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Royale with Cheese

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by DrFrylock, May 11, 2011.

  1. DrFrylock

    DrFrylock
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    I've run across at least two articles this week trying to revive interest in changing the rest of the world (which seems to currently be the United States and a few other backwater countries) to the metric system (or the SI system or whatever tiny variant of it you care about). Even the Brits are doing it, and they're the reason we call Imperial units Imperial units.

    This really makes very little difference in my life, but apparently people who work with tools and things run into problems a lot. There are lots of decent (and just kinda weak) arguments for changing.

    I wouldn't protest if they decided to change it, but it isn't something I'd ever advocate. My brain is wired to think in inches and pounds and miles and all my frames of reference are in that system. Someone pointed out in the comments on one of the articles that Imperial units feel more 'human' to people: for example, if I asked you to indicate how much was "a little bit" of something by showing me the distance between your thumb and forefinger, you're much more likely to make an inch than a centimeter. A foot is, well, about the size of a foot. Also, we have nice monosyllabic names for things: inch, foot, pound, pint, mile, yard. Cheese-eating surrender monkeys require 2-4 syllables for nearly everything.

    FOCUS: Metric system, yea or nay?
     
  2. Nettdata

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    I hate fractions.

    One of the joys of racing a German car while having an American daily driver is that I have duplicate sets of tools; metric and SAE. Metric are easier for me to grasp, as the sizes are just simple integers.

    I hate imperial tape measures. Again... fractions fuck me up. 3/8, 7/16?

    Hate it.

    And yet I can't figure out kg's. Sure, it's 2.2 lbs, but I have to do the math to get a concept of what that weight means.

    Give me pounds for weight, feet/inches for height, and metric for carpentry and tools.

    Celsius for temperature.

    Distance, km or miles.... doesn't matter.

    Torque only makes sense to me in ft/lbs or inch/lbs. Newton metres? No clue.

    So yeah... I guess my answer is "it depends".
     
  3. joule_thief

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    I say get it right on important things. You know, with things like the Mars Climate Orbiter: <a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Encounter_with_Mars" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Clima ... _with_Mars</a>

    Once scientists get that shit figured out, then I might worry about it.

    My liquor already uses the metric system so I figure I'm good for most practical applications.
     
  4. kuhjäger

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    I like a lot of metric and SI units, but I have to say fuck celsius.

    30C doesn't sound hot outside. 86 degrees sounds hot outside.

    Also, in certain uses feet is better. I am 6'3. More precise than, a few centimeters under 2 meters, not as arbitrary as 190 centimeters. Maybe if it was 19 decimeters it wouldn't be too bad.

    And England:

    Stop with the "stone" bullshit. Thanks.
     
  5. Nettdata

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    Fuck that.... get it right, get it wrong, doesn't matter... just get it THE SAME.

    Except for rugby matches. There's just something cool about hearing an old Scottish or English announcer talk about the weight/height of players in stone/hands.

    I have no idea what they mean, but it just sounds cool.
     
  6. Volo

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    There's nothing wrong with metric. There's also nothing wrong with imperial. Each have their places and, to many, charms. The problem is that both are still used, oftentimes in the same fuckin' sentence.

    http://www.botanical.com/botanical/cvcookix.html#coo

    That right there, is a shorthand list of the shit I have to remember on a near daily basis. There are far more conversions than those, especially if you have a fondness for really old school cookbooks. Some of my favorites include having to convert measurements for baking pans and dishes, and having to figure out what the hell a "knuckle of lemon zest" means.
     
  7. joule_thief

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    I refer back to liquor sizes being metric.

    All kidding aside, I agree. I don't really give a shit as long as it's consistent.
     
  8. Mild Sedative

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    I love the metric system. even tens make measuring a heck of a lot easier.
    Also, the wording makes everything a lot simpler, e.g. 100 cm = 1m, 1000m = 1km

    Also, i never got my head around the idea of measuring horses in hands. what the hell.
     
  9. scootah

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    I can figure out most imperial or metric measurement units and convert between them without too much effort. But there's no argument, none, that even vaguely refutes the idea that Metric is more logical. Everything revolves around base ten equations and anyone with the conventional number of fingers and toes can figure it the fuck out if they put a tiny bit of effort in.

    But whatever we're going to do, lets all get together and pick one fucking system. I don't really give a fuck what that one system is - but lets have everyone using the same one. And on a side note - can anyone explain to me why the fuck there are different sign languages for different english speaking countries? Or even why there are different sign languages at all? Wouldn't that have been the perfect time to come up with a single fucking universal language for everyone with hands?
     
