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Post Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:00 pm 
 

SO I auctioned off a whack of stuff (doubles mostly).
People e-mail and ask how much to ship to so and so. I do a cursory check at Canada Post.ca , roughly guess at exchange rate and bill everybody. After paying for shipping today I discover my shipping charges are $120 off (total) in favour of the bidders. A couple in my favour but the majority helped the bidder.
I say to the woman at the Canada Post counter. "I knew these were just educated guesses but $120 off the calculator total?"
She says "did you use the inches or centimeters at Canadapost.ca?"
I say "inches"
She says, "oh inches doesn't work very well, next time use centimeters to calculate the cost."
Now she tells me.

Thanks everyone for your bids and enjoy the discount in shipping next time its metric for everyone.

  


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Post Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:56 pm 
 

This proves what every Italian thinks: your metric system sucks.

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Post Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:21 pm 
 

Move to the US. We still use inches here.

  

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Post Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:40 pm 
 

I gotta tell ya, the USPS international estimator is not so great, either. I constantly getting the shaft on shipping anything in a box overseas. This is the real reason so many sellers hate selling to international buyers. The shipping can screw you up easily.


And I could've bought these damn modules off the 1$ rack!!!

New modules for your Old School game http://pacesettergames.com/

Everything Pacesetter at http://pacesettergames.blog.com/

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Post Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:56 pm 
 

The funny thing (to me, at least) about the metric system in the US is that not only are we not using it, we really aren't thinking about using it.

    Products come with both standard (consider that word) and metric weights and measures on them, but......

    ......I do not know two women who can even think in metrics much less convert the two.  The average American almost never thinks in metrics after he escapes from high school.  When he does think in metrics, he sees "Metrics" as a skinny little fellow in poncy black tights and a beret...almost certainly French...and probably a Communist.

    (Consider the fact that hard liquor and wine often come in metric sizes but BEER is always in ounces.  8O )

    I know that the last guy in England who refused to use metrics almost got put in jail for it....at least that's what the US media said.

    They won't succeed at that in the US because we have both standard measures and guns.   :lol:

Mark   8)


"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

  


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Post Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:57 pm 
 

At least you weren't launching a $347.6M mission to Mars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Surve ... 98_program

Ok, why don't the url tags work?  Are they in metric or something?

  

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Post Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:37 pm 
 

Marinagh wrote:At least you weren't launching a $347.6M mission to Mars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Surveyor_'98_program


I was thinking of the same incident and I'm sure there have been others.  Has anyone estimated how much money and time is lost to international businesses and governments because we in the States won't switch?  The metric system is actually easy to get used to but who knows.... 'sigh' is a good name for this thread.

  

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 4:08 am 
 

The URL tag has always mystified me.  Usually, the forum figures out what's a URL when it sees the "http" part, and no URL tags are needed.  I edited your post to remove the tags, and add the "%27" bit.

Foul

  


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 7:28 am 
 

MShipley88 wrote:
    I know that the last guy in England who refused to use metrics almost got put in jail for it....at least that's what the US media said.

Mark   8)


That may sound bad but don't forget though that jail over here is full of gentleman robbers and cheery good-hearted pick-pockets, e.g.  Oliver Twist... [sings] "you've got ta pick a pocket or two!"   :D


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 7:35 am 
 

MShipley88 wrote:(Consider the fact that hard liquor and wine often come in metric sizes but BEER is always in ounces.  8O )

Personally, I prefer to drink wine from a pint glass :oops: Or sometimes straight from the bottle  :?

  

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:17 am 
 

VermilionFire wrote:
Marinagh wrote:At least you weren't launching a $347.6M mission to Mars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Surveyor_'98_program


I was thinking of the same incident and I'm sure there have been others.  Has anyone estimated how much money and time is lost to international businesses and governments because we in the States won't switch?  The metric system is actually easy to get used to but who knows.... 'sigh' is a good name for this thread.


