Why are there 5280 feet in a mile? Read this and you won't not know furlong!

"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction) 11/03/2020 at 09:30 • Filed to: None

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The game is a foot... Watt about horsepower?

These puns making you pound your head on your desk?

I’m a wise acre, to a degree, but...

I live my life two furlongs at a time.

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MonkeePuzzle > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 09:33

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the comment in which someone says the metric system works better

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > MonkeePuzzle 11/03/2020 at 09:34

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For everything but punning.

way2blu does a rev update > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 09:38

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Next year The Fast & The Furious will have been around for 20 years. I can’t wait for Fast 9. It’s gonna be even less realistic than most superhero movies but I’ll be 150% stoked for it either way.

dropthatclutch > MonkeePuzzle 11/03/2020 at 09:39

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That’s abysmal gas milage. I’ve always just appreciated the gag, but never did that math. It’s like .0002. MPG. 

ttyymmnn > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 09:45

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The number of feet in a mile depends entirely upon how many people are walking in it.

Similarly, you can find out how many cows are in a pasture by counting the legs and dividing by four. 

facw > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 09:51

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My high-school calculus teacher once excoriated us for our lack of knowledge of our broken measurement system. All our math and science classes generally used metric units, but then the AP math classes for some reason wanted Imperial measurements, so we did actually have to learn those conversions. Thankfully the science AP exams  weren’t as backwards.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn 11/03/2020 at 09:51

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#TrueFacts

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > facw 11/03/2020 at 09:54

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Honestly, I think it’s good to have an understanding of both, even if you live in a largely metric world - just like it always beneficial to know another language.

outrageousking > way2blu does a rev update 11/03/2020 at 09:56

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thanks for making me feel old

ttyymmnn > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 09:56

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Space sickness is measure in Garns.

Jake Garn was sick, was pretty sick. I don’t know whether we should tell stories like that. But anyway, Jake Garn, he has made a mark in the Astronaut Corps because he represents the maximum level of space sickness that anyone can ever attain, and so the mark of being totally sick and totally incompetent is one Garn. Most guys will get maybe to a tenth Garn if that high. And within the Astronaut Corps, he forever will be remembered by that.

and 100 more > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 09:56

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Mater saved the queen by knowing Whitworth.

facw > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 09:57

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Luckily these days it’s easy enough to just know rough numbers, and if you need anything more precise Google or Alexa or whatever can give it to you faster than you could divide by 5280 anyway.  

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn 11/03/2020 at 09:58

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Brutal.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > and 100 more 11/03/2020 at 10:01

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Haha - yes!

Cars 2 was sadly inferior to 1 and 3, though.

MonkeePuzzle > dropthatclutch 11/03/2020 at 10:04

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you know those boxy cars from the simpsons are all from the worst period of american car design, punished not only by lack of aerodynamics but also crippled by emissions standards.

it was probably a 7 litre v8 that did 0-60 in 30 seconds. 

and 100 more > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 10:10

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I enjoyed it, but it should’ve been a spin-off, rather than a sequel.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 10:16

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Coming from Canada, both systems have their place and it’s useful to know both, even if conversions are a pain in the ass.

Distance and speed? Metric. Every time.

Engineering? Metric.

Construction? Imperial. All. Day. Feet are a nice easy size to manage. Meters are often too big, cm usually too small, and mm WAY TOO SMALL. People who do construction drawings in mm drive me nuts.

Fuel e conomy? MPG create s a more usable and understandable number IMO than L/100km . The only reason L/100km EXISTS in the first place is because KM/L would yield such small numbers as to be pretty much useless. (Side note - I think a distinction should be made between the two systems, since they technically aren’t even a measurement of the same thing. MPG measures fuel ECONOMY, L/100km measures fuel CONSUMPTION.)

Volume? Metric.

Weight? Could make a case either way, but I prefer pounds for more or less the same reason I like im perial for construction—the main unit in play is a more convenient size, allowing for more precision without needing to lean on decimals so much. EG, kg are often too big and grams are usually way too small.

etc. Just everyone stop being a snob and use what works. A few conversions won’t kill you.

HammerheadFistpunch > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/03/2020 at 10:17

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I actually quite like the nautical mile because it makes estimating distance traveled fairly easy with gps as most of my maps are set up in 7.5 minute squares

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > and 100 more 11/03/2020 at 10:20

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I like Finn and Holley and the setting, but the plot just kind of feel flat for me. Felt like a missed opportunity for what could’ve been a great movie.

Kung Fu Panda 2 also fell flat for me because of the bad guy.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/03/2020 at 10:21

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Interesting viewpoint! Thanks.

dropthatclutch > MonkeePuzzle 11/03/2020 at 10:25

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Don’t forget the shag carpeting. 

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn 11/03/2020 at 10:31

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He went up as a test subject for space sickness; sounds like he was the absolute best person they could have chosen!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/03/2020 at 11:58

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YES! Size matters. Numbers which are too small or too large are unwieldy.

Fractions also matter. That’s why it’s easier to use fraction of a foot for measurement . Instead of decimals, we’re using fun fractions like 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16. Those can also be easily counted on fingers.

Building on this foundation are methods for multiplication and division using one hand as a counting tool.

TheRealBicycleBuck > HammerheadFistpunch 11/03/2020 at 12:02

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Ah, but your latitude can have a significant impact on that measurement!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/03/2020 at 12:36

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That too. Fractions are good. Fractions are fast. Fractions are your friend. It’s just leaving out the most time consuming step, the division. People who don’t like or understand fractions confuse me.

Also, I’ve never seen that hand thing before and it looks highly useful to my daily life as I’m regularly working in feet/inches. Please elaborate or point me to a relevant resource. kthxbai

HammerheadFistpunch > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/03/2020 at 12:40

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very much so, but where I am, its close enough for guesswork.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/03/2020 at 14:29

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There are several different ways to do the math, depending on what base number you are using (10, 12, binary). I was taught some basics a long time ago. I did a quick search on finger math, finger counting, finger calculations, and finger fractions. There are a ton of options. Maybe you should start with wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger-counting#:~:text=One%20hand%20is%20used%20to,reached%2C%20therefore%20144%20is%20counted.

Spoon II > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/03/2020 at 16:45

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I’m an engineer in the construction industry, we use millimeters and meters for everything where I work . Once your brain gets used to it, you really appreciate the precision and the  fact that you don’t need to use fractions anymore.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Spoon II 11/04/2020 at 08:26

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What type of construction, and are you on site or are you on the design side ? Ain’t nobody setting studs to the millimeter. Could in fact be counterproductive with some people I’ve seen, give them MM and they’ll get within a CM and go “eh, good enough” whereas you give them a 1/4" to hit and they’ll nail it.