On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 4/9/2020 2:41 PM, graham wrote:
> > On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
> >> On 2020-04-09 11:22 a.m., Gary wrote:
> >>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> I really wish the U.S. would stop using the old units
> >>>> and get on board with the rest of the world.
> >>>
> >>> You can. Why does it bother you that others don't?
> >>>
> >>> I still like imperial - that's what I grew up with.
> >>
> >> IÂ* grew up with Imperial too, but it is such an idiotic system with
> >> its constantly changing unit divisions, like 12 inches in a foot, 3
> >> feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile 1760 yards in a mile, 43560 square
> >> feet in an acre.........
> >> It is so much easier to us a system where things areÂ* done in 10s, 10
> >> mm in 1 cm, 100 cm in a meter, 10,000 square meters in a hectare ....
> >>
> >> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes, cm,
> >> meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able to
> >> estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
> >>
> > If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
>
> But, but, but, we always did it this way! The rest of the world should
> change.
>
> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took many
> years for out industry to change and once the machines were all metric
> it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue though, is
> material density. I could not get people to change from pounds per
> cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.

There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and picas.

Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.

Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2020-04-09 2:41 p.m., graham wrote:
>> On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>
>>> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes,
>>> cm, meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able
>>> to estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
>>>
>> If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
>
> I got fed up with spell check overriding English with American so I
> gave into the force.

You are excused. No sane person would expect you to be an american.

On 2020 Apr 9, , Dave Smith wrote
(in article >):

> LOL My wife had a good friend who was born and raised in PA and ended
> up in California. She told me about a bumper sticker she had seen in
> Colorado that read "If Texans had been meant to ski bullshit would be
> white."

This pome, yeah pome, was read by me at the Denver Stapleton Airport on the
wall of a men's stall circa 1980. With no offense to Mr. Wertz, I give you:

Here I sit
My buns a flexin
I just gave birth
to a f***in' Texan

Its odd how some events, places and times stick with you.

leo

On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> On 4/9/2020 2:41 PM, graham wrote:
>>> On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>> On 2020-04-09 11:22 a.m., Gary wrote:
>>>>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I really wish the U.S. would stop using the old units
>>>>>> and get on board with the rest of the world.
>>>>>
>>>>> You can. Why does it bother you that others don't?
>>>>>
>>>>> I still like imperial - that's what I grew up with.
>>>>
>>>> IÂ* grew up with Imperial too, but it is such an idiotic system with
>>>> its constantly changing unit divisions, like 12 inches in a foot, 3
>>>> feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile 1760 yards in a mile, 43560 square
>>>> feet in an acre.........
>>>> It is so much easier to us a system where things areÂ* done in 10s, 10
>>>> mm in 1 cm, 100 cm in a meter, 10,000 square meters in a hectare ....
>>>>
>>>> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes, cm,
>>>> meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able to
>>>> estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
>>>>
>>> If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
>>
>> But, but, but, we always did it this way! The rest of the world should
>> change.
>>
>> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
>> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took many
>> years for out industry to change and once the machines were all metric
>> it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue though, is
>> material density. I could not get people to change from pounds per
>> cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.
>
> There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and picas.
>
> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>

Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
metric is good.

Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM

On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:

>On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>> On 4/9/2020 2:41 PM, graham wrote:
>>>> On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>> On 2020-04-09 11:22 a.m., Gary wrote:
>>>>>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I really wish the U.S. would stop using the old units
>>>>>>> and get on board with the rest of the world.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> You can. Why does it bother you that others don't?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I still like imperial - that's what I grew up with.
>>>>>
>>>>> IÂ* grew up with Imperial too, but it is such an idiotic system with
>>>>> its constantly changing unit divisions, like 12 inches in a foot, 3
>>>>> feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile 1760 yards in a mile, 43560 square
>>>>> feet in an acre.........
>>>>> It is so much easier to us a system where things areÂ* done in 10s, 10
>>>>> mm in 1 cm, 100 cm in a meter, 10,000 square meters in a hectare ....
>>>>>
>>>>> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes, cm,
>>>>> meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able to
>>>>> estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
>>>>>
>>>> If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
>>>
>>> But, but, but, we always did it this way! The rest of the world should
>>> change.
>>>
>>> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
>>> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took many
>>> years for out industry to change and once the machines were all metric
>>> it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue though, is
>>> material density. I could not get people to change from pounds per
>>> cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.
>>
>> There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and picas.
>>
>> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>>
>
>Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
>metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
>metric is good.
>
>Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM

And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.

But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
on the right side of the road.

