We have been Tealed..!

[Tomislav]

not mine.. but thought to share

I live in a Teal seat, all of my adult children who live at home ( rent free) voted Teal for action on Climate change and reducing carbon emissions.

I have embraced the result and instituted a new climate friendly regime

1 All hot showers limited to 2 min to save on Gas.

2 Cold showers limited to 4 minutes to save water

3 Internet access limited to 1 hour a day to save on Coal fired Electricity

4 All access to fossil fueled cars has ceased, they must use public transport

For some reason they are not happy,

I have called them Climate deniers..

Looking forward to the immediate improvement in the environment.

[Crunchie]

When I was teaching (only a few years ago), I used to say, "I'll believe you (students) are serious about the environment when you don't throw your litter around the school yard". I even went to the trouble to collect food scraps thrown on the ground and piled them in the quadrangle next to the flagpole. My words and actions were never popular among the students because they struck a nerve. It's always someone else's fault. Blame the Government.

[Tomislav]

I used to drive past a very expensive private school in Hornsby, you know it was expensive because they had copper gutters put in for their extension, but anyway.. the street outside was parked with Cars, with Red P's on them. Always amused me the commitment to environment..

[BobL]

When my young bloke was living at home, his existence was characterised by waste, long showers, lights and appliances left on in every room, etc. Now he has his own place he has become Mr Scrooge. Minimum number of lights on, has timers on some appliances so they can only get accidentally switched on during the day and use solar and minimises the number of car trips he makes. He even gets his old man to take his recycling materials to the recycling centre. I have a van and when I go around to see them he piles all the recycling materials into it and as I go past the centre I can stop off on the way home and drop them off.

[chambezio]

Our youngest daughter (32 years) still lives with us with no sign of her wanting to move out. She has a fairly stressful job in IT. She regards the half hour drive home as "therapeutic". she keeps her to her self for the most part.

Last week end I made a comment on our measuring in metric now (only for the last 50 years). She said that Australia had to decimlise because Imperial measurements were not accurate???? I didn't have the energy to try to make her think any different. I almost said that 000's are pretty accurate but I declined

[BobL]

Most people's understanding of accuracy and precision are usually inaccurate and imprecise.

[Optimark]

Most people's understanding of accuracy and precision are usually inaccurate and imprecise.

I picked this up when it was released in 2019, extremely good book and shows what we have been doing to get evermore exact with measurements.

Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester - 9780008241780 - Dymocks (https://dymocks.com.au/book/exactly-how-precision-engineers-created-the-modern-world-by-simon-winchester-9780008241780)

Mick.

[rustynail]

My daughter speaks several languages. When I give here an imperial measurement she says, Whats that."

[BobL]

I picked this up when it was released in 2019, extremely good book and shows what we have been doing to get evermore exact with measurements.

Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester - 9780008241780 - Dymocks (https://dymocks.com.au/book/exactly-how-precision-engineers-created-the-modern-world-by-simon-winchester-9780008241780)

Mick.

Great book - my copy has been read by about 10 people. 3 of my bro/BILs are engineers and they all read it and we've have in depth discussions about it at family gatherings. The rest of the family get these puzzled looks on their faces until one of them says - oh they're discussing that book AGAIN.

[Old Croc]

I picked this up when it was released in 2019, extremely good book and shows what we have been doing to get evermore exact with measurements.

Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester - 9780008241780 - Dymocks (https://dymocks.com.au/book/exactly-how-precision-engineers-created-the-modern-world-by-simon-winchester-9780008241780)

Mick.
Excellent book. Anything written by Simon is great stuff.
Rgds,
Crocy.

[AlexS]

I picked this up when it was released in 2019, extremely good book and shows what we have been doing to get evermore exact with measurements.

Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester - 9780008241780 - Dymocks (https://dymocks.com.au/book/exactly-how-precision-engineers-created-the-modern-world-by-simon-winchester-9780008241780)

Mick.
I don't think you can be more exact; something is either exact (ie an integer) or not. You may, however, be more precise or more accurate.

I agree, it's an excellent book. As a result of his reading it, the chairman of our woodworking association asked several of us to talk on measurement, accuracy and precision. One of the other speakers brought along a set of Jo blocks, something I had never seen before, although I'd heard of them.

I prefer the metric system, it's a dozen times easier.

[Vann]

My daughter speaks several languages. When I give here an imperial measurement she says, Whats that."


My 17yo has been hanging around in my workshop too long. She understands feet and inches quite well. Metric is too confusing as she speaks in centimetres and I speak in millimetres (proper engineering speak).

Cheers, Vann.

[Bushmiller]

My 17yo has been hanging around in my workshop too long. She understands feet and inches quite well. Metric is too confusing as she speaks in centimetres and I speak in millimetres (proper engineering speak).

Cheers, Vann.

I think centimetres are a preserve of the "ragtrade."

:)

Regards
Paul

[david.elliott]

My mix bottle for the chainsaw is typical European - Centilitres.
And all guillotines in the print trade from Europe were in cm and they used the comma instead of the point as decimal place so 297mm became 29,7cm. Confusing until you get used to it.

