Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 11:18:23 AM UTC, dennis@home wrote:
On 12/01/2019 02:09, Fredxx wrote:

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in a furlong.

You mean wickets not pitches.
A cricket oval is somewhat larger than a chain.

Just shows how confusing the old stuff was.

Terry Pratchett says in a footnote in 'Good Omens'*:

"NOTE TO YOUNG PEOPLE AND AMERICANS:

Two Farthings = One Ha'penny. Two Ha'pennies = One Penny. Three Pennies = A Thrupenny Bit. Two Thrupences = A Sixpence. Two Sixpences = One Shilling, or Bob. Two Bob = A Florin. One Florin and One Sixpence = Half a Crown. Four Half Crowns = Ten Bob Note. Two Ten Bob Notes = One Pound (or 240 pennies). One Pound and One Shilling = One Guinea.

The British resisted decimalized currency for a long time because they thought it was too complicated."

* - co-written by Neil Gaiman but I can recognise a Pratchett footnote at 100 chains...

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

Rod Speed wrote:



If you werent actually ****ed and drug crazed, even a
terminal ****wit such as yourself should have noticed
that the particular post I chose to comment on had moved
on from that to discussing what happens in

Partly because despite the huge number of posts you send you arent that
good at it so it isnt worth paying much attention and as a foreigner
posting to a UK group even less reason to take much notice of your comments
even if you think they are important.


Space below left free for preprogrammed Speed response.
Must be time for a paper bag again, you foreigners are so predictable.






GH

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

Halmyre wrote:
On Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 11:18:23 AM UTC, dennis@home wrote:
On 12/01/2019 02:09, Fredxx wrote:

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in a furlong.

You mean wickets not pitches.
A cricket oval is somewhat larger than a chain.

Just shows how confusing the old stuff was.

Terry Pratchett says in a footnote in 'Good Omens'*:

"NOTE TO YOUNG PEOPLE AND AMERICANS:

Two Farthings = One Ha'penny. Two Ha'pennies = One Penny. Three Pennies =
A Thrupenny Bit. Two Thrupences = A Sixpence. Two Sixpences = One
Shilling, or Bob. Two Bob = A Florin. One Florin and One Sixpence = Half
a Crown. Four Half Crowns = Ten Bob Note. Two Ten Bob Notes = One Pound
(or 240 pennies). One Pound and One Shilling = One Guinea.

The British resisted decimalized currency for a long time because they
thought it was too complicated."

The Florin was intended as a decimal coin. The Victorians intended to
introduce a decimal coin system
with 10 Florins to the pound. Only the Florin was introduced before the
idea was dropped.

GH

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article ,
Marland wrote:
The Florin was intended as a decimal coin. The Victorians intended to
introduce a decimal coin system
with 10 Florins to the pound. Only the Florin was introduced before the
idea was dropped.

Interesting that the dollar is metric - yet they have a quarter.

--
*"I am " is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On Saturday, 12 January 2019 11:18:59 UTC, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier to
use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces with the
human brain better.

I use metres feet and inches :-)

This house, probably like most in the UK, was built Imperial. Especially the electric and plumbing stuff.

Owain

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 12/01/2019 13:45, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

On Saturday, 12 January 2019 11:18:59 UTC, Dave Plowman (News)Â* wrote:
Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier to
use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces with the
human brain better.

It interfaces with the human *body* better. The foot is about the
length of your, errm, foot, and the French for inch is the pouce, or
thumb. The yard is supposedly the stride length of your Roman soldier.

The only body related unit I find of any use is 9" for my span. And that
isn't even a unit.

--
Max Demian

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

"Tim Streater" wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
wrote:

On Saturday, 12 January 2019 11:18:59 UTC, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier to
use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces with the
human brain better.

It interfaces with the human *body* better. The foot is about the
length of your, errm, foot, and the French for inch is the pouce, or
thumb. The yard is supposedly the stride length of your Roman soldier.

Contrast this with metric which is based on arbitrary units: divide the
distance equator-pole into 10,000 to get the kilometre, then
successively divide down by 1000 and 100 for the metre and centimetre.

