On 11/18/2021 1:55 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7:25:10 PM UTC+1, AMuzi wrote:
>> On 11/18/2021 12:02 PM, jbeattie wrote:
>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 9:43:12 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>> On 11/18/2021 11:09 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:44:54 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 10:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:04:36 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 9:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:03:51 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>>>>>>>>>>> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>>>>>>>>>>>> <ra...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>>>>>>>>>>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>>>>>>>>>>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>>>>>>>>>>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>>>>>>>>>> measuring tape marked in that scale.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I think more to the point - why measure in an old obsolete system when you can only buy cloth products in America in yards or meters?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Because the result is the same thing, expressed in any unit,
>>>>>>>> and she had that tape handy.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Well, measuring cloth in those units isn't handy at all because when she measures out the cloth in those units the retailer must then remeasure them into the yards and fractions for pricing. Perhaps in Japan today the salesman might be able to make the conversion in his head, but even there today I'm sure that they sell cloth in meters or yards.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> In the 1990s the United States Government in its wisdom
>>>>>> declared that all construction projects with any Federal
>>>>>> funding would be specified in metric dimensions. The
>>>>>> president of a large construction firm which built lots of
>>>>>> gargantuan public buildings was in our store for service to
>>>>>> his Santana so I asked him how much difficulty this meant
>>>>>> for him. He smiled and said that nothing had actually
>>>>>> changed except that they kept two sets of plans, one for
>>>>>> actual procurement and construction in feet and inches, then
>>>>>> another for public reporting and auditing with metric
>>>>>> dimensions. A 36 inch window became 91.44cm and nothing changed.
>>>>>>
>>>>> But can you imagine the expense to the taxpayer for keeping two sets of plans on a large project?
>>>>>
>>>> In economics it's called structural inefficiency- which
>>>> governments view as a feature not a bug.
>>>>
>>>> But the point is that a cut piece for a sewing project or a
>>>> window width or a volume of fruit is what it is no matter
>>>> which system one uses to express that.
>>>
>>> The government is pushing for conversion to the metric system, but not all at once. It is an odd implementation, but I doubt it has much effect on bid contracts these days. I suspect that for contractors, it is just a matter of pushing a button on a software program and delivering metric drawings in electronic form.
>>>
>>> Imagine being in Sweden and changing from left-hand drive to right-hand drive overnight. realscandinavia.com/this-day-in-history-swedish-traffic-switches-sides-september-3-1967/ I can't think of a way to phase that in, can you? Some people drive on the right? I don't know if phasing in metric is any better -- although mixing systems probably would not result in people running into each other. They metric crowd would just be going really slowly driving 55kph while the non-metric would be going 55mph. The road rage people would be conflicted, feeling bad about shooting with a 9mm rather than a 38. This would be as bad as the computers exploding in the Year 2000.
>>>
>>> -- Jay Beattie.
>>>
>> I remember the Swede changeover and when England changed to
>> decimal coins. The earth didn't stop turning in either case.
>>
>> Here. some chunks of USA culture such as autos and bicycles
>> have largely gone metric while others such as aircraft are
>> likely to be the very last holdouts for fractional inches.
>> (USAF which keeps significantly large and expensive stores
>> of parts worldwide will never be ready for a changeover)
>> --
>> Andrew Muzi
>> <www.yellowjersey.org/>
>> Open every day since 1 April, 1971
>
> We went from our national currency to euro’s in 2002. I was amazed how fast people got used to it.

Not surprising. As in another thread, dealing with zero to 100 is so
much easier than (say) dealing with -17.8 to +37.8

There should be no question which is easier to become familiar with.

;-)

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 08:03:48 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>> <jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>>> <ralph@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
>>>
>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>
>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>
>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>> didn't wear a bra (:-)

>Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>measuring tape marked in that scale.

Yes, but sewing measuring tapes are commonly available in both metric
and imperial.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=sewing+measuring+tape+metric+and+imperial&tbm=isch>
I've never seen a Japanese measuring tape, so I have no idea how that
works.

