Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[meanderingemu]

25 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

 

This confuses some continentals. I was driving behind an obviously foreign registered car in a 40 mph limit zone but they were going slower and checking my speedometer in the car I noted they were actually driving at 40 KILOMETRES/hour.  (equiv 25 mph).

 

Allan

 

 

i understand the point you are trying to make, but have to highlight fact there is nothing wrong with what these people are doing.  Speed limit is a Maximum speed, not a required one. 

 

actually you might make me an activist in asking that all road sign be posted in imperial

 

[spacecadet]

17 minutes ago, meanderingemu said:

 

i understand the point you are trying to make, but have to highlight fact there is nothing wrong with what these people are doing.  Speed limit is a Maximum speed, not a required one. 

 

actually you might make me an activist in asking that all road sign be posted in imperial

 

We do have some minimum speed limits, but they're quite rare. The figure is white on blue rather than black on white in a red circle.

 UK manufactured right-hand drive cars still have km/h marked in red as well as mph in white, but European cars were never required to have supplementary mph markings because we were the odd ones out. This was EU law though; some government flag-waver may have his eye on it. We find it very handy to have kph marked when driving on the Continent (assuming we will eventually do so again🙁)

Edited December 15, 2021 by spacecadet

[meanderingemu]

2 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

We do have some minimum speed limits, but they're quite rare. The figure is white on blue rather than black on white in a red circle.

 

 

 

in Canada, that i know, only highways in Quebec have minimum speed limits (min 60, max 100).  With technology in 2021, i am still shocked that we don't have variable speed limit signs based on weather conditions 

[MDM]

1 hour ago, meanderingemu said:

This confuses some continentals. I was driving behind an obviously foreign registered car in a 40 mph limit zone but they were going slower and checking my speedometer in the car I noted they were actually driving at 40 KILOMETRES/hour.  (equiv 25 mph).

 

Allan

 

i understand the point you are trying to make, but have to highlight fact there is nothing wrong with what these people are doing.  Speed limit is a Maximum speed, not a required one. 

 

actually you might make me an activist in asking that all road sign be posted in imperial

 

 

It's the opposite that might be more problematic - driving in mainland Europe (or in Ireland which went entirely metric years ago) and doing 50 mph in a 50 kph zone for example. I've done it accidentally in Spain and fortunately did not meet la policia. I believe there was an original intention in the UK to switch the road signs to metric but that was too much for some in the country - the word IMPERIAL says it all. 

 

The only good thing about the Imperial system was it helped to make me adept at mental arithmetic. We learnt both systems in primary school (early to mid-60s) and we had to do mental conversions as well as lots of other paperless maths. I can still do these despite all the wear and tear on the brain. 

Edited December 15, 2021 by MDM

[spacecadet]

37 minutes ago, MDM said:

doing 50 mph in a 50 kph zone

That's what the red markings on the speedo are for!

[MDM]

8 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

That's what the red markings on the speedo are for!

 

I know. I just forgot momentarily when seeing a 50 sign. But even without the kph markings, the conversion is simple:

 

30 mph approximates well to 50 kph, and 60 - 100  these will be slightly under the limit in fact. 50 to 80 is almost exact.

[spacecadet]

9 minutes ago, MDM said:

 

I know. I just forgot momentarily when seeing a 50 sign. But even without the kph markings, the conversion is simple:

 

30 mph approximates well to 50 kph, and 60 - 100  these will be slightly under the limit in fact. 50 to 80 is almost exact.

Yes quite convenient. Going between 110/120/130 when doing F-BE-LU-D in a few hours you have to watch out. Even they are 70/75/80mph though, near enough.

Edited December 15, 2021 by spacecadet

[MDM]

19 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

Yes quite convenient. Going between 110/120/130 when doing F-BE-LU-D in a few hours you have to watch out. Even they are 70/75/80mph though, near enough.

 

Will keep in mind should I ever go that way by car. 

[Ed Rooney]

 

I'm familiar with both systems but can't do basic math in either. 🤭

[Ed Rooney]

 

Can I translate one to the other? What are you, some nutcase math person? 

[John Mitchell]

19 hours ago, wiskerke said:

 

 

The US was completely ready for metric at least three times. In 1792 the US coins went metric. Next year in 1793 Thomas Jefferson ordered the then very new kilo and I believe a meter (co-developed by Benjamin Franklin!) from France, however the ship with the precious cargo was captured by pirates.

In 1866 Congress signed the Metric Act. And in 1875 the US was one of seventeen nations in the Treaty of the Metre.

In 1975 Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act. Because it was in the best interest of the US.

However Ronald Reagan became president and vetoed the Metric Law for being un-American.

