And I agree 200%. No more discussions on calendar, time or changing the length of the metre issues please. They are cluttering up the list.
Discussions should be on how to get the US to metricate as early as possible. Mike Perth, Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: "kilopascal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2002 6:28 AM Subject: [USMA:21761] Re: calendar reform | 2002-08-16 | | I agree 100 % | | John | | | | | ----- Original Message ----- | From: "Brian J White" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | Sent: Friday, 2002-08-16 10:50 | Subject: [USMA:21748] Re: calendar reform | | | > Guys...this is the USMA list. The let's try and find ways to encourage | the | > UNITED STATES to metricate. | > This is NOT the list for fighting about some new calender.....especially | > not for the length of time this discussion has been going on. | > | > Changing the calender is not going to help facilitate weather being | > reported in Celcius, km/h and centimeters.....body weight in kilos, food | in | > grams, or tire pressure in kPa. | > | > These are the things we should focus on...not hypothetical pointless | > activities like debating calender standards. | > | > Gesh.... | > | > At 07:42 2002-08-16 -0700, Ma Be wrote: | > >? I guess you misinterpreted my post, Brij. While I found that proposal | > >very interesting, please note that I highlighted what to me would | > >eventually be enough reasons to "forget about it". On the other hand, if | > >the advantages of such proposal are enough to sway the establishment to | > >change it would be undeniable that one could at least benefit from a | > >better structured result than our current one in many respects. But I | > >find the chances of that proposal taking off next to nill anyhow... | > > | > >Cheers | > > | > >Marcus | > > | > >On Thu, 15 Aug 2002 17:39:56 | > > Brij Bhushan Vij wrote: | > > >Hi Marcus: | > > > A laudable idea! Proposing to create more confusion to divide the | 'sky' | > > >into 13 zones of varying durations (Kepler's Laws) to locate and | co-relate | > > >whare we stand in the universe? | > > >Brij Bhushan Vij | > > > | > > > | > > >>From: "Ma Be" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | > > >>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > > >>To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | > > >>Subject: [USMA:21729] Re: calendar reform | > > >>Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 09:01:12 -0700 | > > >> | > > >>On Thu, 15 Aug 2002 10:05:30 | > > >> Tom Wade VMS Systems wrote: | > > >> > | > > >> >>The only real issue would be how to tackle the leap year problem. | > > >> >>I'd be happy to consider proposals for this. | > > >> > | > > >> >The most sensible idea I've heard for this was proposed by the late | Dr | > > >>Isaac | > > >> >Asimov. | > > >> > | > > >> >A year consists of 13 months, each with 28 days. Each month has 4 | weeks | > > >>of | > > >> >7 days each, using the familiar day names. This makes 364 days. | The | > > >>extra day | > > >> >is designated 'year day', which does not belong to any month, nor | does it | > > >> >have a 'normal' day name (Mon, Tue etc). It follows the 28th day of | the | > > >>13th | > > >> >month. | > > >> > | > > >> >The extra day for the leap year is 'leap day', and also does not | belong | > > >>to any | > > >> >particular month or traditional day name. It follows year day in | those | > > >>years | > > >> >designated as leap years. | > > >> > | > > >>This is really a remarkable proposal! If it were not for its | non-decimal | > > >>nature I'd support it enthusiastically myself as it is indeed a great | idea. | > > >> | > > >> >The advantages of this system: | > > >> > | > > >> >1. All months are of equal length. | > > >> | > > >>Granted. But the fact that there would be a prime number of months | would | > > >>constitute a significant problem, especially for the financial world. | > > >> | > > >> >2. A particular date fall on the same day every year. | > > >> | > > >>True. I'm not sure though whether this is any such great advantage. | > > >>People usually do not make this association. I.e. can you share what | > > >>practical advantage one could derive from this (interesting) property? | > > >> | > > >> >3. Each month has exactly four weeks. | > > >> | > > >>Yes, this would greatly simplify payroll systems and all. | > > >> | > > >> >4. The seven day week is preserved. | > > >> | > > >>Excellent! | > > >> | > > >> >5. No change needed for units smaller than a day. | > > >> > | > > >>In other words, the proposal doesn't address the time construct, just | the | > > >>calendar. | > > >> | > > >> >Disadvantages: | > > >> > | > > >> >1. It is not decimal based (including hour, minute second). | > > >> > | > > >>This would be a major one. Applications that could use the full | > > benefit of | > > >>decimalization could not be realized anyhow. | > > >> | > > >> >Unfortunately, we simply can't achieve full decimalization... | > > >> | > > >>True, but this should not preclude us from going as far as one | possibly | > > >>can. We *can* fix the time construct. We *can* fix the number of | > > months. | > > >>But we *cannot* fix the weekly cycle (it's even a divine mandate... | ;-) | > > >>). I mean, we can, theoretically, but we can't (it would ruffle too | many | > > >>feathers in the religious world) in practice. The problem emerging | from | > > >>stipulating that there would be 10 days in a week is that it could | > > >>potentially be associated with days of rest falling on different days | of | > > >>the 7-day weekly cycle which would certainly upset too many people. | > > >>Keeping track of the Sabbath would be a nightmare. | > > >> | > > >>Marcus | > > >> | > > >> | > > >>Is your boss reading your email? ....Probably | > > >>Keep your messages private by using Lycos Mail. | > > >>Sign up today at http://mail.lycos.com | > > > | > > > | > > > | > > > | > > >_________________________________________________________________ | > > >Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. | > > >http://www.hotmail.com | > > > | > > > | > > | > > | > >Is your boss reading your email? ....Probably | > >Keep your messages private by using Lycos Mail. | > >Sign up today at http://mail.lycos.com | > | |
