The end of cheap gas?

[frank_a]

I filled up for $2.179 today in NYS!

Frank

[sokhapkin]

Decimal-based system is simple and logical. It's easy to explain the system's root - human hands have 10 fingers. I wonder where the concept of "dozen" came from. Why 12? Why 2x12 hours a day? Why 12 inches in foot? Why 12 pack of beer bottles?

Edit: this is offtopic, I'm stopping further posts.

Gas is still $2.09 per 3.8 liters here in Ft Myers area.

[Paul O.]

10 is such a boring number. 12, 16, 128, 5280 are so much more fun. (Ducking...)

Really, we could switch to metric here and leave the football field alone. It would simply make football more quaint. I switched unit systems at least three times in my career when I changed companies, but anything we cared about was always calculated in SI units and results converted.

[steve dunham]

Both the metric and English systems of measurement & volume are arbitrary systems created by man. Neither is more inherently right or wrong than the other . This thread reminds me of the Miller Lite commercial , a silly argument that's over nothing and solves nothing.
I feel no compunction to change to the metric system to please others who can't understand / dislike the English system .

[Glenn Baglo]

It's not that the English system can't be understood, it's that it is cumbersome.

BTW, Canadian Football League uses yards to measure, but only has three downs. Has fewer commercials and much less standing around too.
http://qz.com/150577/an-average-nfl-...nutes-of-play/

[sokhapkin]

BTW, what is Football game in Canada? Is it real English Football or US football/Regby?

[Glenn Baglo]

Real English football is more likely called soccer in Canada. Canadian football is much like US football, but we have bigger balls.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by sokhapkin

I an US citizen.And I dislike English system and prefer metric system.

As is your right, heck its gettin' so as many American citizens don't even like the English Language... Ever read a text!
Just do what is a common colloquial practice and measure distance in minutes and hours(not GPS coordinates). Example ...
How far to Springfield?
Oh... just go about fiteen minutes that way, turn right and go two hours south!

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by sokhapkin

I an US citizen.And I dislike English system and prefer metric system.

Sergey. I would be willing to bet that you grew up with the metric system and not the English system, and that is why you like it better. I can understand that. And if English is not your native language, I would also bet you are more comfortable speaking in your native language.

It has nothing to do with what one's citizenship is. People are reluctant to change from what is familiar to that which is unfamiliar. If I were to become a citizen of Canada and move to Quebec, even if I didn't like or want to speak French, that is the language in use. That simply isn't going to change whether I like it or not. And much of Quebec's population of can speak English; they just prefer French because that is their primary language.

Try asking the next 100 US citizens you interact with if they prefer the metric system or the English system; I guarantee that you will find you are in an exceedingly small minority and that is why people who may prefer the metric system need to adjust to and accept the English system. It is the system in use in the US and that isn't likely to change in our lifetimes. I personally have no problem with the metric system. If living in a country where it is the standard, I could adjust fairly quickly; I would have to in order to function.

But most people are "set in their ways." That is why in the US you are stuck with the English system even though you may prefer metric.


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[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Alf S.

Hi: CPW... What about a New York minute? Because miles are so much longer than kilometers it takes forever to get anywhere!!!

Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

Come on Alf. You have to know that the length of a New York minute is variable, depending on the phase of the moon.......much longer when there is a full moon, nonexistent during a lunar eclipse. And totally "out of whack" during a leap year!


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[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by CPW

But the primary reason is the same as you have in your dislike of the English system. People who have used the English system all their lives are not comfortable with the metric system, and find it as confusing as you find the metric system.

The metric system is relatively new here too. The idea was introduced in 1971, with labelling starting in the mid 70's, just after I was getting out of high school. It really does not take much effort to adapt, one just has to do it. Temperature is real easy, you get used to associating the numbers with how it feels out. 20° is nice, not to hot or cold, etc.

Distance, this is the one thing I wish we would have pushed harder to switch over, but with our reliance on the US and their not wanting to convert, we are now stuck with using two systems, and trust me, metric is WAY easier to deal with. There is just one measure, whereas imperial has many, from fractions to inches, to feet, to yards, to miles, nothing directly correlates as it does in metric.

Talking to a few people in the US, they are proud to be pretty much the only ones in the world not using the metric system, kinda like a status symbol.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by floyd

As is your right, heck its gettin' so as many American citizens don't even like the English Language... Ever read a text!
Just do what is a common colloquial practice and measure distance in minutes and hours(not GPS coordinates). Example ...
How far to Springfield?
Oh... just go about fiteen minutes that way, turn right and go two hours south!

Floyd, just ask an old timer from downeast Maine how to get to Springfield. You'll get told "You can't get theyah from heyah." Or you might be told "Take a right at the tree that fell down during the blizzard of '52, then turn down the road next to Herb Jones' house that burnt down a few years back. Springfield is down that road apiece."


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[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

The metric system is relatively new here too. The idea was introduced in 1971, with labelling starting in the mid 70's, just after I was getting out of high school. It really does not take much effort to adapt, one just has to do it. Temperature is real easy, you get used to associating the numbers with how it feels out. 20° is nice, not to hot or cold, etc.



Distance, this is the one thing I wish we would have pushed harder to switch over, but with our reliance on the US and their not wanting to convert, we are now stuck with using two systems, and trust me, metric is WAY easier to deal with. There is just one measure, whereas imperial has many, from fractions to inches, to feet, to yards, to miles, nothing directly correlates as it does in metric.



