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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: The good ol' U S of A
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Anglican't
Shipmate
# 15292
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
Its sort of quid pro quo among the great old civilisations. In the future (a future that is already here in science) every serious project anywhere in the world will use the English language to write in (and often to talk in), French units of measurement, American software & telecommunications standards (except for the Web, we did that one), and Chinese date formats. We had to leave something for the Chinese.
What's the Chinese date format? Is that the one that puts the year first?
Posts: 3613 | From: London, England | Registered: Nov 2009
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
So America is the Great Satan on account of measuring cake mix in spoons - and possibly furlongs - which differ from other people's spoons/furlongs. ?
Damn, no wonder they're hated across two hemispheres.
Cake mix in furlongs? French bread dough, possibly.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:
The one that is highly curious is related to computers. Everyone assumes the metric "10" applies to them. Except that a byte is 8 bits. Thus a megabyte or gigabyte does not actually represent what it is.
Operating systems tend to report memory in multiples of 1024 (2^10), so 1kB is 1024 bytes, 1MB is 1,048,576 bytes and 1 GB is 1,073,741,824 bytes.
Manufacturers of hard disks use the real SI factor of 1000, as it allows them to quote a bigger number for the disk size.
You will occasionally see kiB, MiB, GiB used for the binary version to distinguish from the standard SI one, but this usage isn't universal.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Augustine the Aleut:
Still, this is a USA-related thread and I should let you all get back to it, all the while regretting that, on its foundation, the USA did not adopt the more honest name of The Lost Provinces.
Well, in the USA I buy apples by the peck every year at harvest time. I will grant that this is unusual.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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RuthW
liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
In the future (a future that is already here in science) every serious project anywhere in the world will use the English language to write in (and often to talk in), French units of measurement, American software & telecommunications standards (except for the Web, we did that one), and Chinese date formats.
That's the utopian future. In the dystopian future, every serious project will use the Chinese language to communicate, American units of measurement, French software & telecommunications standards, and Mayan date formats.
Posts: 24453 | From: La La Land | Registered: Apr 2001
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malik3000
Shipmate
# 11437
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
In the future (a future that is already here in science) every serious project anywhere in the world will use the English language to write in (and often to talk in), French units of measurement, American software & telecommunications standards (except for the Web, we did that one), and Chinese date formats.
That's the utopian future. In the dystopian future, every serious project will use the Chinese language to communicate, American units of measurement, French software & telecommunications standards, and Mayan date formats.
![[Killing me]](graemlins/killingme.gif)
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God = love.
Otherwise, things are not just black or white.
Posts: 3149 | From: North America | Registered: May 2006
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
...the Germans are the police, the English are the cooks, ...
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
I agree - after all, the Americans put a man on the moon and built a coast-to-coast railway using the imperial system, so it can't be all bad, can it?
They also crashed a spacecraft into Mars because of their inability to talk with their European colleagues.
How many vehicles has your country launched into space? Landed on the moon? Mars? How many vehicles launched from Australia are reaching the farthest edges of the solar system?
You're aware, I hope, that the reason Neil Armstrong could talk to Earth while poncing about on the moon was our radio dish?
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Christ on a bike. If that's simpler than a system where you simply move the decimal point up and down between numbers that don't have to change because we count in base 10 in the first place
And people are far too stupid to do anything else. This attitude just coddles math ignorance. It's no more difficult to divide 10 by 2 and get 5 than it is to divide 12 by 2 and get 6. The computations we have to do with measurements in every day life require multiplying or dividing by powers of ten just about zero times.
How convenient of you to use whole numbers like that.
I'm pretty damn sure, though, that I can work out how many centimetres there are in 1.83 metres way, WAY quicker than you can work out how many inches there are in 1.83 yards.
Ready? Go. 183!
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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Zach82
Shipmate
# 3208
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Posted
I've somehow managed to live 31 years without once having to know how many inches are in 1.83 yards. So who gives a shit?
[ 23. March 2013, 01:24: Message edited by: Zach82 ]
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Don't give up yet, no, don't ever quit/ There's always a chance of a critical hit. Ghost Mice
Posts: 9148 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Aug 2002
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Dark Knight
Super Zero
# 9415
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Posted
You and the other idiots who keep banging on about it, apparently.
A rant about America that turns into a nerd off about units of measurement. ![[brick wall]](graemlins/brick_wall.gif)
If anyone needs me, I will be dunking my head in a litre of water until I pass out. Or maybe it will be a quart.