Its only real asset is that it's what everyone (almost) uses.

Yes: two conflicting needs - human-sized folk units and scientific
engineering units which are designed for ease of calculation and conversion,
and which have one meaning worldwide (ie not three different ounces for
jewellery, pharmacy and general use, not a UK and a UK definition of gallon
(and pint and fluid ounce) and ton (and hundredweight).

For me, ease of calculation trumps everything else, but for other people
it's the other way round - everyone's different.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 12/01/2019 11:33, Roger Hayter wrote:
dennis@home wrote:

On 11/01/2019 22:53, Steve Walker wrote:

a stew, etc.).

Imperial also divides up nicely into 1/4s and 1/3s.

SteveW

What's different about 1/3 kg and 1/3 pound?
You should be able to handle either with ease.

Ones 333.333333* grams and the other is 6.6666* ounces.

You seem to be thinking of pints rather than pounds!


shows how bad it was.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 12/01/2019 06:34, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 03:59, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 03:12, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 01:41, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 10/01/2019 21:23, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:08:43 +0000, ARW wrote:

On 10/01/2019 19:55, T i m wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 19:15:24 +0000, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 10/01/19 19:10, ARW wrote:
Third year apprentice (one of the best we have had) was having
trouble putting the meter tails into the mains isolator on
some new
builds.

He was having difficulty tightening up the hex screws.

One answer in the office was "You have a **** set of Allen
keys"

In his defence he replied "They are brand new I only got
them on
Saturday and I paid for the most expensive of the two pairs
available
as I don't want **** tools"

Anyone care to guess what went wrong:-)?

Imperial vs metric?

+1


Indeed.

But at least he came in and said he had a problem. And the
problem is
now sorted.

Obviously never heard of the word imperial before and was
amazed at the
markings on the tool that he had never noticed.

Oh dear, how will he cope when £sd and feet inches and roods
come back ?

Why should they come back? If a reference to Brexit;
decimalisation was before entry into the EEC and even countries
like the USA are steadily moving towards metrification and SI
units.

Not really with the units the general public uses. And they dont
have
much in the way of the weirder ones like roods, perches, bushels,
furlongs etc.Â* Really just grains with ammunition and bullets etc.

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in a
furlong.

They dont have cricket pitches, stupid.

You probably don't, however this is a UK group and we do.

Pity that post is discussing what the USA does units wise.

Are you ****ed?

No point in asking you if you are ****ed
and drug crazed. the answer is obvious.

The discussion was about a UK apprentice using Allen/hex keys bought
in the UK used on metric equipment and then some kind of reversion to
£sd and feet inches and roods.

If you werent actually ****ed and drug crazed, even a
terminal ****wit such as yourself should have noticed
that the particular post I chose to comment on had moved
on from that to discussing what happens in the USA.

Any reference to the USA was made by me where I said "USA are steadily
moving towards metrification and SI units." I had not moved the
conversation away from UK classification of sizes.

What a plonker.

Your sig is sposed to have a line with just -- on it in front of it,
****wit.

reams of your even sillier ****wit **** flushed where it belongs

Finally, the sign you have lost your argument.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

"Marland" wrote in message
...
Rod Speed wrote:



If you werent actually ****ed and drug crazed, even a
terminal ****wit such as yourself should have noticed
that the particular post I chose to comment on had moved
on from that to discussing what happens in

Partly because despite the huge number of posts you send you
arent that good at it so it isnt worth paying much attention and
as a foreigner posting to a UK group even less reason to take much
notice of your comments even if you think they are important.

Even sillier than you usually manage, and thats saying something.

That drug crazed terminal ****wit chose to comment on a
comment I made, you silly little drug crazed terminal ****wit.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 11/01/2019 13:51, NY wrote:
"bert" wrote in message
...
SO why isn't the clock metric? I still have my Casio calculator from
the 70s which could work in hrs and mins.