  10. BL1Y

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    I never learned how many feet or yards are in a mile. But, metric just seems too sterile for me. I want my booze measured in ounces, not milliliters, and my women weighed in pounds, not kilograms.

    You have to understand that in the 1700 and 1800s, the world was not yet unified under 1 global government establishing universal peace.
     
  11. ghettoastronaut

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    Yeah, well, 15 degrees doesn't sound cold outside, but -9 degrees sure does.
     
  12. Disgustipated

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    Accents.


    I've mentioned before, but I grew up with a dad with an engineering supplies shop. I've gone rusty now, but I could convert back and forth between metric and imperial without thinking when it came to nut and bolt sizes. Today I'm pretty comfortable with either, but metric makes a hell of a lot more sense - especially for measurements. The only issue I have is fluid ounces, since I was never exposed to it.

    That being said, I'm much more comfortable with height being expressed in feet and inches (while weight is in kilograms). And screw fahrenheit... everything sounds hot to me in that scale.
     
  13. Mantis Toboggan M.D.

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    "Drinking a 1.18294 in a paper bag" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
     
  14. AbsentMindedProf

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    I'm a civil engineer, and I think metric is a better system. If you talk to any person with a science based degree they would probably say the same thing. Metric is just a much neater system, and makes equations and calculations easier to work with. However, I don't think we're going to see a change of systems in the state anytime soon. Whenever this discussion comes up people always ignore the one major deciding factor... money. Just think about all the speed limit signs, mile markers, and highway signs that would have to be replaced for a whole country, and I can guarantee you that those signs are more expensive than you think. You would also have to rewrite every engineering standard book for every field. I have to believe that is the real reason the switch didn't happen in the early 90's when everybody was so gung-ho about it. Some where along the line the federal government had a study performed on the potential cost, and when the saw the number they were like, "FUCK THAT!"
     
  15. Frank

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    I just bought a brand new ratchet set with both measurement systems, it'll be a cold day in Hell before I let you tea sipping commie fuckers unify and devalue my purchase.

    In all honesty, I grew up with Imperial measurement, but in the long hall Metric is clearly better. Everything is base ten and the incremental measurements are self defining, I don't know how you can logically argue that the Imperial system is better, it's almost as dumb as saying wolves are better than dragons.
     
  16. lostalldoubt86

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    I really don't care either way. My only issue is that I'm going to have to learn a whole new concept of measurement. I don't want to use Celsius or stone. I prefer Fahrenheit and pounds.
     
  17. Arctic_Scrap

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    Metric is the way to go. Conversions take a fraction[har har har] of the time to do, less shit to remember. No more equipment with half metric and half standard fasteners, I have to buy double of a lot of tools to cover both units. People complain about having to learn a new system but it's more a problem of just not wanting to learn it. It's so much easier to use. Just work through say a conversion of cubic feet to gallons and then cubic meters to kiloliters and tell me which one is easier.

    Celsius is a better temperature system too, water freezing at 0 and boiling at 100 makes way more sense than 32 and 212. Sure it's different from fahrenheit but it's another thing that would be simple to get used to.
     
  18. Rush-O-Matic

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    Uh, not this civil engineer.

    All my plans are on 24x36 sheets. That's inches. And my specs/proposals/everything else is 8.5x11. Inches. I deal with sq yards, sq feet, cubic yards and acres. Yes, a base ten system makes sense, but there are so many other conversions & formulas that I use regularly, it's really not that big of a deal that there are 12 inches in a foot, instead of 10 and 3 feet in a yard and so forth. One thing that is fun, is that when we survey and specify measurements on plans, we use tenths of feet. So, and survey rod and 200 feet tape measures for site work typically have tenths not fractions. (And, don't get me started on chains . . .)

    A few years ago, Georgia DOT decided that everything was going to go metric. Every permit we did, road construction, utility work, etc. had to be in metric for DOT approval. However, every contractor still used SI. So, there was a period of about 4 years where we had to prepare two sets of contract documents or show both units on the plans. Thankfully, that was abandoned.

    I'm a distance runner, and the metric system is fine for that for 5K, 10K and the like (marathons need to stay 26 miles 385 yards - speaking of odd, though . . .) Everything else, I want standard.
     
  19. AFHokie

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  20. lhprop1

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    But you, I, and everyone else knows what 32 and 212 are. It's not that hard to figure out.

    No wonder kids are fucking stupid these days, they don't have to learn anything anymore. If they're teaching Celsius, they have to remember 0 and 100. Even Billy Ray Sisterfuck wearing the straight-billed hat and wife beater can remember that.