Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States.

[MacLeod]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Ask somoene how far away X is from them and if they'll likely say miles unless it's very close where depending on age they might say 100 metres or 100 yards.

Here, we're apt to say that a place is 2 hours away, an 8-hour drive, or something like "I'm 5 minutes away."

Actually, most people in Britain use Celsius when it's cold (crikey, it's minus three!) and Fahrenheit when it's hot (Christ on a bike it's hot...85 degrees you know).

Our love of hyperbole.

-3C is not cold. In fact, as winter temperatures go, it's downright balmy. It's not even real winter coat weather.

I remember a few winters ago, after a prolonged cold snap of temperatures in the -30s (yes, that's cold!), and then the temperature warmed up to -12C, with no wind chill. I didn't even bother putting on a coat that day when I took my garbage out. Everyone I talked to was remarking on what a nice day it was - so warm!

True you sometimes give travel time rather than distance.

is -3C cold depends on where you are, or rather what the average temp is for that area.

I have no interest in adopting the Metric system. Standardization can be taken too far. I'd rather live in a world where countries have their own language, measurements, customs, architecture, et cetera, rather than just a homogenized lump.

True standardisation can be taken too far, but remind me again how much did the Mars Climate Oribiter cost due to non-standardisation?

As with any change there can be resistance from people who are used to the old way who feel that there is no need to change as it's worked all this time so why change. But surely the question should be will a change to the metric system benefit the next generation.

We can all at times be a little too focused on the here and now rather than what will happen in 10, 20, 35 years time in part because the further out you go the less likely you will be around to see the benefits or consequences of actions or inactions i.e Climate Change. If you don't believe it's happening and you're wrong there is a fair chance you won't be around to see the consequences of not taking actions today. Converesley if you belive it's happening and you're wrong you have likely left an improved world because of actions.

And lets remember that scientist and enginners tend to use the metric system.

 

[martok2112]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Also, most space opera styled sci-fi movies/shows tend to use the metric system (at least when dealing with ships and ranges). I tend to use the metric also when doing my stories/mini-movies. (An ah'm an Uhmuhrikin! A German-Irish Uhmurhikin!)

 

[stardream]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Yeah, my family used to visit Mexico all the time without a passport, and my friends and I did it during college too.

When we lived in Tucson we used to cross the border into Nogales. Just strolled across as causally as if we were going to the mall.

Thanks terrorists.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Who said it was a problem? I just said you didn't used to need a passport, which is a statement of fact, not a complaint.

Golly? You've never heard someone say "white people problems" before? Not quite up there with "That's what she said" but it's getting there.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=White+People+Problems

Yes, I know what you said was not a complaint, but I stretched the definition just a little bit. Sorry.

Of course I've heard of it. I just was making it clear that I wasn't actually complaining about anything.

 

[BillJ]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

I have no interest in adopting the Metric system. Standardization can be taken too far. I'd rather live in a world where countries have their own language, measurements, customs, architecture, et cetera, rather than just a homogenized lump.

I'm okay with standardization in certain cases. Like using the metric system. Yeah, it would suck while getting use to it, but I think it would be good for the U.S. to move out of its comfort zone every now and then.

 

[hux]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Golly? You've never heard someone say "white people problems" before?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=White+People+Problems

The assumption being that first world countries are white countries or that black people are forever exempt from privilege even when they're in first world countries?

Maybe it's the American obsession with race but in the UK you're more likely to hear "first world problems."

Not quite up there with "That's what she said" but it's getting there.

I gather this means Americans are not familiar with the phrase... "said the actress to the bishop."

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

I wasn't actually thinking about about black people, but more so about Hispanic Americans and Latino Americans trying to crisscross the border from America to Mexico back and forth without a passport.

Regardless, I'm not funny, and one day I'll give up trying to be funny.

 

[hux]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Tish, tosh and nonsense.

You're a comedy genius.

 

[stardream]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Golly? You've never heard someone say "white people problems" before?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=White+People+Problems

The assumption being that first world countries are white countries or that black people are forever exempt from privilege even when they're in first world countries?

Maybe it's the American obsession with race but in the UK you're more likely to hear "first world problems."

We also use the term 'first world problems'.

'White people's problems' is something some white people say when they realize their problems aren't really problems compared to what others have to go through. Its more or less a joke at their own expense.

 

[T'Girl]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

And lets remember that scientist and enginners tend to use the metric system.

I have a lot of family in the Boeing Company (building aircraft), the engineers there design the planes in inches and thousandths of a inch. It's the same with the General Electric engines that get mounted on the planes.

