Buses cancelled here. Schools are open.

@Science-guy Don't a lot of kids take the bus to school?

@Stephanie99 there are differing rules for bus transportation depending on the age of the child, distance from the school, and for the K to 8 kids, whether they need to cross a major road or a railway track. There are some “walk” schools that are immune to bus issues. Regardless, all schools open in spite of possible low attendance.

@Science-guy There were no school buses when I lived in Canada. I took city buses sometimes.

It’s good kite flying weather is all. ?

My kids in the UP of Michigan sent me this in a similar vein:
[mlive.com]

The aftermath ... Thousands without power....it gets restored reasonably quickly though

I posted the chart so you ‘mericans can convert to wind speeds that the rest of the world does not use. ?

The metric system is usually used in the sciences as it is accurate and used by most of the world! I wish America would finally succumb to the inevitable and "go metric"!!

@Rustee "The metric system is usually used in the sciences as it is accurate..." Not true. "Grains" are as "accurate" as "grams". "Thousandths" of an inch are as "accurate" as "millimeters", etc. The only things that are wrong with the English system is that the units generally are not based on ten, and it is not the standard for the majority of the world. "Accuracy" is NOT one of the problems.

@dahermit -- We are not responsible for you not having educated yourself to the metric system of measurement. I'm an American, but I speak metric too. Why not bring yourself into the 21st century?

@evidentialist Because there is no good reason to do so. Having worked in industries that dealt with countries who use metric, we could convert English to metric with a calculator, do the machining, and ship the product...no big problem. So, using the logic that, "...it is required for world-wide commerce." Is a gross exaggeration. In short, there is no compelling reason for the U.S. to convert to metric despite the rhetoric that falsely states the contrary. However, my post was in response to Rustee's inaccurate assertion that metric is "more accurate" than English measurements.

@dahermit -- And my point is merely this: Metric is the system in common use around the world and has been the system used in science here in the US. That should be reason enough in itself, but there is the other reason even more compelling and that is the basic logic of a system based on ten.

As a scientist, it is the system I've used since day one. As an engineer, I have been converting for an equal amount of time and using the 'standard' of the king's knuckle of the colonies for the same amount of time. I understand that it would be prohibitive in terms of cost to convert our entire industrial base at one time, but highway signage could be changed almost overnight without extra cost and there would be no need to include mph and kph. One needs only to make a 50km trip a couple of times to understand what that is, and our speedometers have had dual scales for years. Just drop the mph on all vehicles sold after the conversion decision.

The first time one steps out into a 60kph breeze the significance of the number will be apparent. So, why the resistance?

@evidentialist "So, why the resistance?" I do not resit the change, but then no one has ever come up with a logical reason to change. However, as hand hand loader of ammunition, that when the "switchover" was firs initiated, hand loading scales to be marketed with "grams" as the unit instead of "grains". However, the existing loading manuals data listings were in grains and sometimes those manuals were used for years before new editions would come out. So, the sales of those new scales calibrated for grams plummeted and soon only scales calibrated for grains were offered for sale, as they are today. Also, it is human nature to think in terms of what you already have grown accustomed to. As a teacher, and some other teacher posed the question, as you have (why not change), I pointed out to them that we cannot readily adapt to a new system. And I would ask them, "It is 39 degrees Celsius outside...are you hot or cold?" Many did not know. I would ask them, "Show me 8mm between your thumb and you index finger."...almost all were way off in their attempt. However, if I asked them if they were hot or cold at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and to show me 1/4 inch between there thumb and finger...they knew if they were comfortable at 72 F, and were way more accurate at guessing 1/4 inch than 8mm (.323 thousandths). Therefore, those of us who were brought up with the English system, will find it difficult to THINK in terms of metric. But, my original point is and was, no one as of yet has offered a COMPELLING reason why we should change.

@evidentialist You may want to ask the Brits why they still insist on driving on the "wrong" side of the road, when the rest of the world uses the right-hand side as the standard.

@dahermit -- What side of the road one drives on does not affect calculations. Actually, it has zero effect on life in general. Sort of comparing apples and oranges there, aren't you?

