The Brexit thread

[Saga Lout]

Funny thing is that it's still quite common en France to ask for "un livre" of something. Yeah, I know it means the same as half a kilo, but the fact is that it's a convenient measure of quantity.

But nothing to see here, move on.

The Chinese do the same (only not "un livre", obviously).

It's strange that so many different societies around the world have or had a weight measure that was so close to the pound. Almost as if that's the natural thing for us humans to do. Then Napoleon came along and decided to put it all on a scientific basis. So we got the gram, which is much too small and the kilogram which is twice as big as we need. And we got the metre and the kilometre, based on dividing the distance between the equator and the pole by 10 over and over until we got something close to the mile and the yard. I.e. the metric distance measure is based on a quarter of the Earth's circumference.*

Hmmm... a quarter, that's not very decimal, is it?

However, the metric system is great for engineers, scientists and simpletons who get flummoxed by simple arithmetic and can only mange very simple arithmetic.


* Although they didn't measure it accurately so the metre is slightly smaller than it "should" be.

[Yorick]

I don't even like fish. Why can't they catch more chips?

And mushy peas

[Mr. Dazzle]

What did Napoleon ever do for us!?

[Asian Boss]

Racist Brexiteer stereotype

Kicked them out??? Of the supposed 3 million in the UK at the time of the vote, 5 million have applied and been given the right to stay.

Didn't The Lord say 'treat thy neighbour as thy friend', not 'seek to exclude them in the hope of a gaining a small advantage for yourself''?

[Mussels]

Funny thing is that it's still quite common en France to ask for "un livre" of something. Yeah, I know it means the same as half a kilo, but the fact is that it's a convenient measure of quantity.

But nothing to see here, move on.

The Chinese do the same (only not "un livre", obviously).

It's strange that so many different societies around the world have or had a weight measure that was so close to the pound. Almost as if that's the natural thing for us humans to do. Then Napoleon came along and decided to put it all on a scientific basis. So we got the gram, which is much too small and the kilogram which is twice as big as we need. And we got the metre and the kilometre, based on dividing the distance between the equator and the pole by 10 over and over until we got something close to the mile and the yard. I.e. the metric distance measure is based on a quarter of the Earth's circumference.*

Hmmm... a quarter, that's not very decimal, is it?

However, the metric system is great for engineers, scientists and simpletons who get flummoxed by simple arithmetic and can only mange very simple arithmetic.


* Although they didn't measure it accurately so the metre is slightly smaller than it "should" be.

The metric system is great for people who want a straightforward answer and not waste time working out that the instructions meant American stone rather than British stone.

[Cousin Jack]

Racist Brexiteer stereotype

Kicked them out??? Of the supposed 3 million in the UK at the time of the vote, 5 million have applied and been given the right to stay.

Didn't The Lord say 'treat thy neighbour as thy friend', not 'seek to exclude them in the hope of a gaining a small advantage for yourself''?

Very few wanted to exclude them, quite a lot of people wanted to stop rapacious UK industries exploiting foreign workers by paying minimum wage in the UK (which probably sounds like a fortune to an out-of-work Romanian) and then clawing half of it back in 'rent' for sub-standard and often overcrowded accommodation.

Most of the industries bleating about shortage of workers (agriculture, meat processing, care homes, hospitality, truck driving, etc) have used foreign workers to keep wages low, conditions abysmal, and to avoid having to invest in things like training schemes, apprenticeships and career structures.

Yes, there are problems that will bite all of us, but in 20 years time we will hopefully have solved them, and have viable industries that take young people and offer them a decent job, a decent wage, and decent conditions.

[Mr. Dazzle]

But as far as electric cars or renewable energy goes.....20 years might as well be 20 millenia. Not worth doing!

I'm sure it used to be 5 years BTW

[Asian Boss]

Kicked them out??? Of the supposed 3 million in the UK at the time of the vote, 5 million have applied and been given the right to stay.

Didn't The Lord say 'treat thy neighbour as thy friend', not 'seek to exclude them in the hope of a gaining a small advantage for yourself''?

Very few wanted to exclude them, quite a lot of people wanted to stop rapacious UK industries exploiting foreign workers by paying minimum wage in the UK (which probably sounds like a fortune to an out-of-work Romanian) and then clawing half of it back in 'rent' for sub-standard and often overcrowded accommodation.

Most of the industries bleating about shortage of workers (agriculture, meat processing, care homes, hospitality, truck driving, etc) have used foreign workers to keep wages low, conditions abysmal, and to avoid having to invest in things like training schemes, apprenticeships and career structures.

