Brian, Patrick, Pat & all: USMA is good forum to thrash out 'teething issues' for adoption of the Metric System in United States; BUT I suppose this has also become a foum for conveying impeding process & self promotion - if I may use the word publicity! This is a decision to be taken by CGPM & followed by all nations, where US has had the past experience of over 200-years. It is therefore TIME to adopt the bible of Le Systeme Internationale d'Unite rather than argue.....shall we or should we? Brij Bhushan Vij (MJD 2455031)/1361+D-208W29-05 (G. Friday, 2009 July 17H13:41 (decimal) EST
Aa Nau Bhadra Kritvo Yantu Vishwatah -Rg Veda Jan:31; Feb:29; Mar:31; Apr:30; May:31; Jun:30 Jul:30; Aug:31; Sep:30; Oct:31; Nov:30; Dec:30 (365th day of Year is World Day) My Profile:http://www.brijvij.com/bbv_2col-vipBrief.pdf HOME PAGE: http://www.brijvij.com/ ******As per Kali V-GRhymeCalendaar***** "Koi bhi cheshtha vayarth nahin hoti, purshaarth karne mein hai" Contact # 001 (201) 675-8548 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] CC: [email protected] Subject: [USMA:45416] Re: Spelling metre or meter Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:25:10 -0700 Spelling "gauge" instead of "gage" would also be refinement. ;) -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [USMA:45415] Re: Spelling metre or meter From: "STANLEY DOORE" <[email protected]> Date: Fri, July 17, 2009 7:17 am To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Spelling is not all that important if understood in context; however using the meter spelling for a gage and the metre spelling for length/distance would be a refinement. When the SI symbol m is used, it's unambiguous. It's a similar problem as the words further (for more) and farther (for distance). They are used interchangeably, and incorrectly, by many here in the United States. It shows a lack of education. Stan Doore ----- Original Message ----- From: Patrick Moore To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 9:33 AM Subject: [USMA:45413] Re: Spelling metre or meter Arguments pro and con about spelling do not matter and may also be addressed to the Spaniards or Czechs or Germans, who also do not conform to British spelling. What matters are the conventions we follow in our discourse, because those conventions ramify. There is no doubt that the –re spelling hurts metrication efforts in the USA, and I pray that the information-deficient congressmen, contractors etc. who oppose metrication will never even see pro-metric literature with the –re spelling. What they need to learn are the many reasons why metrication is patriotic rather than yet another unnecessary change in their working habits, one that not merely is foreign but looks so. It is not a question of logic or science, but of psychology and rhetoric. Why does Obama wear a flag lapel pin? It’s not really reasonable and is not important to me, but it does matter to others. Nor would I wear a fright wig if making a presentation at a conference. Details of presentation are rhetorically important because they tell our audience who we are and so become a part of our message. The –re spelling has political and rhetorical resonance that we will not discover by poring through dictionaries and science history. So when I tell –re apologists that the –re spelling is harmful to metrication, I am sharing something that may have not yet entered their calculations. Members of this group tend to be hidebound and obsessive-compulsive and love our list of rules. Myself included - I am an editor. My workplace follows ASTM by policy, and we must butt heads with U.S. industry on issues like this every week. With numerals for measurements, the symbol alone is enough. The issue of spelling, however, arises in tutorial and administrative literature and provokes a very silly battle where I refuse to waste bullets. This situation is mirrored on a larger scale by a bill in the U.S. Congress. A bill on, say, infrastructure is less likely to be passed with –re spellings than with –er spellings. Those who prepare the bill for presentation will take care to fix the spelling – if they are doing their job. The issues are rhetorical and political. The arguments for –re dwindle to insignificance and finally vanish with a little piff sound. For collateral reasons that Frysinger and others have explained in other threads, the whole question of spelling is off-topic for this group. From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> Reply-To: <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:01:43 +1000 To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:45399] Spelling metre or meter Dear All, For those of you who are interested in the spelling question, I have just finished polishing the article, Spelling metre or meter. You will find many arguments to support either of these choices at http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Spelling_metre_or_meter.pdf including my own Australian oriented view. Cheers, Pat Naughtin Author of the forthcoming book, Metrication Leaders Guide. PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com <http://www.metricationmatters.com/> for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected] or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe. _________________________________________________________________ Lauren found her dream laptop. Find the PC that’s right for you. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/choosepc/?ocid=ftp_val_wl_290
