[Message Deleted]
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The Grand Negus wrote:
I can assure you we don't care about metric measurements
What about towards a metric America [^]? :)
If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
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The Grand Negus wrote:
An interface should be designed for a particular user community and should serve their interests only. I live in the heartland of the United States and I can assure you we don't care about metric measurements of baby formula. Or anything else.
My first phone was monoband. I could use it in the UK on the Cellnet phone network only. My second phone was dual band and I could use it all over Europe. My current phone is tri-band and I can use it anywhere in the world. If I stuck with your idea, I'd never be able to use my phone outside of the UK. I'm glad there is more to the phone that I can use it in multiple locations. What if you want to take your baby overseas and into a country that uses metric? where are you going to be with your imperial units?
The Grand Negus wrote:
Numerical measurements should be attuned to human sensibilities. I can easily see the difference between 8 ounces and 7; but the difference between 250 milliliters and 249 is nearly imperceptible and therefore ridiculous in this context.
Why not think of it as a quarter litre then? I really don't see what the problem is? I became metric about 7 years ago. It didn't take long to switch, it actually happened without me even realising. I suggest you have a predjudice and you are deliberately forcing yourself to find fault with the metric system.
Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Introduction to AJAX (2nd May), SQL Server 2005 - XML and XML Query Plans, Mock Objects, SQL Server Reporting Services... Never write for other people. Write for yourself, because you have a passion for it. -- Marc Clifton My website
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The Grand Negus wrote:
An interface should be designed for a particular user community and should serve their interests only. I live in the heartland of the United States and I can assure you we don't care about metric measurements of baby formula. Or anything else.
My first phone was monoband. I could use it in the UK on the Cellnet phone network only. My second phone was dual band and I could use it all over Europe. My current phone is tri-band and I can use it anywhere in the world. If I stuck with your idea, I'd never be able to use my phone outside of the UK. I'm glad there is more to the phone that I can use it in multiple locations. What if you want to take your baby overseas and into a country that uses metric? where are you going to be with your imperial units?
The Grand Negus wrote:
Numerical measurements should be attuned to human sensibilities. I can easily see the difference between 8 ounces and 7; but the difference between 250 milliliters and 249 is nearly imperceptible and therefore ridiculous in this context.
Why not think of it as a quarter litre then? I really don't see what the problem is? I became metric about 7 years ago. It didn't take long to switch, it actually happened without me even realising. I suggest you have a predjudice and you are deliberately forcing yourself to find fault with the metric system.
Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Introduction to AJAX (2nd May), SQL Server 2005 - XML and XML Query Plans, Mock Objects, SQL Server Reporting Services... Never write for other people. Write for yourself, because you have a passion for it. -- Marc Clifton My website
Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
The Grand Negus wrote: Numerical measurements should be attuned to human sensibilities. I can easily see the difference between 8 ounces and 7; but the difference between 250 milliliters and 249 is nearly imperceptible and therefore ridiculous in this context. Why not think of it as a quarter litre then? I really don't see what the problem is? I became metric about 7 years ago. It didn't take long to switch, it actually happened without me even realising. I suggest you have a predjudice and you are deliberately forcing yourself to find fault with the metric system.
well said. You could divide your ounce into two tablespoons, and each tablespoon into two teaspoons, but those finer gradiations aren't marked anymore than the 249ml level is marked next to the 250. :rolleyes:
-- CleaKO The sad part about this instance is that none of the users ever said anything [about the problem]. Pete O`Hanlon Doesn't that just tell you everything you need to know about users?
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The Grand Negus wrote:
An interface should be designed for a particular user community and should serve their interests only. I live in the heartland of the United States and I can assure you we don't care about metric measurements of baby formula. Or anything else.
My first phone was monoband. I could use it in the UK on the Cellnet phone network only. My second phone was dual band and I could use it all over Europe. My current phone is tri-band and I can use it anywhere in the world. If I stuck with your idea, I'd never be able to use my phone outside of the UK. I'm glad there is more to the phone that I can use it in multiple locations. What if you want to take your baby overseas and into a country that uses metric? where are you going to be with your imperial units?