I remember seeing articles in magazines which discussed in all
seriousness whether the world should devise new units of 50 metric
seconds in a metric minute, 50 of those minutes in a metric hour and 25
metric hours in a day. Or some such calculation which resulted in a
metric second being *reasonably* close to a real second.

I remember an A level physics practical demo that was screwed up by some
kind of centi minute stopwatch the lab tech gave out... Basically it
meant when it said what we thought was ten seconds had passed, it had
actually only been six.

The odd thing is that there were 20 people watching the demo, and no one
at the time spotted the fact that the readings being taken ever ten secs
seems to be happening a bit quick! Its only when doing the sums later
that nothing made sense.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 06:34, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 03:59, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 03:12, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 01:41, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 10/01/2019 21:23, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:08:43 +0000, ARW wrote:

On 10/01/2019 19:55, T i m wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 19:15:24 +0000, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 10/01/19 19:10, ARW wrote:
Third year apprentice (one of the best we have had) was
having
trouble putting the meter tails into the mains isolator on
some new
builds.

He was having difficulty tightening up the hex screws.

One answer in the office was "You have a **** set of Allen
keys"

In his defence he replied "They are brand new I only got them
on
Saturday and I paid for the most expensive of the two pairs
available
as I don't want **** tools"

Anyone care to guess what went wrong:-)?

Imperial vs metric?

+1


Indeed.

But at least he came in and said he had a problem. And the
problem is
now sorted.

Obviously never heard of the word imperial before and was amazed
at the
markings on the tool that he had never noticed.

Oh dear, how will he cope when £sd and feet inches and roods come
back ?

Why should they come back? If a reference to Brexit;
decimalisation was before entry into the EEC and even countries
like the USA are steadily moving towards metrification and SI
units.

Not really with the units the general public uses. And they dont
have
much in the way of the weirder ones like roods, perches, bushels,
furlongs etc. Really just grains with ammunition and bullets etc.

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in a
furlong.

They dont have cricket pitches, stupid.

You probably don't, however this is a UK group and we do.

Pity that post is discussing what the USA does units wise.

Are you ****ed?

No point in asking you if you are ****ed
and drug crazed. the answer is obvious.

The discussion was about a UK apprentice using Allen/hex keys bought in
the UK used on metric equipment and then some kind of reversion to £sd
and feet inches and roods.

If you werent actually ****ed and drug crazed, even a
terminal ****wit such as yourself should have noticed
that the particular post I chose to comment on had moved
on from that to discussing what happens in the USA.

Any reference to the USA was made by me where I said "USA are steadily
moving towards metrification and SI units."

And thats what I was commenting on, ****wit.

What a plonker.

Your sig is sposed to have a line with just -- on it in front of it,
****wit.

reams of your even sillier ****wit **** flushed where it belongs

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 12/01/2019 18:00, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 06:34, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 03:59, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 03:12, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 01:41, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 10/01/2019 21:23, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:08:43 +0000, ARW wrote:

On 10/01/2019 19:55, T i m wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 19:15:24 +0000, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 10/01/19 19:10, ARW wrote:
Third year apprentice (one of the best we have had) was
having
trouble putting the meter tails into the mains isolator
on some new
builds.

He was having difficulty tightening up the hex screws.

One answer in the office was "You have a **** set of
Allen keys"

In his defence he replied "They are brand new I only got
them on
Saturday and I paid for the most expensive of the two
pairs available
as I don't want **** tools"

Anyone care to guess what went wrong:-)?

Imperial vs metric?

+1


Indeed.

But at least he came in and said he had a problem. And the
problem is
now sorted.

Obviously never heard of the word imperial before and was
amazed at the
markings on the tool that he had never noticed.

Oh dear, how will he cope when £sd and feet inches and roods
come back ?

Why should they come back? If a reference to Brexit;
decimalisation was before entry into the EEC and even
countries like the USA are steadily moving towards
metrification and SI units.

Not really with the units the general public uses. And they
dont have
much in the way of the weirder ones like roods, perches, bushels,
furlongs etc.Â* Really just grains with ammunition and bullets etc.

