With my 8 cylinder work van, it's more like how many cubits per barrel
of gasoline.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Tom Gardner" wrote in message
...


Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Harold



I much prefer to express my van's fuel economy in "Furlongs per
Hogshead".

They got to the date Y-MM-K and the abacus locked up? Had to shake the
abacus vigorously to reboot it.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Rich Grise"
wrote in message ...

You an those new fanged "Arabic numbers". In my day that would
have been I digit by II cubits and III palms by V cubits I palm and
II
and XXXXIII of LXIIII."

The Roman empire collapsed because, lacking a zero, they had no way to
indicate successful completion of their "C" programs. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

Winston on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:50:04 -0800
typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
Rich Grise wrote:
pyotr filipivich wrote:

(...)

You an those new fanged "Arabic numbers". In my day that would
have been I digit by II cubits and III palms by V cubits I palm and II
and XXXXIII of LXIIII."

...'II and XLIII of LXIV', yes?

In some case, maybe, in other cases no. Better XXXX than
accepting XL - because any one can put an X before the L, reducing the
quantity by a fifth. Cuts one's bills down, but ....

I agree. Much more intuitive.

If you are converting from decimal.

The Roman empire collapsed because, lacking a zero, they had no way to
indicate successful completion of their "C" programs. ;-)

(Ooof!)

The Romans invented vi then?

--Winston -- Searched in vain for the 'six editor'.

So it was the Romans who used BCRN (Binary Coded Roman Numbers)
--
pyotr filipivich
We will drink no whiskey before its nine.
It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!

On Nov 30, 9:34*pm, pyotr filipivich wrote:
...
The Roman empire collapsed because, lacking a zero, they had no way to
indicate successful completion of their "C" programs. ;-)

(Ooof!)

The Romans invented vi then?

--Winston *-- Searched in vain for the 'six editor'.

* * * * So it was the Romans who used BCRN *(Binary Coded Roman Numbers)

Unfortunately they failed to invent an eraser to go on the back end of
the number-carving chisel, and fell to defeat after Alaric read "M" on
his tax bill instead of "I VI".

jsw

I hear that 9mm stuff - where is the small stuff.
1mm is big! I know there is .1mm and .01mm

The MKS - basis of a Meter, Killogram, second is for Big stuff.

The cgs - basis of a centimeter, gram, second is for little stuff.

But most people use the MKS and try to measure 'mils' using mm but
it just doesn't make it.

Don't get me wrong, I have a degree in Physics. Metric is a basis math
part used.

Machining just misses something seems to me.

Martin

On 11/30/2010 10:05 AM, Pete C. wrote:

Harold& Susan Vordos wrote:

"Andrew 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.

Metric sucks, and I don't give a damn about the arguments to the contrary.

Those of us that were groomed to work in the Imperial measuring system have
no issues with how it works. I know what a yard is, as well as I know what
a foot is, or one ten thousandth of an inch, for that matter.

As you alluded, when someone makes mention of a size, I have an instant
visual idea of it's general size. Not so with metric, which I must convert
to Imperial in order to get a perspective.

Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Harold

I can visualize metric up to about 9mm or so... after than I have to
convert to imperial to visualize.

"Rich Grise" wrote in message
...

Jon Anderson wrote:
On 11/29/2010 11:59 PM, Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Only with partial success, at least in the automotive world. My Escort
is a mix of inch and metric, and there's a gray area where I am not sure
which I'm going to encounter.

Something I found humorous in Australia... First thing I did at a large
store (Big W), I checked out the hardware section. I was rather amused
to find what I knew to be a 1/4-20 bolt approx 1" long as "1/4 x 30mm".

I stopped by an engineering supply company (more or less the equivalent
of MSC) in Wagga Wagga, and was surprised to find a decent selection of
nice quality inch taps in stock. Talking to one of the salesmen, they
stock a decent selection of inch taps, as well as inch hardware, and
what they don't have in stock can be ordered. So even in a supposedly
metric country, Imperial hardware survives.