My aunt (a machinist) builds her parts with a tolerance of three one-thousandths of a inch, I know because I just called and asked.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Your uncle works for Nintendo?

 

[MacLeod]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

And lets remember that scientist and enginners tend to use the metric system.

I have a lot of family in the Boeing Company (building aircraft), the engineers there design the planes in inches and thousandths of a inch. It's the same with the General Electric engines that get mounted on the planes.

My aunt (a machinist) builds her parts with a tolerance of three one-thousandths of a inch, I know because I just called and asked.

Well I did say tend to, and we now from the loss of the Mars Orbiter that NASA uses metric, I'm willing to bet Airbus uses metric, BAE Systems uses metric. And whilst hose places may use imperial in-house, I suspect that they still have to tell say engine manufucaters like BAE Systems the mounting sizes in metric. And 3 thousandths of an inch is what 76.2 microns.

And what happens if you go even smaller to nanometre's or even smaller to picometre's

 

[T'Girl]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

and we now from the loss of the Mars Orbiter that NASA uses metric

But what do their contractors and subcontractors use?

And 3 thousandths of an inch is what 76.2 microns.

0.076 mm.

And whilst hose places may use imperial in-house

American customary.

And what happens if you go even smaller to nanometre's or even smaller to picometre's

Nothing would forbid using those measurements in certain branches of sciences, just as nothing forbids using light-years and parsecs.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

"American Customary" is a made up term and Preimperial.

Wow.

That's so much worse than I assumed.

Imperial standardization didn't come into play until 1825.

Shit.

You're going get lapped at this rate America if you don't buck up your ideas.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

You can take my pints from my cold dead hands. Otherwise, I'm cool with every aspect of the Metric system except Celsius. It's less precise and only really useful if you need to remember the temperature water boils (otherwise, it's not any more intuitive, unlike the rest of metric, which are base ten systems that are much better). For this, I'm referring to common temperature measurements (like the weather outside). For scientific measurements, the best option is Kelvin anyway (well, I'm assuming Rankine is a longshot).

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Water boils at a 100 degrees, and freezes at zero Degrees.

That's something dumb babies should be able to get behind.

Water freezes at 32 °F and boils at 212 °F.

WTF?
Nooo... #### Me... 0 °F is the freezing point of salt water.

WTF X2!!!

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

And 3 thousandths of an inch is what 76.2 microns.

0.076 mm.

76.2 microns is the more accurate of the two.

 

[JWPlatt]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Water boils at a 100 degrees, and freezes at zero Degrees.

That's something dumb babies should be able to get behind.

Water freezes at 32 °F and boils at 212 °F.

WTF?
Nooo... #### Me... 0 °F is the freezing point of salt water.

WTF X2!!!

Using water as a basis is arbitrary. While it is important to life here on Earth, it's not important to the universe. The Kelvin scale is also therefor suspect. A standard-candle range (absolute zero to ?) needs to be determined in some universally natural gradient. Water isn't it. Water is an anomaly that has a strange reaction to freezing.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Daleks, I can imagine, has 0 as the point at which human flesh boils.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

I have no interest in adopting the Metric system. Standardization can be taken too far. I'd rather live in a world where countries have their own language, measurements, customs, architecture, et cetera, rather than just a homogenized lump.

True standardisation can be taken too far, but remind me again how much did the Mars Climate Oribiter cost due to non-standardisation?

Well, I'm talking about culture, not science and technology. In any case, Mars Orbiter didn't fail because of non-standardization, it failed because of non-conversion-- and I doubt we'll ever completely eliminate human error.

Also, most space opera styled sci-fi movies/shows tend to use the metric system (at least when dealing with ships and ranges). I tend to use the metric also when doing my stories/mini-movies. (An ah'm an Uhmuhrikin! A German-Irish Uhmurhikin!)

I make it a point to use miles and so forth-- my Space Opera is sort of a futuristic multicultural Utopia, like Star Trek to the extreme (in a good way, not a JJ Abrams way).

I have no interest in adopting the Metric system. Standardization can be taken too far. I'd rather live in a world where countries have their own language, measurements, customs, architecture, et cetera, rather than just a homogenized lump.

I'm okay with standardization in certain cases. Like using the metric system. Yeah, it would suck while getting use to it, but I think it would be good for the U.S. to move out of its comfort zone every now and then.

If the US needs to move out of its comfort zone now and then, it should pick a better topic-- like the dreary state of contemporary pop culture.