[BobL]

I think centimetres are a preserve of the "ragtrade."

:)

Regards
Paul

Correct.

There have been number of confusions between myself a SWMBO over this. Last year she wanted these special 200x400 mm isosceles triangular rulers made out of acrylic with measurement marks on them - luckily she only wanted cm markings.

Due to my health status and the covid situation here in WA I am not going in to any shops. SWMBO has Vertigo so she cannot drive. So I either buy stuff on line or drive her to the shops and she masks up and goes in to buy groceries or what I'm chasing from assorted hardware/electronics stores etc. SWMBO fully supports this as she says I'm too forgetful and would forget to wear a mask or sanitise etc. While she's in the shop, if its going to take a while I sometimes take the dogs for a walk.

A few months back I sent her into a hardware store for some M8 x 50 bolts - being a quilter she assumed I meant M8 x 50 cm so she called me to say they didn't have any.

Now if I can find said item(s) on a website showing specs and picture I print off a copy and send her into the store with the printout and just tell her how many.
She's picked things up fairly quickly and now knows where all the various fasteners are located in Bunnings.
If I cannot find a picture for her to bring into the store I send her in with a written description and once she thinks she's found it in the she sends me a photo to confirms she got it right.

[Handyjack]

A picture is worth a thousand words. Taking a sample into a shop means you are likely to buy the correct (or closest) item. Even a 1:1 photo copy is worth it.

Ideal working scale 1000mm:1 metre.

[BobL]

SWMBO is finally getting down to the level of detail requires..
I sent her into Serles Fasteners to buy 50mm M4, CS, SS, Phillips head screws.
I provided a 40mm long sample for her to show the sales assistant.
After a few minutes SWMBO came out with a sample and said, "This has everything you asked for but has a slightly smaller head, 6.0 versus 6.4 mm diameter".

[ian]

SWMBO is finally getting down to the level of detail requires..
I sent her into Serles Fasteners to buy 50mm M4, CS, SS, Phillips head screws.
I provided a 40mm long sample for her to show the sales assistant.
After a few minutes SWMBO came out with a sample and said, "This has everything you asked for but has a slightly smaller head, 6.0 versus 6.4 mm diameter".
You are a devil BobL.
Sending SWMBO into a fastener supplier with a mix dimension sample. Shame on you :D
6.4 mm is 1/4" rounded to the nearest tenth of a mm.
I'm pretty sure the full metric screw (were you looking for machine screws by chance?) has a 6 mm dia head

[damian]

Bring back gils and cubits I say.


The thing is the "old" measurement systems were based on real life situations and assumed the user could divide by 12. The metric system is based in fantasy for people who can't do maths.


I had to learn both long before I left school. Sometimes on the fly conversions get me (C and F!) but I mostly manage to trundle through.


Picking up non engineering people on trivial errors is really petty. The purpose of language is communication. If you fumble through to an understanding job done. I am absolutely useless at things biological but people I have encountered in those professions are very understanding of my limitations.


It is poor form to belittle people for not understanding my/our professions. Unless of course you happen to know everything...and as far as I'm aware there is only one of me... :D

[Mr Brush]

The imperial:metric changeover happened to me midway through schooling in the UK, so I'm comfortable with both.

This does mean, however, that my intuitive measuring scale moves freely between both systems according to which is a closer fit to the object I'm describing.

Hence my eyeballs are calibrated to a measurement scale of 3mm, 5mm, 1/4", 10mm, 1/2", 15mm, 3/4", 20mm, 1", etc. :2tsup:

I must have been in the cub scouts when the money went decimal; still remember the exciting evening when our "subs" went from a shiny sixpence to "two-and-a-half-new-pence" :oo:

[AlexS]

When Australia went metric in 1974, most states went from measuring water flow in cubic feet a second to cubic metres a second. Both good units because you could visualise them, or make an estimate by throwing a bit of grass in, estimating its velocity and the cross-sectional area and doing a quick mental multiplication. NSW, however went for megalitres per day. Totally impossible to visualise.

[Mr Brush]

When Australia went metric in 1974, most states went from measuring water flow in cubic feet a second to cubic metres a second. Both good units because you could visualise them, or make an estimate by throwing a bit of grass in, estimating its velocity and the cross-sectional area and doing a quick mental multiplication. NSW, however went for megalitres per day. Totally impossible to visualise.

I hadn't thought of that one. Even if I squint, hold my thumb up to sight at, and stick my tongue out the corner of my mouth a bit, I can't visualise a megalitre....let alone "half an olympic swimming pool per day"

[BobL]

You are a devil BobL.
Sending SWMBO into a fastener supplier with a mix dimension sample. Shame on you :D
6.4 mm is 1/4" rounded to the nearest tenth of a mm.
I'm pretty sure the full metric screw (were you looking for machine screws by chance?) has a 6 mm dia head

Yes machine screw.
Most of the M4 CS screws (eg bunnings) I use have a 7.32 mm diameter head
512446
The screw with the 6.4 mm diameter head is from my 3D printer
512447
I can't take a picture of the 6.0mm heads as they are now on my printer.

