a sheet of particle board crap stuff so it rotted
through
3.No drip tray set up for stuff ups.

So. Decided to get a drip tray made, its a metric world, so did it all
in Metric so as to give the order for the tray to the local plumbing
supply place. Measured L by B, added 10mm each side for the folded
lip, and put the order in. Picked it up, thought "Mmmm..."

Seems I had stuffed up the decimal point in my metric calculations -
was 200mm wider than required (length was stuffed too, but that was OK
- was room up in the roof cavity) so, couldnt get the ******* up
through the access hatch into the roof. So, had to cut it down - heaps
of work...

The Moral - I cant think in Metric, cant visualise in Metric, cant
look at metric measurements and think "nah, no way - too wide/long/
narrow thick etc etc"

How you guys cope - bloody sick of doing this...

Andrew VK3BFA.


We have been metric for a long time in Canada, and I still can't relate to
anything but temperatures! I have no concept of distances in Km, and have to
translate to Imperial. Having owned a watch repair shop, I am ok in a few
hundredths of a MM, but tend to think in thousandths of an inch.

Once when I was given directions to a staff party, the lady said it was 3 Km
past a certain point. I asked "how far is that"?

I am 70 years old, and will probably never fully adapt to metric!


So there you are!


Steve R.