Yes, there are problems that will bite all of us, but in 20 years time we will hopefully have solved them, and have viable industries that take young people and offer them a decent job, a decent wage, and decent conditions.

So we were helping them by excluding them. They just didn't know they needed the help. Let's help the poor lambs by preventing them from earning wages significantly higher than they could get closer to home. Taking back control.

And godspeed the 20 years time when everyone can reap the benefits. I can't see any problems with that rational.

Let's hope we haven't rejoined on considerably worse terms than we had before by then. Wouldn't that be crazy.

[demographic]

Funny thing is that it's still quite common en France to ask for "un livre" of something. Yeah, I know it means the same as half a kilo, but the fact is that it's a convenient measure of quantity.

But nothing to see here, move on.

The Chinese do the same (only not "un livre", obviously).

It's strange that so many different societies around the world have or had a weight measure that was so close to the pound. Almost as if that's the natural thing for us humans to do. Then Napoleon came along and decided to put it all on a scientific basis. So we got the gram, which is much too small and the kilogram which is twice as big as we need. And we got the metre and the kilometre, based on dividing the distance between the equator and the pole by 10 over and over until we got something close to the mile and the yard. I.e. the metric distance measure is based on a quarter of the Earth's circumference.*

Hmmm... a quarter, that's not very decimal, is it?

However, the metric system is great for engineers, scientists and simpletons who get flummoxed by simple arithmetic and can only mange very simple arithmetic.


* Although they didn't measure it accurately so the metre is slightly smaller than it "should" be.

Err, you do know that Napolian once banned the metric system don't you?
Just while your busy tying it to "The French" and all.

Dunno about weights but one thing I've noticed with measuring on site is that there's an age thing.
As people age they get to the point where they struggle with milimetres cos they can't read the numbers on the tape, they just need reading glasses.
Then theres a few young ones who try and say they are better in another form of measuring, I'm OK with Imperial so I just change and give em a few sizes with eigths, sixteenths and just to be awkward 32nds which aren't on most tapes but about a mm and so a reasonable measurement to use in a carpentry setting. When they struggle and can't do it its obvious they're just fucking shit at measuring and we can get back to metric and I don't have to listen to their pathitic "I'm better with Cubits" mewlings again.

If I was working in engineering I'd go to thousandths instead and most industry has just moved over to metric, leaving some has beens and never was es (oh and Liberia, Myanmar and some of the US outside of most industry) who still think its something they can use in their pathetic culture war.
Knock yerself out with that one.

[Cousin Jack]

Let's hope we haven't rejoined on considerably worse terms than we had before by then. Wouldn't that be crazy.

Don't worry about the re-entry terms. They won't have us.

[Asian Boss]

Let's hope we haven't rejoined on considerably worse terms than we had before by then. Wouldn't that be crazy.

Don't worry about the re-entry terms. They won't have us.

Oh I think they may. But it will be along the lines of Romania et al rather than the privileged position we were in previously. Not ideal but still worth doing. Probably sooner than many would imagine too.

[Docca]

Imperial vs Metric
METRIC
I have a small desktop fish tank, internal size 20cm x 20cm x 20cm.
1) What is its volume? Easy: 20 x 20 x 20 = 8,000 cm3, = 8 dm3.
2) How much water can it hold, to the brim? Easy: 8,000 ml, = 8 litres
3) How much will that water weigh (mass)? Easy: 8,000 g, = 8 kg.
IMPERIAL
I have a small desktop fish tank, internal size 8" x 8" x 8"
1) What is its volume? Easy: 8 x 8 x 8 = 512 cubic inches
2) How water can it hold, to the brim? Errr ...
2a) Look up the volume of a fluid ounce of water; turns out to be 1.73 cubic inches for a UK fluid ounce, and 1.80 cubic inches for a US fluid ounce:
2b) So for the UK, the volume of water is 512 / 1.73 / 20 = 14.8 pints
2c) And for the US, the volume of water is 512 / 1.80 / 16 = 17.8 pints
3) How much will that water weigh (mass)? Errr ...
3a) Look up the weight (mass) of one fluid ounce of water; turns out to be 1.002 oz for a UK fluid ounce, and 1.04 oz for a US fluid ounce:
3b) So for the UK, the weight (mass) of the water is 512 / 1.73 * 1.002 / 16 = 18.5 pounds
3c) And for the US, the weight (mass) of the water is 512 / 1.80 * 1.04 / 16 = 18.5 pounds
To mis-quote the great Prof Brian Cox, "I've said it before and I'll say it again - if you [think Imperial units are better than Metric] you are a colossal nob end & should get a new brain"

[Mr. Dazzle]

who still think its something they can use in their pathetic culture war.

Pretty much. Which is why I said "anyone who actually cares will be dead soon".

