Things that annoy you because they are they wrong way round

[underquark]

Fact - USB memory sticks are now ubiquitous
Fact - many come with a neck-cord attached or the facility to attach one
Fact - the cord is attached to the business end of the stick which means that, when you come to use it, you have to take the cord off your neck, insert the USB memory stick and are then left holding the cap which you generally lose after leaving in a safe place in the office.

This is clearly the "wrong way round".

Expand, give other examples (some might even be relevant to ubuntu) and discuss.

[SomeGuyDude]

Yes, because it would be so smart if the cord was attached to the cap end so the stick itself can fall right the f@#$ off your neck without you noticing.

[The Funkbomb]

Put it in your pocket. Problem solved.

[Bodsda]

Not to mention the fact that most USB sticks (every one I have owned) is upside down.

[The Funkbomb]

Also, I find a lot of the straps have those plastic quick connect do-hickeys. You don't have to take the lanyard off your neck, just disconnect it.

[Calmor]

Maybe silly, but my vote is for electricty. Current flows from negative (where the electrons are) to positive (where they want to go), but everything is wired so that the negative is considered (and often is) ground... even though most people think it's positive to negative. And, in DC circuits, black is "ground" and red is "hot"... and in AC, black is "hot" and white is ground - literally. And if there's a red, it's "hot" too.

My other one is bank order of transactions. I know they do it to make money, but it's unethical at best, and annoys me. If you withdrawal $5, $10, $100, and $500 (in that order), they do the biggest one first anyway. And say you only had $500 in the bank for some reason (probably because the check you deposited comes after all the withdrawals).. then you get 3 separate overdraft fees taken out of that check you deposited.

As for the OP and the second poster, I see both sides of that one. I just throw out the cap. It's better than losing the USB, and rarely if ever is the cap actually helpful or necessary. You can always use the old Nintendo cartridge trick and blow out the gunk if necessary.

[pookiebear]

my usb key the cap slides back from the connector part and never detaches. no worries there.

[alphaniner]

Where I live there seems to be a lot more reckless drivers on the road when the weather is poor, versus when the weather is nice. Apparently, the principle of right-of-way gets flipped on its head when rain starts to fall.

[wojox]

Things that annoy you because they are they wrong way round

People who can't formulate sentences.

[saulgoode]

The word "unloosen"

[earthpigg]

folks needing to accomplish a given task on a computer look first to "Freeware", "Shareware", "Free Download", and "Warez" instead of looking to "Open Source" or "GPL" first.

look at the google results of these two searches and you will see what i am talking about:

video editor free download
and
video editor gpl

[gnomeuser]

My USB stick is sold as a USB keychain, yet the hole through which you attach the USB key to anything is so tiny it won't fit any normal keychain. I tried attaching it with a custom piece of wire but that ended up poking me then it fell off..

If it so hard to design a neat looking USB thingy that can go on my keychain so when I lose my keys I will also lose my precious data?

When I buy a computer I pretty much have to pay for Windows, I have to fight to remove it and get my money back. That seems the wrong way around, first you sell me a computer, then you convince me your product is worth paying for.

I have the flu (regular not h1n1), why is that I a highly evolved beings can still lose a battle to what is basically a one celled organism. That hardly seems the right way around.

[underquark]

@SomeGuyDude
Depends what's on the stick.

@Bodsda
Even just trying to understand that is giving me a headache.

@The Funkbomb
Evidently you are used to a better class of USB stick than me.

[underquark]

@Calmor
Very good. I remember in school physics class being taught the concept of electricity flowing from positive to negative which was required to get some rules to work (can't remember if it was the Generator Rule or the RightHand Motor Rule or whatever).

@pookiebear
See reply to The Funkbomb.

@wojox
Yep, got me there. What can I say? Firefox corrects spelling in the text box but leaves the user to their own stupidity when typing the title of the post.

@gnomeuser
Yeh, that is a classic example of "wrong way round" - it is silly that (usually large) companies will only sell you a PC with Windows pre-installed.

[JohnFH]

American dates. No, not the romantic kind. 12/11/2009 is not in December!

[The Funkbomb]

@The Funkbomb
Evidently you are used to a better class of USB stick than me.

I got most of mine for free from internet purchases. They give the small usb drives away for free now.

[Paqman]

Current flows from negative (where the electrons are) to positive (where they want to go)

Ah, but does it?

That's what I love about electrical theory, it's so abstract. Just look at semiconductors. Whoever thought up the idea of hole flow is a nutter.

The bottom line is that most of our mental models of how electricity works aren't necessarily an exact representation of what's really happening. They're just a useful model that can be used to get results. A lot of our models that we use for atomic scale structures are not really accurate.

It's like the way Newtonian physics is still useful, even though it's wrong about a lot of stuff (or at least, is very incomplete). In the right application, a simplified model gives results that are good enough, even if the model doesn't really describe reality that accurately.

[mobilediesel]

American dates. No, not the romantic kind. 12/11/2009 is not in December!

Yeah I was trying to get used to using the ISO 8601 date standard then I went and installed a Greasemonkey script to "correct" the date to "American."

Honestly I probably should change the script to change to ISO 8601 from whatever other format. Whadaya want from the only industrialized nation that hasn't switched to metric?

Hey! That's one I can add. Why the hell are people in the U.S. complaining that we can't sell our crap to other countries when we refuse to use the system of measurement that nearly the rest of the world uses? That's not merely backward, it's idiotic!

[Tristam Green]

Wall sockets that are upside-down.

[Bjalf]

American dates. No, not the romantic kind. 12/11/2009 is not in December!
It's to be expected from people that start their week on Sunday. "On the first day God rested, because he was a lazy ***."

[markbuntu]

Computer mice are upside down. Why do you need to use your entire arm to drag this thing all over your desk just to move a tiny ball around?
That never made any sense to me.

[earthpigg]

Computer mice are upside down. Why do you need to use your entire arm to drag this thing all over your desk just to move a tiny ball around?
That never made any sense to me.

you still have a tiny ball in your mouse? odd.


anyways: the other way has been attempted with limited commercial success.

[chillicampari]

I prefer a trackball, but if I could move the cursor with my brain that would be even better.

Why are oranges the wrong way? The food part should be on the outside so you can just pick it up and eat it proper (like an apple for example, much more civilized).

[Chronon]

I prefer a trackball, but if I could move the cursor with my brain that would be even better.

Why are oranges the wrong way? The food part should be on the outside so you can just pick it up and eat it proper (like an apple for example, much more civilized).

How about pomegranates? They're all pith except for the seeds. Now that's backwards!

[underquark]

Never knock a pomegranate until you've tried a grenadillo.

[underquark]

Can a monopole can ever be the wrong way round?

[Keyper7]

Yielding the right of way to the one coming from the right when you're driving. In my country it's like that and, in my opinion, it should be for the one coming from the left.

Why? Because the reasoning behind the "right" thing is because the steering wheel is on the left side of the car, so if you happen to collide with a car coming from the right, the other driver is much more likely to be hurt.

Sounds reasonable at first: "don't risk killing people". Unfortunately, that does not consider a basic fact: human beings are naturally selfish. Seriously, "for the sake of others" is an argument that does not fly in this world.

If the rule was to give the right of way to the one coming from the left, then the reasoning would be "don't risk getting yourself killed", which is much easier to be taken seriously.

[markbuntu]

you still have a tiny ball in your mouse? odd.


anyways: the other way has been attempted with limited commercial success.

I use trackballs, like I said, a mouse never made any sense to me. By the time the patents on trackballs ran out the mouse had become ubiquitous and entrenched. But still, that does not make the computer mouse any less stupid.

Try using one on a rolling ship or small airplane.

[TheNessus]

This is very wrong:

When a person is dead, and you make a joke about him, people shush you ans say "respect the person; he's dead!"

I say - when he's dead, who cares? He should be respected when he's ALIVE! but all day long, the only thing you hear is jokes and lies and nasty stuff about people ALIVE.

I find that very wrong!

[vexorian]

Flash drives still come with removable caps?


http://www.techgadgets.in/images/kingston-dt-mini-slim-usb-flash-drive.jpg
My first flash drive, was like the white one in the pic, came with a removable cap. But as the picture shows, you could put the cap on the other side of the drive to prevent losing just one half of the set...

But then I bought one just like the black one above the white one, it has a slideable USB plug , much safer.

Next year, I bought one with rotating cap, like the one at the bottom. More resistant...

finally, my "DT mini slim" has no removable parts... so it needs no cap at all, and it is awesome... It is like the purple one in the pic, but mine is black.

[Flimm]

This is very wrong:

When a person is dead, and you make a joke about him, people shush you ans say "respect the person; he's dead!"

I say - when he's dead, who cares? He should be respected when he's ALIVE! but all day long, the only thing you hear is jokes and lies and nasty stuff about people ALIVE.

I find that very wrong!
Good point. Maybe it's because a dead person can't defend herself, whereas an alive one can, to some extent.

[alienclone]

Not to mention the fact that most USB sticks (every one I have owned) is upside down.

wrong, your usb port is upside down

[alienclone]

*snip* but if I could move the cursor with my brain that would be even better. */snip*

http://www.livescience.com/health/050317_brain_interface.html

[chillicampari]

That's really neat!

[SomeGuyDude]

I got a good one: the way the inside of most flip-out phones are laid out.

http://imgur.com/DHWSY.jpg

http://imgur.com/LbUpK.jpg

Specifically, the way the navigational buttons are all sitting on the right side. Now, it makes sense for most navigation...

BUT...

There are a lot of games ported to these phones that are console games. I have, for example, Sonic the Hedgehog. Unfortunately, this means the arrow keys and the buttons are exactly the opposite of how they are on console controllers, making controlling the game SEVERELY awkward.

[Chronon]

There are a lot of games ported to these phones that are console games. I have, for example, Sonic the Hedgehog. Unfortunately, this means the arrow keys and the buttons are exactly the opposite of how they are on console controllers, making controlling the game SEVERELY awkward.

That seems quite sloppy. It only requires a better keymap. It seems this could be easily fixed without much work.

[Chronon]

Can a monopole can ever be the wrong way round?

Can a number point the wrong direction?

[SomeGuyDude]

That seems quite sloppy. It only requires a better keymap. It seems this could be easily fixed without much work.

For some, you CAN use the keys differently (for example, the enV Touch's gray keys on the left can function as a directional pad), but it's terribly awkward.

[BuffaloX]

That most English speaking countries use Imperial instead of metric.

[benj1]

not realy the wrong way round but

"lisp"(also known as sigmatism, when people cant pronounce sibilants) - people with one can't say it
"rhotacism"(inability to pronounce the letter 'r') - again people with one can't say it
"dyslexia" - people with it an spell it

cruel jokes, or just useful in the diagnosis ?

[Chronon]

That most English speaking countries use Imperial instead of metric.

Which countries, exactly? I thought the USA was about the only one.

[BuffaloX]

Which countries, exactly? I thought the USA was about the only one.