The Grand Negus wrote:
Numerical measurements should be attuned to human sensibilities. I can easily see the difference between 8 ounces and 7; but the difference between 250 milliliters and 249 is nearly imperceptible and therefore ridiculous in this context.
Why not think of it as a quarter litre then? I really don't see what the problem is? I became metric about 7 years ago. It didn't take long to switch, it actually happened without me even realising. I suggest you have a predjudice and you are deliberately forcing yourself to find fault with the metric system.
Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Introduction to AJAX (2nd May), SQL Server 2005 - XML and XML Query Plans, Mock Objects, SQL Server Reporting Services... Never write for other people. Write for yourself, because you have a passion for it. -- Marc Clifton My website
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The Grand Negus wrote:
But does anyone really need to talk to someone on the other side of the earth?
Yes. I phone to California from time to time. I used to phone to Denver quite a bit. When I've visited North America I've phoned home, or to a friend on a few streets away.
The Grand Negus wrote:
I know I'd be happier having this conversation with a real flesh-and-blood neighbor, face-to-face, than on this remote and unresponsive forum.
Well, sometimes that just isn't possible. No matter how loud I yell, no one in California is going to here me.
The Grand Negus wrote:
When I was young I attended a church with almost 1000 members. At least one out of ten was musically inclined, but only two or three were allowed to share their songs each week; and because of the politics of large groups, most never got to share at all. I came to the conclusion that smaller, more intimate, local groups would serve the individuals in those groups better, and started a home church.
In the context of units of measurement this story makes no sense. In the context of giving everyone a better chance at having an opportunity to share their songs it makes a lot of sense. So, I don't really see what this anecdote is adding to the argument. It sounds like a Grandpa Simpson story to me.
The Grand Negus wrote:
I think I'd like a world where each community had it's own phone system, designed by the local genius and maintained by the local handymen. Such a system could be used by the locals to talk to other locals - primarily to plan face-to-face meetings! And other communities could do the same, giving their local genius the opportunity to flex his mental muscles, and their local handymen the chance to be useful to their neighbors.
Thank goodness I don't live in that world. My relatives are spread out across the world. I'd never hear from them for years at a time in your scenario.
The Grand Negus wrote:
I really don't see how more than this improves the quality of life for anyone. And by quality I mean the opportunity to be both creative and useful. The whole argument hangs on those two words.
There are plenty opportunities for people to be creative and useful in this world. There are no shortage of people starting their own lit
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The Grand Negus wrote:
But does anyone really need to talk to someone on the other side of the earth?
Yes. I phone to California from time to time. I used to phone to Denver quite a bit. When I've visited North America I've phoned home, or to a friend on a few streets away.
The Grand Negus wrote:
I know I'd be happier having this conversation with a real flesh-and-blood neighbor, face-to-face, than on this remote and unresponsive forum.
Well, sometimes that just isn't possible. No matter how loud I yell, no one in California is going to here me.
The Grand Negus wrote:
When I was young I attended a church with almost 1000 members. At least one out of ten was musically inclined, but only two or three were allowed to share their songs each week; and because of the politics of large groups, most never got to share at all. I came to the conclusion that smaller, more intimate, local groups would serve the individuals in those groups better, and started a home church.
In the context of units of measurement this story makes no sense. In the context of giving everyone a better chance at having an opportunity to share their songs it makes a lot of sense. So, I don't really see what this anecdote is adding to the argument. It sounds like a Grandpa Simpson story to me.
The Grand Negus wrote:
I think I'd like a world where each community had it's own phone system, designed by the local genius and maintained by the local handymen. Such a system could be used by the locals to talk to other locals - primarily to plan face-to-face meetings! And other communities could do the same, giving their local genius the opportunity to flex his mental muscles, and their local handymen the chance to be useful to their neighbors.
Thank goodness I don't live in that world. My relatives are spread out across the world. I'd never hear from them for years at a time in your scenario.
The Grand Negus wrote:
I really don't see how more than this improves the quality of life for anyone. And by quality I mean the opportunity to be both creative and useful. The whole argument hangs on those two words.
There are plenty opportunities for people to be creative and useful in this world. There are no shortage of people starting their own lit
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The Grand Negus wrote:
But should they be?
