Text 11008, 88 rader
Skriven 2014-03-17 23:17:34 av Nancy Backus (1:261/1381.0)
  Kommentar till text 10897 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
Ärende: metric  was: dishonesty
===============================
-=> Quoting Ruth Haffly to Nancy Backus on 12 Mar 14  16:11:36 <=-

 NB>> Those too...  :)  Some things are so standard one doesn't even bring
 NB>> them to mind...  ;)  I kinda miss getting my fifth of scotch,
 NB>> though... have to remember what the metric equivalent is when I'm out
 NB>> shopping. ;)

 RH> Juat ask for "a quart and a squirt". Back in the late 70s, one of the
 RH> places where we bought gas switched to selling it by the litre. Once
 RH> Steve asked how a litre measured against a quart (for trying to figure
 RH> milage) so I gave him the above. Its been our default definition for a
 RH> litre ever since.

According to the 1L bottle of sparkling water I'm currently drinking,
it's 33.8 oz, to be precise...  ;)  A fifth, though, is 1/5 of a
gallon... so now that liquor has gone to metrics, the closest equivalent
is actually 750ml... always was less than a quart...  (Of course, in
Canada, the imperial quart is a little larger than a litre, so the litre
would be the quart less the squirt.. [g])

 NB>>> your weight in kg, and then switch the scales to lb so that the
 NB>>> patient will comprehend the weight better...  :)
 DD>> My croaker records both the KG and the LB/oz numbers.
 NB>> I suspect that's the scientific influence... I think most of my docs
 NB>> also record both numbers... probably mostly in deference to the
 NB>> patient who mostly doesn't think in metric...  ;)

 RH> Not generally. Some of my doctors use metric, others use English.

That might be a regional thing, too... 

 RH> Helps to know both--when I went to England with some friends, I bought
 RH> some fabric on sale for a pound (pre EU) per yard or metre so I had it
 RH> measured in metres. Got almost 8 more inches (total) than I would have
 RH> if I'd bought by the yard.

It's always useful to know both... whether or not one is trying to
convert between, or just trying to keep track of things...  :)

 DD>> But, blood pressure is always mentioned, recorded, etc. in mm/Hg
 DD>> (millimetres of mercury) and has been since I can remember.
 DD>> Unlike barometric pressure which the NOAA reports in inches.
 NB>> Medical is more scientific...?   (G)   Most other weather measurements
 NB>> are also in inches and feet, etc... miles/hour...  English system...

 RH> They're that way because most Americans think that way. Watch any
 RH> television in another country and youu'll see temps listed in C, wind
 RH> in kph, etc during the weather segment.

And how is barometric pressure reported...?  Maybe it's because we are
so close to Canada, but temps on TV here tend to be reported in both F
and in C degrees...   I suspect that snowfall is reported in inches
rather than cm, just to keep people from getting even more
discouraged...  (G)  

 NB>> I think my main point to Jim was that both systems are rather
 NB>> pervasive here, just a matter of what one is measuring, and how one
 NB>> has grown up thinking of it...  so we know (somewhat) the metric
 NB>> system, as well as the English system, and are using them both... 
 NB>> Actually, could be a lot easier if one only did use one... wouldn't
 NB>> have to try to remember the conversion factors, that seem to be so
 NB>> slippery whenever one really needs them...  (G)

 RH> Took living in Germany for almost 6 years to get me comfortable with
 RH> dealing with metrics on an everyday basis. I did a fair amount of
 RH> grocery shopping on the economy so had to remember I was buying by the
 RH> kilo for fruits, meats, etc. Prices that may have seemed high were
 RH> reasonable once I made the mental conversion to pounds/ounces for
 RH> produce.

If I were living somewhere that was using metrics (or when I've visited
similar, for that matter), other than a rough comparison to what I was
used to, I'd just use the units presented, and comparison shop just from
the local perspective...  Any strange units are workable if you just
stay within their parameters...  ;)

 RH> And, at times, I've posted recipies here in both measurements. (G)

That can be more useful...  depending on what your measurement cups and
spoons etc are calibrated in...  ;)   My Tupperware pitchers and the
pyrex ones have both oz and ml on them... makes an ongoing side-by-side
easy...  ;)

ttyl         neb

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