Drivel: Some folding engineering scales are in 1/16" increments on
one side, and 0.100" increments on the other:
<https://www.vphami.top/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=899671>

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 11/18/2021 2:26 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 11/18/2021 1:55 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7:25:10 PM UTC+1, AMuzi
>> wrote:
>>> On 11/18/2021 12:02 PM, jbeattie wrote:
>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 9:43:12 AM UTC-8,
>>>> AMuzi wrote:
>>>>> On 11/18/2021 11:09 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:44:54 AM UTC-8,
>>>>>> AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 10:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:04:36 AM UTC-8,
>>>>>>>> AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 9:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:03:51 AM
>>>>>>>>>> UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>>>>>>>>>>>> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Barone
>>>>>>>>>>>>> <ra...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> OK,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I’ll
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> bite. What were you measuring?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was
>>>>>>>>>>>>> binding. I gathered
>>>>>>>>>>>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth
>>>>>>>>>>>>> and tools to start
>>>>>>>>>>>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra?
>>>>>>>>>>>> Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>>>>>>>>>>>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Like our discussion of temperature scales,
>>>>>>>>>>> because she has a
>>>>>>>>>>> measuring tape marked in that scale.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I think more to the point - why measure in an old
>>>>>>>>>> obsolete system when you can only buy cloth
>>>>>>>>>> products in America in yards or meters?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Because the result is the same thing, expressed in
>>>>>>>>> any unit,
>>>>>>>>> and she had that tape handy.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Well, measuring cloth in those units isn't handy at
>>>>>>>> all because when she measures out the cloth in those
>>>>>>>> units the retailer must then remeasure them into the
>>>>>>>> yards and fractions for pricing. Perhaps in Japan
>>>>>>>> today the salesman might be able to make the
>>>>>>>> conversion in his head, but even there today I'm
>>>>>>>> sure that they sell cloth in meters or yards.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In the 1990s the United States Government in its wisdom
>>>>>>> declared that all construction projects with any Federal
>>>>>>> funding would be specified in metric dimensions. The
>>>>>>> president of a large construction firm which built
>>>>>>> lots of
>>>>>>> gargantuan public buildings was in our store for
>>>>>>> service to
>>>>>>> his Santana so I asked him how much difficulty this
>>>>>>> meant
>>>>>>> for him. He smiled and said that nothing had actually
>>>>>>> changed except that they kept two sets of plans, one for
>>>>>>> actual procurement and construction in feet and
>>>>>>> inches, then
>>>>>>> another for public reporting and auditing with metric
>>>>>>> dimensions. A 36 inch window became 91.44cm and
>>>>>>> nothing changed.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> But can you imagine the expense to the taxpayer for
>>>>>> keeping two sets of plans on a large project?
>>>>>>
>>>>> In economics it's called structural inefficiency- which
>>>>> governments view as a feature not a bug.
>>>>>
>>>>> But the point is that a cut piece for a sewing project
>>>>> or a
>>>>> window width or a volume of fruit is what it is no matter
>>>>> which system one uses to express that.
>>>>
>>>> The government is pushing for conversion to the metric
>>>> system, but not all at once. It is an odd
>>>> implementation, but I doubt it has much effect on bid
>>>> contracts these days. I suspect that for contractors, it
>>>> is just a matter of pushing a button on a software
>>>> program and delivering metric drawings in electronic form.
>>>>
>>>> Imagine being in Sweden and changing from left-hand
>>>> drive to right-hand drive overnight.
>>>> realscandinavia.com/this-day-in-history-swedish-traffic-switches-sides-september-3-1967/
>>>> I can't think of a way to phase that in, can you? Some
>>>> people drive on the right? I don't know if phasing in
>>>> metric is any better -- although mixing systems probably
>>>> would not result in people running into each other. They
>>>> metric crowd would just be going really slowly driving
>>>> 55kph while the non-metric would be going 55mph. The
>>>> road rage people would be conflicted, feeling bad about
>>>> shooting with a 9mm rather than a 38. This would be as
>>>> bad as the computers exploding in the Year 2000.
>>>>
>>>> -- Jay Beattie.
>>>>
>>> I remember the Swede changeover and when England changed to
>>> decimal coins. The earth didn't stop turning in either case.
>>>
>>> Here. some chunks of USA culture such as autos and bicycles
>>> have largely gone metric while others such as aircraft are
>>> likely to be the very last holdouts for fractional inches.
>>> (USAF which keeps significantly large and expensive stores
>>> of parts worldwide will never be ready for a changeover)
>>> --
>>> Andrew Muzi
>>> <www.yellowjersey.org/>
>>> Open every day since 1 April, 1971
>>
>> We went from our national currency to euro’s in 2002. I
>> was amazed how fast people got used to it.
>
> Not surprising. As in another thread, dealing with zero to
> 100 is so much easier than (say) dealing with -17.8 to +37.8
>
> There should be no question which is easier to become
> familiar with.
>
> ;-)
>
>
>

So the logical answer to currency is the Italian Lire!