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in
a furlong.

They dont have cricket pitches, stupid.

You probably don't, however this is a UK group and we do.

Pity that post is discussing what the USA does units wise.

Are you ****ed?

No point in asking you if you are ****ed
and drug crazed. the answer is obvious.

The discussion was about a UK apprentice using Allen/hex keys bought
in the UK used on metric equipment and then some kind of reversion
to £sd and feet inches and roods.

If you werent actually ****ed and drug crazed, even a
terminal ****wit such as yourself should have noticed
that the particular post I chose to comment on had moved
on from that to discussing what happens in the USA.

Any reference to the USA was made by me where I said "USA are steadily
moving towards metrification and SI units."

And thats what I was commenting on, ****wit.

Next time reply to the corresponding post, not one that had moved by
several posts onto 'general public'.

What a plonker.

Your sig is sposed to have a line with just -- on it in front of
it, ****wit.

reams of your even sillier ****wit **** flushed where it belongs

Yet another example of a lost cause. You're not very bright, are you.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 18:00, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 06:34, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 03:59, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 03:12, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2019 01:41, Rod Speed wrote:


"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 10/01/2019 21:23, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:08:43 +0000, ARW wrote:

On 10/01/2019 19:55, T i m wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 19:15:24 +0000, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 10/01/19 19:10, ARW wrote:
Third year apprentice (one of the best we have had) was
having
trouble putting the meter tails into the mains isolator on
some new
builds.

He was having difficulty tightening up the hex screws.

One answer in the office was "You have a **** set of Allen
keys"

In his defence he replied "They are brand new I only got
them on
Saturday and I paid for the most expensive of the two pairs
available
as I don't want **** tools"

Anyone care to guess what went wrong:-)?

Imperial vs metric?

+1


Indeed.

But at least he came in and said he had a problem. And the
problem is
now sorted.

Obviously never heard of the word imperial before and was
amazed at the
markings on the tool that he had never noticed.

Oh dear, how will he cope when £sd and feet inches and roods
come back ?

Why should they come back? If a reference to Brexit;
decimalisation was before entry into the EEC and even countries
like the USA are steadily moving towards metrification and SI
units.

Not really with the units the general public uses. And they dont
have
much in the way of the weirder ones like roods, perches, bushels,
furlongs etc. Really just grains with ammunition and bullets
etc.

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in a
furlong.

They dont have cricket pitches, stupid.

You probably don't, however this is a UK group and we do.

Pity that post is discussing what the USA does units wise.

Are you ****ed?

No point in asking you if you are ****ed
and drug crazed. the answer is obvious.

The discussion was about a UK apprentice using Allen/hex keys bought
in the UK used on metric equipment and then some kind of reversion to
£sd and feet inches and roods.

If you werent actually ****ed and drug crazed, even a
terminal ****wit such as yourself should have noticed
that the particular post I chose to comment on had moved
on from that to discussing what happens in the USA.

Any reference to the USA was made by me where I said "USA are steadily
moving towards metrification and SI units."

And thats what I was commenting on, ****wit.

Next time reply to the corresponding post,

I did.

What a plonker.

Your sig is sposed to have a line with just -- on it in front of it,
****wit.

reams of your even sillier ****wit **** flushed where it belongs

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article
,
says...

Would you prefer to add up a column of prices in £p or in
£sd, with all the latter's carry-after-you-reach-12 and
carry-after-you-reach-20 complications.

As a kid, I was always fascinated when I saw my mother add up
a column of prices. It wasn't just pounds, shillings and pence
- we still had farthings!

She would just run her finger down the column at a constant
speed muttering a stream of sub totals as she went until she
reached the bottom and wrote down the final total!

--

Terry

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 12/01/2019 17:18, John Rumm wrote:
On 11/01/2019 13:51, NY wrote:
"bert" wrote in message
...
SO why isn't the clock metric? I still have my Casio calculator from
the 70s which could work in hrs and mins.

