I always put the centimeter height on my passport application, I have 2 passports, one valid for 2 years and the other valid for 10 years, this being because I travel so much I need one passport to travel while the other gets a Visa. I've never had a problem with doing this in the last 20 years. After doing the same with the FAA medical form for perhaps 20 years they now have it printed as inches and pounds in the respective place.
As for my driving license, I got my Virginia driving license in 1994, I stated the height in centimeters and told them it was legal when they asked what the inch height was, they converted it themselves to within 2 inches of my actual height and that's what's on my present license. I encourage everyone to do the same. Mike Payne Potomac Falls Virginia. ----- Original Message ----- From: John M. Steele To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Wednesday, 09 June 2010 10:16 Subject: [USMA:47588] Re: UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications The letter is a bit over the top, but I understand the sentiment. The US government says metric is preferred, but going metric is voluntary. However, they think nothing of forcing me to use Customary in various ways, but won't force anyone to use metric. That does grate. All pre-packaged food is labeled in dual, that's fine. On random weight goods, the Customary is required and supplemental metric is allowed, but rarely used, same for beer. The Feds and the State would like to know my height in feet and inches for my passport and driver's license. I understand the passport form is actually free-form and you can give height in centimeters. I will do that next time and see how it goes. Perhaps I'll argue with the DMV too. When I write complaint letters to my legislator, the letter is in more muted tones. However, in my heart, I'm thinking, "I'm here, I'm metric, screw you, government." Given the backwards steps Congress and some Federal agencies have taken, those who advocate metric have to hold on to what we have too. In pushing a permissive metric FPLA, we run the risk of Congress passing a Customary-only FPLA too, as existed from 1966 to 1994. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Stephen Humphreys <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, June 9, 2010 4:07:12 AM Subject: [USMA:47585] Re: UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications I got to the word 'obcene' and realised that this is probably a fake letter. The one thing that says this for me is the bit about not knowing all these measures and then explaining the relationship between pounds, shillings and pence (a relationship I cannot remember myself, it being before my time and something I have never used, ie without looking I think there are either 120 or 240 shillings in a pound - either of which is completely wrong). This could be our old friend who does the mass emails - I've seen that 'kilo-whatsit' phrase before. No-one would get that worked up in that way, surely. "The past is a different country"? What does that mean? We assign our greatest inventions, our most noble victories in the face of fascism, our mother of all democracies to a different country? My advice would be not to use this item as a 'pro-metric' artifact because it would push those 'in the middle' right over to the anti- side. All my humble opinion, of course, but I say this genuinely on this forum in a way that I might not to a more 'native' audience if you get my drift. It's a 'berzerk' reaction, I beleive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CC: [email protected] From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [USMA:47584] Re: UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 16:54:28 +1000 Dear Martin, Do you remember this: Dear Editor, I am 40. I have never been taught Imperial measures in school and yet I am surrounded by people who talk about inches, pints, miles and ounces. I find it quite obscene that I have to learn about measures that were declared moribund before I could walk. Why did the government listen to the old stick-in-the-muds? It didn't happen with decimal currency because it couldn't. Talk to a twenty year old about shillings and he will think you are talking about Austria, before the Euro. This is how it should be. The past is a different country, we have moved on. But why did we allow some conservative old fogeys to keep on talking about their miles, pints, ounces, stones, feet and Fahrenheit? We should have buried these things in the 1960s when we left the shillings and 240 pence in the pound nonsense. Tens, hundreds and thousands. So easy to calculate. So much easier than twelve pennies in a shilling, twenty shillings in a pound, sixteen ounces in a pound, fourteen pounds in a stone. Not to mention gills, chains, rods, poles, fathoms, bushels and firkins. A cube 100 millimetres by 100 millimetres by 100 millimetres defines a volume of one litre, if you fill it with water it has a mass of one kilogram. If you raise the temperature to 100 degrees the water boils. Cool it to zero degrees and it freezes. This is simple, this is elegant, and this is beautiful. The oldies say: 'Don't talk to me about them kilo-whatsit things laddie I think in inches'. But, the oldies are trying to force me to think in old measures too — despite the fact that all the old measures were scheduled for replacement four years before I started primary school. It is time we buried the imperial system. The only way do do it is to be draconian about it. Do not allow people to ask for, demand or even talk about imperial measures. If you don't draw the line like that, the old fogeys will force it down our necks for ever more. Why must my children, and probably theirs as well as our grandchildren and great grandchildren, have to learn about pounds and inches just because some older people will not make a little effort? Name and address supplied Cheers, Pat Naughtin Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, see http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html Hear Pat speak at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lshRAPvPZY 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/ to subscribe. On 2010/06/09, at 15:19 , Martin Vlietstra wrote: David Cameron was probably not taught how to manipulate imperial figures at school. He might not know how to add up 3 lb 4oz, 5 lb 14 oz and 6 lb 5 oz. It gets even more difficult using a calculator. However Philip Hammond, the new transport minister who is a few years old than Cameron might just remember how to do it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stephen Humphreys Sent: 08 June 2010 22:50 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:47571] Re: UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications Please be aware that there is a change of government. The main part of the new government (the Tories) advertised themselves as 'Saving the pound and the ounce for Britain' in a recent euro-election leaflet. If I was a betting man - I would bet a huge sum that David Cameron is not pro-metric. And now he is prime minister. I would not be surprised if this is the first of many moves that could lead some to believe this govt as 'anti-metric'. It could get very interesting/disappointing/pleasing (delete depending on your personal view) > Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 20:29:12 +0100 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [USMA:47570] Re: UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications > > > UK government policy on metication is, to quote one recent Prime Minister: > > “that the United Kingdom should – in stages – switch from imperial to metric units of measurement for an ever-increasing range of uses” > > If the Express story is true (we have to treat it with caution) then Hammond is exceeding his authority. He has no right to obstruct the free use of metric units in department publications. The metric system is the offical system of measurement in the UK except for road signs (as required in the Units of Measurement regulations 1986). Civil servants are bound by this. > > This politician and any others who attempt to halt or reverse progress toward honesty in measurement should be sacked. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "ezra steinberg" <[email protected]> > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, 7 June, 2010 8:13:56 PM > Subject: [USMA:47547] UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications > > > Is this barmy or what? Hammond has clearly gone 'round the bend ... > > http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/179560/This-U-turn-on-metric-is-miles-better > > Ezra > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. 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