A place for the discussion of all things not closely related to the sport and its competitive side. (Locked down several times a year during the major championships)
JRM wrote:For quick calculations, divding by 2 is much easier than dividing by 1.8 (because for practical purposes, 1.8 is approximately 2 anyway). Ditto for subtracting/adding 30 vs 32. This gives 90F = 30C, as opposed to the actual 32C, and 40F = 5C (actual 4.4C). So, for most temperatures there's a margin of error of about 10% or less (the higher error being for low temperatures, but since they don't exist in CA, no worries!).
All this tomfoolery could be avoided if you metriphiles would just accede to the inevitable superiority of the Imperial System and CONVERT YOURSELF (as opposed to constantly converting measurements like decigrams and gigameters) to Jehovah's own annointed system (well actually that would be cubits and spans, but that's just so Old Testament).
16 ounces to the pound . . . 12 inches to the foot . . . 180 degrees from freezing to boiling - c'mon now - what could possibly be more logical?!
gh wrote:rather than worrying about 5/9ths and 9/5ths, multiply or divide by 1.8.
I disagree. My way is easier to do in your head. I am always going from Celsius and 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 are easy to convert with my rule because of the multiplication rules we all learned about 9 and it is easy to divide by 5.
Did you memorize log tables as a child, MJD?
For quick calculations, divding by 2 is much easier than dividing by 1.8 (because for practical purposes, 1.8 is approximately 2 anyway). Ditto for subtracting/adding 30 vs 32. This gives 90F = (90-30)/2 = 60/2 = 30C, as opposed to the actual 32C, and 40F = 5C (actual 4.4C). So, for most temperatures there's a margin of error of about 10% or less (the higher error being for low temperatures, but since they don't exist in CA, no worries!).
It's obvious you don't do distance JRM. 10& is a lot. Funny thing about the log tables. We started taking the base system in grade 4. I did reasonably well in school but had a complete mental block on that stuff. Whatever caused it just quickly cleared up one day after a couple of weeks. Incredibly frustrating in the interim.
tafnut wrote:16 ounces to the pound . . . 12 inches to the foot . . . 180 degrees from freezing to boiling - c'mon now - what could possibly be more logical?!
A quick lesson on the importance of the metric system (and numerical estimation techniques!) from Canada's national newspaper, for ye American naysayers:
MJD wrote:We started taking the base system in grade 4. I did reasonably well in school but had a complete mental block on that stuff. Whatever caused it just quickly cleared up one day after a couple of weeks. Incredibly frustrating in the interim.
MJD wrote:I am always going from Celsius and 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 are easy to convert with my rule because of the multiplication rules we all learned about 9 and it is easy to divide by 5.
I know the conversions for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. 35 and 40F without doing the maths. I just know them. For everything in between, I interpolate, using 1.8F=1C to get me to where I'm going. But I have no similar knowledge of any values below 32F--in other words, what happens when it goes negative C. I have to calculate that every time, and it's a bit trickier. One of many reasons I prefer to avoid being in such temperatures.
When I moved here F meant virtually nothing to me so I simply memorized the base numbers of 0, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30C and work from there. Fortunately here in SoCal you don't need the conversions under 10C very often
marknhj wrote:Fortunately here in SoCal you don't need the conversions under 10C very often
No, but YOU have to know that a 7.0 is actually 10 times bigger than a 6.0.
Or is that 100?
On the Richter Scale
Only every 15-100 years or so. On the other hand we don't have to worry multiple times every year about where the tornados are going to ouch down, what category the hurricanes are, or where they are going to make landfall.
That's about what the Permanent Fund pays out each year, isn't it(though I think it's on a sliding scale depending on length of residency)?
Hey, who told you about the PFD!? Kidding. Actually, once proof of residency is established, the yearly amount is equal for everyone in the state. However, even little kids receive the dividend, so a single mom with a young kid is going to get two checks. The Permanant Fund is divided into a principle, investment/interest, and the dividend, which is basically what the money earns in the market each year.
JRM! My boys, Bob and Doug! Thanks, that makes my day.
You know, everyone, the whole Centigrade/Farenheit dispute can be settled if we all just revert to cryptic sayings, like the Wyoming Chicken Standard ("it's colder than twenty chickens") or "it's colder than a witch's tit" or "hey, it's a bit nippy todeh eh?"
JRM wrote:A quick lesson on the importance of the metric system (and numerical estimation techniques!) from Canada's national newspaper, for ye American naysayers...
Canadians maybe not be the best group to go to for metric/imperial conversion information...or maybe some of us Canucks are just missing the math gene:
Well, I'm getting ready to head out on the same fifteen-miler that froze my kisser last Saturday. Fortunately we're still hanging on to this week's heat- wave here in the Interior - if I freeze anything in 13 degree weather I probably don't deserve to live here. Hopefully I can finish before sunset, we're down to 3 1/2 or 4 hours of sunlight now.
On the other hand we don't have to worry multiple times every year about where the tornados are going to ouch down, what category the hurricanes are, or where they are going to make landfall. 