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So don't ever call me lucky
You don't know what I done, what it was, who I lost, or what it cost me - A B Original: I C U
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Love is as strong as death (Song of Solomon 8:6).
Posts: 2958 | From: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road | Registered: Apr 2005
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Lyda*Rose
Ship's broken porthole
# 4544
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Posted
Did someone declare a truce in the Pond War and forget to memo me?
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"Dear God, whose name I do not know - thank you for my life. I forgot how BIG... thank you. Thank you for my life." ~from Joe Vs the Volcano
Posts: 21377 | From: CA | Registered: May 2003
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
I'm an American born and raised. There are many things wrong here, including the war on terror eating up the rule of law.
However, America does have a number of good things many recognized around the world
Hollywood Movies
Jazz
Barbecue
Oh and that grossly oversized standing army does come in useful sometimes. I keep thinking that the US is at an inflection point, like Britain during the Suez crisis, where it becomes clear that we can't afford our empire any more.
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
Don't forget the Blues. Though it did take Brits to make Yanks realise it was cool.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Anglican't
Shipmate
# 15292
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
... the English are the cooks, ...
This is not necessarily a bad thing.
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
I keep thinking that the US is at an inflection point, like Britain during the Suez crisis, where it becomes clear that we can't afford our empire any more.
Also, the British during Suez learnt who their friends were (and who weren't friends). But I won't go there.
Posts: 3613 | From: London, England | Registered: Nov 2009
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Augustine the Aleut
Shipmate
# 1472
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by John Holding:
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
If we can't live with fractions, a third of a cup is one third of 16 tablespoons, which works out to 5 1/3 table spoons, which is the very easy 5 tablespoons 1 teaspoons.
But only if you use US cups and Tablespoons. Imperial cups (10 imperial oz, not 8 US oz)and Tablespoons are different. I have no idea whether the relationship between them is the same.
John
A now-departed great-aunt of mine opposed free trade with the US in the 1988 election on the grounds of incompatibility of our baking systems.
Posts: 6236 | From: Ottawa, Canada | Registered: Oct 2001
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Zach82
Shipmate
# 3208
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Posted
With the US set to be the top oil producer, and North America set to become self reliant in its oil needs, there seems a good chance that the Middle East will just not be our problem anymore. Which may not be the unequivocal blessing some people imagine, but it's a possibility not entirely without charms.
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Don't give up yet, no, don't ever quit/ There's always a chance of a critical hit. Ghost Mice
Posts: 9148 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Aug 2002
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Augustine the Aleut
Shipmate
# 1472
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
With the US set to be the top oil producer, and North America set to become self reliant in its oil needs, there seems a good chance that the Middle East will just not be our problem anymore. Which may not be the unequivocal blessing some people imagine, but it's a possibility not entirely without charms.
Unless the United Church of Canada Taliban arises and, with preaching bands starched, the Moderator cuts off our regular 3,131 thousand barrels per day to the United States.
Posts: 6236 | From: Ottawa, Canada | Registered: Oct 2001
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Zach82
Shipmate
# 3208
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Posted
quote:
Unless the United Church of Canada Taliban arises and, with preaching bands starched, the Moderator cuts off our regular 3,131 thousand barrels per day to the United States.
Puh-LEEZE. We'd march over the weak opposition and on the capital (Toronto), where we'll be greeted as liberators!
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Don't give up yet, no, don't ever quit/ There's always a chance of a critical hit. Ghost Mice
Posts: 9148 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Aug 2002
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Augustine the Aleut
Shipmate
# 1472
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
quote:
Unless the United Church of Canada Taliban arises and, with preaching bands starched, the Moderator cuts off our regular 3,131 thousand barrels per day to the United States.
Puh-LEEZE. We'd march over the weak opposition and on the capital (Toronto), where we'll be greeted as liberators!
Didn't work the last time it was tried.
Posts: 6236 | From: Ottawa, Canada | Registered: Oct 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
... the English are the cooks, ...
This is not necessarily a bad thing.
Sorry, that is merely the culinary version of the Stockholm Syndrome.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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RooK
1 of 6
# 1852
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Posted
I've been too busy to wade into this thread until now. I'd just like to point out that pretty much all of you are totally full of shit.
First: it's really kind of impressive how you can have people with absolutely no exposure about something having strong opinions about it. Even though I grew up next-door to the US, and was awash in its media, I discovered that continued existence here was almost completely unlike most of my assumptions (or, indeed, most assumptions of almost everybody I knew in Canada). So - everybody not having spent at least a few years living in the US: go fuck yourselves. You're just talking out your ass.