By "imperial," you mean natural units, right? Like the inch, foot, and
so on? ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

The term "Imperial measure" refers to the Roman Empire. Their measurement
system carried over to us.



Steve R.

"Rich Grise" wrote in message
...

Jon Anderson wrote:
On 11/29/2010 11:59 PM, Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Only with partial success, at least in the automotive world. My Escort
is a mix of inch and metric, and there's a gray area where I am not sure
which I'm going to encounter.

Something I found humorous in Australia... First thing I did at a large
store (Big W), I checked out the hardware section. I was rather amused
to find what I knew to be a 1/4-20 bolt approx 1" long as "1/4 x 30mm".

I stopped by an engineering supply company (more or less the equivalent
of MSC) in Wagga Wagga, and was surprised to find a decent selection of
nice quality inch taps in stock. Talking to one of the salesmen, they
stock a decent selection of inch taps, as well as inch hardware, and
what they don't have in stock can be ordered. So even in a supposedly
metric country, Imperial hardware survives.

By "imperial," you mean natural units, right? Like the inch, foot, and
so on? ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

The term "Imperial measure" refers to the Roman Empire. Their measurement
system carried over to us.



Steve R.

"Rich Grise" wrote in message
...

Jon Anderson wrote:
On 11/29/2010 11:59 PM, Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Only with partial success, at least in the automotive world. My Escort
is a mix of inch and metric, and there's a gray area where I am not sure
which I'm going to encounter.

Something I found humorous in Australia... First thing I did at a large
store (Big W), I checked out the hardware section. I was rather amused
to find what I knew to be a 1/4-20 bolt approx 1" long as "1/4 x 30mm".

I stopped by an engineering supply company (more or less the equivalent
of MSC) in Wagga Wagga, and was surprised to find a decent selection of
nice quality inch taps in stock. Talking to one of the salesmen, they
stock a decent selection of inch taps, as well as inch hardware, and
what they don't have in stock can be ordered. So even in a supposedly
metric country, Imperial hardware survives.

By "imperial," you mean natural units, right? Like the inch, foot, and
so on? ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

The term "Imperial measure" refers to the Roman Empire. Their measurement
system carried over to us.



Steve R.

Jim Wilkins on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:11:55 -0800
(PST) typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
On Nov 30, 9:34*pm, pyotr filipivich wrote:
...
The Roman empire collapsed because, lacking a zero, they had no way to
indicate successful completion of their "C" programs. ;-)

(Ooof!)

The Romans invented vi then?

--Winston *-- Searched in vain for the 'six editor'.

* * * * So it was the Romans who used BCRN *(Binary Coded Roman Numbers)

Unfortunately they failed to invent an eraser

Well, of course. Amazonia wasn't yet, discovered.

to go on the back end of
the number-carving chisel, and fell to defeat after Alaric read "M" on
his tax bill instead of "I VI".

From such simple mis understandings. And the worst thing - back
in the Day, when something was said "to be carved in stone", they
meant carved in stone.
None of this cast in cement, nonsense, either.


pyotr
--
pyotr filipivich
We will drink no whiskey before its nine.
It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!

On Dec 1, 2:30*am, pyotr filipivich wrote:
Jim Wilkins on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:11:55 -0800
...Alaric the Goth read "M" on
his tax bill instead of "I VI".

* * * * From such simple mis understandings. *And the worst thing - back
in the Day, when something was said "to be carved in stone", they
meant carved in stone.
* * * * None of this cast in cement, nonsense, either.

pyotr

That's another reason they declined and fell, lowest-bidder concrete.
Look at Pompeii, only MM anno old and already falling apart. They just
couldn't listen to the Egyptians.

jsw

Tim Wescott wrote:

Volts, Amps,
Watts, etc., are all native metric quantities (there are native-English
measures of all of these, too, which used to be common -- argh!).

Tim,

You lost me here, what are these native English measurements for Amps
Volts and Watts?