It was just Lire, no smaller divisions necessary. Simpler
than Euros and the bill/coin images weren't as pathetically
insipid.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 08:03:48 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>> <jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>>> <ralph@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
>>>
>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>
>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>
>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>>
>
>Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>measuring tape marked in that scale.

Way back when she first posted she said that she used the measurements
to avoid calculation, or words to that effect (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 07:30:29 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
<cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 11:19:30 PM UTC-8, jeff.li...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 15:23:01 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> >On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 23:36:25 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com>
>> >wrote:
>> >>Full disclosure: I cheated and looked it up using Google.
>>
>> >I lived there for 8 years (:-)
>> I visited Tokyo for four sleepy days and four sleepless nights during
>> a trade conference in about 1977. Four days is not long enough for
>> language training. To prepare, I read a rather confusing book on
>> Japanese customs, etiquette, and manners. Reading the book was also
>> good for combating jet lag.
>>
>> I worked for Standard Communications Corp (SCC of Japan) for about a
>> year. Most of the techs were from Japan. They would work for 9
>> months and get 3 month paid vacation to travel around the USA. I
>> learned quite a bit about Japan, but not the language.
>>
>> My exposure to ancient Japanese units of measure came from a passing
>> interest I had in various obslete units of measure. Looks like the
>> shaku, sun, and bu are not listed.
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_obsolete_units_of_measurement>
>
>Jeff, according to the people here, if you only worked for them for a year you must be incompetent and have been fired. If that wasn't the case WHY did you let that pass when they were attacking me for only working many jobs for a year?

Tommy! Tommy! I keep telling you that you need more schooling in
reading comprehension!

Jeff was describing some folk working in a totally foreign country.
The poor fellows couldn't even get a decent meal. So they work for 9
months as they can't stand it any longer and then go home to rest up
before they can stand another session.

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 08:32:54 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
<cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:04:36 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>> On 11/18/2021 9:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>> > On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:03:51 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>> >> On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>> >>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>> >>> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>> >>>> <ra...@invalid.com> wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
>> >>>>
>> >>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>> >>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>> >>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>> >>>
>> >>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>> >>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>> >>>
>> >> Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>> >> measuring tape marked in that scale.
>> >
>> > I think more to the point - why measure in an old obsolete system when you can only buy cloth products in America in yards or meters?
>> >
>> Because the result is the same thing, expressed in any unit,
>> and she had that tape handy.
>
>Well, measuring cloth in those units isn't handy at all because when she measures out the cloth in those units the retailer must then remeasure them into the yards and fractions for pricing. Perhaps in Japan today the salesman might be able to make the conversion in his head, but even there today I'm sure that they sell cloth in meters or yards.

Tommy Boy, you really are stupid.

While it is true that cloth is usually sold in yard or meter
dimensions it isn't used in meters and yards, at least for normal
folks who don't have arms a meter long, it is cut into smaller
sections to fit the individual who the clothing is being made for.
..
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 11:43:09 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 11/18/2021 11:09 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:44:54 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>> On 11/18/2021 10:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:04:36 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>> On 11/18/2021 9:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:03:51 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>> On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>>>>>>>> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>>>>>>>>> <ra...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>>>>>>>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>>>>>>>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>>>>>>>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>>>>>>> measuring tape marked in that scale.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I think more to the point - why measure in an old obsolete system when you can only buy cloth products in America in yards or meters?
>>>>>>
>>>>> Because the result is the same thing, expressed in any unit,
>>>>> and she had that tape handy.
>>>>
>>>> Well, measuring cloth in those units isn't handy at all because when she measures out the cloth in those units the retailer must then remeasure them into the yards and fractions for pricing. Perhaps in Japan today the salesman might be able to make the conversion in his head, but even there today I'm sure that they sell cloth in meters or yards.
>>>>
>>> In the 1990s the United States Government in its wisdom
>>> declared that all construction projects with any Federal
>>> funding would be specified in metric dimensions. The
>>> president of a large construction firm which built lots of
>>> gargantuan public buildings was in our store for service to
>>> his Santana so I asked him how much difficulty this meant
>>> for him. He smiled and said that nothing had actually
>>> changed except that they kept two sets of plans, one for
>>> actual procurement and construction in feet and inches, then
>>> another for public reporting and auditing with metric
>>> dimensions. A 36 inch window became 91.44cm and nothing changed.
>>>
>> But can you imagine the expense to the taxpayer for keeping two sets of plans on a large project?
>>
>
>In economics it's called structural inefficiency- which
>governments view as a feature not a bug.
>
>But the point is that a cut piece for a sewing project or a
>window width or a volume of fruit is what it is no matter
>which system one uses to express that.