Second: the breadth and scope of the US culturally is utterly staggering. To assert "the US is [quality X]" is as riddled with circumstantial qualifications as to say "Europe is [quality Q]". And the crazy thing is that human nature skews our thinking to tend to believe that we are each representative of the norm of the group to which we belong. But with a sufficiently large set of humans, like the US, that becomes completely ridiculous. Which is how we end up with Americans who are so blatantly myopic about any objective context of their circumstances. And I don't just mean Republicans (though, you know, definitely including most of them). So - every American here "speaking for all America": a pat on the head, and "that's nice for you".
Third: the US is a global entity. So, anybody who mistakes the sheeple's cultural inertia using so-called "imperial" measures as being "what the US uses" is just defining what realm in which they operate. Oh, you cook? Yes, I suspect that your copy of JoC will have cups and tsp for a long time to come. Carpentry and plumbing are similarly able to remain xenophobic without much repercussion. But for the vast array of business that deals internationally - it is already happily metric. Philosophical jabbering about which you prefer is... well, just establishes that we're on an internet discussion board. Because [claws at face in pained boredom] who.fucking.cares.
Posts: 15274 | From: Portland, Oregon, USA, Earth | Registered: Nov 2001
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Anglican't
Shipmate
# 15292
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Sorry, that is merely the culinary version of the Stockholm Syndrome.
No Yorkshire Pudding for you, then.
Posts: 3613 | From: London, England | Registered: Nov 2009
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Zach82
Shipmate
# 3208
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Posted
I like English cooking. I even bake pork pies from scratch since they don't sell them at convenience stores here.
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Don't give up yet, no, don't ever quit/ There's always a chance of a critical hit. Ghost Mice
Posts: 9148 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Aug 2002
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Mere Nick
Shipmate
# 11827
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
With the US set to be the top oil producer, and North America set to become self reliant in its oil needs, there seems a good chance that the Middle East will just not be our problem anymore. Which may not be the unequivocal blessing some people imagine, but it's a possibility not entirely without charms.
There's a lot to be said for our young producing our own instead of fighting over theirs, beyond just having better pay and less of a chance of getting shot.
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"Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward."
Delmar O'Donnell
Posts: 2797 | From: West Carolina | Registered: Sep 2006
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
quote:
Unless the United Church of Canada Taliban arises and, with preaching bands starched, the Moderator cuts off our regular 3,131 thousand barrels per day to the United States.
Puh-LEEZE. We'd march over the weak opposition and on the capital (Toronto), where we'll be greeted as liberators!
Wait. Aren't you the chap who went off bang one time at the suggestion that there might be a war between the USA and Canada over natural resources (water, in that instance).
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Zach82
Shipmate
# 3208
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
quote:
Unless the United Church of Canada Taliban arises and, with preaching bands starched, the Moderator cuts off our regular 3,131 thousand barrels per day to the United States.
Puh-LEEZE. We'd march over the weak opposition and on the capital (Toronto), where we'll be greeted as liberators!
Wait. Aren't you the chap who went off bang one time at the suggestion that there might be a war between the USA and Canada over natural resources (water, in that instance).
And they say Americans don't get sarcasm. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
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Don't give up yet, no, don't ever quit/ There's always a chance of a critical hit. Ghost Mice
Posts: 9148 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Aug 2002
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
I've somehow managed to live 31 years without once having to know how many inches are in 1.83 yards. So who gives a shit?
quote:
Originally posted by Dark Knight:
You and the other idiots who keep banging on about it, apparently.
Uh, no. Nobody ever measures anything in hundredths of a yard, so the example is ludicrous. And indeed, why on earth would anybody care how many centimeters 1.83 meters is?
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
usually because someone is selling you white goods and they tend to quote the dimensions in centimetres. However, being centimetres all you have to do is take the decimal point out.
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Zach82
Shipmate
# 3208
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
usually because someone is selling you white goods and they tend to quote the dimensions in centimetres. However, being centimetres all you have to do is take the decimal point out.
That's precisely why the ease of converting 1.83 years to inches in irrelevant. No one says "I'd like 1.83 yards of material please!" A sane person says "Gimme five and a half feet, if you don't mind."
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Don't give up yet, no, don't ever quit/ There's always a chance of a critical hit. Ghost Mice
Posts: 9148 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Aug 2002
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
usually because someone is selling you white goods and they tend to quote the dimensions in centimetres. However, being centimetres all you have to do is take the decimal point out.
That's precisely why the ease of converting 1.83 years to inches in irrelevant. No one says "I'd like 1.83 yards of material please!" A sane person says "Gimme five and a half feet, if you don't mind."
