Anybody else confused!??
17
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8 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.There is a handy translator on the speedometer in most vehicles now.
CapriKious
Level 7
May 30, 2019
3
Let's join the rest of the world and go metric. Please.
BestWithoutGods
Level 8
May 30, 2019
5
yep...we have so many strange numbers to remember for all of the various measurements...10 would be so much simpler...nurses are probably the best educated in our country on the metric system...
Got a pen pal living on the opposite side of the planet (Pakistan) who asked me how many cricket matches do I watch.
I explained they don't even put those games on TV here. I've been taking a stab at explaining America to people living abroad for decades.
When I took Petunia abroad, she was astonished to find me converting metric to US standard equivalents for her. The gig was because I had pen pals living abroad I'd made a habit of converting our measurements to their standard. Do that a few thousand times and you can get a fair estimate in your head what they're talking about.
So there I'd be in our Dutch B&B making coffee in the room when Petunia turned on the weather channel and I'd hear "15 degrees! We're going to freeze to death."
"No, no, no" I'd explain. "That means it's 60f. Bring a light jacket when you go outside. It's warming up to 24c."
"24! We're going to freeze to death."
"No,no, no -- it'll be in the mid-70's by around noon and you'll have to ditch the jacket."
A week later, we were exploring April in Paris and she'd stopped panic attacks over the morning weather channel.
WonderWartHog99
Level 8
May 29, 2019
4
Use that fancy phone and get an app to convert if you don't know, you lazy fuck...
thinktwice
Level 8
May 29, 2019
4
Whoa girl! 
@Sticks48 Just giving advice to the clueless ones...
Meh.
I made a metric to American standard equivalent spreadsheet instead. Took me awhile to find the acres to hectares formula. It's been enormously helpful when I'm writing pen pals from abroad. Built the spreadsheet from scratch. It's a case of a fancy Dan computer without the phone app. Additionally, the spreadsheet covers weight in stones to weight in pounds.
Over the years, I even added a section to convert US dollars into Swedish Krona (SEK).
Ah the things I do to explain things to people living abroad.
and get an app to convert if you don't know, you lazy fuck...
Why that must make me a hard working extra clever fuck. There you are, missing out.
@WonderWartHog99 Obviously a clever man...nothing worse than people who think everyone should adapt to them instead of the other way around...I have traveled all my life and a bit of prep ahead of time is courteous as well as necessary...money conversions, unacceptable gestures, etc. Playing the helpless one in this age of devices and nearly instant information is just not appealing to sapios...and clever fuck is not a bad thing to be... 
@thinktwice But I am one of the clueless.
@Sticks48 then get an app...
@thinktwice Nah, l'll just remain clueless. l enjoy the challenge.
@Sticks48 travel with someone who knows...
@thinktwice >travel with someone who knows.
These days I'd be happier with a gal who travels light. I still have nightmares of dragging 80 pounds of her luggage over flights of stairs in the Paris Metro.
I knew one gal who said she wanted to go backpacking with me. She didn’t want to bring much. Just two tents, a rug, a whisk broom, a propane stove, a teakettle, a skillet, a saucepan, bug spray, sun screen, soap, a washcloth, two air mattresses, a pair of sleeping bags, pillows, something flip flap jacks with, insulated egg carrier, milk, flour, salt pepper, steaks, a whole chicken, a big spoon, a knife, a cast iron barbeque charcoal burner, a jacket, toiletries, an ice cooler, a machete, a new swim suit, a saw, a table cloth, a citronella candle, matches, firewood, garbage bag, hammock, dishpan detergent, clothesline, folding stools, steel wool, a dish towel, a lantern with extra propane and mantles, aluminum foil, paper towels a pair of flashlights with extra batteries, paper plates, a radio, binoculars, cups, glasses, silverware, a camera, a bird identification book, playing cards, coffee, a coffee maker, two gallons of vodka . . . .
Just toss all in a backpack before the hitting the trail.
@WonderWartHog99 ha ha ha...I carry my passport in my purse and have been known to go off on a whim with just that...it confuses customs but I can usually find friends to help me out when I arrive or...there are these things called "stores" that carry toothbrushes and underwear!! Amazing, right? ha ha Have fun in your travels...