Talking to a few people in the US, they are proud to be pretty much the only ones in the world not using the metric system, kinda like a status symbol.

Jim, I almost totally agree. I am not sure it is a pride thing; rather I think it is a comfort thing, born of fear toward something "new."
With me, you are preaching to the choir. Having a degree in one of the science fields, I am mostly comfortable with the metric system but my mind currently functions in the English system because weather reports, road signs, restaurant menus, gasoline stations all use the English system. It is what I am exposed to several times daily. I would not debate that the metric system may be more sensible, but to someone familiar with the English system, the English system is easier to deal with than another system with with they have no familiarity. Conversion of the US to metric will only happen when the majority demand it or the government decrees it and I just don't think that is going to happen in the foreseeable future. I suspect there were a lot of Canadians grousing about the metric system in the early days of its establishment, and as they adjusted and became more familiar with it, the griping and complaining ultimately ceased.

Edit: How did we manage to get this far off topic!!!


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[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by CPW

I suspect there were a lot of Canadians grousing about the metric system in the early days of its establishment, and as they adjusted and became more familiar with it, the griping and complaining ultimately ceased.

Edit: How did we manage to get this far off topic!!!

Yes, a lot did, and some still do a bit.

We are discussing the price of fuel, and this all helps to understand how it relates on both sides of the border. That's my story, and I am sticking to it.

[Carl V]

I was born in the 60s in Canada, so I grew up with both systems.
As a kid, I learned about inches and their fractions, helping my dad fixing the car ("son, gimme the 7/8 wrench and put the 9/16 socket on the 1/2 ratchet!"). This was when fuel mileage was actually in miles per gallons, and these were Imperial Gallons. I used to know that doing 15 miles per gallon was not bad (it would be awful today), driving 60 miles took about 60 minutes, and 72degF was what we set the furnace thermostat at.

Then at school we got to learn the metric system. As mentioned, based on 10 and quite easy. But it took me some time time to adjust on a few things. Metric fuel "mileage" is expressed in liters per 100 km (l/100km). Took me a while to adjust to this and figure out, for example, if 6 l/100km is good or not (it is). Same thing for distances and driving time, where I still find myself "translating" km to miles. I have to think that 175km will take about 1.75 hour, or 1h45. Then I had the re-learn some of this stuff last year, when I bought a car that is an import from the US with nothing metric in it (odometer reads in miles, etc).

Canada still uses a lot of non-metric units. My toolbox has standard and metric drawers for wrenches, the metric ones are almost only used on vehicles, most of the rest is non-metric. All the construction material is still sold in inches or ft (you buy 2X4s, a 4X8 sheet of plywood, 4in nails, etc). For some reason, people will talk about their pool water temperature in degrees F. Strange, but I know if my pool is at 95F, it is warm. At 25C, no idea! People still buy "a gallon of paint", which is most of the time 3.78 liters (a US gallon). Milk is sold by the liter, but many times other beverages like juice are marked as "1.89 liter" which is in fact half a US gallon. Butter is sold by grams, in packs of 454g, which is in fact the good ol pound we always had. Cookbooks often still use cups, ounces, etc, and our oven temperature is set in degrees F. Paper comes in 8X11 sheets. Etc.

I work in the airline industry, where we mostly use non-metric units (pounds, nautical miles, knots, feet, etc) but some planes are metric (kg for weight, Celsius for temps, etc) or a mix of all. :-)

[Silver River]

Originally Posted by Paul O.

In 1999 the Mars Climate Orbiter was lost due to a unit mix-up. That was a big one.

This one is a small one: Twice a year we help with a sale of donated clothing, so tape measures are used all the time to size things. Somebody bought Chinese dual unit seamstress tape measures, inches and millimeters (I was told they were cheap). As we started using them, something seemed off, so I folded the tape and found that those "inches" were 33.something millimeters. I trusted that the millimeters were good, but what were those inches? It turned out that China has a traditional unit of length that is now defined to be 100/3=33.33... millimeters, by some modern convention. Anybody heard of those?

We pulled those tape measures out of use before we started selling people some very tight fitting pants!

I bought one of those tape measures from a street vendor in Hong Kong during the 1970's thinking it was a good deal. During the past 35 years or so I have frightened many engineers, quality and receiving inspection people by whipping it out and letting them use it on known dimensions.

[Franswa]

I always have a good chuckle when I hear Americans griping about the metric system.....because their money is metric....and they don't seem to have no problem with that at all.....LOL

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Franswa

I always have a good chuckle when I hear Americans griping about the metric system.....because their money is metric....and they don't seem to have no problem with that at all.....LOL

Love it. That's putting your money where your mouth is.

[floyd]

It seems important to so many that we all conform to one measuring system, while insisting that we accept a Babel of languages.

English is the most widely spoken language across the world.
(Not talking about highly concentrated large populations)
Any measuring system can be accurately translated with a common cellphone app. Language translation is not so simple.
I will gladly quit translating metric when necessary and conform to it, when the world adopts English as a common language.
Now we all know that it WILL happen, since in the far future everyone on Star Trek speaks a common dialect of English.(even the space aliens).
The only illogical alternative of course would be the Babel Fish, especially if it could also translate measurements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmpP73-SHPQ

[Alf S.]

Originally Posted by Franswa

I always have a good chuckle when I hear Americans griping about the metric system.....because their money is metric....and they don't seem to have no problem with that at all.....LOL

Hi: Franswa... Money is "Made round to go round...and flat to fly". The only problem is there's just never enough till the system prints some more.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie