Since Eric seems to be on vacation or otherwise indisposed ...
With full credit to Richmond Johnson, a colleague at work and retired
USAF Col, I think the problem with "going metric" is that we all have a
"Knower" inside our head, as he said. I "know" what a mile is. I have
body parts that help me know what an inch, a foot, or a yard are. On
the highway, I can probably tell you when we've gone a mile to within
maybe 200-300 ft. I "know" what a pound is, give me a brick and I'll
likely hit it within a few ounces. Yes, my Knower knows what an ounce
is too.
Ham radio as a teen exposed me to metric ... 80 and 40 meters.
While in uniform in SE Asia, I learned metric for good. It took awhile
for my "knower" to know what a kilometer was without translating to
miles, but it did, and now I just "know" what a kilometer is, same for
meters, centimeters and millimeters. I "know" how hot my KPA500 is when
it says "60C". I have to think to relate that to deg F, and I don't
care anyway.
At one point a number of years ago, CalTrans began putting both miles
and km on road signs. I don't think there are many left. It's probably
going to take a generation or two dying off [one might be mine :-))]
before the move to metric will accelerate. It's moving very slow now,
furlong by furlong, it does seem really slow.
73,
Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
- www.cqp.org
On 6/22/2014 3:56 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
Well, that may be more possible than many years ago when a switch to
metric was proposed.
At that time, the machine tool industry was well invested in the English
system for such things as screw threads and such.
Now that the automotive industry uses mostly metric hardware, the switch
may be easier than it was 'back then'.
I think the main stumbling block right now is a 'consumer attitude' in
the US that thinks in the English system.
I can go to the hardware store and buy Metric fasteners, no problem, so
in terms of hardware availability, no problem exists - I think the major
problem is in the minds of the US consumers who are well indoctrinated
into the English system of weights and measures.
Even at that, it is not entirely English - my weight is in Pounds, but
in England, it would be in Stones, while the rest of the world would
measure weight in Kilograms.
So much for standardization.
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