Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I observe and enjoy spotting inconsistencies. Philandering televangelists were always a favorite, but I digress. As much of the world has gone metric, some things are still done in feet and inches. The most obvious is the cruising altitudes used for air traffic. 39000 FEET. And such. The round number is always some multiple of 1000 FEET. Can you imagine a flight plan that says 12 192 meters? And of course it would not do at all for one country to do everything in feet and everyone else in meters. Another is TV sets. Though I bet a lot of Americans could not tell you what is meant by a 19" tv, tvs are sold as 19, 22, 32, and such through most of the world, maybe all. They don't mentio the inch bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Over half of my wrenches ain't metric and they still fit a lot of new cars!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I have noticed that TV are now sold by class. 32 inch class, 50 in class, ect. I suspect that this is because TV sizes are measured differently in different parts of the world and it allows for minor variations in size. Keeps people from suing because their 60 flat screen is actually only 150 cm. I do remember when computer monitors were sold as 19 inch but the fine print stated a usable size was a lot smaller than 19 inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I had a long online discussion with a fellow who was convinced that the metric system is far superior to the English (Standard) system. He kept going on about how rational it was - everything in 10s, etc. And how messed up the English system is - with bushels, quarts, pecks, and so on. And the usual idiotic "Well, how many hands in a mile?" examples. Finally I commented that, yes, the metric system is FAR more rational, based as it is on the mismeasurement of 1/4 of the diameter of the Earth on a line from the Equator to the North Pole, passing through Barcelona, Dunkirk, and Paris. Yep...real rational, that. Oh...and by the way, how many femtometers in a micron. And will you, since you like 10 so much, divide that board into 10 even segments using only a straight edge and dividers to mark it off. I'll take one of equal length and cut it into 32 parts before you have yours quartered. "Well, it's far more accurate!" Um...No, it isn't. One can measure down to .000005 inches (or smaller) just fine, thank you very much. Just as accurate as metric, only with different units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Nelson Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I have noticed that TV are now sold by class. 32 inch class, 50 in class, ect. I suspect that this is because TV sizes are measured differently in different parts of the world and it allows for minor variations in size. I think they went to the "X inch class" method because screens come in different aspect ratios (which is the ratio of the image width to the height) now. It used to be everything was built to the broadcast TV standard 4:3 aspect ratio, so a 25" TV was the same shape as the 19", just taller and wider. Now you can buy screens that are 16:9 (used in high definition and digital TV), so a 28" diagonal screen in 16:9 is almost three inches shorter and two inches wider than a 28" 4:3 screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 And who wants to call Forty Rod Two Hundred and One point one six eight meters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 And who wants to call Forty Rod Two Hundred and One point one six eight meters? I'll call him Ten Chain or Furlong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Gambler Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I always felt like the metric system was a crutch for people who are bad at math. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Nelson Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I always felt like the metric system was a crutch for people who are bad at math. The problem is that everybody's bad at math. Most days I don't care, but when I'm flying I'd kind of like my pilot to get it right. Same for the guys running my fire support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus Goodnight Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 What's still Standard? Approximately 38.862% of the nuts and bolts on your car/truck. Which forces you to purchase twice the number of tools you should need to get any given task completed....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 What's still Standard? Approximately 38.862% of the nuts and bolts on your car/truck. Which forces you to purchase twice the number of tools you should need to get any given task completed....... Um...that's 38.863 % Approximately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 And who wants to call Forty Rod Two Hundred and One point one six eight meters? You mean it's not Two Hundred and One point one six eight kilograms? (ducking) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 You mean it's not Two Hundred and One point one six eight kilograms? (ducking) No, silly goose. It's a unit of measurement, not weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Metric is very easy to learn, for one. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Liberals love the metric system. Just sayin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Lizard Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 No, silly goose. It's a unit of measurement, not weight. So how does he measure up down or around...Or is he dreaming of a measurement...Length of... Texas Lizard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 And who wants to call Forty Rod Two Hundred and One point one six eight meters? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Chains Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Don't know about you folks, but I am still partial to smidgen, dab, dollop, cap full, truck load, stone, palm, span, rod, chain, bolt, league! Precision is weigh overrated except in dealing with smokeless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Liberals love the metric system. Just sayin. From a 'building standpoint'. The metric sys. makes allot of 'cents'. