I thought that it has long been illegal to quote anything for sale using imperial units. When buying on line I’ve found that it does indicate that a seller is located in Asia or the US even if they conceal their location or pretend to be located in Australia.
I’ve noticed that Real Estate agents are particularly behind the times in quoting the sizes of properties - particularly those in rural or semi rural areas, in acres. I would guess that quoting acres rather than hectares yields a larger number.
Thanks for that. However I strongly believe that when imperial measurements are used in a ‘descriptor’ , the equivalent metric measurement should also appear (in an equally prominent position and font size). Anything less is an undermining of the metric system.
One hobby/sport that has continued to the current day to use imperial is fishing/angling . I’ve included a couple of links to a page for Australian made Rod blanks , that being Synder Glass , Wilson amd Kilwell . When you click on the link you will notice nothing is shown in metric . The tackle store I usually order from is FTA - Mo tackle in Coffs Harbour , NSW .It is from their current catalogue .
The second link is for a 1.8 metre ( 6 ft rod Blank ) The 72 in product code stands for , you guessed it , 72 inches .
Off the shelf Rods , Shimano , Daiwa etc are now usually , and I mean usually shown in metric sizes . Terminal tackle , swivels , sinkers etc is the same hotch potch of bastardisation between imperial and metric ./
Recently whilst at BFC tackle a young angler who had just purchased his first surf rod came up to me , probably because he thought I was pre metric looking The rod was a 12 foot ( 3.65 metre ) medium action . Cast weight was shown as 25- 75 gram . The poor little bugger went to the surf weight sinker section and they all had 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , stamped on them , they were loose not pre packed . They were bomb or snapper lead type sinkers . Am I loosing you here ??? I know I’m lost. /
Ok I explained to him that his rod cast weight of 25-75 grm meant 1 - 3 ounces roughly in imperial and that the numbers stamped on the sinkers showed this .I asked what surf beach he intended to fish and picked out a range of 1 to 3 ounce sinkers for him . The poor kid had no idea about imperial weights and measures but picked up on the 1 - 3 meaning and told me I must be " real " old to know it . That made me feel great . It’s not all doom and gloom though .Recently there has been effort by the industry to standardise things . Especially spinning reels where a sizing system rather than a line weight system is gradually being used by the manufacturers to simplify their product lines . /
I really think think that they still use imperial in fishing so old farts like me don’t think we have exceeded our shelf life /
You nailed it with your link there Phil . The spinning Reels I use are a Fin Nor Ahab 8 and a Fin Nor Ahab12 , both no longer produced worse luck .The 8 and 12 being poundage class under IGFA regs . They were manufactured in the US of A . Under the new system they would be called , if still being manufactured , a Fin Nor 2000 and a Fin Nor 4000 .?
Which is weird. “Let’s stay with the Imperial system of measures because that metric system is English.” Maybe it is merely a victory for US imperialists?
I say we go binary with everything - including time and dats. It is really incredibly easy, once you get the hang of it. So for instance, using a direct conversion a 2 x 4 is actually a 10 x 100 - much easier! A 3 x 3 will be 11 x 11. And @BrendanMays, the Choice Community lifeguard, holds the Elder badge implying that he must be at least 40 - or 101,000. Nothing could be simpler!
(Of course children would need to be taught the binary times tables: 1 x 1 is 1, 1 x 1 is 1, 1 x 1 is…)
My mother likes to remind me that I was over 10 1/2 pounds. Which means nothing to me even if I convert it to ~4.8kg, as I have no idea how big a baby is supposed to be!
(It’s really her own fault, for marrying a large man.)
Are we stuck in an alternate universe?
Do we need a dual metric imperial rule to help us flip the boat and return from Davey Jones Locker?
Our world will retain dual measurement systems for a long time to come. It would however be better if we were consistent and all Flatscreens etc were all measured in the same units?
So it will remain much easier to use a 1/10 inch graduated ruler for measuring anything to do with semiconductors. They use a US lead standard. Multiples of approx 2.54mm are just a pain to set out otherwise.
If you buy online you can get what ever you need for measuring tools from the US.
Metric is also not so standard. For bolts and nuts there is more than one system of competing standard sizes. Think Australia ISO vs German DIN standards. French anyone?
And what is a mil?
Is it a millimetre? Length
Is it a millilitre? Volume
Is it 0.001” or one thousandth of an inch? It is in the USA if you are machining.
Is it 1 in 6,400 parts of a circle? A metric measure of angle that approximates an arc of 1 metre at 1,000 metres.
Context is important even in understanding metric?
Schlamminger argues that while the new definition is more technically complicated, “philosophically, it’s simpler.” The kilogram will soon be defined by the fundamental physics of the universe, not some human machination.
A little better than Auntie ABC who tried to express the practical consequences like this:
“We’re only talking micrograms. Not enough to worry us in our daily life measurements, but enough to see, and enough to want a better kilogram,” Dr Warrington said.
And that’s important for international trade.
"Originally, if you were trading with your international partners, you needed to know that the wheat that went onto the boat was the same wheat that came off. And pressure is only bigger today with global supply chains.
Weighing wheat shipments to the nearest few micrograms. Really? This mashup of different cases and purposes doesn’t explain anything but adds to the confusion.
I venture to say that the world of commerce and consumer confidence in weights will not be disturbed a jot by this change as they are all calibrated to standards that are already several levels removed from the big K and our weights and measures legislation allows for real world variation in levels of accuracy and precision that are far broader than the variations being discussed.
I recall a physics lecturer at university saying that the only thing which is constant, is a constant. In our lectures it was a bit of humour, but now realise how deep this thought/statement is.
True, in the real world any measurement of a traded commodity is an approximation with an permitted variance or inaccuracy.
Bulk commodities such as wheat and coal have a Bill of Lading that relies on a Draft Survey to determine how deep in the water a vessel is sitting! From this there is a magical process to turn it into a number.
In the world of scientific endeavor micrograms probably matter. There is another topic in the community that referred to the new standard for the kilogram and also the metre.
Could be worse. I’ve seen a line of homeopathic products that put all their ingredients in Latin! (Presumingly because the English translation on their website sounds much less glamorous)
On a tangent, I have often wondered how the speed detecting radar guns are calibrated. I wondered if in the same way as the ‘kilo’ speed is measured against something, which is measured against something, is measured against something, which is measured against something, …
Which then leads back to measuring time and distance. How inaccurate are they by the time the calibrations happen? What percentage error is there, and what percentage is acceptable in what circumstances?
The rod was a 12 foot ( 3.65 metre ) medium action . Cast weight was shown as 25- 75 gram . The poor little bugger went to the surf weight sinker section and they all had 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , stamped on them , they were loose not pre packed . They were bomb or snapper lead type sinkers . Am I loosing you here ??? I know I’m lost. /
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