I found for example that these terms have been redefined several times
when the ability to measure has improved, but I could find no mention
of a competitive system of measurement.

Roger Shoaf

On 12/01/2010 12:52 PM, RS at work wrote:


Tim Wescott wrote:

Volts, Amps,
Watts, etc., are all native metric quantities (there are native-English
measures of all of these, too, which used to be common -- argh!).

Tim,

You lost me here, what are these native English measurements for Amps
Volts and Watts?

I found for example that these terms have been redefined several times
when the ability to measure has improved, but I could find no mention
of a competitive system of measurement.

Argh -- I think I was confused by the fact that the cgs system has two
measures of voltage: statvolts and abvolts (they're in Wikipedia). If
there ever was an English measure of electrical units, I can't find it
on the web.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Do you need to implement control loops in software?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" was written for you.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

On Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:51:13 -0800 (PST), whit3rd
wrote:



Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:
Metric sucks, and I don't give a damn about the arguments to the contrary.

Those of us that were groomed to work in the Imperial measuring system have
no issues with how it works.

Not true; I get confused with measuring tapes that give feet and
inches
instead of just inches. It's easier to use the millimeter scale.

There's some kind of secret organization that has been advertising
a decalibration of the cup, they have some wacky idea about making
a pair of different units, It's VITAL that this activity be
suppressed,
lest my reliable 236.6 ml measuring instruments be made into
a new source of confusion!

A rice cooker cup is 180ml, for some reason.

Get the NIST after that bunch of scoundrels, quickest! It was
something to do with "two cup sizes" and the organization was
called "Victoria's Secret"...

Maybe Wikileaks can reveal Victoria's Secret?

"Steve" on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:13:15 -0800 typed
in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:


"Rich Grise" wrote in message
...

Jon Anderson wrote:
On 11/29/2010 11:59 PM, Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Only with partial success, at least in the automotive world. My Escort
is a mix of inch and metric, and there's a gray area where I am not sure
which I'm going to encounter.

Something I found humorous in Australia... First thing I did at a large
store (Big W), I checked out the hardware section. I was rather amused
to find what I knew to be a 1/4-20 bolt approx 1" long as "1/4 x 30mm".

I stopped by an engineering supply company (more or less the equivalent
of MSC) in Wagga Wagga, and was surprised to find a decent selection of
nice quality inch taps in stock. Talking to one of the salesmen, they
stock a decent selection of inch taps, as well as inch hardware, and
what they don't have in stock can be ordered. So even in a supposedly
metric country, Imperial hardware survives.

By "imperial," you mean natural units, right? Like the inch, foot, and
so on? ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

The term "Imperial measure" refers to the Roman Empire. Their measurement
system carried over to us.

British Empire. A lot of the measures were "customary" - and
until the Canadians went metric, you could get gas by the Imperial
Gallon, which made for better gas mileage, as you had more miles per
"gallon".

--
pyotr filipivich
We will drink no whiskey before its nine.
It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!

Spehro Pefhany on Wed, 01 Dec 2010
16:17:51 -0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
On Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:51:13 -0800 (PST), whit3rd
wrote:



Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:
Metric sucks, and I don't give a damn about the arguments to the contrary.

Those of us that were groomed to work in the Imperial measuring system have
no issues with how it works.

Not true; I get confused with measuring tapes that give feet and
inches
instead of just inches. It's easier to use the millimeter scale.

There's some kind of secret organization that has been advertising
a decalibration of the cup, they have some wacky idea about making
a pair of different units, It's VITAL that this activity be
suppressed,
lest my reliable 236.6 ml measuring instruments be made into
a new source of confusion!

A rice cooker cup is 180ml, for some reason.

Get the NIST after that bunch of scoundrels, quickest! It was
something to do with "two cup sizes" and the organization was
called "Victoria's Secret"...

Maybe Wikileaks can reveal Victoria's Secret?

I believe this is something which will bear watching.
--
pyotr filipivich
We will drink no whiskey before its nine.
It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!

On Nov 30, 2:07*am, Andrew VK3BFA wrote:

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.

Getting so that one thinks in a different measuring system isn't
easy. I guess it like speaking a foreign language. One thing to
learn a foreign language, another thing to think in a foreign
language.

I spent a lot of time looking at an oscilloscope screen, so a cm
became something I can think in. But I do not do well with Pascals,
and even Centigrade temperatures.

Dan

wrote:

(...)

I spent a lot of time looking at an oscilloscope screen, so a cm
became something I can think in. But I do not do well with Pascals,
and even Centigrade temperatures.

Like me, you have a visceral understanding of the size
of a liter of soft drink, yes?
Your graticule experience should allow you to pick out
a 10 mm fastener right quick, I'll bet.
If I asked 'about how long is a meter?', you could hold
out your hands to approximate 39 inches, no doubt.

--Winston

On Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:42:08 -0800, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

"Steve" on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:13:15 -0800 typed
in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:


"Rich Grise" wrote in message
...

Jon Anderson wrote:
On 11/29/2010 11:59 PM, Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Only with partial success, at least in the automotive world. My Escort
is a mix of inch and metric, and there's a gray area where I am not sure
which I'm going to encounter.

Something I found humorous in Australia... First thing I did at a large
store (Big W), I checked out the hardware section. I was rather amused
to find what I knew to be a 1/4-20 bolt approx 1" long as "1/4 x 30mm".

I stopped by an engineering supply company (more or less the equivalent
of MSC) in Wagga Wagga, and was surprised to find a decent selection of
nice quality inch taps in stock. Talking to one of the salesmen, they
stock a decent selection of inch taps, as well as inch hardware, and
what they don't have in stock can be ordered. So even in a supposedly
metric country, Imperial hardware survives.

By "imperial," you mean natural units, right? Like the inch, foot, and
so on? ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

The term "Imperial measure" refers to the Roman Empire. Their measurement
system carried over to us.

British Empire. A lot of the measures were "customary" - and
until the Canadians went metric, you could get gas by the Imperial
Gallon, which made for better gas mileage, as you had more miles per
"gallon".
On a visit to senior son in the other London in 1999, I noted that
gasoline was priced at 69.9, which at the time translated to roughly
$1.85. Dividing by 4.5 (to convert gallons to litres) gave $0.41 which
compared very well with the $0.399 which I was paying at home. Then I
realized that 69.9 WAS the price per Litre!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Gerald Miller on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:47:47 -0500
typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
On Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:42:08 -0800, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

"Steve" on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:13:15 -0800 typed
in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:


"Rich Grise" wrote in message
...

Jon Anderson wrote:
On 11/29/2010 11:59 PM, Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Only with partial success, at least in the automotive world. My Escort
is a mix of inch and metric, and there's a gray area where I am not sure
which I'm going to encounter.

Something I found humorous in Australia... First thing I did at a large
store (Big W), I checked out the hardware section. I was rather amused
to find what I knew to be a 1/4-20 bolt approx 1" long as "1/4 x 30mm".

I stopped by an engineering supply company (more or less the equivalent
of MSC) in Wagga Wagga, and was surprised to find a decent selection of
nice quality inch taps in stock. Talking to one of the salesmen, they
stock a decent selection of inch taps, as well as inch hardware, and
what they don't have in stock can be ordered. So even in a supposedly
metric country, Imperial hardware survives.

By "imperial," you mean natural units, right? Like the inch, foot, and
so on? ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

The term "Imperial measure" refers to the Roman Empire. Their measurement
system carried over to us.

British Empire. A lot of the measures were "customary" - and
until the Canadians went metric, you could get gas by the Imperial
Gallon, which made for better gas mileage, as you had more miles per
"gallon".
On a visit to senior son in the other London in 1999, I noted that
gasoline was priced at 69.9, which at the time translated to roughly
$1.85. Dividing by 4.5 (to convert gallons to litres) gave $0.41 which
compared very well with the $0.399 which I was paying at home. Then I
realized that 69.9 WAS the price per Litre!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Back in 77, diesel oil was 7 piaster (Egyptian) the liter. Not a
whole lot,even then. Nice to have your own oil wells.
--
pyotr filipivich
We will drink no whiskey before its nine.
It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!

wrote:

I spent a lot of time looking at an oscilloscope screen, so a cm
became something I can think in. But I do not do well with Pascals,
and even Centigrade temperatures.