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shoer 27979 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I had a long online discussion with a fellow who was convinced that the metric system is far superior to the English (Standard) system. He kept going on about how rational it was - everything in 10s, etc. And how messed up the English system is - with bushels, quarts, pecks, and so on. And the usual idiotic "Well, how many hands in a mile?" examples. Finally I commented that, yes, the metric system is FAR more rational, based as it is on the mismeasurement of 1/4 of the diameter of the Earth on a line from the Equator to the North Pole, passing through Barcelona, Dunkirk, and Paris. Yep...real rational, that. Oh...and by the way, how many femtometers in a micron. And will you, since you like 10 so much, divide that board into 10 even segments using only a straight edge and dividers to mark it off. I'll take one of equal length and cut it into 32 parts before you have yours quartered. "Well, it's far more accurate!" Um...No, it isn't. One can measure down to .000005 inches (or smaller) just fine, thank you very much. Just as accurate as metric, only with different units. Joe that guy is on some good drugs, I have taken classes for surveying, I have 4 or 5 charts showing all sorts of forms of measurements, and I just do not remember any hands on hose charts.. Maybe he is thinking of how many hands it is when he is crawling on his hands and knees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shoer 27979 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 From a 'building standpoint'. The metric sys. makes allot of 'cents'. OLG Building what standpoint ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 The problem is that there is a lot of "inertia" to converting everything from English to metric, especially tooling, and even in thinking. I was taught the metric system from junior high school through college (1955-1965). I can convert some units in my head, e.g., 1 kg = 2.2 lbs. And I can roughly estimate that 100 meters approximately equals 110 yds. Otherwise, I can convert some using pocket calculator. But I still "think" in English measurements, and don't like it when NASA and Aviation Week list metric (English) or visa versa. The problem with which units are being used was graphically illustrated by the crash of the Mars probe back in the 1990's. NASA (JPL) was using metric units for velocity, while Martin-Marietta was using English. NASA had officially gone to metric in IIRC, 1993. Had I still been employed as a contract technical requirements engineer, the first question I would have asked JPL is what units are we working to, and made it a part of the Statement of Work, Exhibit A to the contract between the two organizations. As it happened, I was one of 3500 engineers laid off in the 1989 "massacree". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Joe that guy is on some good drugs, I have taken classes for surveying, I have 4 or 5 charts showing all sorts of forms of measurements, and I just do not remember any hands on hose charts.. Maybe he is thinking of how many hands it is when he is crawling on his hands and knees Maybe he was measuring the "heighth" of dead horses he had laid top to bottom along the linear measurement. IIRC a "hand" equals 4-1/2", measured from a horse's withers to the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Joe that guy is on some good drugs, I have taken classes for surveying, I have 4 or 5 charts showing all sorts of forms of measurements, and I just do not remember any hands on hose charts.. Maybe he is thinking of how many hands it is when he is crawling on his hands and knees Maybe he was measuring the "heighth" of dead horses he had laid top to bottom along the linear measurement. IIRC a "hand" equals 4-1/2", measured from a horse's withers to the ground. "Hand" isn't, or wasn't, just used for animal heights. Hand, span, and palm were used for lots of small measurements. Of course, Isaiah 40:12 uses them for a much larger measure: "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Building what standpoint ???? The unites of 10, are easy to remember. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 All the calibers I love are standard……..357, .45. .44WCF. .380, .38spl., .223, .45-70 and on and on…………….. 9mm ?? eh, so so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 All the calibers I love are standard……..357, .45. .44WCF. .380, .38spl., .223, .45-70 and on and on…………….. 9mm ?? eh, so so! .223=5.56mm NATO-.308=7.62mm NATO. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 The unites of 10, are easy to remember. OLG They are? Yotta? Zepto? Yocto? Those are easy to remember? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Deck 100366 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Is there any other nation out there besides the U.S. that uses the SAE system of measurement as their standard?Seems like the rest of the world uses the metric system and we are lagging behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 Maybe he was measuring the "heighth" of dead horses he had laid top to bottom along the linear measurement. IIRC a "hand" equals 4-1/2", measured from a horse's withers to the ground. 4 inches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I observe and enjoy spotting inconsistencies. Philandering televangelists were always a favorite, but I digress. As much of the world has gone metric, some things are still done in feet and inches. The most obvious is the cruising altitudes used for air traffic. 39000 FEET. And such. The round number is always some multiple of 1000 FEET. Can you imagine a flight plan that says 12 192 meters? And of course it would not do at all for one country to do everything in feet and everyone else in meters. Another is TV sets. Though I bet a lot of Americans could not tell you what is meant by a 19" tv, tvs are sold as 19, 22, 32, and such through most of the world, maybe all. They don't mentio the inch bit Back in the late '70s when I was working in aerospace, all American planes were measured in INCHES. Folks discussed wingspans and OAL in feet, but they were measured in INCHES. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Bullweed Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Time is not metric: 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 28-29-30-31 days ina month, 12 months in a year, 10 years in a decade, 20 years in a score, 25 years in a generation My favorite measurement involves ground area: 66 feet in a chain (approximately the length of a mobile home if I am standing in a field) 10 square chains in an acre (visualize 2x5 or about 3x3 mobile homes in an acre) 80 chains in a mile 640 acres in a square mile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Is there any other nation out there besides the U.S. that uses the SAE system of measurement as their standard? Seems like the rest of the world uses the metric system and we are lagging behind. Does any rational person give a damn what any other country does? I sure don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Joe that guy is on some good drugs, I have taken classes for surveying, I have 4 or 5 charts showing all sorts of forms of measurements, and I just do not remember any hands on hose charts.. Maybe he is thinking of how many hands it is when he is crawling on his hands and knees They measure horses in "hands", don't know if metric or SAE hands however, Huh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 BTW, a furlong is also known as a lug, a pole, a perch, and an ancient Roman stadium. It equals 40 rods, 220 yards, 660 feet, 1/8 mile, 10 chains, 100 links, and the length (and also the width) of a square acre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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