Information: The red represents all the areas of the world who drive on the right side of the road and use metric measurement. Blue are those areas where folks drive on the left and use metric measurement. Orange is where folks drive on the right side of the road and don't use metric measurement. Cerulean is where folks drive on the left but don't use metric measurement.

@evidentialist Not meant seriously... But, when one crosses with their car from England to France via the tunnel, it does have an "effect on life in general". And again, this conversation was tongue in cheek, not meant as a serious dissertation.

@dahermit I don’t think it an accuracy issue. It’s more an easy of use. With metric being a base 10 system, it is much easy to both calculate and measure. I remember learning fractions in public and sti hate it. ?

@dahermit it’s interesting that you can not work on an “American” car without owning a set of metric tools. International trade is primarily metric based for many industries.

@dahermit, @MissKathleen Canada changed. It was painful but we got it done .

@MissKathleen I should research the metric change history for fun. It was a long time ago and the memory fades.

@MissKathleen well I read the Wikipedia article, and it is somewhat frightening. Lol. It turns out that Canada is a hybrid metric and imperial measures depending on the industry. For example paper sizes are still in inches. I had forgotten how confusing the change was. We are just so used to it now that most Canadians are bi. Not “that” kinda bi! The measurement bi. ?

[en.m.wikipedia.org]

@Science-guy Re: American cars requiring metric tools. It is not as simple as all that. In my lifetime I have encountered three different "metric" standards, European, Japanese, and Wentworth ( early British motorcycles), and I had to buy those three different wrench sets to work on various vehicles.

@Science-guy I am old and am not interested in changing at this point. My hand loading manuals are all in grains, my loads are all registered as being in "grains", my corespondents on shooting web sites all deal with grains (not grams), and they are not likely to change either. The change would have to start with the very young, and NOT a side-by-side system which I said would not work and did not work.

@dahermit which is interesting in that the same “grains” measurements still apply in Canada in spite of metrification in most other areas. From the Wikipedia article I linked to above....

Firearms

Imperial units remain in common use in firearms and ammunition on the international market. Cartridges may have either commercial or military descriptions. In the former, the manufacturer will choose a name for proprietary reasons, perhaps to associate the name with a brand or designer, or otherwise distinguish it from comparable cartridges. Typical terms include bullet or bore diameter, cartridge length or capacity, a proper name or company. Designs are registered with Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) or Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives (CIP) for standardization. Canadian industry follows both conventions, but there is no appetite in the Canadian firearms industry or hobby to pursue metrification simply for the sake of conformity when the trade is global.

Military designations use technical nomenclature to avoid confusion or misrouting of supplies. There are several examples of similar names and similar design dimensions. For example, the civilian cartridge .303 Savage was introduced by the Savage Arms Company in 1894, but is incompatible with the .303 British used throughout the Commonwealth. The .308 Winchester cartridge derived from the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge in the 1950s, with slight variations in production but not in external dimensions. All four examples are common small arms cartridges in Canada.

Imperial measures are often encountered in the description of cartridges, even when the cartridge is of a relatively recent product introduction (e.g. .204 Ruger, .17 HMR, where the calibre is expressed in decimal fractions of an inch). Ammunition which is classified in metric already is still kept metric (e.g. 9 mm, 7.62 mm). In the manufacture of ammunition, bullet and powder weights are expressed in terms of grains for both metric and imperial cartridges. The popular .30-30 Winchester is a .30 calibre bullet originally loaded with 30 grains of smokeless gunpowder.

@Science-guy Some things (a few) here in the U.S., did make the change to metric. Soda Pop comes in 2 liter bottles, as well as medicines. When I was a psychiatric technician in the Army in the early sixties, I would frequently hear the change-of-shift report that someone had to be given a "chemical restraint", of "Amathol, grains three." during the night. Now all meds are measured in milligrams, not grains. But in sum, very few things made the transition to metric in the U.S. via that ineffective side-by-side initiative of years ago.

Staying in and listening to the house shake. ?

@Science-guy Yup, been there, done that.......many times.