I still like "colonial units" - not only is it historically correct but it adds just enough disdain to get the message across. And people outside our group understand it.
Carleton ----- Original Message ----- From: mech...@illinois.edu To: "U.S. Metric Association" <usma@colostate.edu> Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 10:30:15 AM Subject: [USMA:50136] Re: 'Words' and their impact on metrication in the USA Bob, Tim, and Ron, Here is an even better acronym for units "Outside the SI" (OSI). OSI is shorter than USC, and shorter than inch-pound. Even if, by a typo error, OSI appears as 0SI (The zero "0 " is directly above O on most keyboards.) it still conveys the same "0utside SI" meaning, and OSI can be construed to exclude the units isted in Table 10 and Table 11 of NIST SP 811, on Page 11, such as erg, dyne. gauss, torr, kgf, calorie, etc. as "not accepted for use with the SI by this Guide" SP 811. Gene. ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 16:44:07 -0600 >From: "Robert H. Bushnell" <roberthb...@comcast.net> >Subject: [USMA:50121] Re: 'Words' and their impact on metrication in the USA >To: "U.S. Metric Association" <usma@colostate.edu> >Cc: USMA <usma@colostate.edu> > > 2011 March 19 > Tim, > I do not use the words English, imperial and USC to > refer to the set > of units used in the USA. I always say inch-pound. > USC comes from United States Customary. Well, we > have a law which > says SI is our set of units. So, SI should be > "customary". To say our > inch-pound units are "customary" damages the logic > that we should change > to SI. A change away from "customary" units is hard > to sell. > Let us make SI customary. > Robert Bushnell > -------------------------------------------- > On Mar 19, 2011, at 3:59 PM, Tim Williamson wrote: > > Hi all, > Our goal is to encourage the metrication of our > country. Whatever our differences may be > regarding specific 'words' or even specific names, > and to some extent even the meaning of the 'words' > in question, is superseded by the goal of bringing > the USA into the modern world where trade, > commerce, science and technology is dominated by > the use of SI metric units domestically and > worldwide...