On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 1:36:10 PM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> >> On 4/9/2020 2:41 PM, graham wrote:
> >>> On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
> >>>> On 2020-04-09 11:22 a.m., Gary wrote:
> >>>>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> I really wish the U.S. would stop using the old units
> >>>>>> and get on board with the rest of the world.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> You can. Why does it bother you that others don't?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I still like imperial - that's what I grew up with.
> >>>>
> >>>> IÂ* grew up with Imperial too, but it is such an idiotic system with
> >>>> its constantly changing unit divisions, like 12 inches in a foot, 3
> >>>> feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile 1760 yards in a mile, 43560 square
> >>>> feet in an acre.........
> >>>> It is so much easier to us a system where things areÂ* done in 10s, 10
> >>>> mm in 1 cm, 100 cm in a meter, 10,000 square meters in a hectare .....
> >>>>
> >>>> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes, cm,
> >>>> meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able to
> >>>> estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
> >>>>
> >>> If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
> >>
> >> But, but, but, we always did it this way! The rest of the world should
> >> change.
> >>
> >> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
> >> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took many
> >> years for out industry to change and once the machines were all metric
> >> it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue though, is
> >> material density. I could not get people to change from pounds per
> >> cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.
> >
> > There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and picas.
> >
> > Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
> >
>
> Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
> metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
> metric is good.
>
> Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM

Everybody that needs to use the metric system already uses it. There's really no pressing need to convert. As you said, it'll take several generations for the US to convert. Maybe it never will. That's fine too.

As far as the use of military time goes, that's easy - just get every citizen to join the military and get them used to the system. Easy peasy.

On 2020-04-09 5:50 p.m., Bruce wrote:
> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>
>> On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>> On 4/9/2020 2:41 PM, graham wrote:
>>>>> On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>>> On 2020-04-09 11:22 a.m., Gary wrote:
>>>>>>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I really wish the U.S. would stop using the old units
>>>>>>>> and get on board with the rest of the world.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You can. Why does it bother you that others don't?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I still like imperial - that's what I grew up with.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> IÂ* grew up with Imperial too, but it is such an idiotic system with
>>>>>> its constantly changing unit divisions, like 12 inches in a foot, 3
>>>>>> feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile 1760 yards in a mile, 43560 square
>>>>>> feet in an acre.........
>>>>>> It is so much easier to us a system where things areÂ* done in 10s, 10
>>>>>> mm in 1 cm, 100 cm in a meter, 10,000 square meters in a hectare ....
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes, cm,
>>>>>> meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able to
>>>>>> estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
>>>>>>
>>>>> If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
>>>>
>>>> But, but, but, we always did it this way! The rest of the world should
>>>> change.
>>>>
>>>> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
>>>> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took many
>>>> years for out industry to change and once the machines were all metric
>>>> it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue though, is
>>>> material density. I could not get people to change from pounds per
>>>> cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.
>>>
>>> There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and picas.
>>>
>>> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>>>
>>
>> Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
>> metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
>> metric is good.
>>
>> Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>
> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>
> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
> on the right side of the road.
>
As long as there's a transition time!

On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 18:40:41 -0600, graham > wrote:

>On 2020-04-09 5:50 p.m., Bruce wrote:
>> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>>
>>> Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>>
>> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
>> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>>
>> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
>> on the right side of the road.
>>
>As long as there's a transition time!

I think it's safer if we all make the change at the same time.

On 4/9/2020 8:40 PM, graham wrote:
> On 2020-04-09 5:50 p.m., Bruce wrote:
>> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>>
>>> On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>>> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>>> On 4/9/2020 2:41 PM, graham wrote:
>>>>>> On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>>>> On 2020-04-09 11:22 a.m., Gary wrote:
>>>>>>>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I really wish the U.S. would stop using the old units
>>>>>>>>> and get on board with the rest of the world.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> You can. Why does it bother you that others don't?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I still like imperial - that's what I grew up with.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> IÂ* grew up with Imperial too, but it is such an idiotic system with
>>>>>>> its constantly changing unit divisions, like 12 inches in a foot, 3
>>>>>>> feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile 1760 yards in a mile, 43560
>>>>>>> square
>>>>>>> feet in an acre.........
>>>>>>> It is so much easier to us a system where things areÂ* done in
>>>>>>> 10s, 10
>>>>>>> mm in 1 cm, 100 cm in a meter, 10,000 square meters in a hectare
>>>>>>> ....
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes, cm,
>>>>>>> meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able to
>>>>>>> estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
>>>>>
>>>>> But, but, but, we always did it this way!Â* The rest of the world
>>>>> should
>>>>> change.
>>>>>
>>>>> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
>>>>> generations for people to see metric is all around them.Â* It took many
>>>>> years for out industry to change and once the machines were all metric
>>>>> it go easier to get people to think that way.Â* Last issue though, is
>>>>> material density.Â* I could not get people to change from pounds per
>>>>> cubic foot to grams per liter.Â* Next generation, maybe.
>>>>
>>>> There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your
>>>> profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first
>>>> time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page
>>>> layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and
>>>> picas.
>>>>
>>>> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They
>>>> seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
>>> metric.Â* If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
>>> metric is good.
>>>
>>> Next up:Â* Military time.Â* Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>>
>> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
>> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>>
>> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
>> on the right side of the road.
>>
> As long as there's a transition time!

