Post AmfztLgOpo7hwWAdBA by bransonturner@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by bransonturner@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AmevBNxOQNUvHNwMG8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-04T09:52:44Z
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It's funny when people call miles and inches "freedom units" but sometimes it kind of hurts my feelings just a tiny bit because it makes me sad I live in a clown country.
(DIR) Post #AmevHCRe8fbTJSrbOa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-04T09:53:47Z
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Like we can't even measure things right...
(DIR) Post #AmevO8YwyGwbIdaVTk by wa7iut@mastodon.radio
2024-10-04T09:54:58Z
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@futurebird Down with metric ! We don’t want no foreign rulers!
(DIR) Post #AmevroMqcYYjLw4p4S by stveje@mstdn.social
2024-10-04T10:00:20Z
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@futurebird So freedom is a distance? How is it measured? If freedom is often measured in inches, then a mile of freedom must be, like, a lot of freedom.
(DIR) Post #AmevtygfDw1xwCNXYu by andrewfeeney@phpc.social
2024-10-04T10:00:25Z
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In defence of imperial measurements, so much of our poetry and idiomatic language depends on imperial measurements.
(DIR) Post #AmewfrMRlUzF7Gkoka by malin@dice.camp
2024-10-04T10:09:24Z
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@futurebird - miles- billions- date formatting- full stops are brokenThere is a certain US resistance to recording orderly information.
(DIR) Post #Amex02M0bSxV0BAdFY by Kierkegaanks@beige.party
2024-10-04T10:13:03Z
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@futurebird units of the british empire is kind of the opposite of freedom units? Kneeling units? Submission units?
(DIR) Post #Amex7rHrdKp0zlxfcm by martin_piper@mastodon.social
2024-10-04T10:14:28Z
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@futurebird how much of a problem is it? About the size of an elephant, the same size as a garbage truck.
(DIR) Post #AmexBEscN9PD2HlTQe by nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social
2024-10-04T10:15:04Z
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@futurebird The best part is how many of our units came from the British empire, *NOT* America. My favorite is how we measure distance based on the length of a human foot -- something that is virtually guaranteed to never be exactly 12 inches.If you ask me, it's much more freeing to use EASY units. Like temperature based on freezing vs boiling rather than... Uhm... Whatever the heck Fahrenheit is even based on. Or distances in units of 10 instead of 8, 12, and any other number of randomly chosen values. Having to have a unit conversion guide just to measure how much of something you need is definitely not "freedom" if you ask me.
(DIR) Post #AmexFWAs0wSppdLIAa by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-10-04T10:15:53Z
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@futurebird freedom to factor!quick, factorize 5280! (actually that brings up the only good side of that system of units)
(DIR) Post #Amey1ei1aM1cCZnu88 by piratero@mastodon.world
2024-10-04T10:24:24Z
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@futurebird the same thing happened with light bulbs some years back. It’s nonsense fueled by contemptible people and it interfered with the country moving ahead in the metric system.
(DIR) Post #AmeytBHtBqD8ae6Oga by evolvable@aus.social
2024-10-04T10:34:14Z
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@futurebird Have you seen the SNL skit about this? Very funny.
(DIR) Post #Amf0EDTaLcPzPhAQdc by rejzor@mastodon.world
2024-10-04T10:49:15Z
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@futurebird Freedom units, use grams and millimeters for drugs and gun calibers lol
(DIR) Post #Amf0fdLCI7opRyJjaC by Bryan@macaw.social
2024-10-04T10:54:11Z
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@futurebird Next you’ll be telling me you eat French Fries instead of Freedom Fries!🍟 😂
(DIR) Post #Amf15xYljyNfgfDcJc by Graffotti@mastodon.social
2024-10-04T10:58:57Z
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@futurebird They are not even the same imperial units that the old empire used. The wikipedia page is hilarious, but it does partly explain why visiting Americans get drunk quicker than they expect (even allowing for strong ale) 😎 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_units
(DIR) Post #Amf332FA4ODzFkmSUC by mnorman@mastodon.social
2024-10-04T11:20:50Z
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@futurebird I used to mocking call °F “degrees Fascism” to American friends who’d go on about it but that phrase is hitting too close to home now and I just feel awkward. 😕
(DIR) Post #Amf3h2AzjsSqczu9Im by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-04T11:28:04Z
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@mnorman yeah exactly this. it’s not funny anymore. :(
(DIR) Post #Amf4EVQfzww8uWCTKK by wa7iut@mastodon.radio
2024-10-04T10:36:36Z
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@futurebird It does mean I get to own twice as many socket wrenches as I would otherwise. There was a period of time back in the 70s when the country went metric… for about two months, even changed highway signs to km from miles in Washington state.Most new products are designed in metric in the US. Luckily we have computer aided design systems to keep track of it all. I’m resigned to being good at doing conversions in my head. Otherwise, I don’t think about it too much.