If you go "up country" in Thailand where Thai Silk is still hand woven
you will see the ladies measuring cloth width from the center of their
chest to their out stretched hand. Two lengths is just the right
length to make a sarong.

I asked my wife what that dimension was called and she thought a bit
and said that she had never heard it called anything but everybody
knew what it was.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 12:37:10 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:

>On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 08:03:48 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>
>>On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>>> <jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>>>> <ralph@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
>>>>
>>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>>
>>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>>
>>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>
>>Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>>measuring tape marked in that scale.
>
>Yes, but sewing measuring tapes are commonly available in both metric
>and imperial.
><https://www.google.com/search?q=sewing+measuring+tape+metric+and+imperial&tbm=isch>
>I've never seen a Japanese measuring tape, so I have no idea how that
>works.
>
>Drivel: Some folding engineering scales are in 1/16" increments on
>one side, and 0.100" increments on the other:
><https://www.vphami.top/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=899671>

I'm sitting here looking at a vernier caliper with both inch and
metric markings (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com> writes:

> On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 11:43:09 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>
>>On 11/18/2021 11:09 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:44:54 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>> On 11/18/2021 10:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:04:36 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 9:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:03:51 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>>>>>>>>> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>>>>>>>>>> <ra...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>>>>>>>>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>>>>>>>>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>>>>>>>>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>>>>>>>> measuring tape marked in that scale.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I think more to the point - why measure in an old obsolete
>>>>>>> system when you can only buy cloth products in America in yards
>>>>>>> or meters?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Because the result is the same thing, expressed in any unit,
>>>>>> and she had that tape handy.
>>>>>
>>>>> Well, measuring cloth in those units isn't handy at all because
>>>>> when she measures out the cloth in those units the retailer must
>>>>> then remeasure them into the yards and fractions for
>>>>> pricing. Perhaps in Japan today the salesman might be able to
>>>>> make the conversion in his head, but even there today I'm sure
>>>>> that they sell cloth in meters or yards.
>>>>>
>>>> In the 1990s the United States Government in its wisdom
>>>> declared that all construction projects with any Federal
>>>> funding would be specified in metric dimensions. The
>>>> president of a large construction firm which built lots of
>>>> gargantuan public buildings was in our store for service to
>>>> his Santana so I asked him how much difficulty this meant
>>>> for him. He smiled and said that nothing had actually
>>>> changed except that they kept two sets of plans, one for
>>>> actual procurement and construction in feet and inches, then
>>>> another for public reporting and auditing with metric
>>>> dimensions. A 36 inch window became 91.44cm and nothing changed.
>>>>
>>> But can you imagine the expense to the taxpayer for keeping two sets of plans on a large project?
>>>
>>
>>In economics it's called structural inefficiency- which
>>governments view as a feature not a bug.
>>
>>But the point is that a cut piece for a sewing project or a
>>window width or a volume of fruit is what it is no matter
>>which system one uses to express that.
>
>
> If you go "up country" in Thailand where Thai Silk is still hand woven
> you will see the ladies measuring cloth width from the center of their
> chest to their out stretched hand. Two lengths is just the right
> length to make a sarong.
>
> I asked my wife what that dimension was called and she thought a bit
> and said that she had never heard it called anything but everybody
> knew what it was.

Two such lengths in English is called a "fathom", although it was sized
using an English man rather than a Thai lady.