I remember seeing articles in magazines which discussed in all
seriousness whether the world should devise new units of 50 metric
seconds in a metric minute, 50 of those minutes in a metric hour and
25 metric hours in a day. Or some such calculation which resulted in a
metric second being *reasonably* close to a real second.

I remember an A level physics practical demo that was screwed up by some
kind of centi minute stopwatch the lab tech gave out... Basically it
meant when it said what we thought was ten seconds had passed, it had
actually only been six.


In my research days, when we were typically running experiments for a
week or two, one of my colleagues suggested that we should use the
microfortnight as a unit of time. (Check out what it corresponds to).

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article , newshound
wrote:
On 12/01/2019 17:18, John Rumm wrote:
On 11/01/2019 13:51, NY wrote:
"bert" wrote in message
...
SO why isn't the clock metric? I still have my Casio calculator from
the 70s which could work in hrs and mins.

I remember seeing articles in magazines which discussed in all
seriousness whether the world should devise new units of 50 metric
seconds in a metric minute, 50 of those minutes in a metric hour and
25 metric hours in a day. Or some such calculation which resulted in a
metric second being *reasonably* close to a real second.

I remember an A level physics practical demo that was screwed up by
some kind of centi minute stopwatch the lab tech gave out... Basically
it meant when it said what we thought was ten seconds had passed, it
had actually only been six.


In my research days, when we were typically running experiments for a
week or two, one of my colleagues suggested that we should use the
microfortnight as a unit of time. (Check out what it corresponds to).

fairly close to a second, but I've never done the arithmetic

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article , newshound
wrote:
On 12/01/2019 17:18, John Rumm wrote:
On 11/01/2019 13:51, NY wrote:
"bert" wrote in message
...
SO why isn't the clock metric? I still have my Casio calculator from
the 70s which could work in hrs and mins.

I remember seeing articles in magazines which discussed in all
seriousness whether the world should devise new units of 50 metric
seconds in a metric minute, 50 of those minutes in a metric hour and
25 metric hours in a day. Or some such calculation which resulted in a
metric second being *reasonably* close to a real second.

I remember an A level physics practical demo that was screwed up by
some kind of centi minute stopwatch the lab tech gave out... Basically
it meant when it said what we thought was ten seconds had passed, it
had actually only been six.


In my research days, when we were typically running experiments for a
week or two, one of my colleagues suggested that we should use the
microfortnight as a unit of time. (Check out what it corresponds to).

fairly close to a second, but I've never done the arithmetic

Was that a guess? If so, I'm impressed. It actually works out as 1.2
seconds.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 12/01/2019 02:08, Fredxx wrote:
On 11/01/2019 23:14, Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Steve Walker
wrote:

On 11/01/2019 12:36, bert wrote:

Well they even get their dates wrong way round

Yes. There are two sensible ways to do it:

dd/mm/yy - as that give the probably most relevent unit first and the
later ones can be ignored if not required.

This is a human-oriented date. Use for any human interaction.

yy/mm/dd - as that sorts properly on a computer.

A computer oriented date. Use internally if you must, personally I
store all computer generated dates as seconds since the epoch.

Why on earth would mm/dd/yy make any sense at all?

It doesn't.

It does if you say a date like July 5th. Have you never used such a
written format. Mind, I haven't for a long time, but hey.

I'd always say or write 5th July and possibly add a comma and the year.
We were always taught at school to date letters and the like in that format.

My preferred format for computer files is yy-mm-dd

Agreed.

SteveW

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 12/01/2019 21:54, newshound wrote:
On 12/01/2019 17:18, John Rumm wrote:
On 11/01/2019 13:51, NY wrote:
"bert" wrote in message
...
SO why isn't the clock metric? I still have my Casio calculator from
the 70s which could work in hrs and mins.

I remember seeing articles in magazines which discussed in all
seriousness whether the world should devise new units of 50 metric
seconds in a metric minute, 50 of those minutes in a metric hour and
25 metric hours in a day. Or some such calculation which resulted in
a metric second being *reasonably* close to a real second.