Why not?! Who are you to pass judgement on the freedoms of my family?
The Grand Negus wrote:
Why not have a small, local company make bottles just for our little community? Just the way we like them? Wouldn't that be better?
Not really. We live in the "global village". The bottle of Irn Bru (a local drink) is the same size as a bottle of Coca Cola. When I want to put it in the drink holder in my fridge it doesn't matter which I buy, it will still fit. Last time I was in the States I went to buy new shoes. Because of the many different standards across the world in shoes sizes it took a while to figure out what size I needed. I am a European 45. I no longer care what that is in any other locale. I can go into a shoe shop in the UK and say I want a size 45 and they'll get me the right shoes (even although that obviously isn't a UK size) because the European system is slowly replacing our system. I can go anywhere in Europe and know that if I buy a size 45 they will fit. But outsize that zone I have to be remeasured. What a waste of time for the assistant in the shop who could have used the time to sell someone else a pair of shoes. Because of different standards I can't use my electrical equipment outside the UK unless I spend money on an adapter. Wouldn't it be better if I didn't need to do that? What a waste of money that is, especially as I keep losing the adapters in hotels. It would not benefit most people if the standards were local. We live in an age where we need global standards to allow things to interoperate more easily. Some technologies can get around this to some extent. My DVD player can play audio and video CDs also. The standard for the way the data is stored on the disc is different in each case. In a few years it will be able to do DVD-HD and Blu-Ray also.
Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Introduction to AJAX (2nd May), SQL Server 2005 - XML and XML Query Plans, Mock Objects, SQL Server Reporting Services... Never write for other people. Write for yourself, because you have a passion for it. -- Marc Clifton My website
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The Grand Negus wrote:
But does anyone really need to talk to someone on the other side of the earth? I know I'd be happier having this conversation with a real flesh-and-blood neighbor, face-to-face, than on this remote and unresponsive forum.
Are you serious? Do you live in a silo? My wife is from Thailand. I am from US. If she wants to talk to her mother, she needs to talk to someone across the world. Are you seriously suggesting that my wife does not need to talk to her mother? Now you are just being rediculous and argumentative and I'd say, downright petty.
This statement was never false.
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The Grand Negus wrote:
But should they be?
What does "should" have to do with anything. Its way too abstract and hypothetical. Should I not be married to a Thai woman then? She's the only one for me.
This statement was never false.
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Replied too soon.
The Grand Negus wrote:
Why not have a small, local company make bottles just for our little community? Just the way we like them? Wouldn't that be better?
Not necessarily. In your view it would, but not everyone shares that view. I take it you'd like to remake the world in your image.
The Grand Negus wrote:
Not like there use to be. We used to have a different, unique, stand-alone restaurant in every small town in America; now we've got a McDonald's and a Burger King.
While its true that BK and Micky D's can be found everywhere, there are still unique restaurants in every town I've been in. The bummer with your vision of locals only, is that you end up pigeon holed into that community. I think we grow much more with exposure to other cultures and peoples. Both socially and in business. I think that looking at the world as a single community would have a greater impact.
The Grand Negus wrote:
The owner doesn't get to decide what to buy and how to cook it and how to market it and what the place should look like, etc; the creative aspect of restaurant ownership is gone.
That just isn't true. If the guy decides to buy a franchise then yes. But then, that guy isn't going for creativity. If you want, you can surely start your own restaurant and do all of what you describe. In fact, there was a show last night on Food Network where they were doing a spotlight on a chef in Portland that does just that. 80% of his ingredients come from local farms, ranges, and markets. Now you are just downright skewing this matter.
The Grand Negus wrote:
And the restaurant franchisee doesn't buy eggs, meat, and vegetables from his neighbors, the local farmers who now cannot survive without becoming chicken factories. The ability to contribute to the local community has been curtailed. These are bad things.
That is only the case with franchises. And some franchises are not constrained by this. In and Out Burger is one that I can think of. They tout fresh locally obtained ingredients.
The Grand Negus wrote:
I'd rather live in a world with a thousand different operating systems - good and bad - than live in this world where everyone has "standardized" on the same few pieces of crap.
You are. Linux is a