Odd number highways left side, even number highways right side.

Sweden made the change in 1967
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H

On 00:50 10 Apr 2020, Bruce said:

> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>
>>On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>> On 4/9/2020 2:41 PM, graham wrote:
>>>>> On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>>> On 2020-04-09 11:22 a.m., Gary wrote:
>>>>>>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I really wish the U.S. would stop using the old units
>>>>>>>> and get on board with the rest of the world.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You can. Why does it bother you that others don't?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I still like imperial - that's what I grew up with.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> IÂ* grew up with Imperial too, but it is such an idiotic system
>>>>>> with its constantly changing unit divisions, like 12 inches in a
>>>>>> foot, 3 feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile 1760 yards in a mile,
>>>>>> 43560 square feet in an acre.........
>>>>>> It is so much easier to us a system where things areÂ* done in 10s,
>>>>>> 10 mm in 1 cm, 100 cm in a meter, 10,000 square meters in a hectare
>>>>>> ....
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes, cm,
>>>>>> meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able to
>>>>>> estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
>>>>>>
>>>>> If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
>>>>
>>>> But, but, but, we always did it this way! The rest of the world
>>>> should change.
>>>>
>>>> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
>>>> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took
>>>> many years for out industry to change and once the machines were all
>>>> metric it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue
>>>> though, is material density. I could not get people to change from
>>>> pounds per cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.
>>>
>>> There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your
>>> profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first
>>> time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page
>>> layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and
>>> picas.
>>>
>>> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They
>>> seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>>>
>>
>>Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
>>metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
>>metric is good.
>>
>>Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>
> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>
> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
> on the right side of the road.

The American date format is truly overdue for reform.

On 01:34 10 Apr 2020, dsi1 said:

> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 1:36:10 PM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
>> >> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took
>> >> many years for out industry to change and once the machines were all
>> >> metric it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue
>> >> though, is material density. I could not get people to change from
>> >> pounds per cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.
>> >
>> > There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your
>> > profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first
>> > time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page
>> > layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and
>> > picas.
>> >
>> > Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They
>> > seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>> >
>>
>> Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is
>> already metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it
>> world wide, metric is good.
>>
>> Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>
> Everybody that needs to use the metric system already uses it. There's
> really no pressing need to convert. As you said, it'll take several
> generations for the US to convert. Maybe it never will. That's fine too.
>
> As far as the use of military time goes, that's easy - just get every
> citizen to join the military and get them used to the system. Easy
> peasy.

It's not just weight and measures but also design and engineering where
working in sixteenths, standard guage and thou is far more awkard than in
decimals.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 09:42:52 +0100, Pamela >
wrote:

>On 00:50 10 Apr 2020, Bruce said:
>
>> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>>
>>>Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>>
>> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
>> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>>
>> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
>> on the right side of the road.
>
>The American date format is truly overdue for reform.

It can be confusing in international communications. I always write
out the name of the month abbreviated, to avoid misunderstandings.

On 09:46 10 Apr 2020, Bruce said:

> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 09:42:52 +0100, Pamela >
> wrote:
>
>>On 00:50 10 Apr 2020, Bruce said:
>>
>>> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>>>
>>>>Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>>>
>>> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
>>> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>>>
>>> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
>>> on the right side of the road.
>>
>>The American date format is truly overdue for reform.
>
> It can be confusing in international communications. I always write
> out the name of the month abbreviated, to avoid misunderstandings.

In Europe we use DD-MM-YY but certain dates can look as if they're in
American MM-DD-YY. Now I prefer to use YYYY-MM-DD.

I don't use the month name because it doesn't sort correctly on a computer.