I think they all use imperial, maybe some have officially decided to go metric, but do they actually use it? I don't know.
Every time I see an English speaking movie or website, people are feet and inches tall, they drive xx miles, their speed is xx mph, weights are stones pounds and ounces.

20 years ago we (Denmark) officially went from calories to joule for energy, but for food it's still always calories.

Metric is superior to Imperial when you need to relate between anything like speed/distance volume weight energy temperature.
But people just refuse to change, even when it's for something clearly better.

[Chronon]

I think they all use imperial, maybe some have officially decided to go metric, but do they actually use it? I don't know.
Every time I see an English speaking movie or website, people are feet and inches tall, they drive xx miles, their speed is xx mph, weights are stones pounds and ounces.

20 years ago we (Denmark) officially went from calories to joule for energy, but for food it's still always calories.

Metric is superior to Imperial when you need to relate between anything like speed/distance volume weight energy temperature.
But people just refuse to change, even when it's for something clearly better.
Interesting. My dad grew up in New Zealand and claimed that they had gone metric ages ago. They label food in terms of joules, even.

A bit of poking around led me to a wikipedia article about metrication in the UK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_Kingdom). It seems that the process is a bit of a mixed bag.

[lisati]

The word "unloosen"
What about when people use the word "irregardless"? This one sounds clumsy to me, as if they've combined the words "regardless" and "irrespective"


American dates. No, not the romantic kind. 12/11/2009 is not in December!
... and easier to sort.

Just look at semiconductors. Whoever thought up the idea of hole flow is a nutter.

This makes me think of one abstraction of atoms and molecules. If we take some of what we are taught at face value, there's a lot of empty space in the desk I use for my laptop and in the floor. This would be of little comfort when I stand up, I was trip over one of the desk's legs, and promptly bruise my knee on the floor.

It's to be expected from people that start their week on Sunday. "On the first day God rested, because he was a lazy ***."
I was momentarily distracted by what some of my Seventh-day Adventist in-laws might have to say about this, but since discussion of religion is discouraged by the forum C of C...... :(


(/me goes back to listening to a couple of tracks from the Dutch soundtrack album of Mamma Mia, before a show Mrs Lisati likes comes on TV)

[lisati]

Interesting. My dad grew up in New Zealand and claimed that they had gone metric ages ago. They label food in terms of joules, even.

A bit of poking around led me to a wikipedia article about metrication in the UK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_Kingdom). It seems that the process is a bit of a mixed bag.
We went to decimal currency in 1967 (on July 10), and supposedly metric measurements in the 1970s. These days, instead of kilograms, a unit of weight known as a "cagey" or sometimes a "kilo" is substituted. Both speed and distance are commonly and confusingly measured in "kays".

[Marrkk]

my vote is for the popularity of Gnome...
<grin>

[cariboo]

We've been metric since the mid 70's here in Canada, I have a friend that says Miles instead of Kilometres, even though he does mean Kilometres.

[SomeGuyDude]

That most English speaking countries use Imperial instead of metric.

Most as in... what? The US? The only countries on the planet not officially Metric are Burma, Liberia, and the United States.

[Firestem4]

The word "unloosen"

My poor brain. I think I lost an IQ point reading that... lol

Similarily, irregardless. (It is not a word people!)

http://www.cracked.com/article_15664_9-words-that-dont-mean-what-you-think.html

[SomeGuyDude]

My poor brain. I think I lost an IQ point reading that... lol

Similarily, irregardless. (It is not a word people!)

http://www.cracked.com/article_15664_9-words-that-dont-mean-what-you-think.html

I gotta disagree with #9 on that. If you say something is "deceptively [adjective]", it means that it doesn't APPEAR to be [adjective], but it is. 50% of the panel cited agrees with me, because that's the only way it makes sense. To say that a pool is "deceptively shallow" to mean it's actually quite deep is like saying "I was surprised at how shallow the pool was" in the sense that it's 15 feet deep, and you were surprised because it isn't shallow at all.

</Englishmajorrant>

[SirBismuth]

Computer mice are upside down. Why do you need to use your entire arm to drag this thing all over your desk just to move a tiny ball around?
That never made any sense to me.

I use my old Logitech Trackball at work, that I used to use at home until I got a laser mouse for home use. I like not having to move the mouse around, as I also have a space constraints, and have gotten used to it.

The USB thumb drives that I use all have removable caps, haven't lost one yet. At work I have a extension cable running from my one USB port to the top of my desk, and use Prestik to hold it down. So when I am using the thumb drive, just stick the cap down until I need it again. It even survives the cleaning crew! :D

At first I was annoyed by the US-format for dates (calendar, not romantic :D), but then I thought that they probably think the same of my date format, so just let it be. If a date makes no sense to me, then I read it in the US-format, and more often than not that clears it up.

Sames goes for the 12-hour clock, I personally prefer 24-hr, and change any system I use to 24-hr format, but understand the 12-hr format if someone uses it.

B

[Paqman]

Interesting. My dad grew up in New Zealand and claimed that they had gone metric ages ago. They label food in terms of joules, even.

A bit of poking around led me to a wikipedia article about metrication in the UK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_Kingdom). It seems that the process is a bit of a mixed bag.

I grew up in NZ, and now live in the UK:

NZ: Totally metric. You do hear occasional leftovers from Imperial days, such as people often give their height in feet and inches, although they'll give you their weight in kg in the same breath.

From what i've seen, all the other English-speaking Commonwealth nations are in a similar position.