I remember an A level physics practical demo that was screwed up by
some kind of centi minute stopwatch the lab tech gave out... Basically
it meant when it said what we thought was ten seconds had passed, it
had actually only been six.


In my research days, when we were typically running experiments for a
week or two, one of my colleagues suggested that we should use the
microfortnight as a unit of time. (Check out what it corresponds to).

One of our old physics books (published by Mills & Boon oddly enough)
mentioned a process that used a measurement of a foot-pound per
pennyweight fortnight!

SteveW

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Steve Walker wrote:
I was taught only metric at school, but use both. I prefer metric for
calculations, but imperial for real-world measurements.

I can visualise imperial measurements better than metric and they match
everyday life better (a pint or half-pint to drink, a pound of meat for
a stew, etc.).

Imperial also divides up nicely into 1/4s and 1/3s.

Quite.

Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier to
use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces with the
human brain better.

Yes, the metre is fine, close enough to a yard to allow easy visualisation
but there isnt any foot like equivalent and the cm is a bit of a bodge.


Of course those who've only ever used metric wouldn't
understand this.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On Friday, 11 January 2019 23:25:09 UTC, Max Demian wrote:
On 11/01/2019 22:21, tabbypurr wrote:
On Friday, 11 January 2019 13:24:41 UTC, NY wrote:
"bert" wrote in message
...

I read an article recently arguing that base 12 would be better than 10
because it has more factors.

Definitely. If we'd been born with 12 digits, we'd have learned to count in
base 12, and we'd have invented two extra symbols for what in base 10 we
write as 11 and 12. I can do base 16 arithmetic more easily than base 12,
and that's partly because there's only ever one digit (numeric or letter) in
each column.

Decimal is trivial to divide by 2 or 5. Base 12 is trivial to divide by 6, 4, 3, 2. And that's why humans have used base 12 so much. Nothing to do with number of digits, it's not as if counting to 12 presents any difficulty to anyone.

It does if you count on your fingers.

If you're so innumerate that you need to use your fingers to count then the finer points of imperial v metric are immaterial. What percentage of people can't count without using their fingers anyway?


NT

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On Saturday, 12 January 2019 02:09:32 UTC, Fredxx wrote:
On 12/01/2019 01:41, Rod Speed wrote:
"Fredxx" wrote in message
...
On 10/01/2019 21:23, Jethro_uk wrote:

Oh dear, how will he cope when £sd and feet inches and roods come back ?

Why should they come back? If a reference to Brexit; decimalisation
was before entry into the EEC and even countries like the USA are
steadily moving towards metrification and SI units.

Not really with the units the general public uses. And they dont have
much in the way of the weirder ones like roods, perches, bushels,
furlongs etc.Â* Really just grains with ammunition and bullets etc.

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in a furlong..

How long can a cricket pitch anyway?


NT

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On Sunday, 13 January 2019 02:34:48 UTC, BillD wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier to
use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces with the
human brain better.

Yes, the metre is fine, close enough to a yard to allow easy visualisation
but there isnt any foot like equivalent and the cm is a bit of a bodge.

there's the metric foot or 30cm


NT

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article , NY
wrote:
"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
newshound wrote:
On 12/01/2019 17:18, John Rumm wrote:
On 11/01/2019 13:51, NY wrote:
"bert" wrote in message
...
SO why isn't the clock metric? I still have my Casio calculator
from the 70s which could work in hrs and mins.

I remember seeing articles in magazines which discussed in all
seriousness whether the world should devise new units of 50 metric
seconds in a metric minute, 50 of those minutes in a metric hour
and 25 metric hours in a day. Or some such calculation which
resulted in a metric second being *reasonably* close to a real
second.

I remember an A level physics practical demo that was screwed up by
some kind of centi minute stopwatch the lab tech gave out...
Basically it meant when it said what we thought was ten seconds had
passed, it had actually only been six.


In my research days, when we were typically running experiments for a
week or two, one of my colleagues suggested that we should use the
microfortnight as a unit of time. (Check out what it corresponds to).

fairly close to a second, but I've never done the arithmetic

Was that a guess? If so, I'm impressed. It actually works out as 1.2
seconds.

