Dear Mike, My response is simple:
Farming with SI It was great in �66 when we changed from pounds to dollars; suddenly I had twice the money. When they changed the pounds to kilograms in �72, the price of my wool more than doubled, and the change from gallons to litres dropped the fuel costs for the vehicle by about three-quarters. The old horse is a lot friskier now that he�s nearly 750 kilowatts: he even grew a bit when a hand changed to 100 mm. The change in measuring rain from points to millimetres meant our rainfall went up by 400% and Celsius degrees means it never gets much hotter than 40� - instead of 100� � it�s much more comfortable. With the change to hectares, I�ve only got half as much land to plough and to sow. Harvesting is much easier since there�s a lot less cubic metres than there were bags or bushels. It�s so much quicker I have more time to enjoy the peace and quiet now since kilometres have made us twice as far from town. Cheers, Pat Naughtin CAMS Geelong, Australia on 2002-11-05 11.54, Mike Joy at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Pat, > > Maybe you can identify with this! > > Mike > > >> From "The West Australian" 16 May 1992:- > > > TRAVELLERS on the Bussell Highway between Bunbury and Capel (2 hour's > drive south of Perth) have been puzzled by the name of the Yowza Yowza > Bowza petrol station for years. > > But if they stop to fill up, they are unlikely to be any wiser. The name > came with the place when proprietors Aubrey and Minetta Lovelle took it > about five years ago and they have been unable to trace its origin. > > Customers will, however, get a good laugh at some of the petrol station's > unusual signs, ride a pedal chair while dining in the restaurant and learn > why farmers find themselves in their current predicament. > > It reads: "The trouble started back in 1966 when they changed from pounds > to dollars, that doubled my bloody overdraft. Then they brought in > kilograms instead of pounds and my bloody wool clip dropped by half. > > "After that, they changed rain to millimetres and we haven't had an inch of > rain since. If that was not enough, they brought in Celsius and now the > temperature never gets over 40 degrees. No wonder me bloody wheat won't > grow. > > "They then changed acres to hectares and I ended up with only half the land > I had. By this time I had decided to sell out and put the farm in the hands > of an agent. They then changed miles to kilometres and now I am too far out > of town for anyone to buy the bloody place." > > The words came from an old farmer Aubrey met about 10 years ago. They > appealed to Mr Lovelle who once farmed a property just across the road from > the service station. > > The Lovelles have created a fun place. Restaurant diners sit on pedal > chairs at a long table. The chairs were made by Mr Lovelle from old bicycle > parts. The restaurant is billed as the "home of the pedal chairs". > > Before leaving it is worth dropping into the tiny Earth and Fire Shop where > reasonably-priced pottery is on sale. The shop is run by five local women > who make the pottery in the shop. > > Yowza Yowza Bowza service station is at Stratham, 10km north of Capel. > > > > (Note - Bowza comes from the Aussie word 'bowser' meaning a petrol pump). > Mike. >