Myanmar and Liberia also don't have it. Probably un-Myanmarese and un-Liberianese too. They don't send rockets to Mars however. 

In the end the Federal law did become law, but without being mandatory. Wine and shampoo do have liters and milliliters on the package though, by Federal law since 1994. This time this bit was mandatory. Probably because of the export.

A special mention must go to the very weird 1895 (!) Constitution of Utah: The schools of the state must teach the Metric System.

That constitutions says many funny things. Which reminds me I should upload some images of their Capitol. Did you know spousal privileges are between one man and one woman? Well they are in their Constitution. They have equality for women including voting (1895 remember; for the whole of the US: 1920!). Voting machines are allowed, as long as they are secret (1895!). And as one judge told us: he cannot leave the state for 90 days or he will lose his job. Utah is such an interesting place.

As is Hawaii. No I've never been there, but it may be the first state that breaks away and goes metric. It seems they have a very nice climate too. Hmmm. 😎

 

wim

 

Yes, I remember Reagan deciding that the metric system was somehow "un-American." It's a bit ironic that he he preferred British imperial units given that the US had a bit of a tiff with England back in 1776-1783. Canada, on the other hand, where the queen of England is still the official head of state (symbolic of course) has all but ditched imperial and embraced metric. What units can you use to measure irony, I wonder? 🙄

[spacecadet]

9 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

the US had a bit of a tiff with England back in 1776-1783.

Yes, I'm surprised he remembered it, he must have been quite young then. But then statute measure in the UK is actually newer than the metric system. The various imperial measures didn't have legal definitions until 1855.

BTW you measure irony in metres, just like any other metal.

[John Mitchell]

8 hours ago, meanderingemu said:

 

coming from Québec i think we made the transition to metric a bit faster than the rest of country- i guess Imperial was seen as an Anglo system.  I actually had to relearn some imperial stuff when I moved to Ontario in early 90s.  Even though it was supposed to be metric, you would have been hard pressed to go into a cheese shop and order in grams... it was weird that weather forecast still game temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit etc.  

 

 

 

even now the apartment I'm renting has the room temperatures in Celsius, but the oven in Fahrenheit.   

and then we have all the false metric because of shared packaging with the USA.  454g of butter, 340g of coffee (12 ounces)

 

 

I think you're right about La Belle Province (a politically incorrect name now, I know) being more at home with metric. I had moved to BC by the time the switch occurred in '76. My British mother, who endured life in Quebec until her death, didn't know a centimetre from a centipede. She also didn't speak a word of French (she tried to learn but gave up). My wife also refuses to do anything in metric. We anglos can be a rather inflexible lot at times. 😉

 

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by John Mitchell

[Bryan]

8 hours ago, MDM said:

 

 

The only good thing about the Imperial system was it helped to make me adept at mental arithmetic. We learnt both systems in primary school (early to mid-60s) and we had to do mental conversions as well as lots of other paperless maths. I can still do these despite all the wear and tear on the brain. 

 

While still at school in my first job I worked in a working man's club, where Newcastle brown cost 2s 7.5d, Fed special was 1s 11d and Fed Ordinary 1s 7p, a popular drink was half and half.  There was no clever till, everything had to be done by mental arithmetic.  Fortunately it was also a problem for the customers !  I did my best to get it right, and I don't recall ever being questioned, but as to the percentage of correct additions, who knows.   In truth, in time you got to remember multiples of 2s 7.5d etc.

 

I had something of a baptism of fire, first employed to deliver drinks to tables, that was easy, but one Xmas eve, one of the busiest nights of the year, one of the regular barmen became unavailable and I was called upon to work behind the bar for the first time. I remember it well.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Bryan

[meanderingemu]

4 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Can I translate one to the other? What are you, some nutcase math person? 

yep.

[Allan Bell]

Happened late yesterday.

 

I was in town (Lincoln) to take night images of Christmas decorations and lit up buildings. When I returned to the bus station to catch the bus to come back home it was just pulling back to leave. (Darn I thought or words to that effect.) I had an half hour wait for the next bus, what to do?  I know I will go and have a look at the railway station across the road.

Made my way to the entrance foyer and had a look around. (First time I have seen it). Then had a look through the doorway to the platforms. Of course there are barriers which are opened by the ticket passengers buy for their train journey to let them onto the platform area. There a few security staff at the barriers so I thought (worth a try) I would ask one of them if it was possible to buy "Platform tickets". The chap I spoke to offered to open the barrier to let me through. Thought I had better ask if it was ok to take photos in the station. When I asked he said to help myself, no problems.

 

My flabber had never been so gasted as from past posts on these forums I was under the impression that it was frowned on. I spent a happy 20 minutes in the station taking photos of anything and everything, even the Azuma train which was waiting to start its run to Kings Cross.