On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 7:50:17 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>
> >On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> >> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> >>> On 4/9/2020 2:41 PM, graham wrote:
> >>>> On 2020-04-09 12:01 p.m., Dave Smith wrote:
> >>>>> On 2020-04-09 11:22 a.m., Gary wrote:
> >>>>>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I really wish the U.S. would stop using the old units
> >>>>>>> and get on board with the rest of the world.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> You can. Why does it bother you that others don't?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> I still like imperial - that's what I grew up with.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> IÂ* grew up with Imperial too, but it is such an idiotic system with
> >>>>> its constantly changing unit divisions, like 12 inches in a foot, 3
> >>>>> feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile 1760 yards in a mile, 43560 square
> >>>>> feet in an acre.........
> >>>>> It is so much easier to us a system where things areÂ* done in 10s, 10
> >>>>> mm in 1 cm, 100 cm in a meter, 10,000 square meters in a hectare .....
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I worked in metric. The units we worked with were kgs, tonnes, cm,
> >>>>> meters, degrees C etc. It didn't take long for me to be able to
> >>>>> estimate things as well as I could with Imperial.
> >>>>>
> >>>> If you worked in metric, the SI system, you dealt in metres.
> >>>
> >>> But, but, but, we always did it this way! The rest of the world should
> >>> change.
> >>>
> >>> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
> >>> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took many
> >>> years for out industry to change and once the machines were all metric
> >>> it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue though, is
> >>> material density. I could not get people to change from pounds per
> >>> cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.
> >>
> >> There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and picas.
> >>
> >> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
> >>
> >
> >Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
> >metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
> >metric is good.
> >
> >Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>
> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.

I favor ISO format: year-month-day Today is 2020-04-10

Cindy Hamilton

On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:46:08 PM UTC-10, Pamela wrote:
> On 01:34 10 Apr 2020, dsi1 said:
>
> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 1:36:10 PM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> >> On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> >> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
> >> >> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took
> >> >> many years for out industry to change and once the machines were all
> >> >> metric it go easier to get people to think that way. Last issue
> >> >> though, is material density. I could not get people to change from
> >> >> pounds per cubic foot to grams per liter. Next generation, maybe.
> >> >
> >> > There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your
> >> > profession requires you to change. I started using metric the first
> >> > time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did page
> >> > layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used points and
> >> > picas.
> >> >
> >> > Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They
> >> > seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
> >> >
> >>
> >> Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is
> >> already metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it
> >> world wide, metric is good.
> >>
> >> Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
> >
> > Everybody that needs to use the metric system already uses it. There's
> > really no pressing need to convert. As you said, it'll take several
> > generations for the US to convert. Maybe it never will. That's fine too.
> >
> > As far as the use of military time goes, that's easy - just get every
> > citizen to join the military and get them used to the system. Easy
> > peasy.
>
> It's not just weight and measures but also design and engineering where
> working in sixteenths, standard guage and thou is far more awkard than in
> decimals.

My guess is that a base ten system is not intrinsically easier to work with than any other system. A base 16 system would easily work. The trouble comes from making calculations using only 9 numbers and zero in other base systems.

I started using metric measurements when I found it a daunting task to divide an 11" sheet of paper into 3 equal parts.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 03:03:26 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 7:50:17 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
>> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>>
>> >On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:

>> >> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>> >>
>> >
>> >Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
>> >metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
>> >metric is good.
>> >
>> >Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>>
>> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
>> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>
>I favor ISO format: year-month-day Today is 2020-04-10

It's confusing. Is that the 4th of October or the 10th of April?

On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 6:39:57 AM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 03:03:26 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> > wrote:
>
> >On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 7:50:17 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
> >> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
> >>
> >> >On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>
> >> >> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> >Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
> >> >metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
> >> >metric is good.
> >> >
> >> >Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
> >>
> >> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
> >> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
> >
> >I favor ISO format: year-month-day Today is 2020-04-10
>
> It's confusing. Is that the 4th of October or the 10th of April?

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601>

Cindy Hamilton

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 03:48:10 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 6:39:57 AM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
>> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 03:03:26 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
>> > wrote:
>>
>> >On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 7:50:17 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
>> >> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>
>> >> >> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >> >Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
>> >> >metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
>> >> >metric is good.
>> >> >
>> >> >Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>> >>
>> >> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
>> >> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>> >
>> >I favor ISO format: year-month-day Today is 2020-04-10
>>
>> It's confusing. Is that the 4th of October or the 10th of April?
>
><https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601>

So? What I mean is that whatever format or ISO code you use, when
you're communicating internationally, there's a risk of
misunderstanding.

Bruce wrote:
>
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 09:42:52 +0100, Pamela >
> wrote:
>
> >On 00:50 10 Apr 2020, Bruce said:
> >
> >> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
> >>
> >>>Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
> >>
> >> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
> >> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
> >>
> >> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
> >> on the right side of the road.
> >
> >The American date format is truly overdue for reform.
>
> It can be confusing in international communications. I always write
> out the name of the month abbreviated, to avoid misunderstandings.

Good move.

BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.

By both definitions.
- right (defined as right vs left)
- right (defined as right as opposed to wrong)

;-D

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:16:12 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>>
>> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 09:42:52 +0100, Pamela >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On 00:50 10 Apr 2020, Bruce said:
>> >
>> >> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>> >>
>> >>>Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>> >>
>> >> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
>> >> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
>> >>
>> >> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
>> >> on the right side of the road.
>> >
>> >The American date format is truly overdue for reform.
>>
>> It can be confusing in international communications. I always write
>> out the name of the month abbreviated, to avoid misunderstandings.
>
>Good move.
>
>BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.

