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dhaslam
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« Reply #15 on: February 08, 2010, 06:05:30 PM » |
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The metric system has been used around the world for scientific purposes almost since it was introduced in France during the revolution. Although it had a political purpose in destroying everything from the past it was logical and necessary. It is a bit hard to understand why business didn't adopt it much sooner. Even now a lot of products are sold in metric but based on the old units. I remember the importers of one of the continental lagers, Heineken I think, couldn't sell their product in Ireland until they changed to "half pint" bottles. They made up for their extra expense since.
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northern installer
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« Reply #16 on: February 08, 2010, 09:36:07 PM » |
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Masons and speculums don't conjure a pretty picture!  I remember British tvs - 405 lines, black and white, 9" screen with a perspex oil-filled magnifier in front............ the smell of dust burning off the valves on switch-on, as like as not accompanied by a blue flash and the smell of frying resistor/condenser, OR having to wait 5 minutes for it to warm up, and having to fetch it a hefty thump just there to stop the picture rolling.............  Oh! but Martin,think of the joy of muffin the mule ! |
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"government scrappage scheme still available on Tardis trade ins (dont ask how we get around the deadline...)"
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davebodger
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« Reply #17 on: February 09, 2010, 12:37:45 AM » |
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Masons and speculums don't conjure a pretty picture! I remember British tvs - 405 lines, black and white, 9" screen with a perspex oil-filled magnifier in front............ the smell of dust burning off the valves on switch-on, as like as not accompanied by a blue flash and the smell of frying resistor/condenser, OR having to wait 5 minutes for it to warm up, and having to fetch it a hefty thump just there to stop the picture rolling............. Ahh, happy days indeed - I remember watching the first episode of Dr Who on one of those. The magnifier had a little bubble at the top that fascinated me. Oh, err, I was a lot younger then.....  |
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Soladin Grid-Tie 400Wp tracker in London NW5.
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noelsquibb
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« Reply #18 on: February 09, 2010, 10:18:44 AM » |
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Metricisation ?
I had to google the word.
Why did I think it was metrication ?
fortunately I found this -
Semantic aspects of spelling reform." Dr. Neville Brown, Foundation for the Education of the Under-achieving and Dyslexic.
I may be bsuy for a while -
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mmmmm, gravy
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martin
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« Reply #19 on: February 09, 2010, 10:40:13 AM » |
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spelling.......... I remember that, last seen in the 60's, since then subsumed in an inglorious heap of initial teaching alphabets and "mustn't correct the little darlings, it'll stunt their growth" cobblers........... I remember a time when thanks to non-decimal weights, measures and money, kids could do mental arithmetic, and also learnt to spell, and learnt the use of grammar too............ Since then we've had 50 years of progress, and we have young adults with degrees who can't add up, spell, understand grammar, tie their own shoelaces, boil an egg or find their own bottoms without satnav- let alone pass a 1959 eleven-plus exam............  |
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Unpaid volunteer administrator and moderator (not employed by Navitron) - Views expressed are my own - curmudgeonly babyboomer! - http://www.farmco.co.uk |
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djh
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« Reply #20 on: February 09, 2010, 10:59:48 AM » |
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spelling.......... inglorious Shurely shome mishtake. That should be Inglourious nowadays I believe, as in Inglourious unmerried parents |
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Cheers, Dave
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rhys
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« Reply #21 on: February 09, 2010, 11:01:34 AM » |
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spelling.......... I remember that, last seen in the 60's, since then subsumed in an inglorious heap of initial teaching alphabets and "mustn't correct the little darlings, it'll stunt their growth" cobblers........... I remember a time when thanks to non-decimal weights, measures and money, kids could do mental arithmetic, and also learnt to spell, and learnt the use of grammar too............ Since then we've had 50 years of progress, and we have young adults with degrees who can't add up, spell, understand grammar, tie their own shoelaces, boil an egg or find their own bottoms without satnav- let alone pass a 1959 eleven-plus exam............  |
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martin
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« Reply #22 on: February 09, 2010, 11:10:19 AM » |
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not actually grumps - more utter despair that whole generations are allowing a beautiful language to wither on the vine, whilst "estuary English", americanisms, and Sun-readers' 700 word vocabularies take over............  You may be right - a darkened room beckons, where St Joanna (Lumley) can gently read me "Rebecca" whilst she strokes my fevered brow.............. |
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Unpaid volunteer administrator and moderator (not employed by Navitron) - Views expressed are my own - curmudgeonly babyboomer! - http://www.farmco.co.uk |
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dhaslam
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« Reply #23 on: February 09, 2010, 12:26:21 PM » |
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What is more worrying is the loss of ability to innovate. Too much education and too many ready made solutions damages the ability to develop. In the old days with more meager education people had to use their natural inventiveness to a much greater extent. My grandfather emigrated to Canada in about 1900 but he had a job lined up before he went. When he got there he discovered that he could live on half his salary and paid someone to do his job. How many people could or would do that today?