I remember starting Junior High School in 1975 (7th grade) and being told by a snotty ass superior bitch of a math teacher that we HAD to learn the metric system by the end of the semester because by the 1980s (a far away time then) they would be teaching it in 1st grade instead of the standard system and by the end of the century the US like the entire world would be using the Metric system.  I'm proud to say the only piece of the metric system I deal with now is yards in a pro football game.  I hope that teacher retired knowing everything she taught us that semester was worthless, much like her entire career.
  BTW, anyone remember the failed experiment in the states of having the speed limit signs list both MPH and KPH?

Mike B.

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:26 am 
 

Badmike wrote:BTW, anyone remember the failed experiment in the states of having the speed limit signs list both MPH and KPH?

Mike B.


I dont think I am old enough to remember that (no offense Mike.   :wink: ).  But I do remember when they started putting digital speedometers in Ford cars.  My mom had a Thunderbird back in '80 or '81 that had a button that switched from MPH to KPH.  I thought she was going to have a stroke when she looked down to see how fast she was driving and the speedometer showed 95.  She hadnt realized that I had hit the button and changed it to KPH.   I was only 8 or 9 so it was extremely entertaining at the time.  :D

  


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:49 am 
 

Kingofpain89 wrote:
Badmike wrote:BTW, anyone remember the failed experiment in the states of having the speed limit signs list both MPH and KPH?

Mike B.


I dont think I am old enough to remember that (no offense Mike.   :wink: ).  But I do remember when they started putting digital speedometers in Ford cars.  My mom had a Thunderbird back in '80 or '81 that had a button that switched from MPH to KPH.  I thought she was going to have a stroke when she looked down to see how fast she was driving and the speedometer showed 95.  She hadnt realized that I had hit the button and changed it to KPH.   I was only 8 or 9 so it was extremely entertaining at the time.  :D


Then you can't feel the emotion of driving at 180!

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:38 am 
 

Badmike wrote:I'm proud to say the only piece of the metric system I deal with now is yards in a pro football game.


    I think you mean meters at a track meet, Mike.

    I believe that the rest of the world asked American track athletes to think of distances in meters so that there can be less confusion about exactly how far behind American runners their athletes are trailing.  :P

    Mark   8)


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:44 am 
 

MShipley88 wrote:
    I believe that the rest of the world asked American track athletes to think of distances in meters so that there can be less confusion about exactly how far behind American runners their athletes are trailing.  :P

    Mark   8)


Well, if US athletes are going to take their steroids in fluid ounces and here in Europe we are only doping in cubic centimetres - you guys are going to just fly ahead.  :D


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:51 am 
 

red_bus wrote:
MShipley88 wrote:
    I believe that the rest of the world asked American track athletes to think of distances in meters so that there can be less confusion about exactly how far behind American runners their athletes are trailing.  :P

    Mark   8)


Well, if US athletes are going to take their steroids in fluid ounces and here in Europe we are only doping in cubic centimetres - you guys are going to just fly ahead.  :D



   Good one.  I burst out laughing when I read this.    :lol:  :lol:  :lol:


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:23 am 
 

Badmike wrote:I remember starting Junior High School in 1975 (7th grade) and being told by a snotty ass superior bitch of a math teacher that we HAD to learn the metric system by the end of the semester because by the 1980s (a far away time then) they would be teaching it in 1st grade instead of the standard system and by the end of the century the US like the entire world would be using the Metric system.  I'm proud to say the only piece of the metric system I deal with now is yards in a pro football game.  I hope that teacher retired knowing everything she taught us that semester was worthless, much like her entire career.
  BTW, anyone remember the failed experiment in the states of having the speed limit signs list both MPH and KPH?

Mike B.


Reminds me of this snotty bitch nun Spanish teacher I had in high school.  She kept telling us how Spanish was really useful to learn, especially for the future, but we kids knew better than she did and just blew it off. Spanish useful?  Bah!  How dare she attempt to mangle our tongues with this foreign speech!
I really showed her how wrong she was when, as an adult, I visited beautiful Spain for a month and had a really difficult time trying to communicate with the locals.  
:roll:

  


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:29 am 
 

VermilionFire wrote:I really showed her how wrong she was when, as an adult, I visited beautiful Spain for a month and had a really difficult time trying to communicate with the locals.  
:roll:


Absolutely.  I find that when visiting abroad, talking extra loud in English often just does the trick.  :)


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