Tom Kunich <cyclintom@gmail.com> writes:

> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:05:40 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>> On 11/18/2021 1:19 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>> > On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 15:23:01 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 23:36:25 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>> Full disclosure: I cheated and looked it up using Google.
>> >
>> >> I lived there for 8 years (:-)
>> >
>> > I visited Tokyo for four sleepy days and four sleepless nights during
>> > a trade conference in about 1977. Four days is not long enough for
>> > language training. To prepare, I read a rather confusing book on
>> > Japanese customs, etiquette, and manners. Reading the book was also
>> > good for combating jet lag.
>> >
>> > I worked for Standard Communications Corp (SCC of Japan) for about a
>> > year. Most of the techs were from Japan. They would work for 9
>> > months and get 3 month paid vacation to travel around the USA. I
>> > learned quite a bit about Japan, but not the language.
>> >
>> > My exposure to ancient Japanese units of measure came from a passing
>> > interest I had in various obslete units of measure. Looks like the
>> > shaku, sun, and bu are not listed.
>> > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_obsolete_units_of_measurement>
>> >
>> Like pecks and bushels they're not entirely obsolete; used
>> for some specialty areas.
> I have HEARD of Bushels and Pecks, I have never seen them used. Grain is sold by the dry lb.

Bushels and pecks are still sometimes used for selling apples. If you
patronize a pick-your-own orchard in New England you'll be asked to buy
by either the half-peck or peck. I don't think they're used for
commercial transactions, and apples in the supermarket are sold by the
pound.

On 11/18/2021 8:07 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
> John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 11:43:09 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>
>>> On 11/18/2021 11:09 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:44:54 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>> On 11/18/2021 10:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:04:36 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 9:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:03:51 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>>>>>>>>>> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>>>>>>>>>>> <ra...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>>>>>>>>>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>>>>>>>>>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>>>>>>>>>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>>>>>>>>> measuring tape marked in that scale.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I think more to the point - why measure in an old obsolete
>>>>>>>> system when you can only buy cloth products in America in yards
>>>>>>>> or meters?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Because the result is the same thing, expressed in any unit,
>>>>>>> and she had that tape handy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Well, measuring cloth in those units isn't handy at all because
>>>>>> when she measures out the cloth in those units the retailer must
>>>>>> then remeasure them into the yards and fractions for
>>>>>> pricing. Perhaps in Japan today the salesman might be able to
>>>>>> make the conversion in his head, but even there today I'm sure
>>>>>> that they sell cloth in meters or yards.
>>>>>>
>>>>> In the 1990s the United States Government in its wisdom
>>>>> declared that all construction projects with any Federal
>>>>> funding would be specified in metric dimensions. The
>>>>> president of a large construction firm which built lots of
>>>>> gargantuan public buildings was in our store for service to
>>>>> his Santana so I asked him how much difficulty this meant
>>>>> for him. He smiled and said that nothing had actually
>>>>> changed except that they kept two sets of plans, one for
>>>>> actual procurement and construction in feet and inches, then
>>>>> another for public reporting and auditing with metric
>>>>> dimensions. A 36 inch window became 91.44cm and nothing changed.
>>>>>
>>>> But can you imagine the expense to the taxpayer for keeping two sets of plans on a large project?
>>>>
>>>
>>> In economics it's called structural inefficiency- which
>>> governments view as a feature not a bug.
>>>
>>> But the point is that a cut piece for a sewing project or a
>>> window width or a volume of fruit is what it is no matter
>>> which system one uses to express that.
>>
>>
>> If you go "up country" in Thailand where Thai Silk is still hand woven
>> you will see the ladies measuring cloth width from the center of their
>> chest to their out stretched hand. Two lengths is just the right
>> length to make a sarong.
>>
>> I asked my wife what that dimension was called and she thought a bit
>> and said that she had never heard it called anything but everybody
>> knew what it was.
>
> Two such lengths in English is called a "fathom", although it was sized
> using an English man rather than a Thai lady.
>

When I was in England I never saw any man wearing a sarong.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Fri, 19 Nov 2021 05:48:02 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
wrote:

>>> I worked for Standard Communications Corp (SCC of Japan) for about a
>>> year. Most of the techs were from Japan. They would work for 9
>>> months and get 3 month paid vacation to travel around the USA. I
>>> learned quite a bit about Japan, but not the language.