Not to be argumentative (not that I mind that), but any stitcher in this country would just ask for the nearest half or quarter yard, and would not measure fabric in feet at all.
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
I like English cooking. I even bake pork pies from scratch since they don't sell them at convenience stores here.
<pork pie tangent>
I'm pleased to hear that, but I wouldn't wish the pork pies you can buy in our convenience stores on anyone. Just for the record, TICTH convenience store pork pies (except possibly in Leicestershire).
</pork pie tangent>
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
quote:
Unless the United Church of Canada Taliban arises and, with preaching bands starched, the Moderator cuts off our regular 3,131 thousand barrels per day to the United States.
Puh-LEEZE. We'd march over the weak opposition and on the capital (Toronto), where we'll be greeted as liberators!
Wait. Aren't you the chap who went off bang one time at the suggestion that there might be a war between the USA and Canada over natural resources (water, in that instance).
And they say Americans don't get sarcasm.
Though you do have to wonder if some of them actually know what constitutes sarcasm.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Zach82
Shipmate
# 3208
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Posted
You are so smart, and your observations are so insightful, Firenze.
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Don't give up yet, no, don't ever quit/ There's always a chance of a critical hit. Ghost Mice
Posts: 9148 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Aug 2002
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
You are so smart, and your observations are so insightful, Firenze.
Yes, I know.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Patdys
Iron Wannabe
RooK-Annoyer
# 9397
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by comet:
are we really having an argument over units of measurement?
just can't get any decent reading around here. pathetic.
Try Fifty shades of grain.
(Grain was an old medical measure of mass.)
And what RooK said. The generalisations are so broad as to be meaningless.
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Marathon run. Next Dream. Australian this time.
Posts: 3511 | Registered: Apr 2005
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
I hate all generalisations.
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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Evensong
Shipmate
# 14696
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by RooK:
I've been too busy to wade into this thread until now. I'd just like to point out that pretty much all of you are totally full of shit.
At least orfeo was on the money describing our country.
Viva la Oztralia!
p.s. It's not too hot. You're all just soft.
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a theological scrapbook
Posts: 9481 | From: Australia | Registered: Apr 2009
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by RooK:
I've been too busy to wade into this thread until now. I'd just like to point out that pretty much all of you are totally full of shit.
At least orfeo was on the money describing our country.
Viva la Oztralia!
p.s. It's not too hot. You're all just soft.
No, people who are soft (or nesh as we say around here) complain of the cold when it's just a tad nippy, as over the last couple of days or so. Honestly, it's barely been below zero. Celsius, that is, not the random opium dream that is Fahrenheit.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
My reply is far too heavenly for down here - so here is a thread to discuss it ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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Otter
Shipmate
# 12020
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
Originally posted by Zach82:
Not to be argumentative (not that I mind that), but any stitcher in this country would just ask for the nearest half or quarter yard, and would not measure fabric in feet at all.
Actually, Zach82 seems to be channelling the minds of the damn fabric stores in the greater Chicago 'burbs. They've moved away from fractional-yards to feet, or maybe inches. Not to meters/centimeters, which I could adapt to, no, they've changed from imperial to imperial.
Yes, I am an engineer. Yes, I can easily do the math to go from yards -> feet, but I'm soooo used to thinking in yards when it comes to fabric that the feet thing perturbs me.
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The plural of "anecdote" is not "data", YMMV, limited-time offer, IANAL, no purchase required, and the state of CA has found this substance to cause cancer in laboratory aminals
Posts: 1429 | From: Chicago, IL 'burbs | Registered: Nov 2006
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Porridge
Shipmate
# 15405
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Otter:
Actually, Zach82 seems to be channelling the minds of the damn fabric stores in the greater Chicago 'burbs. They've moved away from fractional-yards to feet, or maybe inches.
How extremely odd. What kind of sewing project would ever require only inches of fabric?
I made a set of pockets to stash mail in, to hang off my filing cabinet, and it took a couple of yards of material (plus the confidence born of ignorance) to discover that sewing, even in just straight lines, is not among my talents.
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Spiggott: Everything I've ever told you is a lie, including that.
Moon: Including what?
Spiggott: That everything I've ever told you is a lie.
Moon: That's not true!
Posts: 3925 | From: Upper right corner | Registered: Jan 2010
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Otter
Shipmate
# 12020
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Porridge:
quote:
Originally posted by Otter:
Actually, Zach82 seems to be channelling the minds of the damn fabric stores in the greater Chicago 'burbs. They've moved away from fractional-yards to feet, or maybe inches.
