I admit to not being the "DIY" sort! Am I not correct in mentioning that the only reason why they might not be able to sell you a piece of 'four by two' is due to being forced not to by regulations?
I can't see me having the opportunity of trying but surely they might be able to get around this by simply cutting 4 by 2 through a conversion to and from metric? I honestly have to admit I know almost nothing about this particular example, so its difficult to comment. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of ewc Sent: 18 January 2005 15:24 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:31951] Re: Deliberate chicanery Hi Stephen I find the idea that I would hold a conversation with an eighteen year old about football or fast cars kind of surreal and quite amusing. However I guess that is the sort of thing kids who work at (say) builders mechants do commonly talk about when off duty - and maybe in the terms you quote (I really cannot comment) - but just try getting the price of four by two from them over the desk and you will soon realize how fast things are changing. best rob (Robert Tye, York, UK) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Humphreys" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 17, 2005 12:58 PM Subject: [USMA:31942] Re: Deliberate chicanery > "and in a population where old folk think in imperial and kids in metric > " > > This is an ongoing myth in the UK. > Young people still think and use imperial. > > At school about 95% of teaching is in metric. However (and this is a > point that UKMA point out in their recent publication) when they get out > to the "real world" we see those figures switched around. > > Ask an 18 yr old his height or weight and it'll be in imperial. > > Ask him/her about football and you'll hear endless use of yards (which > then spill into 'everday talk' ie "The ticket office is about 100 yds > from the front gate"). > > Ask him/her about his latest Vauxhall Nova 1.2 and he'll claim it will > go 0-60 in sub ten seconds, get to 120 mph and still return over 50mpg. > We all know this is very dubious because fitting 15" alloys and a 6-inch > tailpipe does not make a drag car! > > In fact I was in a large department store recently and an "old couple" > quoted the dize of a picture in cm, in another department a young couple > were discussing spending and extra �500 on a 47" TV instead of 43". > > I won't make any more examples (unless I'm asked) as most will know the > endless list of imperial usage in the UK, especially things aimed at > young people. > > Cheers > SteveH > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of ewc > Sent: 17 January 2005 10:03 > To: U.S. Metric Association > Subject: [USMA:31941] Re: Deliberate chicanery > > > Dear Bill (Hooper) > > You write: > > > You are free to use or not use the officially authorised and > > standardized symbol "g" for grams if you insist, but that simply > means > > that you think anyone should be able to use any symbol or any > spelling > > they please for anything and everything. > > Thanks - we are getting close to agreement on this now. As far as > individuals go in most instances I do think this. As far as > institutions go I think its a balancing act and we have to tread > carefully. A lot of people have written thoughtfully on this > fundamental matter (Lewis Carroll and Chomsky come to mind > immediately) There is far too much to be said on it to attempt to > tackle it here. > > On a key issue regarding retail weight standards in the UK I feel that > the big four or five food retailers have a near monopoly and do need to > be regulated - and in a population where old folk think in imperial and > kids in metric if it were me I would probably legislate for them to > display both. However regarding sole traders etc selling apples on a > local market - they should be free to use Abas, Abuccos, Acinos, > Adarmes, or whatever else they chose as a weight standard. If they did > they would likely quickly go out of business - but that is their affair > too. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > At the back of all this is a deep concern. Most of the people I have > met who have any opinion at all on the matter think that Plato was a > very great philosopher. And this seem to have been true in Europe and > Persia for about a couple of thousand years give or take. Now Plato > wrote: > > "The greatest principle of all is that nobody, whether male or female, > should be without a leader. Nor should the mind of anybody be > habituated to letting him do anything at all on his own initiative; > neither out of zeal or even playfully" > > Speaking personally - this seem to me good enough grounds for me to take > a pretty sceptical view of what my fellow man is likely to be up to - > anytime anyplace - if I don't keep my eye on him. > > Many thanks for your thoughts > > regards > > rob > > (Robert Tye, York, UK) > > > >