>Jeff was describing some folk working in a totally foreign country.
>The poor fellows couldn't even get a decent meal. So they work for 9
>months as they can't stand it any longer and then go home to rest up
>before they can stand another session.

Sorry. I should have been clearer. The Japanese techs at SCC would
work for 9 months and get paid for 12 months. What they did with
their extra 3 months was entirely their decision. At the end of the 3
months, they could return to SCC and continue working another 9
months, or they could travel in the USA. The limiting factor was the
90 day US visa of the times. Of course, they had to inform the
company of their plans in advance to insure that there was a job
waiting. As near as I could tell, it was a very popular program, with
no worker exploitation or sweat shop involved. SCC also owned some
apartments near the factory that made a useful temporary residence.
There were problems if they wanted to remain in the US and apply for
citizenship. I don't recall exactly what they did during their
"free" 3 months. I remember one tech becoming a surf bum for the
summer, while another audited classes at a university. In all, it was
a pleasant, profitable, education, and informative for all involved.

However, there was one incident which could have caused major
problems. I've mentioned it previously, but I think it's worth
repeating. Near the end of the marine radio QA line was a burn-in
test. About 20 functional radios were placed inside an environmental
test chamber and temperature cycled between about 0C and 70C. Not a
large range but good enough to expose loose connections, bad
soldering, intermittent components, and other problems. The oven was
only run during the day shift. At night, it was used to warm up a
pizza for the night crew. ABS plastic starts to deform at about 105C,
so 70C should not be a problem. In order to heat the pizza, the oven
temperature was temporarily increased to about 175C to keep it warm.
One of the night shift techs forgot to lower the temperature back down
to 70C (and to clean out the pizza residue and smell). The day shift
arrived and someone else forgot to check the oven settings, which in
the past had never needed to be checked. The result was 20 melted
radios. Not good.

That day, I arrived late (as usual) and was immediately confronted by
the head tech asking if we could drive to the apartment of one of the
techs. Three of us jumped into my 1972 International 1210 service
truck and drove furiously across town. On the way, it was explained
that the tech responsible for melting 20 radios said goodbye to his
co-workers and announced he was going home to commit suicide. We
caught him in time (he was walking, while we were driving) and took
turns trying to convince him that such a mistake is not sufficient
justification for committing suicide. He didn't believe us. Someone
(not me) eventually had the good sense to call the company president
and ask him to talk to the technician. The call apparently went well,
but the tech had someone either with him or nearby 24x7 for a few days
should he change his mind.

Customs among different cultures can be very different.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> writes:

> On 11/18/2021 8:07 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
>> John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>>> On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 11:43:09 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 11/18/2021 11:09 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:44:54 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 10:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:04:36 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 9:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:03:51 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
>>>>>>>>>>> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
>>>>>>>>>>>> <ra...@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> OK,
>>>>>>>>>>>>> I’ll
>>>>>>>>>>>>> bite. What were you measuring?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
>>>>>>>>>>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
>>>>>>>>>>>> making new bras tomorrow.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
>>>>>>>>>>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
>>>>>>>>>> measuring tape marked in that scale.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I think more to the point - why measure in an old obsolete
>>>>>>>>> system when you can only buy cloth products in America in yards
>>>>>>>>> or meters?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Because the result is the same thing, expressed in any unit,
>>>>>>>> and she had that tape handy.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Well, measuring cloth in those units isn't handy at all because
>>>>>>> when she measures out the cloth in those units the retailer must
>>>>>>> then remeasure them into the yards and fractions for
>>>>>>> pricing. Perhaps in Japan today the salesman might be able to
>>>>>>> make the conversion in his head, but even there today I'm sure
>>>>>>> that they sell cloth in meters or yards.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> In the 1990s the United States Government in its wisdom
>>>>>> declared that all construction projects with any Federal
>>>>>> funding would be specified in metric dimensions. The
>>>>>> president of a large construction firm which built lots of
>>>>>> gargantuan public buildings was in our store for service to
>>>>>> his Santana so I asked him how much difficulty this meant
>>>>>> for him. He smiled and said that nothing had actually
>>>>>> changed except that they kept two sets of plans, one for
>>>>>> actual procurement and construction in feet and inches, then
>>>>>> another for public reporting and auditing with metric
>>>>>> dimensions. A 36 inch window became 91.44cm and nothing changed.
>>>>>>
>>>>> But can you imagine the expense to the taxpayer for keeping two
>>>>> sets of plans on a large project?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In economics it's called structural inefficiency- which
>>>> governments view as a feature not a bug.
>>>>
>>>> But the point is that a cut piece for a sewing project or a
>>>> window width or a volume of fruit is what it is no matter
>>>> which system one uses to express that.
>>>
>>>
>>> If you go "up country" in Thailand where Thai Silk is still hand woven
>>> you will see the ladies measuring cloth width from the center of their
>>> chest to their out stretched hand. Two lengths is just the right
>>> length to make a sarong.
>>>
>>> I asked my wife what that dimension was called and she thought a bit
>>> and said that she had never heard it called anything but everybody
>>> knew what it was.
>>
>> Two such lengths in English is called a "fathom", although it was sized
>> using an English man rather than a Thai lady.
>>
>
> When I was in England I never saw any man wearing a sarong.

