2002-07-31 Interspersed comments below
----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Joy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, 2002-07-30 02:36 Subject: [USMA:21430] Re: Canadian coins > John, > > I'm 60 in 6 weeks time so you can wish me a happy birthday now!!!! Sure, why not? Happy Birthday and many more! > > I assume you live in the US. Yes, in Ohio. I'm 600 km from Toronto and 400 km from Niagara Falls.. > > 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. There is more to it than that! Mother England was once a great empire and that has bred arrogance among the population. England spread its language, culture and measurement "system" to the ends of the earth. Rejection of the English measurement system by the world and having the competing metric system being required in England is a blow to the ego of the Imperialists who still have a strong nostalgia for the lost glory. Metric is a daily reminder to these people that the empire is dead. Th EU is more so reminder. So, they hate both with a passion. > > 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. Well, Mike, I hope you will be able to relate to us some of your experinces from those days when conversion was the topic of the day. How you handled the change, how your friends and neighbours handled the change, and most important how those who resisted finally were able to adjust. Even though you lived in Canada at the time, you must have discussed with your present neighbours from timt to time their memories from that time, and also your memories and experiences with your neighbours and friends in Canada. > > And it's this attitude that carried us through the changeover successfully in these countries and > why the UK is resisting it. And don't forget, that "these countries" were subject lands of the empire. Australia is a place where england sent its criminals and unwanted, so the Australians most likely don't see things through the same pair of glasses as the English do. 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. The system may be French in origin, but it is not French in nature nor structure. The unit names that don't come from peoples names, as well as the original prefixes are all latin and Greek in origin. Latin and Greek were the languages of science and culture in those days. In fact, the units that are named for frenchmen (Amp�re, Bequerel, Pascal) came much later. There are more units named after German and British scientists then French. Thus, to say it is French shows ignorance. Opponents to metric always use this argrument and refuse to accept that metric (SI) is used in EVERY country. Can you imagine what the BWMA must think of australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. From what I have heard, they scour these countries looking for people still in opposition and make it appear that the real people of these countries don't use SI at all and still cling to imperial in their dail lives. That if people had a real ,democratic choice, they would prefer imperial over SI. From your experience, how would you respond to such claims? > > 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. Again, because once you are a great empire telling everyone else what to do it is impossible for you to have others tell you what to do. And as for the heritage issue, that is an excuse used by arrogant has-beens angry over loss of empire, and as you noted spitefullness. > > 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. When I was in Alberta last year, I did not notice any anti-metric attitude. The people freely used some units, like degrees Celsius, and others they stillused the old. Most packaging I saw in the stores was metric only. Food at the deli counter was priced and marked per 100 g. The only things I saw in pound pricing was some items like apples and potaotes that were prepackaged, but still sold by weight. The unit price was in dollars per pound in big font and dollars per kilogram in small font. This was done because kilogram prices seem more expensive. And100 g prices seem cheaper. In spoken terms, people still used miles, even though everything was signed in metric and the auto speed/odometers were metric. Their excuse was the land was laid out in quarter mile sections. But, it seemed they > > 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. This is an American thing. Once on a jobsite, I was asked if I had any data on signal loss to a remote set of meters. I handed the guy a sheet that explained that for a certain size wire, there would be a 1 % loss in accuracy of the meter at 50 m. He looked at the sheet and looked and me and asked, "Is that 150 feet?". So, as not make an issue, I said, "I think so". The point is, if he knew that, why did he have to say it outloud? It is as if there is some need to give attention to FFU. > > 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. My thumb is 23 mm at its widest point and from the knuckle to the tip of the thumb is exactly 30 mm My FOOT is 250 mm from the tip of my big toe to my heal. It seems the body parts when used as measurement devices come out closer to rounded metric izes than to FFU. It seems despite the propaganda of the BWMA, we can use our body parts to accurately estimate metric amounts, more closely than English > > 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 John