(DIR) Post #Amf4EWRmDLPY4DirgG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-04T11:34:03Z
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@wa7iut My mom always talks about those metric days. She was so excited for the change and is still sad it didn’t work.
(DIR) Post #Amf4WZObzMlmQRqdbU by skip_lacaze@sfba.social
2024-10-04T11:37:23Z
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@futurebird I don’t remember hearing that before, but I connected it to “Freedom fries.” Then I couldn’t remember when or why we were pissed off at the French. (Just turned 75.) I had to check Wikipedia to find out that it was because France opposed Baby Bush’s war on Iraq. We deserved to have them rename something American to “Clown-something.” Or hamburgers could just be Clown-burgers. People would think that they’re talking about Ronald instead of W, but I’d know.
(DIR) Post #Amf4YmezdyHC8vZ9eq by geonz@mathstodon.xyz
2024-10-04T11:37:44Z
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@futurebird @wa7iut I'm wondering if people don't even know from inches and feet, much less ...yards, miles. ounces...
(DIR) Post #Amf4p6XBWJLKPlhCzI by andrewfeeney@phpc.social
2024-10-04T10:01:59Z
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For instance “12.874752 Kilometer” doesn’t sound like a film that would have been a smash hit.
(DIR) Post #Amf54smaPqm0OkQJm4 by andrewfeeney@phpc.social
2024-10-04T10:03:41Z
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“1.8288 meters under” is much less ominous
(DIR) Post #Amf54tRhwxfOSHf9s0 by andrewfeeney@phpc.social
2024-10-04T10:06:39Z
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Same with giving someone the “whole 822.96252 centimetres”
(DIR) Post #Amf54u3zecI8N1ZjXs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-04T11:43:34Z
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@andrewfeeney “Hedwig and the Angry Three-hundred Ninety-four Thousands of a Centimeter”
(DIR) Post #Amf5NoGbQil9tWULui by wa7iut@mastodon.radio
2024-10-04T11:47:01Z
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@futurebird That was 1975. We gave up on metric and went with Disco insteadhttps://youtu.be/fNFzfwLM72c?si=Pn2O0dlwqhaXFgL_
(DIR) Post #Amf5oUuVVLSPgFsZkG by kly@fosstodon.org
2024-10-04T11:51:48Z
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@futurebird @andrewfeeney Interesting enough, as a Norwegian I still deal with imperial units when it comes to monitors and TVs, boats and sandwiches(thanks subway). So when people use imperial units, that's my mental comparison. E.g.: He's six foot tall! = He's about as tall as a small dingy."Move a few feet to the left" = please move the length of a few sandwiches to the leftAny other unit than feet and inches might as well be made up though. I have no reference for how long a yard is...
(DIR) Post #Amf67KSYaJ6YlnmkL2 by Dianora@ottawa.place
2024-10-04T11:55:13Z
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@futurebird NASA can now. They have stopped losing spacecraft due to it.
(DIR) Post #Amf6Wu6lBK2iZTmjYW by Dianora@ottawa.place
2024-10-04T11:59:51Z
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@futurebird Sad since metric was invented in france and france influenced the American revolution. (one way or another)
(DIR) Post #Amf6qQ7IOlQrLXLFNg by Dianora@ottawa.place
2024-10-04T12:03:19Z
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@futurebird @wa7iut It partially worked here in Canada which I am glad for. At least our signs are still in Km/hr ;)P.S. I have read there are stories of American tourists trying to claim they were just following the speed signs when they get pulled over for speeding! eg. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/u-s-driver-learns-costly-lesson-in-miles-v-kilometre-measurement
(DIR) Post #Amf7GEIcxPBkE0wtBA by Dianora@ottawa.place
2024-10-04T12:06:39Z
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@geonz @futurebird @wa7iut There is a story of someone new to design who made the mistake of using exact 2x4 instead of nominal. It has become a name for a certain type of lumber rather than an exact size.