They made them out of rope. Maybe that was Scotland.

On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 21:11:47 -0500, Radey Shouman
<shouman@comcast.net> wrote:

>Tom Kunich <cyclintom@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:05:40 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>>> On 11/18/2021 1:19 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>>> > On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 15:23:01 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 23:36:25 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com>
>>> >> wrote:
>>> >>> Full disclosure: I cheated and looked it up using Google.
>>> >
>>> >> I lived there for 8 years (:-)
>>> >
>>> > I visited Tokyo for four sleepy days and four sleepless nights during
>>> > a trade conference in about 1977. Four days is not long enough for
>>> > language training. To prepare, I read a rather confusing book on
>>> > Japanese customs, etiquette, and manners. Reading the book was also
>>> > good for combating jet lag.
>>> >
>>> > I worked for Standard Communications Corp (SCC of Japan) for about a
>>> > year. Most of the techs were from Japan. They would work for 9
>>> > months and get 3 month paid vacation to travel around the USA. I
>>> > learned quite a bit about Japan, but not the language.
>>> >
>>> > My exposure to ancient Japanese units of measure came from a passing
>>> > interest I had in various obslete units of measure. Looks like the
>>> > shaku, sun, and bu are not listed.
>>> > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_obsolete_units_of_measurement>
>>> >
>>> Like pecks and bushels they're not entirely obsolete; used
>>> for some specialty areas.
>> I have HEARD of Bushels and Pecks, I have never seen them used. Grain is sold by the dry lb.
>
>Bushels and pecks are still sometimes used for selling apples. If you
>patronize a pick-your-own orchard in New England you'll be asked to buy
>by either the half-peck or peck. I don't think they're used for
>commercial transactions, and apples in the supermarket are sold by the
>pound.

When I was growing up one bought potato's and apples by the bushel and
peck. (I'm guessing here) the change to buying in small quantities may
have become common when people stopped being so self sufficient and
started depending on shops and stores rather then raising and
preserving their own food.

When I was real young we lived about a mile out of town and had
sufficient property to raise a garden, a cow and, usually, two pigs as
well as some chickens. My mother "canned" vegetables and we killed and
salted the two pigs for food over the winter. Our "grocery shopping"
was largely salt and pepper, baking powder and sugar (:-)

Today, no one bothers with all that. Just whip by the Super Market for
the daily sustenance (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 08:03:48 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

> Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
> measuring tape marked in that scale.

It's a centering ruler -- a strip of bamboo marked with drilled spots
(like the spots on dominos, but smaller) and engraved lines. Sun
lines go across the ruler, bu lines are are just ticks on the edge,
and half-sun lines are a smidgeon longer than bu lines, with spots on
the ends. All these marks are black. The center is marked with a
quincunx of red spots and two concentric black circles, thinner than
the lines, on the middle of a sun line. There's a red spot with part
of a circle around it on one end; I never figured out what that meant.

I used that ruler for forty or fifty years before I learned that it
was a shaku stick.

I chose it because I wanted to mark equal distances from the center
front, and because sun are exactly the distance that I wanted to mark.

I searched for "shaku" once, and learned that the cloth shaku is the
longest of three shakus still in use. If I recall correctly, the shoe
shaku is the shortest and the sword shaku is in between.