My M4 Pan heads are 6.6- 6.7 mm diameter

[ian]

Yes machine screw.

The screw with the 6.4 mm diameter head is from my 3D printer
512447
I know you are aware that 6.35mm is actually 1/4"

[ian]

When Australia went metric in 1974, most states went from measuring water flow in cubic feet a second to cubic metres a second. Both good units because you could visualise them, or make an estimate by throwing a bit of grass in, estimating its velocity and the cross-sectional area and doing a quick mental multiplication. NSW, however went for megalitres per day. Totally impossible to visualise.
I don't get why a megalitre per day is impossible to visualise. Not that I use megalitres all that much, if at all if I'm honest.

But a megalitre per day is near enough a thousand cubic metres per day. should be easy to visualise.


The measure I don't get is "Olympic swimming pools"
How wide is that "Olympic pool" 8 lanes; 8 and a bit lanes (i.e. a dividing rope to the outside of lanes 1 and 8; 10 and a bit lanes -- the difference going from 8 standard lanes to 10 lanes and a bit lanes is something like 27% in surface area.

How deep is that "Olympic pool"? What is the Olympic standard depth? Is the "standard" a constant depth, or is the end with the blocks always deeper than the other end?


When I was swimming competitively, "Olympic pools" came in two standard lengths -- 55 yards or 50 metres -- and there was a 2 to 3 second difference between the 800m and 880yd world records.

[Tomislav]

and just how did sarcastic thread on the the electorate and millenials turn into something more useful .

I went and borrowed the precision book and lost hours!

bloody woodies..

[BobL]

In high school we mainly used imperial but some metric.
In first year uni (except for chemistry which was all metric ) we had about an equal amount of imperial and metric for teh rest.
From third year onwards it was all metric apart from a couple of crusty old professors who still threw in the occasional imperial assignment and exam question - I think they were extract these questions from old text books.

During my post graduate work I started getting into air flows in dust free labs.
All our air flow and particle detection gear was imperial (ft/sec and CFM, particles/cuft) so I got used to those and they're still my goto units for air flow.

[Tonyz]

When I was in high school last century, the tech teacher tried using his YARD RULER on my desk to get my attention. Now when your busy chatting to a mate (cobber in NZ) and something comes flying past your ear you react quickly. Suffice to say his ruler disappeared from his hand very quickly and finished being 2 rulers instead.
O also finished up at home contemplating my actions, which I came to the conclusion were very good and brave. The headmaster didnt think so. so ended my time with imperial rulers including the principal, Queen Elizabeth etc

few years later I had an evening job pumping at a servo and was very tempted when said teacher came in the show him the difference between metric litres and imperial gallons.

[lovetoride]

My 17yo has been hanging around in my workshop too long. She understands feet and inches quite well. Metric is too confusing as she speaks in centimetres and I speak in millimetres (proper engineering speak).

Cheers, Vann.

My 34yo daughter can speak fluent imperial length measurements with me. Anything else imperial and she has no idea. BUT when we measure before heading to the hardware or elsewhere for her renos she does cm and I do mm! Mistakes have been made :doh:

I am 64 and fluent in all imperial and metric but when I am generally describing something to someone else I state lengths in inches. Go figure.

Jane

[damian]

Every time I hear a "journalist" say X Olympic swimming pools or "centered around" I want to stab them in the neck. English is the basis of their "profession" (or perhaps it's hairspray). If my maths or physics had been as bad as an engineer I'd be in gaol.

[pippin88]

Every time I hear a "journalist" say X Olympic swimming pools or "centered around" I want to stab them in the neck. English is the basis of their "profession" (or perhaps it's hairspray). If my maths or physics had been as bad as an engineer I'd be in gaol.Agreed. English quality in a lot of journalism is terrible. Frequent failure to use sentences properly. Often sentences lasting a whole paragraph with multiple subjects.

To be picky: "if my maths or physics had been as bad as an engineer I'd be in gaol" means that engineers have bad math and/or physics and you are using them as the example of bad quality.

"As an engineer, if my maths or physics were as bad as a journalists English, I'd be in gaol"

[damian]

Fair point. Thank you for the correction.

[ian]

Every time I hear a "journalist" say X Olympic swimming pools or "centered around" I want to stab them in the neck. English is the basis of their "profession" (or perhaps it's hairspray). If my maths or physics had been as bad as an engineer I'd be in gaol.


Agreed. English quality in a lot of journalism is terrible. Frequent failure to use sentences properly. Often sentences lasting a whole paragraph with multiple subjects.

To be picky: "if my maths or physics had been as bad as an engineer I'd be in gaol" means that engineers have bad math and/or physics and you are using them as the example of bad quality.

"As an engineer, if my maths or physics were as bad as a journalist's English, I'd be in gaol"
If you don't mind the correction:

if your grasp of maths and physics had been as bad as a journalist's grasp / usage of English, you would not have got past 1st year uni, let alone gotten as far through uni to qualify as an engineer.

[damian]

Which begs the question how do they get hired ?


I always thought Ray Martin was a life support system for a hairdo. Maybe that is it. Being pretty is more important than having a clue...