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Date:         Tue, 31 Jan 2006 13:07:54 +1100
Reply-To:     Stephen Overmyer <S.OVERMYER@UWS.EDU.AU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Overmyer <S.OVERMYER@UWS.EDU.AU>
Subject:      Re: Metric this, metric that
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

With respect Jake et al, IMO that's just a fear of the unfamiliar....and BTW a 4'x 8' sheet of ply is 1220mm x 2440mm. Metric rationalisation of sheet sizes mean they are now cut to 1200mm x 2400mm so they fit in your VW (RVC) even easier...;-) Whether you measure 4' on your tape measure or 1220mm on your metric tape measure, it's the same thing and just as easy to read. Here in Oz we had the foresight to convert to metric during the early 70s so I had learned imperial measurement at school in the 60s but worked with metric from the 70s on. I speak (and gesture) in imperial but would not ever want to work in it ever again. Once you understand metric measurement it is really very simple and logical...just sometimes until you are familiar you may misplace the decimal point.... And ask most anybody outside Nth America to show you 60cm (or preferably 600mm) with their hands and they will have no problem.

I still talk in psi for my tyres too but the metric equivalent is kPa (kilopascals) and it aint difficult. 30psi is a shade over 200Kpa and 40psi is close enough to 275Kpa. Easy enough to interpolate anything in between... Embrace and understand metric and maintain imperial measurement and there is no need for confusion between any of us.

But I will confess, I do have one exception however where metric measurement will never be the norm. My surfboards are 8"4" and 9'1" and that will never change. You would look a right dick if you went to a surfboard maker after a 2528mm or 2756mm board...:-) My skis OTOH will always be 183cm cos 6' will never sound right... Cheers, Steve O NSW Australia '92 Transporter WBX Kombi '00 Transporter Double Cab '03 Transporter Double Cab (work truck) '78 Land Rover 109 Series 3 soft top ute (ex Aust. Army)...at least I have one use for all my imperial spanners :-)

Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 13:05:44 -0800 From: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM> Subject: Re: Metric this, metric that

Worse than that Kim, they use kilopascals, and I'll send you one if you really want one! I still don't know whether the barometric pressure is fai= r or foul! If you think the metric system is cool, try living with the stuff. It is completely non-intuitive and indeed was designed by the French to be that way! A 4 x 8 sheet of plywood is theoretically 2440 x 4880 mm. No way. If you ask someone to show you with their hands what 2 feet looks like, most people get pretty close - ask them to show you 60 centimeters and they're stumped. With feet and inches I can divide a foot by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12. With metric, you can only use 1, 2, 5 and 10, making it much more difficult to use in construction. The CBC, because it is funded by the Canadian Government, had to convert all its scenery to metric! Cost a lot for zero gain.

I'm surprised that I am still so pissed off that we went Metric, but really, there is no good reason to use it in your daily life. I already hav= e tons of wrenches in Imperial and Metric, and that's where it should have stopped.

Sorry for the tirade. I feel calmer now.

Feet and inches, chains and rods, gallons and miles forever!

On 1/30/06, Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@mac.com> wrote: > > Okay, for all you folk that are so high on converting to the metric > system....what's the pressure in your tires? Uh, huh. What's that PSI > thing again? > > So, let's see would that be 2.75 bar in my tires...or 3.3 when fully > loaded. Bah, let's use hectopascals instead. 2750 or 3300 (roughly). > > Hmm, I wonder where I can get a tire gauge that measures in > hectopascals. >

-- Jake 1984 Vanagon GL 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie" www.crescentbeachguitar.com


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