At least I explained to this Bill how it was made possible to use ifp for
high tech applications. He bragged about Boeing, the Stealth bomber and
the nuclear arsenal being inch-pound, while in fact it is all crooked
metric. I am sure that he knew nothing about the standardization of ifp.
I will follow your advice in the future, but I have some remarks. If an
American or someone from Britain comes on to me with ifp in my own country,
I take offence, and this will surely not have helped his cause at all. When
am in an FFU country I am a **foreigner**. It can backfire enormously if I
come on to them with metric. This would harm the cause indeed. "Some
foreigner met me today and he bothered me with metric crap; he asked the
distance to London (New York, etc,.) in kilometers! The nerve they have!"
Will that help the cause? No way! "Do as the Romans do" is in my view not
harmful to the metric cause.
I do not want Americans or British to bother me with ifp in metric countries
but I think I should not do the same thing to them with metric in their
country. Really, it would only backfire, coming from a foreigner. I use
their currency (Irish punts and English pound sterling) when I am there.
And in the USA I would use the dollar of course.
I know that I succeeded in getting an American nurse to our side a few years
ago by using my tactics. She said that it was 90 degrees where she lived and
asked me how warm it was here. I could not possibly use the Fahrenheit
scale, so I explained where I stand and wrote that it was 22 degrees
Celsius.
Then she wrote back that she wanted to learn the metric system. I then gave
her the URL of the USMA.
Usually I try to avoid using measuring units in an ifp country. No one will
know then. At least I can and do use the Celsius scale in Britain and
Ireland. And in shops I will use metric too as they have metric scales now.
If people use metric, no problem of course.
Using ifp in a metric country when meeting people from FFU countries, yes,
that is damnable. What that Italian agency did was disgusting, but at least
they have stopped. I was part of the effort to change their minds as I sent
them two messages.
When I made that crooked translation I nearly p*ed, but I saw no way out.
It was very measurement sensitive and I am as much opposed to soft metric
as I am to ifp. I had to choose one of two evils. I thought, why do they buy
drills in the USA? Couldn't they buy them in Europe?
Han
----- Original Message -----
From: "kilopascal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, 2001 March 30, 02:12
Subject: [USMA:11937] RE: anti-metric person
2001-03-29
Yes Han,
Follow this advice. You will never change this guy's mind; just let him be
miserable as he will have to deal with metric on an increasing basis. And,
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, a million times NEVER admit to knowing FFU. NEVER,
NEVER, NEVER, a million times NEVER use FFU, even in an FFU country. When
you do, you send the imperialist a signal that you and the world knows and
prefers FFU and thus they don't have to know or learn metric. You are doing
harm to the cause. And you are not helping them to learn SI.
Actions speak louder than words. You may say you hate FFU, but by admitting
to knowing it and acknowledging that you use it in FFU countries is really
saying the opposite. I never use FFU and when pressed, I just hem and haw
and make faces. Eventually the person asking for FFU gives up and doesn't
ask again.
Set an example and use SI always!!!!!!!
John
Keiner ist hoffnungsloser versklavt als derjenige, der irrtümlich glaubt
frei zu sein.
There are none more hopelessly enslaved then those who falsely believe they
are free!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nat Hager III" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, 2001-03-29 10:18
Subject: [USMA:11926] RE: anti-metric person
Don't worry about someone like that. That's the 5% raving fringe, who as
I've said before have a deeper agenda to settle. You'll never win with them.
Re-route around them, like a good commander in the field, and focus on the
winnable battles. (UK loose goods, US supermarket labeling, highway
construction, UPLR, etc). There your facing the 90% who really don't care,
but have the votes (i.e. buying power).
Nat
<snip>