UK: Officially metric, apart from a few holdouts like road signs. However, one of the UK's defining national characteristics is extreme suspicion of change, so there's still a lot of resistance in the population to embracing metric. They seem to have the mad idea that to do so would result in some kind of loss of sovereignty, since metric is bundled in the public's mind with EU meddling in British society.
Change comes slowly in Britain. They'll complete the switch eventually, but it'll take a loooooong time.

So it really is just the US holding out with the tired old Imperial system, although the UK is fighting a determined rearguard action ;)

[benj1]

UK: Officially metric, apart from a few holdouts like road signs. However, one of the UK's defining national characteristics is extreme suspicion of change, so there's still a lot of resistance in the population to embracing metric. They seem to have the mad idea that to do so would result in some kind of loss of sovereignty, since metric is bundled in the public's mind with EU meddling in British society.
Change comes slowly in Britain. They'll complete the switch eventually, but it'll take a loooooong time.

So it really is just the US holding out with the tired old Imperial system, although the UK is fighting a determined rearguard action ;)

i wouldn't say we have an extreme suspicion of change (no more than anybody else anyway). i think a few of the factors why we haven't gone totally metric is that imperial measures seem to be more useful and on a human scale.
a pint of beer is a nice size, 1/2 a litre isn't enough 1 litre is too much. 12 stone is a nicer weight than 80kgs, inches and feet are more useful as rule of thumb measurements than cm and metres.

with things like speed limits it is probably more to do with cost, considering we have about 18 billion speed cameras that would need recalibrating.

[lisati]

NZ: Totally metric. You do hear occasional leftovers from Imperial days, such as people often give their height in feet and inches, although they'll give you their weight in kg in the same breath.


Another leftover: some pieces of wood are referred to a "4 by 2" (as in "four inches by two inches". I think I even have a NZ penny somewhere that I found in the garden, even though it hasn't been legal tender since 1967.

[blur xc]

toilet paper
diaper wipes
toilet seat protector

none of them are used as the name would suggest-

should be named butt paper, baby butt wipes, and butt protector (or for a slang version- head gasket)

BM

[Gwasanaethau]

toilet paper
diaper wipes
toilet seat protector

none of them are used as the name would suggest-

should be named butt paper, baby butt wipes, and butt protector (or for a slang version- head gasket)

BM

Should that not be a butt gasket (unless you're puking in the toilet, I guess)? ;):lol:

Ireland's nearly all metric, but like New Zealand, we have the odd sayings that are left over from before 'the switchover'. However, speed limits were only switched over in the past decade, which is why we still have a tiny 'km/h' written on the signs. Distances changed a good time before that, so there were some interesting situations where you had a metric sign next to an imperial one (e.g. Dublin 120 km, but a speed limit of 60 mph). Try working out how long it'll take you to get there without crashing! :lol:

As for the UK (where I lived for 19 years), their not changing to the Euro is based on the same feeling as towards metricisation.

P.S. US imperial are different measures to similarly names UK ones too, making things even more confusing (i.e. 1 US lb = 20 oz, whereas 1 UK lb = 16 oz, I believe).

[KiwiNZ]

Another leftover: some pieces of wood are referred to a "4 by 2" (as in "four inches by two inches". I think I even have a NZ penny somewhere that I found in the garden, even though it hasn't been legal tender since 1967.

Only New Zealanders will understand this one

Our South Island being called the Mainland.... yeah right its a vacant lot attached to the rest of New Zealand :p

[alphaniner]

...metric system...

Thomas Jefferson 'invented' a system much like the metric system and proposed it for adoption as the official standard of the US:


The First Congress, meeting in 1789, took up the question of weights and measures, and had the metric system been available at that time it might have been adopted. What actually happened is that Thomas Jefferson, who was then serving as the first Secretary of State, submitted a report proposing a decimal-based system with a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar names for the units.

Jefferson's system actually resembles the metric system in many ways. Its biggest shortcoming is that Jefferson didn't hit on the idea of using prefixes to create names for multiples of units. Consequently, his system was burdened with a long list of names. For example, he divided his basic distance unit, the foot (it was slightly shorter than the traditional foot) into 10 inches. Each inch was divided into 10 lines, and each line into 10 points. For larger distances, 10 feet equalled a decade, 100 feet was a rood, 1000 feet a furlong, and there were 10 000 feet in a mile (making the Jeffersonian mile about twice as long as the traditional mile). His basic volume unit was the cubic foot, which he proposed to call a bushel (it was about 3/4 the size of a traditional bushel). The basic weight unit was the ounce, defined so that a bushel of water weighed 1000 ounces. (This is very similar to the metric system, in which a liter of water weighs 1000 grams).

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/usmetric.html

[3rdalbum]

Books are the wrong way around. Books for little children are printed in a large, easy-to-read typeface. Books for adults are printed in a small typeface. It should be the other way around, because as you get older your eyesight gets worse.

And have you ever noticed that when a calendar goes over 5 lines, they put the 30 and 31 on the top line? That's back to front.

[alphaniner]

Odd! Do they give any explanation? I tend to read magazines back to front but I gather that's something entirely different.

[The Funkbomb]

Funny this thread came to the top. I was cleaning off my desk and I found the cap to my large USB drive that I use most of these days. The keyhole for the lanyard is in the cap. Where the lanyard is now is beyond me.

This is what mine looks like except mine says 8GB between the scale and the Lexar print.

136668

[The Funkbomb]

Also, the metric system rocks. Multiples of 10. Simple and beautiful.

How many yards are in 5.82 miles? 10,243.2 yards

How many meters are in 5.82 kilometres? 5820m

Which makes more sense? To me, the latter and that's coming from an American. It makes scaling and lofting so much easier. Plus, centimetres are much more precise than 16th of an inch.