In retrospect, I should not have been surprised that there is a shoe
shaku -- we still measure shoes in barleycorns.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net

Am 18.11.2021 um 19:02 schrieb jbeattie:

> Imagine being in Sweden and changing from left-hand drive to
> right-hand drive overnight.
> realscandinavia.com/this-day-in-history-swedish-traffic-switches-sides-september-3-1967/
> I can't think of a way to phase that in, can you? Some people drive
> on the right?

In Austria, they went piecewise
<https://www.harti-media.at/journalismus/rechtsverkehr/>
the state of Vorarlberg change from right-hand drive to left-hand drive
in 1915 and back to right-hand drive in 1921...

> I don't know if phasing in metric is any better --
> although mixing systems probably would not result in people running
> into each other.

On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:23:31 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
> On 11/18/2021 8:07 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
> > John B. <sloc...@gmail.com> writes:
> >
> >> On Thu, 18 Nov 2021 11:43:09 -0600, AMuzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On 11/18/2021 11:09 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> >>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:44:54 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
> >>>>> On 11/18/2021 10:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> >>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:04:36 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
> >>>>>>> On 11/18/2021 9:32 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> >>>>>>>> On Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:03:51 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
> >>>>>>>>> On 11/17/2021 8:35 PM, John B. wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:56:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
> >>>>>>>>>> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:13:26 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
> >>>>>>>>>>> <ra...@invalid.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>>> OK, I’ll bite. What were you measuring?
> >>>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> The easing on the worn neck of a bra that I was binding. I gathered
> >>>>>>>>>>> two sun to seventeen bu without leaving puckers.
> >>>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> Writing this reminded me to lay out the cloth and tools to start
> >>>>>>>>>>> making new bras tomorrow.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> But why Japanese measurements for a Bra? Traditionally Japanese Ladies
> >>>>>>>>>> didn't wear a bra (:-)
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> Like our discussion of temperature scales, because she has a
> >>>>>>>>> measuring tape marked in that scale.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> I think more to the point - why measure in an old obsolete
> >>>>>>>> system when you can only buy cloth products in America in yards
> >>>>>>>> or meters?
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Because the result is the same thing, expressed in any unit,
> >>>>>>> and she had that tape handy.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Well, measuring cloth in those units isn't handy at all because
> >>>>>> when she measures out the cloth in those units the retailer must
> >>>>>> then remeasure them into the yards and fractions for
> >>>>>> pricing. Perhaps in Japan today the salesman might be able to
> >>>>>> make the conversion in his head, but even there today I'm sure
> >>>>>> that they sell cloth in meters or yards.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>> In the 1990s the United States Government in its wisdom
> >>>>> declared that all construction projects with any Federal
> >>>>> funding would be specified in metric dimensions. The
> >>>>> president of a large construction firm which built lots of
> >>>>> gargantuan public buildings was in our store for service to
> >>>>> his Santana so I asked him how much difficulty this meant
> >>>>> for him. He smiled and said that nothing had actually
> >>>>> changed except that they kept two sets of plans, one for
> >>>>> actual procurement and construction in feet and inches, then
> >>>>> another for public reporting and auditing with metric
> >>>>> dimensions. A 36 inch window became 91.44cm and nothing changed.
> >>>>>
> >>>> But can you imagine the expense to the taxpayer for keeping two sets of plans on a large project?
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> In economics it's called structural inefficiency- which
> >>> governments view as a feature not a bug.
> >>>
> >>> But the point is that a cut piece for a sewing project or a
> >>> window width or a volume of fruit is what it is no matter
> >>> which system one uses to express that.
> >>
> >>
> >> If you go "up country" in Thailand where Thai Silk is still hand woven
> >> you will see the ladies measuring cloth width from the center of their
> >> chest to their out stretched hand. Two lengths is just the right
> >> length to make a sarong.
> >>
> >> I asked my wife what that dimension was called and she thought a bit
> >> and said that she had never heard it called anything but everybody
> >> knew what it was.
> >
> > Two such lengths in English is called a "fathom", although it was sized
> > using an English man rather than a Thai lady.
> >
> When I was in England I never saw any man wearing a sarong.
> --
> Andrew Muzi
> <www.yellowjersey.org/>
> Open every day since 1 April, 1971

+1