Dan

Now there is an interesting thought. Me too. About 40 yrs of
looking at a scope. :-)
...lew...

On Nov 30, 2:07*am, Andrew VK3BFA wrot

Let's see, was that measure once, cut twice? Feed a fever, oh hell...

Seriously, though, it's a good idea to have a few "constants"
mmemorized, just to be able to give a sanity check. For instance:

1mm ~ .040"
1cm ~ 0.4"
1M ~ 1 yard
1L ~ 1 quart
5ml ~ 1tsp

You also ought to measure (and memorize) things like the length of
your thumb(knuckle to tip), the span of your hand (thumb to pinky) and
the span of your outstretched arms (fingertip to fingertip). These are
great for quick estimates.

rangerssuck wrote:

On Nov 30, 2:07*am, Andrew VK3BFA wrot

Let's see, was that measure once, cut twice? Feed a fever, oh hell...

Seriously, though, it's a good idea to have a few "constants"
mmemorized, just to be able to give a sanity check. For instance:

1mm ~ .040"
1cm ~ 0.4"
1M ~ 1 yard
1L ~ 1 quart
5ml ~ 1tsp

You also ought to measure (and memorize) things like the length of
your thumb(knuckle to tip),

Never needed this one, but the width at the root of the nail is about
one inch.

the span of your hand (thumb to pinky) and

About 9 inches

the span of your outstretched arms (fingertip to fingertip).

One fathom. ;-)

These are
great for quick estimates.

Don't forget the hand, or the cubit! ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

On Dec 3, 11:11*am, rangerssuck wrote:
On Nov 30, 2:07*am, Andrew VK3BFA wrot

Let's see, was that measure once, cut twice? Feed a fever, oh hell...

Seriously, though, it's a good idea to have a few "constants"
mmemorized, just to be able to give a sanity check. For instance:

1mm ~ .040"
1cm ~ 0.4"
1M ~ 1 yard
1L ~ 1 quart
5ml ~ 1tsp

You also ought to measure (and memorize) things like the length of
your thumb(knuckle to tip), the span of your hand (thumb to pinky) and
the span of your outstretched arms (fingertip to fingertip). These are
great for quick estimates.

I agree. But knowing those things is not the same as being able to
think in a different set of dimensions. If you ask me the distance
from my house to the road in meters, I will think in yards and convert
to meters.

Thank God that electricity is all metric.

Dan

On Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:47:47 -0500, Gerald Miller wrote:


On a visit to senior son in the other London in 1999, I noted that
gasoline was priced at 69.9, which at the time translated to roughly
$1.85. Dividing by 4.5 (to convert gallons to litres) gave $0.41 which
compared very well with the $0.399 which I was paying at home. Then I
realized that 69.9 WAS the price per Litre!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada


Do you wonder why we're so keen on fuel economy :-(


Mark Rand
RTFM

Mark Rand wrote:
On Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:47:47 -0500, Gerald Miller

On a visit to senior son in the other London in 1999, I noted that
gasoline was priced at 69.9, which at the time translated to roughly
$1.85. Dividing by 4.5 (to convert gallons to litres) gave $0.41 which
compared very well with the $0.399 which I was paying at home. Then I
realized that 69.9 WAS the price per Litre!

