Fuck katanas.

Pfft, go away you silly lurking foreigner. Atleast our measurements make (some) sense.

...and hop back on IRC sometime, getting sick of browsing the internet through what is effectively DOS. Goddamn.

 

Do fuck off, you silly little man. I'm from Australia, one of the countries that still uses proper spelling and grammar. And if you think I'm going to switch over to your nonsensical dating system, you must be mad. *disgusted noise*

 

Poorly, as demonstrated by the Lord of Love up there.

 

Yes.

No.

No.

Yes.

Ketchup.

 

Answer version #1: I hate you.
Answer version #2: Most propably because the equivalents of plural units would be plural as well.

Retarded.

"I don't fancy being retarded, but I'll settle for being only stupid."

 

"Hey guys, let's create a system of measurements wherein we translate between the different varieties of measurements with fours and threes and thirteens depending on how we feel when we create them. For instance, we'll put twelve inches in a feet, and then have three feet in a yard, and then 1,760 yards in a mile, or 5,280 feet. It will be fun debilitating progress in the engineering and science industries by forcing people to learn this overly complex system instead of building the system from 10, just like our real number system.

"If anybody tries to replace our system with what they call the 'better' system, say by explaining that the reason tens are used has to do with the amount of fingers a person has related directly into the development of the number system, flat out refuse. We don't need them. Keep working on international projects, though, just don't switch measurements for anything. Who cares if a few Space Vessels and satellites fall from the sky? It'll be fun!"

 

I personally like the Imperial System. We did steal it from The Old World, anyway. We didn't invent it.

 

You think that's confusing, do try our "engineering scale" measurements. Where feet are broken into tenths and hundredths of a foot... God, I hate that. If we need it in tenths and hundredths... FFS! Use metric... that aside.

Going to space using metric measurements? I suppose it's possible... Not that *WE* ever did... and *WE* landed on the Moon using standard measurements...


That whole post was just a big ( ) btw. Don't mean anything personal about it.

edit: Although, I must say the results were entertaining, at least.

 

Damn it, Osiris, you made me look up FFS.
I just couldn't get my head around 'Final Fantasy S'.
Let alone trying to figure out where 'S' fit into the Roman Numeral scheme.

Like DF said, we didn't invent the system, we just use it.
Then when the Old Worlders (read Europeans) change to the New And Improved Metric version, they start getting pissy when everybody else won't jump on the wagon.

Six of one, half dozen of the other. Whatever you learned first as you grew up will probably be easier and make more sense to you. One has historicalness. The other has random base-10ness.

 

The metric system is the scientific standard. The Imperial System is special.

Also, the moon landing might be related to the other nations not caring about the moon. If I'm not mistaken, all the other countries, (especially European ones) just wanted to put on satellites and build the International Space Station.

MIR was much more cooler than it though, shame it was brought down by the Russians.

 

I seem to recall something about MIR being old and on the verge of falling apart and killing any poor bastards who happened to be there at the time...

 

According to what I read, the MiR really was old and had a chance to fall on Australia =o

Still, it was the only permanent human dwelling in space and will most likely remain that way until the International Space Station is completed. Thus the reason why it's a pity it had to be destroyed.

 

When the choices come down to:

1. Leave it and let it drop on someone else's country

or...

2. Take down an international icon

I'm gonna take number 2.

 

Exactly. However, the "pity" there meant "I wish Soviets didn't crumble that hard so they could've resumed maintaining the thing". I believe after 1996, the station was falling apart and was only used as a pivot point to build ISS anyways. It is like the whole Hagia Sophia almost collapsing after the earthquake in 1999. The thing had historical importance and it shouldn't have been put in a position where it was required to "make the station fall in control".

Of course, after everything's been done, if you have to shoot, shoot.

 

Everyone knows MIR will fall somewhere on the USA, so it can be discovered in about 300 years by the Midwestern Botherhood of Steel while appearing to be nearly undamaged.

 

Is MIR the one that you can see on the night sky, like a flickering star? I would go outside and check, but that would take effort.

 

Since the number ten is what our whole number system is based on, no, it's not random at all.

 

I'm not saying base-10 is random.

It's just that the Imperial units are based (although altered to standardize them) on every day things that people had on hand at the time that were fairly consistent.
Like the hand, the foot, the bushel, etc.

However the basis for the meter...

...seem kind of random to me.

 

That's actually relevant as the speed of light is 299,792,458 m/s. Thus metre = 299,792,458 * (1/299,792,458) = 1.

True, the french bit is a little crazy though. It might have something to do with the radius of the earth or something, who knows.