I love the metric system.

[qalimas]

Being from the USA and on a few Linux forums, it confuses me when I see a date written with day/month. If the day isn't higher than 12, I sometimes can't tell the difference. I'm used to Imperial, and to 01/02/2003 being January 2, 2003.

While metric isn't as backwards to me as the date thing, it's easy to visualize the length of a mile, or the height of someone 6' tall, or the weight of a 20lb sack of potatoes. I do understand the metric system, I just can't guestimate based on it.

[alphaniner]

The date thing gets me sometimes too. I was never good at guestimation though, so when I was first properly introduced to the metric system it wasn't a barrier for me to realize its superiority.

On the measurement topic, another thing that annoys me is that grams (and kg, etc.) are often referred to as a measurement of weight rather than mass.

[The Funkbomb]

Being from the USA and on a few Linux forums, it confuses me when I see a date written with day/month. If the day isn't higher than 12, I sometimes can't tell the difference. I'm used to Imperial, and to 01/02/2003 being January 2, 2003.

While metric isn't as backwards to me as the date thing, it's easy to visualize the length of a mile, or the height of someone 6' tall, or the weight of a 20lb sack of potatoes. I do understand the metric system, I just can't guestimate based on it.

I have trouble estimating what a kilometer is too but that's simply because I don't have enough exposure to it. My exposure is when I choose to use it. It's one thing to learn it, it's another to be immersed in it.

[Chronon]

Also, the metric system rocks. Multiples of 10. Simple and beautiful.

How many yards are in 5.82 miles? 10,243.2 yards

How many meters are in 5.82 kilometres? 5820m

Which makes more sense? To me, the latter and that's coming from an American. It makes scaling and lofting so much easier. Plus, centimetres are much more precise than 16th of an inch.

I love the metric system.

You can use base ten with any unit of measure you like. SAE uses base ten with inches.

A centimeter is slightly smaller than half an inch, so I'm not sure why you're saying it's more precise than 1/16 inch.

[Chronon]

Being from the USA and on a few Linux forums, it confuses me when I see a date written with day/month. If the day isn't higher than 12, I sometimes can't tell the difference. I'm used to Imperial, and to 01/02/2003 being January 2, 2003.

While metric isn't as backwards to me as the date thing, it's easy to visualize the length of a mile, or the height of someone 6' tall, or the weight of a 20lb sack of potatoes. I do understand the metric system, I just can't guestimate based on it.

The date thing actually makes much more sense to me with the ddmmyyyy format. Actually, the best format is yyyymmdd, IMO, because numerical sorting automatically leads to chronological sorting.

[Khakilang]

It happen to my virus infected Window XP. I double click my drive and it come out a search menu. Than when I manage to go to my drive. I double click my folder and its go to run with program menu. I almost got bald pulling my hair.

[Chilli Bob]

Daylight Saving is stupid, it's the wrong way round, at least where I live. (Let me preface this by saying that I live in a state without daylight saving, it was trialled some yeas ago, but abandoned, however most states have it, and we are constantly under pressure to adopt it.)

In case people haven't noticed, the sun stays up longer in summer anyway. Moving the clocks forward might be a good idea in a bleak, dark country, such as in Northern Europe, but it hardly makes sense in sub-tropical and tropical Australia. Here in summer its too bloody hot to do anything other than lie in the shade struggling to breathe until after the sun goes down. Daylight saving should go in the other direction, so the sun goes down earlier in the day, thus giving you more time to get out and do stuff.

Alternatively, have daylightg saving in Winter. This will give you a chance to leave work while the sun is still up, a much less depressing way to end the day.

[hobo14]

The English format for cricket scores: 220/5 ??? What!?

Give me something sensible, please: 5/220 :p

[John Bean]

The English format for cricket scores: 220/5 ??? What!?

Give me something sensible, please: 5/220 :p

You're right. The English format implies defence, the Australian one puts the emphasis on attack. Over the decades the results generally suggest the latter to be more effective :-(

However... remind me who currently has The Ashes? :-)

[Gwasanaethau]

Daylight Saving is stupid, it's the wrong way round, at least where I live. (Let me preface this by saying that I live in a state without daylight saving, it was trialled some yeas ago, but abandoned, however most states have it, and we are constantly under pressure to adopt it.)

In case people haven't noticed, the sun stays up longer in summer anyway. Moving the clocks forward might be a good idea in a bleak, dark country, such as in Northern Europe, but it hardly makes sense in sub-tropical and tropical Australia. Here in summer its too bloody hot to do anything other than lie in the shade struggling to breathe until after the sun goes down. Daylight saving should go in the other direction, so the sun goes down earlier in the day, thus giving you more time to get out and do stuff.

Alternatively, have daylightg saving in Winter. This will give you a chance to leave work while the sun is still up, a much less depressing way to end the day.

I agree with you 100%! Being reasonably far north of the equator (~53° 20′) here in Dublin, the sky doesn't actually go all that dark in the summer (we have no Astronomical Twilight (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_twilight#Astronomical_twilight) and barely even get Nautical Twilight (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_twilight#Nautical_twilight)) and the sun barely scrapes above the horizon in winter. It would make far more sense to have daylight saving in the winter than the summer. Having said that, the sun doesn't rise until nearly ten o'clock in the winter, by which stage nearly everyone's up anyway!

P.S. the concept of Greenwich not using GMT for more than half of the year is very amusing ;).

[blur xc]

Being from the USA and on a few Linux forums, it confuses me when I see a date written with day/month. If the day isn't higher than 12, I sometimes can't tell the difference. I'm used to Imperial, and to 01/02/2003 being January 2, 2003.