Do you wonder why we're so keen on fuel economy :-(

Fuel economy? What's that? I drive a bicycle and consistently average
50 miles per gallon of beer. ;-D

Cheers!
Rich

On Fri, 03 Dec 2010 23:22:11 +0000, Mark Rand
wrote:

On Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:47:47 -0500, Gerald Miller wrote:


On a visit to senior son in the other London in 1999, I noted that
gasoline was priced at 69.9, which at the time translated to roughly
$1.85. Dividing by 4.5 (to convert gallons to litres) gave $0.41 which
compared very well with the $0.399 which I was paying at home. Then I
realized that 69.9 WAS the price per Litre!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada


Do you wonder why we're so keen on fuel economy :-(


Mark Rand
RTFM
I noted today that the local price is 112.5, or ~$5.06 per imperial
gallon. When I first bought fuel for my own car I paid $0.299 per
gallon. Of course my pay was $1.25/hour.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

In article , pyotr filipivich wrote:

British Empire. A lot of the measures were "customary" - and
until the Canadians went metric, you could get gas by the Imperial
Gallon, which made for better gas mileage, as you had more miles per
"gallon".

And since they were Canadian miles, that made the mpg even better. :-)

On Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:28:19 -0800, Rich Grise
wrote:

Mark Rand wrote:
On Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:47:47 -0500, Gerald Miller

On a visit to senior son in the other London in 1999, I noted that
gasoline was priced at 69.9, which at the time translated to roughly
$1.85. Dividing by 4.5 (to convert gallons to litres) gave $0.41 which
compared very well with the $0.399 which I was paying at home. Then I
realized that 69.9 WAS the price per Litre!

Do you wonder why we're so keen on fuel economy :-(

Fuel economy? What's that? I drive a bicycle and consistently average
50 miles per gallon of beer. ;-D

Cheers!
Rich
I doubt very much that I would come even within range of that!
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Dec 1, 3:36*am, Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Nov 30, 10:35*am, Winston wrote:

2 cubits, 3 palms by 5 cubits, 1 palm, 2-43/64 digits sheet of
plywood anymore.


--Winston

That's better than showing you the Italian cubit gesture.

So, would you argue that Furlongs/Fortnight is not a valid
measurement?....

Hah! - you dare Jest, these matters are of real concern......

Here in OZ, it is a local custom to give Xmas presents to people who
you reckon have done a good job - a way of saying "thanks Mate" -
people like the teacher at trade school who put up with your attempts
to wreck machines (can be real spectacular if you put some total "lost
the plot" stupidity into it...) so he, among others of similar ilk,
are worthy , and deserving of the ritual OZ custom of
giving....yep....Beer.

A simple transaction, one would think. Last day of term, drive down to
local Beer place. Said, (to young smartarse, but only evident later)

"you have Crown Lagers in the half dozen packs"

(After much verbal gymnastic crap, Old Bull Young
Bull ..rubbish...time wasting garbage for a simple transaction he
finally said to the (obviously Neanderthal) customer in front of
him...)

He said. "No, we dont have them any more, you need to buy six...."

(Gunner, Mate - I thought of you right then, thought.....WTF - total
idiot...thought real hard about a definitely non Lefty response......)

I give up, cant cope with all this - Old Fart Syndrome, fer sure. Good
to know I am not alone. And if you can cope with all this system
duality, good luck to you. Just dont stuff up calculations like "Duh -
the Mars thingy we got going REAL FAST and the Europeans did a lot of
it and somehow we got mixed up between do we fire the braking rockets/
whatever at 3Km or 300ft.....yep, can cope with this one.....whatever
the answer was, it was the wrong one.

Andrew VK3BFA

Andrew VK3BFA wrote:

"you have Crown Lagers in the half dozen packs"

(After much verbal gymnastic crap, Old Bull Young
Bull ..rubbish...time wasting garbage for a simple transaction he
finally said to the (obviously Neanderthal) customer in front of
him...)

He said. "No, we dont have them any more, you need to buy six...."

I once stopped into some random burger joint, and ordered a burger and a
cola. (I didn't know if they had Coke or Pepsi, so I figured, whichever.)

The Kewl Kounter Kiddie said, "We don't have cola, just Pepsi."