@thinktwice Domestic travel rarely requires a passport. It's why I rarely carry my passport -- fear of it dropping out of my pocket. They're expensive to replace. About 2/3rds of Americans don't have a passport and don't know what they look like. Customs officials tell me they are regularly confronted with joke passports by Americans such as a passport to New Mexico. It always fails to amuse them.
Leaving the country on a whim is too expensive for me to consider without advance planning. That's because I'm cheap. I keep checking for a tramp steamer (they've got discount state rooms) leaving Charleston, SC, bound for Havana. Cost of couch surfing in Havana is a joke. Couldn't hurt if I learned a few phrases of Spanish before I left.
Next month, I'll be traveling in an over packed car for a tour of the amazingly slow and scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. The parkway runs the ridges of the Blue Ridge mountains, following anus gripping hair pin turns next to deep plunging cliff faces. Because it's mostly hairpin turns, speed limit averages 35 mph. Good drinking and driving country for the depressed and suicidal who want to bring a nagging woman with them.
I've stayed at one of the campgrounds on the Blue Ridge Parkway for $8 a night while across the street was a $180 a night motel room. After I've bought the gear, camping makes domestic travel cheap.
Despite that, I'm with you as far as buy some of your supplies when you get there. All you really need is a one day's change of clothing. When you leave, bring souvenirs and leave stuff like toothbrushes behind.
@WonderWartHog99 I nearly ran out of gas on the Blue Ridge in the middle of winter...I had vision in my head as I was on that winding and desolate road of killing a deer and sleeping inside its warm body to keep warm...because I saw it on a survival show...fortunately, I was closer to the downward part and ended up coasting to a gas station...it is a beautiful drive...enjoy your trip...I bought a senior lifetime pass to the national parks...that would be my dream trip...going from park to park...I no longer collect souvenirs...just memories...we have so much to see in our country
@thinktwice Sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway often close down in the dead of winter because of ice and snow. That's why I've never been on it during winter.
I've seen the southern half of the parkway. This trip I hope to see the northern half. One national park on the southern end route is the Smokey Mountain National Park. I've managed to camp in all of their campgrounds and taken day long backpacking trips from those campgrounds.
A person loses a lot if they visit a national park without backpacking the trails. Petunia wants us to visit the Grand Canyon but she's worried I'll fall off the rim if I try to backpack.
@WonderWartHog99 I spent many summers in the Smokey Mountains...hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail as well in our state of PA...afraid my camping days are over...but the parks have always been part of my life.
@thinktwice Last time I went camping walking around the entire campground wasn't possible. Since then, Petunia ran out and bought more camping supplies for our next camping experience. I've told her this will be my last camping trip. She thinks I ought spend more time hiking.
Last two times I was hiking a few miles, I had a stroke. A full recovery has not seemed likely. Therefore she thinks I ought to hike more. It's not like there's a big life insurance policy in place to take care of her.
We have spent a fortune to live like we're homeless.
@WonderWartHog99 I plan to spend my fortune as if I were poor...I don't need a lot anymore...I do take short hikes...if you are ever near Ricketts Glen in PA, let me know...I would be happy to take you and Petunia on a hike there...it is fabulous and doable for all levels...I was 63 and did a little over 26 miles in 9 hours...ha ha ha
@thinktwice We ought to miss that park by 500 miles on this trip. You sure you don't want to take a little side trip to the Peaks of Otter, VA in the next few days? That'll be as close as we will be to Pennsylvania. You can't miss our tent -- it was advertised to sleep 12. The place also has a lodge for those too pooped to plant tent stakes.
And when they give the temperature in Celsius- how do you know what to wear?
Haemish1
Level 8
May 29, 2019
4
when the temp is given in Fahrenheit what do you wear? US is pretty much the only place on the planet stuck with imperial
You'd have to buy the proper Celcius clothing to match the forecast.
@bookofmoron
When it’s 10 degrees Fahrenheit I know how to dress, but 10 degrees Celsius I’m confused 
@bookofmoron We're idiots!
See my reply on this subject at the top of the page and realize why American women ought to take me abroad.
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