2002-03-09 Decimal miles are tolerable because the editor doesn't want to waste time and effort to convert the metric to proper FFU. They are happy as long as the word miles appears, and who cares what precedes it. Just think if 12 km, the true length was converted to proper FFU units. It would be:
7 miles, 803 yards, 1 foot, 121/128 inches. I left out all of the perches, rods cubits and other odd units. The entire conversion took 5 minutes to do, including rechecking the math for errors. And I doubt most readers would understand this form any more than the simple 7.4 miles. And don't forget, English odometers display to the tenth of a mile, so 7.4 miles is in harmony with auto odometers. The whole idea behind FFU is to stick to the rules where needed and where impractical, you may bend the rules some. And, remember, FFU doesn't really have rules, you can do as you please. The BWMA will tell you it makes FFU look more flexible than that rigid SI. John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Han Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, 2002-03-09 03:07 Subject: [USMA:18625] Anti-metric Associated Press > Associated Press thinks that the am/pm clock is used in Europe and they also > think that we use irrational and inconsistent decimalized ifp trash. When I > see stupid decimal ifp like 7.4 miles I see red. The BWMA etc,. alway tell > us that fractions and non-decimal subdivsions are superior to decimal ones, > but when it comes it they decimalize their garbage without blinking an eye. > > Han > > > Small device explodes near Mont Blanc tunnel > > Last updated: 09-03-02, 07:47 > > > > A small explosion occurred at the French entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnel > early today, several hours before the long-awaited reopening of the Alpine > passage. > > A maintenance truck was destroyed but there were no injuries, a local > official said. The blast caused no damage to the tunnel itself, which has > been closed since a 1999 truck fire killed 39 people. > > The passage linking France and Italy was expected to reopen to cars at noon > (11 a.m. Irish time), as originally scheduled. > > No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred at > about 3 a.m. (2 a.m. Irish time), said Mr Michel Bergue, an official of the > Haute-Savoie region, where the French entrance to the tunnel is located. > > The explosive device was described as low-grade, of the type used often in > the Alpine area to trigger avalanches. > > Police began taking positions at the tunnel's entrance by dawn, as part of > security measures planned for the reopening later in the day. > > Two other attacks against the tunnel last year, while it was still closed to > traffic, were claimed by activist groups that opposed truck traffic in the > Alpine passage. > > Demonstrations were planned today in protest at the tunnel's eventual > reopening to trucks, which government officials say will happen next week. > > Environmentalists and other critics say that trucks inside the 7.4-mile > tunnel are too dangerous and cause excessive pollution. > > In March 1999, 39 people were killed after a truck carrying flour and > margarine caught fire and turned the passage into a deathtrap. The blaze > burned for two days while firefighters tried to reach cars and people > trapped inside. > > AP > > > > >