No - a memory of a conversation in the late 1960s.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article ,
Steve Walker wrote:
On 12/01/2019 21:54, newshound wrote:
On 12/01/2019 17:18, John Rumm wrote:
On 11/01/2019 13:51, NY wrote:
"bert" wrote in message
...
SO why isn't the clock metric? I still have my Casio calculator from
the 70s which could work in hrs and mins.

I remember seeing articles in magazines which discussed in all
seriousness whether the world should devise new units of 50 metric
seconds in a metric minute, 50 of those minutes in a metric hour and
25 metric hours in a day. Or some such calculation which resulted in
a metric second being *reasonably* close to a real second.

I remember an A level physics practical demo that was screwed up by
some kind of centi minute stopwatch the lab tech gave out... Basically
it meant when it said what we thought was ten seconds had passed, it
had actually only been six.


In my research days, when we were typically running experiments for a
week or two, one of my colleagues suggested that we should use the
microfortnight as a unit of time. (Check out what it corresponds to).

One of our old physics books (published by Mills & Boon oddly enough)
mentioned a process that used a measurement of a foot-pound per
pennyweight fortnight!

On of our university lecturers suggested we measure viscosity in "Acres per
year" (L^2/T)

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On Saturday, 12 January 2019 23:52:43 UTC, Steve Walker wrote:
One of our old physics books (published by Mills & Boon oddly enough)
mentioned a process that used a measurement of a foot-pound per
pennyweight fortnight!

Page 133 onwards of this gives tables of so many obscure measurements my head hurts, and it's intended to be *helpful*

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=..._toc_r&ca d=4

Owain

More Heavy Trolling by Senile Nym-Shifting Rot Speed!
 

On 13 Jan 2019 02:34:45 GMT, BillDcantankerous trolling geezer Rot Speed,
the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:


Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier to
use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces with the
human brain better.

Yes, the metre is fine, close enough to a yard to allow easy visualisation
but there isn¢t any foot like equivalent and the cm is a bit of a bodge.

It's just a problem with seniles like you and him, senile Rot!

Troll-feeding Senile IDIOT Alert!
 

On Sat, 12 Jan 2019 19:51:22 -0800 (PST), , an especially
retarded, troll-feeding, senile idiot, blathered:


there's the metric foot or 30cm

NT

What's this with you and your addiction to suck off any troll that comes
running up, senile idiot?

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On Sunday, 13 January 2019 03:40:26 UTC, wrote:
What percentage of people can't count without using their fingers anyway?

Quite a lot.

22% of fifteen year olds in this country are functionally innumerate.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speech...in-mathematics

This is one reason why pound shops are popular with poor, and poorly-educated, people. They find it easier to work out how many things they can buy with this week's "giro".

Owain

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article ,
John Rumm wrote:
I remember an A level physics practical demo that was screwed up by some
kind of centi minute stopwatch the lab tech gave out...

WhiskyDave gets around a bit. ;-)

--
*Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article ,
Terry Casey wrote:
As a kid, I was always fascinated when I saw my mother add up
a column of prices. It wasn't just pounds, shillings and pence
- we still had farthings!

Remember when I used to do the shopping for my mum on a Saturday morning.
In the days when you bought most things fresh - and didn't go by car to
shop. And she used to give me the exact money. For a large shopping bag of
mixed groceries.

--
*Eat well, stay fit, die anyway

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article ,
wrote:
On Sunday, 13 January 2019 02:34:48 UTC, BillD wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier
to use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces
with the human brain better.

Yes, the metre is fine, close enough to a yard to allow easy
visualisation but there isn‘t any foot like equivalent and the cm is a
bit of a bodge.

there's the metric foot or 30cm


Which rather proves the point that going from a centimetre to metre is too
big a change for practical use.

--
*Ever stop to think and forget to start again?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article ,
wrote:
On Sunday, 13 January 2019 03:40:26 UTC, wrote:
What percentage of people can't count without using their fingers
anyway?