 

When I left I thanked the gent who had let me in and smiled at his colleagues. So I hope I can go back again in daylight hours.

 

Allan

 

[MDM]

30 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

Happened late yesterday.

 

I was in town (Lincoln) to take night images of Christmas decorations and lit up buildings. When I returned to the bus station to catch the bus to come back home it was just pulling back to leave. (Darn I thought or words to that effect.) I had an half hour wait for the next bus, what to do?  I know I will go and have a look at the railway station across the road.

Made my way to the entrance foyer and had a look around. (First time I have seen it). Then had a look through the doorway to the platforms. Of course there are barriers which are opened by the ticket passengers buy for their train journey to let them onto the platform area. There a few security staff at the barriers so I thought (worth a try) I would ask one of them if it was possible to buy "Platform tickets". The chap I spoke to offered to open the barrier to let me through. Thought I had better ask if it was ok to take photos in the station. When I asked he said to help myself, no problems.

 

My flabber had never been so gasted as from past posts on these forums I was under the impression that it was frowned on. I spent a happy 20 minutes in the station taking photos of anything and everything, even the Azuma train which was waiting to start its run to Kings Cross.

 

When I left I thanked the gent who had let me in and smiled at his colleagues. So I hope I can go back again in daylight hours.

 

Allan

 

 

The issue was about publishing photos taken on Network Rail property (I think) not about taking pictures in a railway station. There was a bit of a furore a few years ago where contributors were having images removed by Alamy (or they were asking contributors for them to be removed) and I think the eventual resolution was that editorial images were ok. I doubt that the people working in the railway stations have any knowledge of Network Rail's policy on licensing images. They are probably well used to the sight of middle-aged to elderly men photographing and videoing trains (I believe they are called trainspotters) presumably for their own private use but who knows? 

[Jill Morgan]

Jim Trevling, owner of Boston Pizza, did a TV show once where he switched places with a worker in the kitchen. She ran the company and he made pizzas.  The first thing he noticed was all the recipes were in imperial measure but the staff were of course all young and weren't familiar with it, as they had learned metric in school.  First thing he did was change the recipes to metric.

 

Jill

[Ace]

bought one of these Used Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX II, Nikon Fit lens - mpb.com

 

and it arrived today... new type of photography challenge/inspiration lies ahead ;-) 

[Bryan]

We organised a work session at the allotment today, and despite the misty cold, there was a good turn out of folk prepared to help. Some were deterred by fear of COVID, but had contributed earlier. 

 

We helped restore the storm damaged fencing of one of our oldest members, in his mid eighties - mind you he had managed to repair and re-erect the posts himself !   Then we stripped the better timber posts  from the ivy covered and flattened perimeter fence, it's amazing how thick and resilient ivy can become.  My wife remarked that it was great to meet and talk to other members who we normally only see from afar.  A morning well spent, but nice to get back into the warm.

[Allan Bell]

Had an ice cream cornet WITH ice cream.

 

Allan

 

[Ed Rooney]

 

I had my first bite of Christmas pudding today. I bought two individual boxed portions at M&S. I didn't like it that much -- too rich for me. I enjoy sweets but sweets that are rich, complex, and very sweet, not so much. So my first Christmas pud was a good thing, just not a very good thing. 🙂

 

I shall have the second pudding on Christmas Day. 

[Betty LaRue]

I finished my Christmas shopping today.  But not the wrapping. I’ve found a few new candy recipes, I think I’ll try one out, and I also want to make some divinity, which needs low humidity. It’s been October since we had an inch of rain, and barely a bit since. So it is plenty dry for candy-making.

[Bryan]

8 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

I had my first bite of Christmas pudding today. I bought two individual boxed portions at M&S. I didn't like it that much -- too rich for me. I enjoy sweets but sweets that are rich, complex, and very sweet, not so much. So my first Christmas pud was a good thing, just not a very good thing. 🙂

 

I shall have the second pudding on Christmas Day. 

 

Might be nice with Greek style yoghurt ? A contrasting taste.. 

 

We're now well into the porridge season, and I use a blend of a spoonful of home made jam and another of yoghurt to enliven it. Bit of a contrast to gruel.

Edited December 19, 2021 by Bryan

[Allan Bell]

4 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

I finished my Christmas shopping today.  But not the wrapping. I’ve found a few new candy recipes, I think I’ll try one out, and I also want to make some divinity, which needs low humidity. It’s been October since we had an inch of rain, and barely a bit since. So it is plenty dry for candy-making.

 

Haven't started my Christmas shopping.

 

Allan (Bah humbug)