How extremely odd. What kind of sewing project would ever require only inches of fabric?
Quilters often buy "fat quarters", which is equal in area to a quarter-yard, or just 9 inches, of 45" fabric, but in a form factor that's closer to a square. I sometimes buy fat quarters for trim or doll clothes.
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The plural of "anecdote" is not "data", YMMV, limited-time offer, IANAL, no purchase required, and the state of CA has found this substance to cause cancer in laboratory aminals
Posts: 1429 | From: Chicago, IL 'burbs | Registered: Nov 2006
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Otter:
quote:
Originally posted by Porridge:
quote:
Originally posted by Otter:
Actually, Zach82 seems to be channelling the minds of the damn fabric stores in the greater Chicago 'burbs. They've moved away from fractional-yards to feet, or maybe inches.
How extremely odd. What kind of sewing project would ever require only inches of fabric?
Quilters often buy "fat quarters", which is equal in area to a quarter-yard, or just 9 inches, of 45" fabric, but in a form factor that's closer to a square. I sometimes buy fat quarters for trim or doll clothes.
There's a nice, cheerful, crafter's thread in Heaven, with acres of fabric, embroidery and quilting.
Just sayin'.
[ 28. March 2013, 15:52: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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RooK
1 of 6
# 1852
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Posted
What folks consider heavenly is really fucking weird.
Posts: 15274 | From: Portland, Oregon, USA, Earth | Registered: Nov 2001
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moron
Shipmate
# 206
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by RooK:
Which is how we end up with Americans who are so blatantly myopic about any objective context of their circumstances. And I don't just mean Republicans (though, you know, definitely including most of them). So - every American here "speaking for all America": a pat on the head, and "that's nice for you".
Thank you.
I am idly curious though as you speak with the rare authority of dual citizenship [I presume - you may be 'undocumented']: if you had to choose between your Motherland and your adopted one, which would it be?
Familial considerations notwithstanding.
(Come on, admit it: you CANNOT stand that some busybody in Oregon has dictated you can't pump your own gas. It has to be better elsewhere.)
[edit]
[ 11. April 2013, 20:39: Message edited by: moron ]
Posts: 4236 | From: Bentonville | Registered: May 2001
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PataLeBon
Shipmate
# 5452
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
quote:
Originally posted by Zach82:
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
usually because someone is selling you white goods and they tend to quote the dimensions in centimetres. However, being centimetres all you have to do is take the decimal point out.
That's precisely why the ease of converting 1.83 years to inches in irrelevant. No one says "I'd like 1.83 yards of material please!" A sane person says "Gimme five and a half feet, if you don't mind."
Not to be argumentative (not that I mind that), but any stitcher in this country would just ask for the nearest half or quarter yard, and would not measure fabric in feet at all.
I have to add, (Why, probably because I'm getting kids ready for the state math test....)that I'm sure the state thinks it's important to convert 1.83 yards to inches. But then again, what they think is "real life" is crazy anyhow... (And who uses a ruler that measures in hundredths of a foot anyhow??)
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That's between you and your god. Oh, wait a minute. You are your god. That's a problem. - Jack O'Neill (Stargate SG1)
Posts: 1907 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2004
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Carex
Shipmate
# 9643
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by PataLeBon:
...(And who uses a ruler that measures in hundredths of a foot anyhow??)
Surveyors.
Link corrected. Preview Post is for everybody. Sioni Sais Hellhost
[ 12. April 2013, 21:25: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
Posts: 1425 | Registered: Jun 2005
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the gnome
Shipmate
# 14156
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Posted
Getting back to the OP question of what the US has done right:
1. Public Land. The idea of setting aside national parks for the people was a US innovation. But aside from the actual national parks (Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the rest), the United States has a remarkably large percentage of its land in public ownership, with free access for all. Aside from the national parks, there are national monuments, national forests, bureau of public lands lands, state parks, state forests, and various town forests and other municipally-owned parcels. The federal and state lands alone amount to over a third of our land area, and in many of our western states (Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Alaska) they make up well over half the land area.
2. Public Education. Education of all children (of both sexes) at public expense is pretty much an invention of the New England Puritans. The rest of the United States was a little slower to adopt the idea.
3. Constitutionalism. Yes, I know that Britain has gotten by quite well for centuries without a formal constitution. That doesn't mean that having one isn't a good idea.
4. Female suffrage. At the national level we weren't especially quick to adopt female suffrage. But in some states, especially those in the West, women had the vote from the 1860s.
Posts: 99 | From: New England, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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