Text 11059, 128 rader
Skriven 2014-03-19 11:34:17 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 11008 av Nancy Backus (1:261/1381.0)
Ärende: metric  was: dishonesty
===============================
Hi Nancy,


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

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

However you measure, the "quart and squirt" or "quart minus a squirt" is
a good starting point for defining the actual amount. Americans
understand quarts so plus or minus a squirt would give most people a
good approximation of the amount being discussed in metrics.

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

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

 NB> That might be a regional thing, too...

UNC is a teaching hospital and uses metrics; my PCM is not affiliated
with them and uses English.


 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.

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

Yes, and it gave me almost an extra quarter yard of fabric. Can make the
difference in having just enough for a project or not quite enough.

 NB>  DD>> Unlike barometric pressure which the NOAA reports in inches.
 NB>  NB>> Medical is more scientific...?   (G)   Most other weather
 NB> measurements  NB>> are also in inches and feet, etc... miles/hour...
 NB> 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.

 NB> And how is barometric pressure reported...?  Maybe it's because we are

I honestly don't recall; we've been back from Germany almost 22 years.
We didn't have a chance to catch tv in Israel & Steve never mentioned
anything about it in Guyana or Korea.

 NB> so close to Canada, but temps on TV here tend to be reported in both F
 NB> and in C degrees...   I suspect that snowfall is reported in inches

Sounds logical--you are near the border so signals are picked up on
either side of it.


 NB> rather than cm, just to keep people from getting even more
 NB> discouraged...  (G)

Especially after the winter we've had! Had an ice storm Monday night but
not enough to do major harm, just major inconveniences.

 NB> both...  NB>> Actually, could be a lot easier if one only did use
 NB> one... wouldn't  NB>> have to try to remember the conversion factors,
 NB> that seem to be so  NB>> slippery whenever one really needs them...
 NB> (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.

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

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

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

I bought a set of metric measuring spoons/cups while in Germany. A lot
of their dry ingredients are measured by weight so we have a scale that
measures weight and volume in both metric and English. Handy when I pull
out a German cook book (have some written in German as well). I also
calculate a lot of my food servings by the gram for figuring carbs as
it's more precise than ounces.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... The Lord gives wisdom; out of his mouth comes knowledge. . . Prov 2:6

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