Apparently she'd never heard of Pepsi-COLA. ?:-/

Cheers!
Rich

Andrew VK3BFA wrote:

"you have Crown Lagers in the half dozen packs"

He said. "No, we dont have them any more, you need to buy six...."

I was once working with someone who was from Israel, but spoke English
really well and was on a green card or maybe naturalized (think Ziva);
anyway, she was my supervisor on this one job, and she says, "Well, there's
these two things that need to be done, so you get to pick which one first,
which would you prefer?" or some such. There wasn't any difference between
the two things, so I said, "Meh, it's six of one and a half-dozen of the
other." She said, "What does that mean?"

Apparently she'd never heard the expression. Have you ever tried to explain
something like that to a non-native English speaker?

Thanks,
Rich

On Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:56:23 -0500, Wes
wrote:

Jon Anderson wrote:

Is it any wonder that the US has resisted the conversion to metric?

Only with partial success, at least in the automotive world. My Escort
is a mix of inch and metric, and there's a gray area where I am not sure
which I'm going to encounter.

That is such an irriation. I maintain automated assembly cells that *should* be metric
since that is a company standard but keep running into imperial stuff. It means I need to
grab double the amount of tools to work on it and what ever fitting I bring will be wrong.

And just to finish off, 25.4 mm x 254 mm is not a metric measurement imho.

Wes

Try being a independant service tech for a
while...metric/standard/Wentworth (rare but out there) etc etc.

I have to carry double the tools..plus a few odds and ends such as
Wentworth, and hardware....gack!!!

Gunner
655
--
"Confiscating wealth from those who have earned it, inherited it,
or got lucky is never going to help 'the poor.' Poverty isn't
caused by some people having more money than others, just as obesity
isn't caused by McDonald's serving super-sized orders of French fries
Poverty, like obesity, is caused by the life choices that dictate
results." - John Tucci,

On Dec 4, 9:57*am, Rich Grise wrote:
...
Apparently she'd never heard the expression. Have you ever tried to explain
something like that to a non-native English speaker?
Rich

There is a story that the Japanese responded to a July 1945 surrender
request with a phrase that could mean either to think very little of
something or 'think nothing of it", the exact opposite. Look how that
turned out.

jsw

Rich Grise wrote:
Andrew VK3BFA wrote:

"you have Crown Lagers in the half dozen packs"

He said. "No, we dont have them any more, you need to buy six...."

I was once working with someone who was from Israel, but spoke English
really well and was on a green card or maybe naturalized (think Ziva);
anyway, she was my supervisor on this one job, and she says, "Well, there's
these two things that need to be done, so you get to pick which one first,
which would you prefer?" or some such. There wasn't any difference between
the two things, so I said, "Meh, it's six of one and a half-dozen of the
other." She said, "What does that mean?"

Apparently she'd never heard the expression. Have you ever tried to explain
something like that to a non-native English speaker?

In my extended family we abstract that phrase one
step further: "Seis de uno"!

--Winston

On Dec 4, 7:38*pm, Winston wrote:
...Have you ever tried to explain
something like that to a non-native English speaker?

In my extended family we abstract that phrase one
step further: "Seis de uno"!

--Winston

I tried explaining to a Cambodian girl that 'oca loca' wasn't really
an insult, but it was too many levels of translation.

jsw

Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Dec 4, 7:38 pm, wrote:
...Have you ever tried to explain
something like that to a non-native English speaker?

In my extended family we abstract that phrase one
step further: "Seis de uno"!

--Winston

I tried explaining to a Cambodian girl that 'oca loca' wasn't really
an insult, but it was too many levels of translation.

She thought you were criticizing her footwear?

--Winston

anorton wrote:

"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.

For approximate stuff just think of 25 mm = 1" , 100 mm = 4" , 200 mm = 8"
etc.

In the US, in my field of optical engineering, lens elements are always
specified in mm, but the lens housings that hold them are usually specified
in inches. This is because lens fabrication in the US was pioneered by
German immigrants, so lenses were always done in mm or meters. However most

old US made lenses had focal lengths specified in inches.