I know. So do most Europeans.

Bruce wrote:
>
> Gary wrote:
> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>
> I know. So do most Europeans.

I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>>
>> Gary wrote:
>> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>>
>> I know. So do most Europeans.
>
>I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?

Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
emigrating.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:32:55 +1000, Bruce > wrote:

>On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>
>>Bruce wrote:
>>>
>>> Gary wrote:
>>> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>>>
>>> I know. So do most Europeans.
>>
>>I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
>
>Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
>emigrating.

Indonesia also on the left side. What's the point of having been under
Dutch rule if you still drive on the wrong side of the road?

Bruce wrote:
>
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>
> >Bruce wrote:
> >>
> >> Gary wrote:
> >> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
> >>
> >> I know. So do most Europeans.
> >
> >I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
>
> Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
> emigrating.

Yep, if I took a real vacation to the UK (or Australia) I'd
really have to think hard before entering an intersection if
I planned to turn left or right.

Bruce wrote:
>
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:32:55 +1000, Bruce > wrote:
>
> >On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
> >
> >>Bruce wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Gary wrote:
> >>> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
> >>>
> >>> I know. So do most Europeans.
> >>
> >>I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
> >
> >Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
> >emigrating.
>
> Indonesia also on the left side. What's the point of having been under
> Dutch rule if you still drive on the wrong side of the road?

Maybe just a protest decision?

I'll bet car manufacturers would love all to drive on one side
or the other. Then they wouldn't have to make 2 versions of
the same cars.

I remember when Ophy posted a pic of the inside of her
nice car a few years ago. I was ready to repond that it
looked very nice but they put the steering wheel on the
wrong side. heh heh

I don't remember if I actually did send that.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:42:45 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>>
>> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:32:55 +1000, Bruce > wrote:
>>
>> >On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>> >
>> >>Bruce wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>> Gary wrote:
>> >>> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>> >>>
>> >>> I know. So do most Europeans.
>> >>
>> >>I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
>> >
>> >Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
>> >emigrating.
>>
>> Indonesia also on the left side. What's the point of having been under
>> Dutch rule if you still drive on the wrong side of the road?
>
>Maybe just a protest decision?

I'm not sure. I think the Dutch never changed it.

>I'll bet car manufacturers would love all to drive on one side
>or the other. Then they wouldn't have to make 2 versions of
>the same cars.
>
>I remember when Ophy posted a pic of the inside of her
>nice car a few years ago. I was ready to repond that it
>looked very nice but they put the steering wheel on the
>wrong side. heh heh
>
>I don't remember if I actually did send that.

I'm used to the left side now, finally. When I watch a European movie
with traffic, I get confused.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:42:06 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>>
>> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>>
>> >Bruce wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Gary wrote:
>> >> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>> >>
>> >> I know. So do most Europeans.
>> >
>> >I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
>>
>> Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
>> emigrating.
>
>Yep, if I took a real vacation to the UK (or Australia) I'd
>really have to think hard before entering an intersection if
>I planned to turn left or right.

Yes, or a roundabout. Also, the bulk of the car is on your left,
instead of on your right. I shaved pedestrian's legs in the beginning.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:46:02 +1000, Bruce > wrote:

>On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:42:45 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>
>>Bruce wrote:
>>>
>>> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:32:55 +1000, Bruce > wrote:
>>>
>>> >On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>>> >
>>> >>Bruce wrote:
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Gary wrote:
>>> >>> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> I know. So do most Europeans.
>>> >>
>>> >>I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
>>> >
>>> >Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
>>> >emigrating.
>>>
>>> Indonesia also on the left side. What's the point of having been under
>>> Dutch rule if you still drive on the wrong side of the road?
>>
>>Maybe just a protest decision?
>
>I'm not sure. I think the Dutch never changed it.
>
>>I'll bet car manufacturers would love all to drive on one side
>>or the other. Then they wouldn't have to make 2 versions of
>>the same cars.
>>
>>I remember when Ophy posted a pic of the inside of her
>>nice car a few years ago. I was ready to repond that it
>>looked very nice but they put the steering wheel on the
>>wrong side. heh heh
>>
>>I don't remember if I actually did send that.
>
>I'm used to the left side now, finally. When I watch a European movie
>with traffic, I get confused.

Or an American movie, of course.

