John, I'm 60 in 6 weeks time so you can wish me a happy birthday now!!!!
I assume you live in the US. The reason mother England is struggling is the very reason I left that country in 1968. I wanted to live in a country with a young, dynamic and youthful approach. Those folk that choose to stay there are happier with the original ways and tend to resist change. Those that like to be a part of change for the better prefer to emigrate with their young family to young Commonwealth countries such as Canada, New Zealand or Australia. As for the 'poor old crow', I was referring to the phrase 'as the crow flies', and after flying across the Nullabor Plain then you'd feel like a beer too!! A bit of Aussie humour. As for my age I think I'm quite young mentally and sincerely hope that I can contribute in a positive way for what is obviously going to be a difficult time for most Americans when it comes to using unfamiliar measurements, but it really is a question of attitude. That's why I joined this group because subscribers have a positive attitude towards the SI system. And it's this attitude that carried us through the changeover successfully in these countries and why the UK is resisting it. Another reason for the UK's difficulties is the proximity to continental Europe. For centuries there has been animosity between England and its neighbours across the Channel, and having a French measuring system shoved down their throats is just too much for most Brits to bear. So, even knowing that the SI system is far better, they will hang on to the Imperial system as long as possible out of spite. A shame, because it's the young ones who suffer and have to put up with both systems at the same time. Also, metrication is an EEC requirement, so naturally many people resent being told what to do by some bureaucrat sitting in a Brussels office (or that's how they see it). Also there's the 'heritage' issue. I was living near Toronto at the time Canada, Australia and NZ changed over and although it went well, there was (and still is in Alberta) some animosity in having Pierre Trudeau's government shoving bilingualism and metrication down Canadian's throats. But this has settled down now and folk can see the obvious benefits of using SI. In Australia and NZ there was no French influence to cause such concerns, and it was just a matter of learning unfamiliar units. It was easier to swallow 20c for a litre of gas than 90c for an imp. gallon!!! The only result of my experience with changeovers (and I include other just-as-important changeovers I have been in, such as VAT, GST, Pounds-shillings-pence to decimal, 12hr clock to 24hr) is that of attitude. Either you start using new units as if you've always used them or you don't. The people who can forget the old system on switchover day are the ones who don't get ulcers and are the clear winners, just as kids today are born with keyboards in their hands and therefore know more about PCs than we'll ever know! The main lesson I can give is to NOT use a dual system. I saw a National Geographic documentary a few days ago (The Sea Hunters) which was an effort to 'metricate'. The narrator kept saying things like "100 meters or 328.08 feet" for every time he mentioned a dimension or distance, and ruined the film. He definitely should never have mentioned inch-pound units, which detracted greatly from the text. Some tips - use something you're familiar with to estimate a dimension. I used to work with 8mm film so I know exactly what an item of that width is. I used to run in the 100m races so I know how far 100m is. Our milk comes in 1 or 2-litre cartons so I know what 1 or 2kg feels like. The best aid I have for measurement is what I was born with, which is my index finger. As luck would have it the distance from my knuckle-bone to the tip of my index finger is exactly 100mm, and this is very handy for measuring things. By laying your finger on the item to be measured, using a fingernail on your left hand as a marking point and continuing on in 100mm increments then guesstimating the remaining portion with your finger, (eg. � finger is 75mm) I've never been more than 2% out. I hope it will work for you too! Similarly, the width of my thumb when pressed flat is 25mm. No doubt you will find familiar everyday items to use as permanent measuring guides. I think Pat Naughtin may have already passed on his wise words to the group in previous months from an Australian perspective and I don't want to risk the possibility of repeating or altering what he may have said in the past. Best regards Mike Perth, Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: "kilopascal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, July 29, 2002 11:23 AM Subject: [USMA:21410] Re: Canadian coins | 2002-07-28 | | Don't you ever wonder how Australia was able to convert so effortlessly, and | yet your mother country (England) is struggling close to 40 years now? | Being a people of a common heritage and culture, what is wrong with the UK? | | I have an opinion, but I will wait to hear your response before I give mine. | | If you don't mind, could you tell us your age. I thought you might be | young, but then I saw your reference to the ...poor old crow and was | wondering if you were speaking of yourself. Which means if you are older, | then you were around during the changeover period. It would be nice then | for you to tell us of your experiences from those days, the experiences of | your family, friends and neighbours, and lessons that we can all learn from. | | John | ----- Original Message ----- | From: "Mike Joy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | Sent: Sunday, 2002-07-28 22:42 | Subject: [USMA:21408] Re: Canadian coins | | | > Thanks Pat, | > | > I hope we can provide a three-dimensional input to the forum from nearly | > both ends of our metric country - Perth being 2650km from Geelong as far | as | > the crow flies, that's as far as LA is to New Orleans (as the bald eagle | > flies). | > | > Brisbane is the furthest from Perth at 3520km (which is equivalent to LA | to | > Buffalo NY) that's including stopovers for a beer for the poor old crow! | > | > Re my comment about the Canadian nickel, you can see a picture of it at | > http://www.cyberbeach.net/~seajay/sudbury.html | > | > Best regards | > Mike Joy | > Perth, Australia | > | > | > ************Dear Mike, | > | > Welcome to the USMA list. I know you'll enjoy it, and I will enjoy seeing | > postings by another Australian. | > | > Cheers, | > | > Pat Naughtin CAMS | > Geelong, Australia | > | > on 2002-07-28 11.07, Mike Joy at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: | > | > > Hi everyone, | > > | > > I'm a new member of USMA this month and should like to add my two cents' | > worth | > > - or even a dime's worth! | > > | > > Great to see so many folk keen on seeing the US on it's way to | > metrication. | > > The sooner the better as far as the world is concerned. | > > | > > Regarding the size of Canadian coins, I just thought you'd like to know | > that | > > there is a 5 cent coin 9m in diameter. No, I didn't miss out the second | > 'm' | > > (in mm) - it's standing on it's edge in the nickel-mining town of | Sudbury, | > > Ontario, and is 610mm thick. | > > | > > Hope to provide some positive feedback to your great organisation in | > coming | > > months & years. | > > | > > Regards | > > | > > Mike Joy | > > Perth, Australia | > | > | |