While metric isn't as backwards to me as the date thing, it's easy to visualize the length of a mile, or the height of someone 6' tall, or the weight of a 20lb sack of potatoes. I do understand the metric system, I just can't guestimate based on it.

I prefer YYYY-MM-DD, because that way files on your file system list in chronological order.

Other than that, saying "November twentieth" is shorter than saying "the twentieth of November", which, imo, is the reason for the MM-DD standard in the states here.

The metric system, however advantageous in many ways, will cause tons of trouble for universal adoption in the states. In the wonderful world of precision manufacturing, thousandths of an inch is a very practical unit. It equates to 0.0254mm, which is a lot less practical. It's easy to communicate to a machinist, take ten off of the diameter, which he would automatically understand means to turn .010" off on the lathe. To say the same in mm, not so easy.

Also, all US machining equipment, lathes, mills, etc, all run in imperial units. Machine tools, like endmills, etc., come in imperial units, ie. 1/16", 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4", and 1" are the most common.

To adopt the metric system, almost all machine tooling and machining centers would either need to be scrapped or refitted. Not so cheap.

I consider myself relatively fluent in both unit systems. I design in mm, and detail my drawings in mm. But I communicate in both mm and in, using whatever fits the situation at hand the best.

BM

[hobo14]

You're right. The English format implies defence, the Australian one puts the emphasis on attack. Over the decades the results generally suggest the latter to be more effective :-(

However... remind me who currently has The Ashes? :-)

Well, we couldn't remain untouchable and unbeatable forever, it was getting boring ;)

Anyway, you still have quite a way to go to make up for the period between (approx?) 1990 and 2005.

Remind me, who lost 6/7 ODI matches immediately after the Ashes...?

[The Funkbomb]

You can use base ten with any unit of measure you like. SAE uses base ten with inches.

A centimeter is slightly smaller than half an inch, so I'm not sure why you're saying it's more precise than 1/16 inch.

Sorry, I meant mm.

[Paqman]

The metric system, however advantageous in many ways, will cause tons of trouble for universal adoption in the states. In the wonderful world of precision manufacturing, thousandths of an inch is a very practical unit. It equates to 0.0254mm, which is a lot less practical. It's easy to communicate to a machinist, take ten off of the diameter, which he would automatically understand means to turn .010" off on the lathe. To say the same in mm, not so easy.


You'd could say 254 µm, or 0.254 mm. Having worked with both Imperial and metric in aerospace i'd say you just talk whatever language your tools and drawings are in. It's only a pain when you have to convert between the two.

Which was the whole point of coming up with a standardised system (ie: metric) in the first place. If everybody uses the same system, everything is cool.

[cguy]

1) The date and metric/imperial things mentioned above

2) American grade rating. What exactly does an A or a B mean? Numerical grades make so much more sense.

3) Even numerical grades can be annoying. How can you correctly evaluate somebody with a scale that goes up to 5? Well, you use decimals which is an unnecessary complication.

4) Numbering in different parts of the globe.
1,005 - What is this?
If you've written 1.565.324,65 your entire life to express a million-something then you'll experience a nice pain in the behind when America asks you to write it as 1,565,324.65

5) Forums which automatically identify your timezone and then adjust the timing. (when not logged in)

6) Different power outlets and mains voltages around the world.

7) Similar notations but different meanings for things in sciences.
eg: the decibel can be a base 10 logarithm or a base 20 log, depending where you use it.


Standardization people, we need standardization! :D

[benj1]

2) American grade rating. What exactly does an A or a B mean? Numerical grades make so much more sense.

here in the uk, my brother was trying to explain their marking system at highschool, they have the letters A-E (and F of course) but then they use numbers aswell where 5 is highest 1 is lowest.
so A5 is the highest mark, E1 is the lowest pass mark, so not only stupid and overly complicated, but numbers and letters go in opposite directions of importance.




Standardization people, we need standardization! :D
shouldn't that be standardisation ? ;)

[suitedaces]

DD/MM/YYYY makes perfect sense, begin with days, which are fractions of a month, which are fractions of a year. (not sure "fraction" is the right word, but you catch my drift).

[suitedaces]

We've been metric since the mid 70's here in Canada, I have a friend that says Miles instead of Kilometres, even though he does mean Kilometres.

For the most part I think in metric (mm, cm, metres, litres, etc), but for long distances, I can't get my head around km, so it's miles for me.

[mf205]

I'm not sure that the slow uptake of the metric system in the UK is really due to suspicion of change and/or of Europe. People who were brought up with the Imperial system (i.e. people over about 45) can't be bothered to change, because they have a system that works for them. And to change all the road signs in the country would be very expensive (as would replacing the pint glasses in all the pubs), and the government in a rare show of good sense has decided not to bother.

However, there is quite powerful brainwashing that goes on in British schools to the effect that the metric system is "right", and the Imperial system "wrong", so in another thirty years almost everyone in the country will have this view. Fortunately, there are some of us who see this for the nonsense propaganda that it is. There are some reasons why the metric system is better (for example, zero degrees Centigrade is an easier temperature to relate to than zero Fahrenheit), but there's also a lot of rubbish claimed in defence of the metric system. Chief among this is that it's based on powers of 10, and therefore yields easier arithmetic. But as has been pointed out in this thread, prefixes denoting powers of 10 can easily be applied to any unit of measure: the term kiloyard, though not in common usage, is precise and unambiguous. The only difference with the metric system is that you're forced to use these prefixes because (with the exception of the gram and the tonne) there is only one base unit for each quantity. So in order to work on a different scale you have to construct unwieldy words like kilometre, and envy the Imperial people who have short words all the way up: inch, foot, yard, mile. (As well as fathom, chain, furlong, league, ... .)

