Metric System/Del

[Don A. Gilmore]

Gentlemen:

I have been a mechanical engineer for eighteen years here in the US.  I
design automatic industrial machinery.  I have been schooled in the metric
system all my life, from grade school on through college.  I am fluent in
both systems and I like both systems.  But about 90% of my work is done in
the English system.  There are some machine components (like some bearings,
for example) that are metric.  But most other design is done in English
units.  Actually I don't care one way or the other.

The blunt fact is that it doesn't really matter.  The advantages of the
metric system are negligible.  I am not wasting hours and hours laboriously
calculating and pulling my hair out over English units.  Both systems
require multiplication, division and the use of logarithms, roots and other
functions on real numbers.  It is second nature to me and I punch out
figures on my calculator in a matter of seconds whether they are metric or
not, and whether fractional or decimal.  It's a ridiculously simple task
that any child
of mediocre intelligence can handle.  There are only a small handful of
conversions that are used regularly and they are simple and easily
memorized.
Twelve inches in a foot; 550 ft-lb/s in a horsepower, etc.  What is
difficult or time-consuming about that?
We're not using drams and furlongs here!

The industrial infrastructure of the United States is old and vast and is
made up of an almost unbelievable amount of machinery that lasts for many,
many years and has to be
maintained and modified regularly.  To simply foist the Metric System on our
society
and decree that it shall be universal, for what appear to be purely
anal-retentive reasons, is silly.  It would only prove to have detrimental
effects for
decades with utterly miniscule, inconsequential advantages.

Now, if y'all will excuse me I gots to go knuckle-down and do some more
cipherin'.
A-hee-hee-hyuh-hyuh!

Don A. Gilmore
Mechanical Engineer


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joseph Garrett" <joegarrett@earthlink.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 11:23 AM
Subject: Metric System/Del


> Del said: "The only reason it makes no sense to you is because you refuse
to
> familiarize yourself with it and use it. Once you do you'll wonder why you
> resisted so long."
>
> Del,
> Thanks for bringing me up short. My tirade was uncalled for. My apologies
to
> all.
> Having said that, I should say I use metric, not because I want to, but
> rather because I have to. It still makes no sense to me. The reason being,
> that I'm an olde fart who learned the Machinist's Mearsuring System, in
the
> U.S. and it is the only thing that makes sense in my feeble, aged,
> inflexible brain. Further, there are many, on this list, from Canada and
> Europe who intersperse Imperial with Metric in a single post. What the
hell
> is that? If we, (collectively), are going to be true believers of the
Metric
> System, then we ALL need to quit using the Imperial completely. I believe
> you too have been guilty of this faux pas. So, keep up your crusade and
you
> may get me to "think" metric, one of these days. (hmmm? maybe not.<G>) As
> for the "Metric act of 197?" Who cares, that's political crap, IMO.
> Best Regards,
>
>
>
> Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)
> Captain, Tool Police
> Squares Are I
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives