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Our next unelected PM?

Vixen said:
A knot is quite similar to a mile so when you are in a boat travelling at 40 knots you have a comparison point with car speed.
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Captain_Swoop said:
A nautical mile is based on the circumference of the earth, and is equal to one minute of latitude at the equator.

A knot is a speed of one nautical mile per hour.

A nautical mile and a knot are not 'imperial' they are dictated by the circumference of the earth and the requirements of navigation.
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Well said but you forgot to emphasise that a knot is a unit of speed whereas a mile is a unit of length.

I suspect Vixen's "mathematical mind" may be a little befuddled. Easy to understand how this comes about when you are struggling with imperial units. As an engineer, I embraced the metric system with enthusiasm and relief, when it came into use in Australia. This I did in spite of the fact I was educated with the imperial nonsense. What a jumbled mess it was.

As an example of this mess, in one subject we used the pound as a unit of mass and in another the slug. There was no uniformity even within the system of units.

We have our intransigents in Australia also. Many of these younger than I, still insist on talking in inches, feet and yards. I respond by specifying a distance in cubits, spans, and such.
 
Thor 2 said:
Well said but you forgot to emphasise that a knot is a unit of speed whereas a mile is a unit of length.

I suspect Vixen's "mathematical mind" may be a little befuddled. Easy to understand how this comes about when you are struggling with imperial units. As an engineer, I embraced the metric system with enthusiasm and relief, when it came into use in Australia. This I did in spite of the fact I was educated with the imperial nonsense. What a jumbled mess it was.

As an example of this mess, in one subject we used the pound as a unit of mass and in another the slug. There was no uniformity even within the system of units.

We have our intransigents in Australia also. Many of these younger than I, still insist on talking in inches, feet and yards. I respond by specifying a distance in cubits, spans, and such.
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Oh dear. A decimalisation proselytiser. Spoken like a true zealot.

Why should there be 'uniformity'? If you want standardisation, go to McDonalds. They're are the standardisation business model.
 
Vixen said:
Oh dear. A decimalisation proselytiser. Spoken like a true zealot.

Why should there be 'uniformity'? If you want standardisation, go to McDonalds. They're are the standardisation business model.
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Why should there be 'uniformity'? So that screw-ups like the mars climate orbiter can't happen again, that's why.
 
Vixen said:
Why should there be 'uniformity'?
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So that the foreign dishwasher fits into the gap left by the kitchen fitter?

So that your spanners fit the nuts + bolts of the equipment you purchase?

So that you can see at a glance that you're getting the right dose of that medicine?

eta: And the reverse, of course. Our exports to metric nations fit their system. Given that 'metric nations' is virtually the whole planet, we'd shag our exports by using archaic units.
 
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theprestige said:
Why on earth would you imagine your joke metric holds a candle to real metrics that exist because they actually solve problems that real people have?
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Furlongs per fortnite is a perfectly cromulent measurement. Do you need assistance with the conversion? Or are you going to embiggen your opinion?

Why this very diurnal period, I veritably hurtled down a public thoroughfare at the regal speed of 20,160‬ furlongs per fortnite in my trusty iron chariot. My how I laughed. To hell with those obstructionist flag men I say, They are hindering progress. Whatever might be next? Machines which can fly? Superstitious nonsense, fwah, fwah, fwah.
 
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Vixen said:
Oh dear. A decimalisation proselytiser. Spoken like a true zealot.

Why should there be 'uniformity'? If you want standardisation, go to McDonalds. They're are the standardisation business model.
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You have been viciously savaged by others I see, about your adversity to "uniformity", so I will refrain from adding to your pain. You are perhaps somewhat addled, as indicated in that post I responded to. Apart from the confusion between units of speed versus distance, you had some difficulty with fathoms and furlongs I noticed.

The way out of your confusion is simple. Just embrace the much more consistent and logical metric system, that has been adopted by the rest of the world. Oh my mistake, Myanmar I believe is clinging to Imperial units also.
 
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Thor 2 said:
You have been viciously savaged by others I see, about your adversity to "uniformity", so I will refrain from adding to your pain. You are perhaps somewhat addled, as indicated in that post I responded to. Apart from the confusion between units of speed versus distance, you had some difficulty with fathoms and furlongs I noticed.

The way out of your confusion is simple. Just embrace the much more consistent and logical metric system, that has been adopted by the rest of the world. Oh my mistake, Myanmar I believe is clinging to Imperial units also.
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Like I said, when travelling in a boat the knots are similar to that of a car at miles per hour, rather than kilometres. OK so a nautical mile is roughly 1.15 to a land mile but it's pretty much quid pro quo. Let me know if you now understand the point I made or whether you are still befuddled, confused or addled, as you call it.
 
Vixen said:
Like I said, when travelling in a boat the knots are similar to that of a car at miles per hour, rather than kilometres. OK so a nautical mile is roughly 1.15 to a land mile but it's pretty much quid pro quo. Let me know if you now understand the point I made or whether you are still befuddled, confused or addled, as you call it.
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Which is exactly the thinking that led to MCO going down in flames. You must be so proud of that triumph.
 
GlennB said:
So that the foreign dishwasher fits into the gap left by the kitchen fitter?

So that your spanners fit the nuts + bolts of the equipment you purchase?

So that you can see at a glance that you're getting the right dose of that medicine?

eta: And the reverse, of course. Our exports to metric nations fit their system. Given that 'metric nations' is virtually the whole planet, we'd shag our exports by using archaic units.
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Well the UK still gets by perfectly well using miles, stones, feet and inches. I can't see why Rees-Mogg's secretarial guidelines are the slightest bit controversial to anyone. Yes, it's nice to encounter the Euro almost everywhere you go in Europe (the Swedish Kroner is a right PITA). However, I recall working with French Francs, Italian Lire, Deutsch Marks, Spanish Pesatas, etcetera, and honestly, guys a little simple calculation never hurt anybody and might actually protect your brain from terminal stupefacation.

As for standardised plugs and jar lids, how come my travel adaptor plug has about five or six different plugs to choose from if 'everything is now uniform'?
 
Archie Gemmill Goal said:
Similar... which would be better than measuring both in Km/h and then they would be the same?
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In the UK we still have miles per hour as the speed limit. If you are used to driving along at 20 mph in an urban area such as London, then when you are cruising along in a speedboat at 20 knots you have a fair idea you are doing the roughly equivalent speed in your car in London.

Anyway, don't worry about it, just think of fluffy kittens and bunnywabbits.
 
Vixen said:
Well the UK still gets by perfectly well using miles, stones, feet and inches.
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No, it doesn't. Most engineering in the UK is done to metric units and standards. Yesterday I bought a set of pans; 2 litre, 3 litre, 5 litre and 10 litre. My bike uses metric nuts, bolts and spanners even though it was manufactured in Kew. We buy fuel in litres (largely because, if the price were still expressed as per gallon, there'd be riots, but that's another story). Most food is sold by the gram and kilogram. Most of my furniture is assembled using 4mm and 5mm Allen keys. And if you think Brexit will change any of that, you're living in the fantasy world that the ERG's conned everyone into believing in.

Dave
 
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