"As you know the French name stuck to give us a French name for an English
invention."
That is a wonderful expression. If only we could get the mass media to pick up
on this. They won't of course - "Don't confuse the issue with the facts" and
all that.
John F-L
- Original Message -
Going back to the original ASDA 'initiative' over the packaging of
strawberries, the BBC carried an article today concerning reduced package sizes
(while keeping the price the same) on just about everything on the supermarket
shelves. Interestingly, the change in strawberries from 500 g to 454
Pat:
I think in all of these discussions of cm vs mm, we are not talking necessarily
of apples and oranges. There is a case for both units - but in different
circumstances.
In the case of a particular industry (e.g. construction, or automotive), or a
particular company that has decided to go
I suggested in a post some time ago that McDonalds is missing a trick here.
On another subject here just recently we talked about downsizing product
package sizes while keeping the price the same. McD's could easily rename
their QP as Big 100 ( as a companion to Big Mac?). 100 g for the price
Brij:
There has been a lot of inflation on various fronts over the last year or so.
Cattle feed has skyrocketed (according to a farmer friend in my neck of the
woods), fuel has gone up drastically, etc, etc. This has pushed up the cost of
producing a kg of beef substantially. Selling prices
A golf course in my neck of the woods (N E Lincolnshire, UK) is dual measured.
I will ask a good friend of mine, who is a keen golfer, lives in Canada, and
has played in Oz and NZ, how they are measured in those countries.
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: Parker Willey Jr.
To:
>From my colleague in Canada:
As John said below, all the courses in Canada he's played on (primarily Ontario
and BC), are only in yards.
All the courses he played on in Oz and NZ are only in metres.
The one course I mentioned near where I live in the UK, dual marked, was built
only 9 years ag
Do not be sorry! Your post was like a breath of fresh air, and a very
interesting and illuminating read. America could use so many more like you.
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: Zach Rodriguez
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 11:11 AM
Subject:
I wonder how Cairns, Humphreys, et al will respond to this interesting bit of
history
- Original Message -
From: Pat Naughtin
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Friday, June 24, 2011 1:38 AM
Subject: [USMA:50727] French Weights and Measures Association (FWMA)
Dear All,
As a British/Canadian, Bill, I would agree with most of what you say.
Regarding the elevator, (and I used to work in the construction industry), most
likely it was an American-made elevator (Otis? Schindler?), who added the kg
figure (and incorrect symbol) as an afterthought to comply with Alb
s listed on the SIX
Swiss Exchange.
[USMA:50753] Re: metric in Canada
John Frewen-Lord
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 13:41:31 -0700
As a British/Canadian, Bill, I would agree with most of what you say.
Regarding the elevator, (and I used to work in the construction industry), most
likely it
It's likely this could be done by the dealer, but this then would be a one time
conversion, not something you could switch back and forth between. Some Hondas
sold in the UK were completely switchable on the lines you are looking for, so
I would think that Honda has that capability embedded in
However, 140 km/h would definitely attract the attentions of the OPP in
Ontario.
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: Michael Payne
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 2:14 AM
Subject: [USMA:50783] Re: Automobiles w/ metric options
I've noticed th
sections of the autobahn (no speed limit) while the French police
would probably turn a blind eye (max speed on the autoroute - 130 km/h).
--
From: owner-u...@colostate.edu [mailto:owner-u...@colostate.edu] On Behalf
at least they wrote km/h this time.
On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 03:26, John Frewen-Lord
wrote:
In the fairly recent past, yes. But unlikely today. Late last year, we
toured extensively in France and Spain, and met up with a French couple for
dinner in the delightful town of Anjouleme i
This is one of the Murdoch papers. Murdoch is anti-metric. Expect a new
Sunday paper to rise out of the ashes of the NOTW. I don't see any change for
the better here, unfortunately.
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: Kilopascal
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Friday, July
de in either Canada (Canadair Regional
Jets or Bombadier) or Brasil (Embraer) A lot of short flight service in the US
uses these planes. I can only assume they are designed and assembled in
metric. Only someone who works on planes can tell us if these companies use
metric or inch based fastene
For many years, the USA had by far the largest air travel market in the
world, and so could call all the shots. That is no longer true. The rest of
the world could bring together the following factors, if it so chose, to
effect a change in the not too distant future:
1. The air travel market o
This looks like another example of where Americans have been fed incorrect
information, the resulting incorrect perception is everything, and why America
prefers some (apparent - not necessarily real) short term gain in exchange for
(not always immediately apparent) long term pain. The inefficie
e wrote:
From: John M. Steele
Subject: Re: [USMA:50973] Why mint coins no one wants?
To: "U.S. Metric Association" , "John Frewen-Lord"
Date: Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 6:39 AM
John,
I have to disagree with your ana
onths
55 months
89 months
--- On Wed, 8/17/11, John M. Steele wrote:
From: John M. Steele
Subject: Re: [USMA:50973] Why mint coins no one wants?
To: "U.S. Metric Association" , "John Frewen-Lord"
Date: Wednesday, Aug
opping basket add up.