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biff
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« Reply #24 on: February 09, 2010, 08:57:55 PM » |
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metric or imperial,
4 to the ft or 4 to 300...we bricklayers had a bit of an nightmare when metric came in but during the 60s it was 4 to 13,and a half inches with these great big fat bricks,
a walk along rochester highstreet in kent will reveal at least a dozen different gauges of bricks,even the old castle has bricks only 2 inches thick in its normand foundations,these were standard in those days,almost 2,000yrs ago,,,blame the french again.
but metric is here to stay,there is simply nothing to compare with 5mm on the tape,it gets very complicated in imperial with fractions and such so if you want to be accurate it has to be metric.
biff
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noelsquibb
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« Reply #25 on: February 10, 2010, 12:39:07 AM » |
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heh,
biff the spot on brickie
you can show me your perps anytime .....
Don't you just love those jobs where the architect dimensions everything to work to full brick.
Then when you show em two very different lengths bricks, that are within the BS for tolerance ( most bricks being very tolerant ) they blame everyone except their daft assumptions. Usually gets rid of em and leaves us free to get on with things though.
better spelchek me post I s'pose. Dont wanna upset ne1
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mmmmm, gravy
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northern installer
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« Reply #26 on: February 10, 2010, 06:25:05 PM » |
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if the architect cant make the drawing work,he just draws a thicker line. 'sod it ,let the guys on site sort it out'  |
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"government scrappage scheme still available on Tardis trade ins (dont ask how we get around the deadline...)"
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biff
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« Reply #27 on: February 11, 2010, 08:48:26 PM » |
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hi noel, remember the one where patrick went over to work in germany,and the german forman took him to the one side and said,""err patrick" ,, "you will notice that over here we strive very hard to be as accurate as possible" but patrick looked at him as frowned,,"sorry hans," "that would,nt work back in ireland, back home we have to be spot on" yes ,,, you guessed it, that was me. biff |
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rob26440
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« Reply #28 on: February 11, 2010, 09:51:56 PM » |
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A bit of topical imperial measure humour.....
What's the difference between a cabinet maker, a joiner and a carpenter?............
A cabinet maker works to the nearest 1/100 inch.
A joiner works to the nearest 1/10 inch.
And a carpenter works to the nearest house.
(Not my original. I heard this from a "wood worker").
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S/E England. 30x58mm tubes, S/W facing 40deg pitched roof, 216L primary and 184L secondary cylinders, TDC3 with home-made, separate controller to switch between cylinders, 15mm tubing with min 25mm insulation.
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noelsquibb
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« Reply #29 on: February 12, 2010, 08:16:42 PM » |
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and the best thing about the 'spot on' approach was that it didnt need to be metrificatified, cos 'spot on' works in all standards of measurement.
I learnt quite a lot from 'McAlpines Fusileers' whilst trying to build motorway bridges back in the '70s.
Proper 'wild west' it was and introduced me to the JFDI principle.
noel
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mmmmm, gravy
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