Name this knob

I hope this is satirical.

--



****************************************** 


I assumed it was, and actually found it rather humerous. 



Gareth.

Unfortunately it was not. It was posted in all seriousness, because he truly believes it.

--
"I am a river to my people." 
Jeff-1.0 
WA6FWi 
http:foxsmercantile.com

It's good to know that you are still using ancient English measurements - measurements that are so clumsy the English gave up on them long ago. You may have gained independance for your country but not for your minds...

Some people prefer fighting to thinking.

--
Shaun. 

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy  
little classification in the DSM*." 
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1) 
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

Oh and 'this knob' is called snipped-for-privacy@tubes.com.

--
Shaun. 

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy  
little classification in the DSM*." 
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1) 
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

I thought the phrase was "Bell end."

--
"I am a river to my people." 
Jeff-1.0 
WA6FWi 
http:foxsmercantile.com

"Okie From Muskogee" (Anti-metric edition)

We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee; We don't take no trips on LSD We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street; We like livin' right, and bein' free.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee, A place where even squares can have a ball We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse, And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all

We don't make a party out of lovin'; We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo; We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy, Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee, A place where even squares can have a ball. We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse, And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all.

Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear; Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen. Football's still the roughest thing on campus, And the kids here still respect the college dean.

****** We dont use no commie metrics in Muskogee, Our tape measures only read inches and feet. Our prom queen is a perfect 38-24-36 inches, We still spin 45rpm records to feel the beat. *******

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse, In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.

Don't attribute words to Merle, He was enough of an asshole without your help.

--
"I am a river to my people." 
Jeff-1.0 
WA6FWi 
http:foxsmercantile.com

Kinky knew this. We all knew this.

--
"I am a river to my people." 
Jeff-1.0 
WA6FWi 
http:foxsmercantile.com

Oh, I dunno - anyone smitten with a system based on the width of the (Roman) emperor's thumb some several thousand years ago deserves pity.

All and at the same time, the last time I saw Merle in concert (as an opener for Leo Kottke of all things!) he was a tired old man with neither vinegar nor piss remaining, and not much of his voice. It was a small room, and entirely unamplified.

So, think on it! This AMERICAN is advocating: Arabic numerals. Roman letters. An emperor's thumb.

Not very bright.

Those who do not remember the paste are condemned to repeat it.

-George Santayana

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Until they make an ass of themselves over it.

Merle has been the embodiment of the mentality that voted for Trump. Typically, the ability to be outraged and threatened by any change.

Dumber than a box of rocks.

All measurements are arbitrary. They were and are all born out a requirement of repeat-ability. To prove that, I built a set of cabinets using just a stick that I put pencil marks on. "This part has to be this wide/long etc."

--
"I am a river to my people." 
Jeff-1.0 
WA6FWi 
http:foxsmercantile.com

I remember the paste. The dumbest kids in class used to eat it.

Measurement units are all arbitrary. One upside of imperial is the units are divisible by several whole numbers, making mental mathematics easier some of the time. To call them 'not very bright' is just not very bright.

The modern world contains no end of both unit systems in use, thus the sensible practical person familiarises themselves with both systems. (Which explains why our UK schools only teach one system.)

NT

Until they make an ass of themselves over it.

Merle has been the embodiment of the mentality that voted for Trump. Typically, the ability to be outraged and threatened by any change.

Dumber than a box of rocks.

All measurements are arbitrary. They were and are all born out a requirement of repeat-ability. To prove that, I built a set of cabinets using just a stick that I put pencil marks on. "This part has to be this wide/long etc."

****************************

Just from memory, I can't be arsed to Google it right now,

isn't there some piece of metal held in a vault somewhere (possibly France) that is defined to be the accepted length of a metre?

Pierre.

That would be the Bureau international des poids et mesures.

The original international prototype of the metre is still kept at the BIPM under the conditions specified in 1889.

The BIPM is also the keeper of the international prototype of the kilogram.

suburbs south-west of Paris.

However, it's still just an arbitrary measurement. It was based on a fraction of the earth's diameter. And derived from a small arc of said diameter. Coincidentally it just happened to end up being close to the same length of the English yard.

Frequency is another arbitrary system. It is based on the rotation of the earth divided by 86,400 for seconds. Or 24 for hours, which had already been standardized during the Roman Empire.

The primary advantage of the Metric system is all the units are related to one another and divisible by ten. Length, volume, weight etc.. Unlike the relationship between inches, ounces (liquid) and ounces (weight) that all have different divisors. Inch, feet, yards, miles etc..

--
"I am a river to my people." 
Jeff-1.0 
WA6FWi 
http:foxsmercantile.com

That would be the Bureau international des poids et mesures.

The original international prototype of the metre is still kept at the BIPM under the conditions specified in 1889.

The BIPM is also the keeper of the international prototype of the kilogram.

suburbs south-west of Paris.

However, it's still just an arbitrary measurement. It was based on a fraction of the earth's diameter. And derived from a small arc of said diameter. Coincidentally it just happened to end up being close to the same length of the English yard.

Frequency is another arbitrary system. It is based on the rotation of the earth divided by 86,400 for seconds. Or 24 for hours, which had already been standardized during the Roman Empire.

The primary advantage of the Metric system is all the units are related to one another and divisible by ten. Length, volume, weight etc.. Unlike the relationship between inches, ounces (liquid) and ounces (weight) that all have different divisors. Inch, feet, yards, miles etc..

************************************

OK, I'm no Physisyst, though I quite liked Physics at school and was reasonably good at it.

Is it not now considered that time is no longer arbitrary? i.e. Atomic clocks base a second around the determinable decay of some kind of (cesium) radioactive particle?

This is not a variable under normal earth conditions.

So, "v = f.lambda" has at least one "known" value.

You don't actually need to know whether a metre is a metre at all, as long as you accept the value of "t" as a known constant.

I think.

Albert.

Somewhere I have a book from the 1800s that lists the sizes of imperial mea surements in various countries. They are nearly all different, that is the prime reason metric became popular, traditional units became a mare when in ternational trade greatly expanded.

Easy division by 10 is sometimes useful. Easy division by 2,3,4,6 & 12 is s ometimes useful. I pick my system according to which works better for each task.

NT

but the unit of seconds is an arbitrary number of decays.

NT

It's still an arbitrary measurement. Just now, it is one they can assign it's arbitrary value more accurately and consistently.

Just like the gram.

Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and

temperature of maximum density of water). However, in a reversal of reference and defined units, a gram is now defined as one

which itself is now defined, not in terms of grams, but as being equal to the mass of a physical prototype of a specific alloy kept locked up and preserved by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.

Or Fahrenheit vs Celsius. Fahrenheit was originally derived a 0 F = the coldest it's ever been and 100 F = the hottest it's ever been. Both quite arbitrary. Then along came Celsius. Water freezes at 0 C and boils at 100 C, compared to 32 F and 212 F respectively. A little bit more accurate that "Oh shit it's hot outside."

--
"I am a river to my people." 
Jeff-1.0 
WA6FWi 
http:foxsmercantile.com

It's still an arbitrary measurement. Just now, it is one they can assign it's arbitrary value more accurately and consistently.

****************************

So are you saying it is a variable?

Either it is, or it isn't.

Gareth.