--
From: John Frewen-Lord [mailto:j...@frewston.plus.com]
Sent: 17 August 2011 18:31
To: vliets...@btinternet.com; U.S. Metric Association
Subject: Re: [USMA:50979] Re: Fw: Re: Why mint coins no one want
Well said Carleton. You said what I said in much more eloquent terms! It IS the
fear of change that is stopping this. But I have lived through this very change
in two countries (UK and Canada), and, as so often happens, once the change has
been made, you end up asking yourself, "Why did it take
He'll no doubt report back to his readership (of how many hundreds of
millions?) just what a backward country the US is. Which will really help US
exporters looking to break into the Chinese market.
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: John M. Steele
To: U.S. Metric Association
Tyre/tire pressure gauges in Canada are calibrated in kPa.
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: Martin Vlietstra
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2011 7:37 AM
Subject: [USMA:51015] RE: Millimetres of Mercury & Millibars of air pressure.
Hi John,
In view of recent discussions on aircraft altitudes, I wonder if that may be
behind this accident today, involving both Nato and Baltic state aircraft.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14715235
We'll probably never know, sadly.
John F-L
unflyable plane.
--- On Tue, 8/30/11, John Frewen-Lord wrote:
From: John Frewen-Lord
Subject: [USMA:51036] planes collide
To: "U.S. Metric Association"
Date: Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 6:54 AM
In view of recent discussions o
Wow! I wonder what old 'Big bad Leroy Brown' would have made of that?!
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: Remek Kocz
To: U.S. Metric Association
Cc: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Friday, September 02, 2011 12:07 AM
Subject: [USMA:51054] City of Chicago website.
I reme
The best part of the CC blurb is that they make the use of metric sizes seem
completely normal and natural. If only other manufacturers in the US would take
the same approach
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: Ressel, Howard (DOT)
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Thursda
I wrote an article for the UKMA blog on very similar lines in March 2009.
Perhaps many of you may be interested in reading it. It can be found at
http://metricviews.org.uk/2009/03/trillion-bailout-metric-imperial/
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: "James Frysinger"
To: "U.S. Metr
Hmm, interesting book - sounds like something similar to my own book, which I
also tried to make a 'riveting read'. Maybe not quite as riveting as Crease's,
but certainly far from a boring old book of conversion tables.
If anyone has an Amazon Kindle reader, it can be purchased for far less than
Dear Ms Rene:
I believe there is an error in your Pocket Guide. On Page 19, you state:
Volume - In a gas station, the pump will register liters instead of gallons.
For example, instead of 60 gallons it will be 16 liters.
Surely it should be the other way round - 16 US gal = 60 L.
Kind regard
I just hate it when a Canadian newspaper, which should know better (and usually
does know better), uses outside (read US) news sources (AP, Reuters, etc) for
its articles and then does nothing to Canadianise them.
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: John M. Steele
To: U.S. Metric
The big costs of course are not in the relative costs of manufacture, but in
the larger picture in terms of costs to busineses, and even society in general,
of handling coins vs bills/notes. Experience shows that the fewer the bills to
handle, the faster it is for businesses to conduct transacti
And I imagine that this counterpoint article has traction simply because it is
obvious that most Americans HAVE NOT HAD DAY IN DAY OUT EXPERIENCE of using
dollar coins (at the same time as NOT using paper money). If they did have such
experience, they would not be so opposed. Ask a Canadian or
"Just forcing people to use what the government chooses to make was a
characteristic of the central planners in the USSR. It tends to make the
rabble rise up with pitchforks."
I don't pay taxes in the US, but if I did, it is gratifying that the US
government will accept payment in rubles.
But the Mail was technically wrong when they quoted: "Skip Snow, a python
specialist who conducted the autopsy at Everglades National Park, said the
animal had a girth of 44ins with the 5st 6lb deer inside its stomach."
I doubt that Skip Snow has any idea at all what a stone is (other than
som
But then these streetcars started out as Skoda products (Skoda being part of
Volkswagen, and which has now developed a seriously good reputation after being
the butt of jokes for years). So it is no surprise that everything is metric -
I can't see how it could be otherwise.
John F-L
- Ori
Well. it was written by Canadian Press!
John F-L
- Original Message -
From: "James R. Frysinger"
To: "U.S. Metric Association"
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2011 4:59 PM
Subject: [USMA:51318] Nancy And Michael Rogers Fiery Wedding: No non-metric
dummy crutches
This one doesn't even
) - you have not mentioned the tonne before now, so it might
be useful to say it is 1000 kg.
There are also a few editorial/printing things to clear up (extra spaces and
the like), but I'm sure your printer will catch these.
I hope Judy you don't feel I am being too picky - just that a do
Although many projects are designed by nominally US companies, most work is
done by a local office using local people familiar with SI. In my experience as
a quantity surveyor working internationally, the US offices of these companies
are woefully unfamiliar with SI. I remember when I was once i
The Ten Days of Christmas
As we live in a predominantly metric world, world leaders have decided that the
traditional imperial-based Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, is no
longer appropriate in today's modern metric world. Consequently, that song is
now discontinued. In its place i
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