(DIR) Post #Amf7rdAfRpjM4s3mEK by aslakr@mastodon.social
2024-10-04T12:14:47Z
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@futurebird At least (most of?) units are defined in SI, i.e. one inch is whatever 25.4 mm is.
(DIR) Post #Amf7zZxFI4vUQ0ZWFs by cavyherd@wandering.shop
2024-10-04T12:16:13Z
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@futurebird @wa7iut Where "didn't work" = "deliberately staked through the heart bc vague business interests"...?
(DIR) Post #Amf9okYNk9Ps0tuFCi by pthane@toot.wales
2024-10-04T12:36:28Z
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@futurebirdThat's a great illustration of why trying to operate in 2 systems (as we do in the UK) is difficult and sometimes leads to errors. An inch is about 25.4mm.@andrewfeeney
(DIR) Post #AmfAka5entB4MG2wIC by VampiresAndRobots@writing.exchange
2024-10-04T12:47:07Z
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@futurebird the part that always confuses me was that we learned both metric and imperial in school, and I use both frequently (baking, woodworking, medications, etc). My theory is that a lot of people don't even realize how ingrained metric is in our lives because they only think about measurements in terms of distance.
(DIR) Post #AmfCaNQVESoG5v3hlQ by cmcfaul@cityofchicago.live
2024-10-04T13:07:40Z
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@futurebird My dad told me once that my maternal grandfather campaigned against the metric system with the John Birth Society. I thought I was joking when I suggested they thought it was a Communist conspiracy. No, apparently the Birchers sincerely believed that metrication was a Communist plot to ... undermine the US or something?
(DIR) Post #AmfDoKzlAW18YulqzY by whknott@mastodon.social
2024-10-04T13:21:13Z
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@futurebird It's a deliberate relic of the cold war. We have our own system of units so that other countries have a harder time integrating American technology into their assembly lines. Imperial units make estimation easy and the scales fit real world applications pretty well. If you're any good at math, fractional measure is super fast to do in your head. You really don't need metric until you start to get into thermodynamics. Short of that, literally ANY system is as good as any other.
(DIR) Post #AmfGcX6wb0w2WhC5bc by ramsey@phpc.social
2024-10-04T13:52:53Z
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@futurebird I’ve only heard people use “freedom units” ironically. Do people use that phrase unironically?
(DIR) Post #AmfJDZ3cWQavBaQPYG by jeremiah@tldr.nettime.org
2024-10-04T14:22:00Z
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@futurebird My German partner pointed out that they're not freedom units because USians are still under the rule of the British in this regard.
(DIR) Post #AmfzSVAHTNiBX2LU5w by daihard@social.ridetrans.it
2024-10-04T22:15:18Z
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@futurebird Living in the US I've never heard "freedom units." Are they better than freedom fries? 😂
(DIR) Post #AmfzZkotfLzM71nlEu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-04T22:16:39Z
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@daihard It's just a joke name for imperial. eg. It's X Km long... or Y in Freedom Units (in this case, miles)
(DIR) Post #AmfztLgOpo7hwWAdBA by bransonturner@mastodon.social
2024-10-04T22:20:09Z
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@futurebird irony of ironies, it's one of the last vestiges tying us back to our previous colonial rulers.
(DIR) Post #AmhypUnDJLBHOssOsS by Phaethon@mastodon.social
2024-10-05T21:17:44Z
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@futurebird https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/us_survey_foot.png
(DIR) Post #AmhyxbQwVLEwJTKDUu by Phaethon@mastodon.social
2024-10-05T21:19:11Z
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@futurebird https://xkcd.com/2888
(DIR) Post #Amj30cLWA7UQzERNRo by mansr@society.oftrolls.com
2024-10-06T09:39:14Z
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@futurebird I sometimes call them colonial units, especially the ones that are different from their imperial namesakes.
(DIR) Post #An6diIwI6aNtBAqrom by hjalti@xn--lofll-1sat.is
2024-10-17T18:48:40Z
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@futurebird @andrewfeeney Fractions! Always thought that was the quaintest thing about imperial. 2" 27/32 '''