Have to say, even I say "a few thou" when referring to small measurements. It's more along the lines of "a couple" or "just down the road" to me though.

My 34mm trousers don't bloody fit either.

[Asian Boss]

Professor Brian Cox? Professor leftist woke bollocks more like. We've had enough of so called experts. What do the sparks and window cleaners and NDWiITs think is the way forward? They know all about fighting in pubs and what the international score really is. Send the buggers back. And that's not racist. Anyone suggesting anything else is the real racists.

[Saga Lout]

Imperial vs Metric
METRIC
I have a small desktop fish tank, internal size 20cm x 20cm x 20cm.
...
2) How much water can it hold, to the brim? Easy: 8,000 ml, = 8 litres
3) How much will that water weigh (mass)? Easy: 8,000 g, = 8 kg.
IMPERIAL
...
3a) Look up the weight (mass) of one fluid ounce of water; turns out to be 1.002 oz for a UK fluid ounce, and 1.04 oz for a US fluid ounce:
...

1. If you're going to be precise to three decimal places about the weight of a fluid ounce you also need to specify the temperature of the water. At room temperature 1ml weighs about 0.999g or 0,998g to three decimal places (depending on your room).
2. Why do you want to fill it to the brim? Aren't you going to put some fish into it?

Metric has its uses, Imperial has its uses. I'm happy to work with either or both. But Imperial is more human. It evolved from the people rather than being imposed from above.

[DefTrap]

Imperial may well have 'evolved' but we don't need to measure in paces, or barleycorns, any more, nor need to divide easily by 2 and by 2 again, or any of that. Because- we have accurate measuring devices and calculations using non metric measurements becomes so quickly retarded, as is so easily demonstrated. Maybe if the world ended, all the measuring devices were destroyed and I needed to quickly build an Ark to sail away from an island of simpletons who were getting on my tits, I might find Imperial measurements more useful.

If only there was a real desire to reinstate something useful and precious it might be a bit more credible. But it's genuinely a lot of old giffers whose only motive is getting back something they've had 'taken'. Truthfully it's just more jingoistic nonsense driven by the likes of the nasty Telegraph, perennial batey opinion 'news' of why we Brits should hate our European cousins.

[Saga Lout]

If only there was a real desire to reinstate something useful and precious it might be a bit more credible. But it's genuinely a lot of old giffers whose only motive is getting back something they've had 'taken'. Truthfully it's just more jingoistic nonsense driven by the likes of the nasty Telegraph, perennial batey opinion 'news' of why we Brits should hate our European cousins.

Imperial measures could exist quite amicably alongside metric. The better system would probably prevail. Why was there a need to legislate Imperial measures away?

By the way, I've read the Telegraph on and off for many years, when I was commuting I used to read it every day. I don't read it so often since I retired. I don't recall all that many (or indeed any) articles about why we should hate the Europeans, but as I say, I haven't read every issue so I must have missed them. No doubt you have examples.

[MrLongbeard]

Because- we have accurate measuring devices and calculations using non metric measurements becomes so quickly retarded,

Most of 'em have a mm/in button on them, which comes in handy as I work for both EU, FE and US clients, for everything else online convertors have it covered.

Either way, even if you accept metric as the better system (which I do (except when it comes to woodworking)) the EU desire to use a decimal point instead of a comma in big numbers is as fucking stupid as a fucking stupid thing smoking dope, and don't get me stared on them making up new measurements to suit their needs, kG2mm2 my fucking arse.

[Mr. Dazzle]

You've always been able to buy a pound of potatoes, no one ever took that right away from you.

All they ever did was say that everything must be sold in at least the agreed common system. You're free to sell ij other units too, but you must at alwayd show the common system (i.e. metric) as well. I'd have thought the need for a universal national standard system everyone knows is fair.

Only the daily fail ever tried to tell anyone you're not allowed to show prices in lbs too.

[demographic]

ep 19, 2021 6:57 am

Fuuuuuuuuuuk me, you lot are still arguing over inches vs centimetres.

You can still use the metric system, but if you want to buy a pound of potatoes you can now without it being illegal.
That's all.
You don't even need to argue which is best, you're free to choose which one you want and use that - how the fuck can you turn that into a moan or an argument?

Centimetres? Thought you claim to have worked in the building industry?
Other than kids just out of school, nobody in the UK building trades uses centimetres.
Metres? Yes. If the sizes are unwieldy otherwise or if rough measuring.
Milimetres? Hell, almost all the time.

The old guys might use inches or feet but I think every UK builder can agree that nobody uses centimetres.

Seems that its used in dressmaking a lot though, did you get it from that?