On 11:08 10 Apr 2020, dsi1 said:

> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:46:08 PM UTC-10, Pamela wrote:
>> On 01:34 10 Apr 2020, dsi1 said:
>>
>> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 1:36:10 PM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> >> On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>> >> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:32:15 AM UTC-10, Ed Pawlowski
>> >> > wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> The US is gradually changing but it will take a couple of more
>> >> >> generations for people to see metric is all around them. It took
>> >> >> many years for out industry to change and once the machines were
>> >> >> all metric it go easier to get people to think that way. Last
>> >> >> issue though, is material density. I could not get people to
>> >> >> change from pounds per cubic foot to grams per liter. Next
>> >> >> generation, maybe.
>> >> >
>> >> > There's not much reason to change over to metric unless your
>> >> > profession requires you to change. I started using metric the
>> >> > first time I bought a foreign car. I was using metric when I did
>> >> > page layouts for printing. When I was a printer, I also used
>> >> > points and picas.
>> >> >
>> >> > Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry.
>> >> > They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is
>> >> already metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it
>> >> world wide, metric is good.
>> >>
>> >> Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
>> >
>> > Everybody that needs to use the metric system already uses it.
>> > There's really no pressing need to convert. As you said, it'll take
>> > several generations for the US to convert. Maybe it never will.
>> > That's fine too.
>> >
>> > As far as the use of military time goes, that's easy - just get every
>> > citizen to join the military and get them used to the system. Easy
>> > peasy.
>>
>> It's not just weight and measures but also design and engineering where
>> working in sixteenths, standard guage and thou is far more awkard than
>> in decimals.
>
> My guess is that a base ten system is not intrinsically easier to work
> with than any other system. A base 16 system would easily work. The
> trouble comes from making calculations using only 9 numbers and zero in
> other base systems.
>
> I started using metric measurements when I found it a daunting task to
> divide an 11" sheet of paper into 3 equal parts.

It's not the base that gives decimal the advantange but the linear scaling
between units.

In the UK we measure body weight in stones and pounds. It's much easier
to measure it in pounds alone -- or kilograms alone. It hardly matters
which.

On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 6:57:55 AM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 03:48:10 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> > wrote:
>
> >On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 6:39:57 AM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
> >> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 03:03:26 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> >> > wrote:
> >>
> >> >On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 7:50:17 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
> >> >> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> >On 4/9/2020 7:04 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> >>
> >> >> >> Mostly, inches and feet are used by the construction industry. They seem quite happy with the system and it serves them well.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >
> >> >> >Construction will probably be last to change but some plywood is already
> >> >> >metric. If you make a product in the US and want to sell it world wide,
> >> >> >metric is good.
> >> >> >
> >> >> >Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
> >> >>
> >> >> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
> >> >> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
> >> >
> >> >I favor ISO format: year-month-day Today is 2020-04-10
> >>
> >> It's confusing. Is that the 4th of October or the 10th of April?
> >
> ><https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601>
>
> So? What I mean is that whatever format or ISO code you use, when
> you're communicating internationally, there's a risk of
> misunderstanding.

ISO = International Standards Organization

It's intended for international use.

Cindy Hamilton

"Gary" wrote in message ...

Bruce wrote:
>
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:32:55 +1000, Bruce > wrote:
>
> >On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
> >
> >>Bruce wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Gary wrote:
> >>> >BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
> >>>
> >>> I know. So do most Europeans.
> >>
> >>I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
> >
> >Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
> >emigrating.
>
> Indonesia also on the left side. What's the point of having been under
> Dutch rule if you still drive on the wrong side of the road?

Maybe just a protest decision?

I'll bet car manufacturers would love all to drive on one side
or the other. Then they wouldn't have to make 2 versions of
the same cars.

I remember when Ophy posted a pic of the inside of her
nice car a few years ago. I was ready to repond that it
looked very nice but they put the steering wheel on the
wrong side. heh heh

I don't remember if I actually did send that.

====

I don't remember that) Which car was it?





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

On 2020-04-10 6:08 a.m., dsi1 wrote:
> On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:46:08 PM UTC-10, Pamela wrote:

>> It's not just weight and measures but also design and engineering
>> where working in sixteenths, standard guage and thou is far more
>> awkard than in decimals.
>
> My guess is that a base ten system is not intrinsically easier to
> work with than any other system. A base 16 system would easily work.
> The trouble comes from making calculations using only 9 numbers and
> zero in other base systems.

It could be pretty simple using a base of 16. Let's suppose that it
takes 16/16ths to make one unit and call it a toe. Then it takes 16 toes
to make a shin, 16 shins to make a thigh, 16 thighs to make a shin.
However, if we do the same with this 16 base that they did with Imperial
they would screw it all up. It would be more like 16/16ths for a toe, 12
toes to a shin, 3 shins to a thigh, 5280 shins to a thigh....