If people (the British, even) decide to adopt the metric system because they find it better, then that's fine. But no system is right or wrong. I fully respect the position of the USA in sticking with what they prefer.

[alphaniner]

I'm not sure that the slow uptake of the metric system in the UK is really due to suspicion of change and/or of Europe. People who were brought up with the Imperial system (i.e. people over about 45) can't be bothered to change, because they have a system that works for them. And to change all the road signs in the country would be very expensive (as would replacing the pint glasses in all the pubs), and the government in a rare show of good sense has decided not to bother.

However, there is quite powerful brainwashing that goes on in British schools to the effect that the metric system is "right", and the Imperial system "wrong", so in another thirty years almost everyone in the country will have this view. Fortunately, there are some of us who see this for the nonsense propaganda that it is. There are some reasons why the metric system is better (for example, zero degrees Centigrade is an easier temperature to relate to than zero Fahrenheit), but there's also a lot of rubbish claimed in defence of the metric system. Chief among this is that it's based on powers of 10, and therefore yields easier arithmetic. But as has been pointed out in this thread, prefixes denoting powers of 10 can easily be applied to any unit of measure: the term kiloyard, though not in common usage, is precise and unambiguous. The only difference with the metric system is that you're forced to use these prefixes because (with the exception of the gram and the tonne) there is only one base unit for each quantity. So in order to work on a different scale you have to construct unwieldy words like kilometre, and envy the Imperial people who have short words all the way up: inch, foot, yard, mile. (As well as fathom, chain, furlong, league, ... .)

If people (the British, even) decide to adopt the metric system because they find it better, then that's fine. But no system is right or wrong. I fully respect the position of the USA in sticking with what they prefer.

One's system of measurement has no moral value, but it is possible for one to be superior to another in a practical sense. Being American I was raised with the US/Imperial system. Once I was introduced to the metric system, no one needed to tell me it was superior. It just clearly is. There's a huge difference between a handful of prefixes and a handful of units, and a bushel of units. Or was it a peck? A cubic yard perhaps? Or maybe the volumetric equivalent of a slug of water?

But, still, I agree there are practical barriers to its universal adoption that can't just be ignored.

[cguy]

shouldn't that be standardisation ? ;)
Both are correct, HA! :P

[benj1]

Chief among this is that it's based on powers of 10, and therefore yields easier arithmetic. But as has been pointed out in this thread, prefixes denoting powers of 10 can easily be applied to any unit of measure: the term kiloyard, though not in common usage, is precise and unambiguous. The only difference with the metric system is that you're forced to use these prefixes because (with the exception of the gram and the tonne) there is only one base unit for each quantity.

kiloyard ? yes its precise but not helpful.
i could make my life easier by working out speed as megainches/decasecond it won't be a very useful measure (unless you know what 1 mi/ds is, off the top of your head).
yes if all speed measurements were converted over, but then you would need to convert all distances over to decimal inches. so you would have the same problems with prefixes as the current decimal system, you would still have centi-inches, and to those used to imperial measures a kiloinch would be as meaningless as a kilometre.

[markbuntu]

Next will be a metric calendar. The deciweek, the kilomonth, the nanoyear.

[SuperSonic4]

I'm not sure that the slow uptake of the metric system in the UK is really due to suspicion of change and/or of Europe. People who were brought up with the Imperial system (i.e. people over about 45) can't be bothered to change, because they have a system that works for them.

Sounds about right.


And to change all the road signs in the country would be very expensive (as would replacing the pint glasses in all the pubs), and the government in a rare show of good sense has decided not to bother.

Keynesian economics states that public works to generate employment actually help to boost the economy and that the government should borrow money in order to do this. Let it be known the real reason is because people like you don't like it and it would not gain votes.


However, there is quite powerful brainwashing that goes on in British schools to the effect that the metric system is "right", and the Imperial system "wrong", so in another thirty years almost everyone in the country will have this view.

Do you even live in Britain? The propaganda is the opposite way. Google metric martyrs for examples. Also why would the UK be the only 4 EU countries to not have to sell purely in metric?
It is because the media exerts pressure against the adoption of the metric system. If I go into a pub I order 568ml of what is usually cider (except the Frankfurt market where beer is sold in half litres).


Fortunately, there are some of us who see this for the nonsense propaganda that it is.

You're the one spouting propaganda here, and it's more obvious than Lord Haw-Haw. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word


There are some reasons why the metric system is better (for example, zero degrees Centigrade is an easier temperature to relate to than zero Fahrenheit),

Neither is metric, C is just more accepted. F is actually better than C because it is more accurate. Between the boiling point and freezing point of water at Standard Pressure there are 100 measures in C but 212 in F. Not to mention Anders Celcius proposed that 100C be the freezing point of water.


but there's also a lot of rubbish claimed in defence of the metric system. Chief among this is that it's based on powers of 10, and therefore yields easier arithmetic.

It's not rubbish it's fact.



But as has been pointed out in this thread, prefixes denoting powers of 10 can easily be applied to any unit of measure: the term kiloyard, though not in common usage, is precise and unambiguous.

1 metre is defined as the distance it takes light travels in 1/c seconds in a vacuum. Now define the yard.

OK, how many kiloyards are there in a mile? Compare with home many metres are in a km.


The only difference with the metric system is that you're forced to use these prefixes because (with the exception of the gram and the tonne) there is only one base unit for each quantity.