Quite a lot.

22% of fifteen year olds in this country are functionally innumerate.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speech...in-mathematics

This is one reason why pound shops are popular with poor, and
poorly-educated, people. They find it easier to work out how many things
they can buy with this week's "giro".

In which case there would only be pound shops in the poorer towns, or
parts of a town?

--
*I went to school to become a wit, only got halfway through.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
wrote:
On Sunday, 13 January 2019 02:34:48 UTC, BillD wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier
to use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces
with the human brain better.

Yes, the metre is fine, close enough to a yard to allow easy
visualisation but there isn¼t any foot like equivalent and the cm is a
bit of a bodge.

there's the metric foot or 30cm


Which rather proves the point that going from a centimetre to metre is too
big a change for practical use.

I think the decimetre gets used quite a lot, at least in France. We
don't seem to use it at all.

--

Roger Hayter

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On Sunday, 13 January 2019 10:12:49 UTC, wrote:
On Sunday, 13 January 2019 03:40:26 UTC, tabby wrote:
What percentage of people can't count without using their fingers anyway?

Quite a lot.

22% of fifteen year olds in this country are functionally innumerate.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speech...in-mathematics

This is one reason why pound shops are popular with poor, and poorly-educated, people. They find it easier to work out how many things they can buy with this week's "giro".

Owain

What an indictment of the school system & our national culture.


NT

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 13/01/2019 12:35, Roger Hayter wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
wrote:
On Sunday, 13 January 2019 02:34:48 UTC, BillD wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Despite trying to convert, I still find yards feet and inches easier
to use for DIY round the house than metric. I reckon it interfaces
with the human brain better.

Yes, the metre is fine, close enough to a yard to allow easy
visualisation but there isn¼t any foot like equivalent and the cm is a
bit of a bodge.

there's the metric foot or 30cm


Which rather proves the point that going from a centimetre to metre is too
big a change for practical use.

I think the decimetre gets used quite a lot, at least in France. We
don't seem to use it at all.

yes, which is odd when it's such a handy unit :)

--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

In article ,
wrote:
On Sunday, 13 January 2019 10:12:49 UTC, wrote:
On Sunday, 13 January 2019 03:40:26 UTC, tabby wrote:
What percentage of people can't count without using their fingers
anyway?

Quite a lot.

22% of fifteen year olds in this country are functionally innumerate.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speech...in-mathematics

This is one reason why pound shops are popular with poor, and
poorly-educated, people. They find it easier to work out how many
things they can buy with this week's "giro".

Owain

What an indictment of the school system & our national culture.


More a view of why so many think being poor is down to the individual
being feckless.

Plenty use pound shops because the pack sizes are often smaller for some
things. And the odd bargain.

--
*Life is hard; then you nap

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 12/01/2019 11:18, dennis@home wrote:
On 12/01/2019 02:09, Fredxx wrote:

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in a
furlong.

You mean wickets not pitches.

No, I meant pitch as per:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_pitch

If you disagree you could edit the wiki article.

Cricket wickets are 22 yards apart according this and other articles.

A cricket oval is somewhat larger than a chain.

An oval certainly is.

Just shows how confusing the old stuff was.

The relationship between measurements was well defined. The issue I have
with the SI system is that a none native measurement of kg is used. Why
should 1,000 of a native measurement, ie grammes be a referenced
quantity. I would have preferred a mgs system over mks or even cgs.

Apprentice and Hex keys
 

On 13/01/2019 14:17, Fredxx wrote:
On 12/01/2019 11:18, dennis@home wrote:
On 12/01/2019 02:09, Fredxx wrote:

Furlongs? I thought everyone knew you get 10 cricket pitches in a
furlong.

You mean wickets not pitches.

No, I meant pitch as per:
Â* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_pitch

If you disagree you could edit the wiki article.

I think not.


Cricket wickets are 22 yards apart according this and other articles.

but thats not a pitch according to the article as there is a minimum of
1.2m additional at each end.


so at best nine pitches but who really cares?