>
> I started using metric measurements when I found it a daunting task
> to divide an 11" sheet of paper into 3 equal parts.
>

On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 10:32:43 AM UTC-4, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2020-04-10 6:08 a.m., dsi1 wrote:
> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:46:08 PM UTC-10, Pamela wrote:
>
> >> It's not just weight and measures but also design and engineering
> >> where working in sixteenths, standard guage and thou is far more
> >> awkard than in decimals.
> >
> > My guess is that a base ten system is not intrinsically easier to
> > work with than any other system. A base 16 system would easily work.
> > The trouble comes from making calculations using only 9 numbers and
> > zero in other base systems.
>
> It could be pretty simple using a base of 16. Let's suppose that it
> takes 16/16ths to make one unit and call it a toe. Then it takes 16 toes
> to make a shin, 16 shins to make a thigh, 16 thighs to make a shin.
> However, if we do the same with this 16 base that they did with Imperial
> they would screw it all up. It would be more like 16/16ths for a toe, 12
> toes to a shin, 3 shins to a thigh, 5280 shins to a thigh....

It's much easier to work in twelves than sixteens. 16 doesn't divide nicely
into thirds, whereas 12 does.

> >
> > I started using metric measurements when I found it a daunting task
> > to divide an 11" sheet of paper into 3 equal parts.

How precise did you need to be, dsi1? 11/3 is approximately 3 and 11/16 inches. Off by about 0.0625 inch.


Cindy Hamilton

On 2020-04-10 5:42 a.m., Gary wrote:
> Bruce wrote:
>>
>> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>>
>>> Bruce wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Gary wrote:
>>>>> BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>>>>
>>>> I know. So do most Europeans.
>>>
>>> I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
>>
>> Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
>> emigrating.
>
> Yep, if I took a real vacation to the UK (or Australia) I'd
> really have to think hard before entering an intersection if
> I planned to turn left or right.
>
Every tourist stop in New Zealand has arrows painted in the road to
remind people which is the correct side. It's absolutely necessary for
Chinese tourists, many of whom have licences but have *never* driven before!

On 15:41 10 Apr 2020, Cindy Hamilton said:

> On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 10:32:43 AM UTC-4, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2020-04-10 6:08 a.m., dsi1 wrote:
>> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:46:08 PM UTC-10, Pamela wrote:
>>
>> >> It's not just weight and measures but also design and engineering
>> >> where working in sixteenths, standard guage and thou is far more
>> >> awkard than in decimals.
>> >
>> > My guess is that a base ten system is not intrinsically easier to
>> > work with than any other system. A base 16 system would easily work.
>> > The trouble comes from making calculations using only 9 numbers and
>> > zero in other base systems.
>>
>> It could be pretty simple using a base of 16. Let's suppose that it
>> takes 16/16ths to make one unit and call it a toe. Then it takes 16
>> toes to make a shin, 16 shins to make a thigh, 16 thighs to make a
>> shin. However, if we do the same with this 16 base that they did with
>> Imperial they would screw it all up. It would be more like 16/16ths for
>> a toe, 12 toes to a shin, 3 shins to a thigh, 5280 shins to a thigh....
>
> It's much easier to work in twelves than sixteens. 16 doesn't divide
> nicely into thirds, whereas 12 does.
>
>> >
>> > I started using metric measurements when I found it a daunting task
>> > to divide an 11" sheet of paper into 3 equal parts.
>
> How precise did you need to be, dsi1? 11/3 is approximately 3 and 11/16
> inches. Off by about 0.0625 inch.
>
> Cindy Hamilton

Interesting you express the difference as a decimal, rather than a fraction.
Maybe it proves the superiority of decimals.

Also, your figure is wrong.

On 16:05 10 Apr 2020, graham said:

> On 2020-04-10 5:42 a.m., Gary wrote:
>> Bruce wrote:
>>>
>>> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:28:34 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Bruce wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Gary wrote:
>>>>>> BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>>>>>
>>>>> I know. So do most Europeans.
>>>>
>>>> I know the UK doesn't but how about Australia?
>>>
>>> Also on the left side. I nearly killed myself a few times after
>>> emigrating.
>>
>> Yep, if I took a real vacation to the UK (or Australia) I'd
>> really have to think hard before entering an intersection if
>> I planned to turn left or right.
>>
> Every tourist stop in New Zealand has arrows painted in the road to
> remind people which is the correct side. It's absolutely necessary for
> Chinese tourists, many of whom have licences but have *never* driven
> before!

Nearly as bad are American drivers in the UK who have never used a stick
shift but think they will learn while driving on the opposite side of
narrower roads to what they are used to.

On 4/10/2020 3:41 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

> It's much easier to work in twelves than sixteens. 16 doesn't divide nicely
> into thirds, whereas 12 does.
>
When I was designing patterns for knitting machines, I worked mostly
with twelves. The punch cards were 24 stitches wide.