Wrong. You can use scientific notation. You can say that two posts 1,000m apart are 10^3m apart. Plus remembering one base unit for each name is simpler to remember.


So in order to work on a different scale you have to construct unwieldy words like kilometre, and envy the Imperial people who have short words all the way up: inch, foot, yard, mile. (As well as fathom, chain, furlong, league, ... .)

This contradicts your point above about SI prefixes to Imperial measurements.
Also all your units are extending in length - what is the Imperial equivalent of the nanometre? (nm are often used to describe the visible spectrum)


If people (the British, even) decide to adopt the metric system because they find it better, then that's fine. But no system is right or wrong. I fully respect the position of the USA in sticking with what they prefer.

And there goes the first point

[lisati]

Both are correct, HA! :P

Ditto with "meter" and "metre" being equally clear.

[BuffaloX]

Next will be a metric calendar. The deciweek, the kilomonth, the nanoyear.

Each kilomonth, you get one deciweek off. :p

About the argument that any system could be made decimal, I think that's completely besides the point.

How would it help to change to a system consisting of 10 based yards?
All your instruments using miles and feet and inches would still be invalidated, you would only have slightly less confusion in the transitional period, and you would still be incompatible with the rest of the world.
It doesn't solve other issues either.
Like is there any logical correlation between gallons and yards, like 1 liter = 10cm^3?
Is there any logical correlation between gallons and pounds, like 1 liter of water is 1 kg?

Anyway I'm glad USA is about the only English speaking country still using imperial, and at least some of the US made SciFi movies use metric, :D

[SuperSonic4]

Is there any logical correlation between gallons and pounds, like 1 liter of water is 1 kg?

Only at P = 101325 Pa, T = 277.15K :p

[BuffaloX]

Yes you are right, I think that's = 1 atmosphere and 4 degree Celcius.
Which make it useful for most practical purposes.

[markbuntu]

Each kilomonth, you get one deciweek off. :p

About the argument that any system could be made decimal, I think that's completely besides the point.

How would it help to change to a system consisting of 10 based yards?
All your instruments using miles and feet and inches would still be invalidated, you would only have slightly less confusion in the transitional period, and you would still be incompatible with the rest of the world.
It doesn't solve other issues either.
Like is there any logical correlation between gallons and yards, like 1 liter = 10cm^3?
Is there any logical correlation between gallons and pounds, like 1 liter of water is 1 kg?

Anyway I'm glad USA is about the only English speaking country still using imperial, and at least some of the US made SciFi movies use metric, :D

The nautical mile is 6000ft or 1500 yards, which is roughly based on the circumference of the earth measured north-south. One degree of latitude is 60 nautical miles, one nautical mile is 1500 yards or 3000 ft. Nautical miles are still used for navigation, it is easy to make rough estimates of distances quickly on a navigation chart.

A yard of ale is 1/4 of a gallon...sometimes.
a pint is a pound the world around...sort of

[clanky]

A chameleon changes colour to camouflage itself against predators, a lobster changes colour to tell you when it is cooked, surely that is evolution gone wrong?

[benj1]

a lobster changes colour to tell you when it is cooked, surely that is evolution gone wrong?

surely evolution went wrong when they evolved to taste nice.

[lisati]

surely evolution went wrong when they evolved to taste nice.

:lolflag:
:popcorn:

[almufadado]

In my humble opinion, I am in favor of and explain why:

1. Metric systems based in the power of 10
Basically against all measurements based on containers (they can be tampered with) and human parts (My feet are not equal to yours). This is a miss representation of a reality because standard units should not be represented by things that are variables and not interchangeable.

The evolution of numbering things to the current set of numbers (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) must be followed by all types of measurement than need to be expanded both ways (higher and lower units) (distance, height, volume, capacity, etc).

Note that all measures depend on the the physical thing that makes the actual measure (subject to calibration, temperature, tampering, shock, etc) no measure system is perfect.

Historical note : the Convention du Mètre (Metre Convention) was signed in Paris on 1875-05-20... 135 years ago and we still discussing the matter !:confused:

Main advantage : mathematical operations, infinite unit power fraction
2. 24 hour system
ISO 8601, as an international standard, should be followed as it uses the 24-hour clock system. The basic format is [hh][mm][ss] and the extended format is [hh]:[mm]:[ss].

Mix number with letters. To avoid having to insert letters in dates do identify the part of the day it corresponds to. Also in a digital world, the 12-clock with pointer should not (still!!!) be the main constraint.

The date and time fractions are a proportion of a phenomena in the physical universe, the earth's rotation around the sun, and a practical constraint of the clock tick perceivable by Humans.

Note that, a 10 power (metric) system could be implemented (imagine!) as it's only a matter of re-defining the clock ticks (length of a second) and starting counting time in a linear way.

Main advantage : Straight forward identification of the part of the day, Sorting time
3. date format AAAA/MM/DD
ISO 8601, as an international standard, should be followed as it is an hierarchical system organized from the most to the least significant: year, month, day.

As we read and organize from left to right, this corresponds to the chronological order of dates, except of course for dates involving negative years. This reason is bias because others read from right to left, top to bottom, and top-bottom-right-left, but they don't use the Latin alphabet.

Curiosity: This is the chinese way!

Main advantage : Sorting dates, pinpointing, mathematical operations,

Main disadvantage: the 9K year bug :P


:guitar:

[NCLI]

Toilet paper. The loose end should face away from the wall goddammit!!!

[Gwasanaethau]

Toilet paper. The loose end should face away from the wall goddammit!!!

+1 on this! I'm always moaning at family members to do the same! ;)