Gary wrote:

> Bruce wrote:
> >
> > On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 09:42:52 +0100, Pamela >
> > wrote:
> >
> > >On 00:50 10 Apr 2020, Bruce said:
> > >
> > >> On Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:36:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
> > >>
> > >>>Next up: Military time. Avoide the confusion of AM/PM
> > >>
> > >> And after that, date format. Americans use Month/Day. Europe/Australia
> > >> etc use Day/Month (or day-month etc). Can be tricky.
> > >>
> > >> But Americans should get their way in something too. Let's all drive
> > >> on the right side of the road.
> > >
> > >The American date format is truly overdue for reform.
> >
> > It can be confusing in international communications. I always write
> > out the name of the month abbreviated, to avoid misunderstandings.
>
> Good move.
>
> BTW: Americans *always* drive on the right side of the road.
>
> By both definitions.
> - right (defined as right vs left)
> - right (defined as right as opposed to wrong)
>
> ;-D


There is one 'exception', Gary:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transp...Virgin_Islands

"The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is the only place under United States jurisdiction where the rule of the road is to drive on the left. However, virtually all passenger vehicles are left hand drive due to imports of U.S. vehicles..."

;-)

--
Best
Greg

On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 11:09:57 AM UTC-4, Pamela wrote:
> On 15:41 10 Apr 2020, Cindy Hamilton said:
>
> > On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 10:32:43 AM UTC-4, Dave Smith wrote:
> >> On 2020-04-10 6:08 a.m., dsi1 wrote:
> >> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:46:08 PM UTC-10, Pamela wrote:
> >>
> >> >> It's not just weight and measures but also design and engineering
> >> >> where working in sixteenths, standard guage and thou is far more
> >> >> awkard than in decimals.
> >> >
> >> > My guess is that a base ten system is not intrinsically easier to
> >> > work with than any other system. A base 16 system would easily work.
> >> > The trouble comes from making calculations using only 9 numbers and
> >> > zero in other base systems.
> >>
> >> It could be pretty simple using a base of 16. Let's suppose that it
> >> takes 16/16ths to make one unit and call it a toe. Then it takes 16
> >> toes to make a shin, 16 shins to make a thigh, 16 thighs to make a
> >> shin. However, if we do the same with this 16 base that they did with
> >> Imperial they would screw it all up. It would be more like 16/16ths for
> >> a toe, 12 toes to a shin, 3 shins to a thigh, 5280 shins to a thigh....
> >
> > It's much easier to work in twelves than sixteens. 16 doesn't divide
> > nicely into thirds, whereas 12 does.
> >
> >> >
> >> > I started using metric measurements when I found it a daunting task
> >> > to divide an 11" sheet of paper into 3 equal parts.
> >
> > How precise did you need to be, dsi1? 11/3 is approximately 3 and 11/16
> > inches. Off by about 0.0625 inch.
> >
> > Cindy Hamilton
>
> Interesting you express the difference as a decimal, rather than a fraction.
> Maybe it proves the superiority of decimals.
>
> Also, your figure is wrong.

On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 11:09:57 AM UTC-4, Pamela wrote:
> On 15:41 10 Apr 2020, Cindy Hamilton said:
>
> > On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 10:32:43 AM UTC-4, Dave Smith wrote:
> >> On 2020-04-10 6:08 a.m., dsi1 wrote:
> >> > On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 10:46:08 PM UTC-10, Pamela wrote:
> >>
> >> >> It's not just weight and measures but also design and engineering
> >> >> where working in sixteenths, standard guage and thou is far more
> >> >> awkard than in decimals.
> >> >
> >> > My guess is that a base ten system is not intrinsically easier to
> >> > work with than any other system. A base 16 system would easily work.
> >> > The trouble comes from making calculations using only 9 numbers and
> >> > zero in other base systems.
> >>
> >> It could be pretty simple using a base of 16. Let's suppose that it
> >> takes 16/16ths to make one unit and call it a toe. Then it takes 16
> >> toes to make a shin, 16 shins to make a thigh, 16 thighs to make a
> >> shin. However, if we do the same with this 16 base that they did with
> >> Imperial they would screw it all up. It would be more like 16/16ths for
> >> a toe, 12 toes to a shin, 3 shins to a thigh, 5280 shins to a thigh....
> >
> > It's much easier to work in twelves than sixteens. 16 doesn't divide
> > nicely into thirds, whereas 12 does.
> >
> >> >
> >> > I started using metric measurements when I found it a daunting task
> >> > to divide an 11" sheet of paper into 3 equal parts.
> >
> > How precise did you need to be, dsi1? 11/3 is approximately 3 and 11/16
> > inches. Off by about 0.0625 inch.
> >
> > Cindy Hamilton
>
> Interesting you express the difference as a decimal, rather than a fraction.

Calculator.

> Maybe it proves the superiority of decimals.
>
> Also, your figure is wrong.

Oops.

In any event, I usually just divide a piece of paper into three by folding it
and sticking it into the envelope.

Cindy Hamilton