What's with all this inches, feet, AM/PM and Fahrenheit crap? :P

[Dutchy]

Okay, admit it: the American measuring systems suck. Inches, feet, Fahrenteit, AM/PM, WTF?

Overhere we use the metric system, Celcius and the 24 hour clock.

1 kilometer = 1000 meters
1 meter = 100 centimeters
1 centimeter = 10 millimeter

All based on 10, the number of fingers that fit on your foot. And not on inches, feet and miles which don't fit on anything. :p

Okay, it's arbitrary, but since water is a very essential and common presence in our society it makes sense to use its freezing temp and boiling temp. So the freezing point is put at exactly 0 degrees and the boiling temp at 100. When it's freezing outside it's exactly 0 degrees and not some half @ssed 32, come on. :p

Then this AM/PM stuff. How many hours fit in a day? Yes, 24. So what do we do? We divide our clock in 24 hours, which means the time basically tells how much time has passed since midnight. So when it's 15:03 it means that 15 hours and 3 minutes have passed since midnight. When it's 0:37, 37 minutes have passed, when it's, well, you get the picture. :p Seven o'clock should be either 7:00 or 19:00, no more confusion!

Anyway, which systems do you prefer? I prefer ours, on every front! :)

[CMJ]

This is similar to a post Mr. Bowen made awhile back. You guys are too alike sometimes. ;)

[Diego Van Derveld]

Work in a loud environment, like a factory, where important directions are often given in measures. With everything ending in -meter or -liter or -gram....see how many snafu's you get vs the American system.

As for Fahrenheit, its easier to discern changes in temperature, without resorting to decimal places. I mean honestly...in celsius...you've got maybe 35 degrees of "weather" Thats not a lot of margin for description. I wouldn't catch myself waking up, going outside and going "Gee...it feels a bit like 22.2!"

[J'hrea Alsac'lynol]

I like your's better, but I haven't adapted to it so I will continue to use my sorry <smallfont color={hovercolor}>-Censored-</smallfont> American system.

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by CMJ
This is similar to a post Mr. Bowen made awhile back. You guys are too alike sometimes. ;)

Actually, we are! Movie-wise though, we tend to disagree, sometimes. ;)

[JonathanLB]

The 24 hour clock is just stupid. I am glad we don't use that, although if people want they can sometimes set their watches to that idiotic system.

You cannot make an analog clock, Dutchy, with 24 different hours on it. At least, it would look like hell. People have ALWAYS used the 12 hour clock, that's why you have 500 year old European clocks, beautiful looking, I might add, that have twelve hours on them. That's just how it works.

If it's 7 and you don't know whether it's a.m. or p.m., umm.... well you must be living in another universe. When I look at the clock, I have a rough idea what time it is anyway, so it's pretty darn obvious that if it says just 2:25 I know whether I'm in class or at home, LOL, I don't need to see 14:25 or some crap like that. No time exists past 12:59, that's the latest it gets, then back to 1.

As for the Metric system (which is much different -- even scientists use the typical AM/PM clock along with the Metric system), I think it's great for science and I'm glad we use it there, so I'm not sure why you think it matters. I mean, there isn't a single science classroom or research lab here that uses anything but the Metric system. It would not be convenient.

However, in everyday language, it's just easiest to use a more friendly system that makes more sense to most people. Saying that someone is 1.67848348 meters tall is just plain idiotic, there's no other way to put it. Dividing by inches is much easier. You say you are 5'5", 5'7", 6'0", etc. VERY easy to understand. Saying you are 1.8765 meters or 1.911 meters or whatever is just ridiculous looking.

As for temperatures, same thing goes. Fahrenheit isn't tied to the Metric system, it's just another system that happens to be very convenient, too. 0 degrees is not freezing, 0 degrees is WAY below freezing. It just doesn't make sense to have 40 degrees or whatever be "hot," no no no, 80 degrees is hot, 90 is really hot, 100 is unbearable, etc. Our system makes perfect sense there.

The only point I can agree on is that the metric system is a much simpler, easy to understand system that works great for science, but considering I understand both systems perfectly, as does anyone else who has went through a decent high school here, I'd say that makes Americans smarter than Europeans who only know one system and therefore cannot even calculate or compare on both. :)

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Diego Van Derveld
"Gee...it feels a bit like 22.2!"

LOL! :lol

Maybe Fahrenheit's scale is a bit "wider" than Celcius, but not THAT much! :)

[Dae Jinn]

Uh, fingers are on your hand, toes are on your feet :)

[Figrin D'an]

Perspective makes all the difference. It depends upon which system you are "weened" on while growing up.

[Diego Van Derveld]

I like Fahrenheit's scale, because the cluster of practical, everyday temperatures falls between 0 and 100. Zero on a cold day in New York, and 100 on a hot day in Miami, give or take (I know these are exceeded at both spectrums, but not by much). That way, it kinda visualizes better in terms of temperature distribution. Percentages break down much easier in 100 than they do in 35. All in all, its just easier to relate to, in an everyday manner. The ludicrous numbers (way hot and way cold) fall outside this range. What does 180 degrees Fahrenheit feel like? Its outside my zone, hell if I know! Ask a yeast roll or something! Also, Fahrenheit doesn't have to deal with negatives nearly as much, since its scaled a bit higher.

[Dutchy]

Jonathan, we don't use an analog 24 hour clock, obviously, but a digital one, though.

And of course you have a rough idea of the current time, but not when you set a meeting a week ahead. Then you want to know the exact time!

Of course we don't say someone is 1.67848348 meters, duh. We measure it in centimenters, so someone is 167cm. It would be the same as you guys saying someone is 5'5.4737". Same difference. So there is no decimal point.


The only point I can agree on is that the metric system is a much simpler, easy to understand system that works great for science, but considering I understand both systems perfectly, as does anyone else who has went through a decent high school here, I'd say that makes Americans smarter than Europeans who only know one system and therefore cannot even calculate or compare on both. :)

I also know both perfectly, but I'm sure not everone over there knows our systems, nor would everyone over here know yours. :)

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Dae Jinn
Uh, fingers are on your hand, toes are on your feet :)

See, that's how easily you get confused with this foot stuff. :p

[JonathanLB]

Ask a yeast roll, that is good.

Yeah nobody uses negatives except in ridiculous climates pretty much, maybe with wind chill in some major cities, but in Portland, uhh, it doesn't get colder than 30 usually, let alone 0. It has never been colder than 15 to my knowledge when I have been alive.

"Uh, fingers are on your hand, toes are on your feet"

LOL, wow, really?! :)

[Diego Van Derveld]

Whats there to know about the metric system? Its factors of 10, thats it. Conversions are a pain in the neck, but thats all. They're easy to convert, but I think the ease of use in American systems comes from their units not being bulky. Saying I'm 6'1" is much less cumbersome than calling me 1 meter and however-many centimeters (which is a number in the 90's).

6'1" vs 1m, 90cm

:)

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Diego Van Derveld
I like Fahrenheit's scale, because the cluster of practical, everyday temperatures falls between 0 and 100.

Agreed, that's a neat feature of the Fahrenheit scale. Actually, it's not that bad. The thing I really like about Celcius though is the 0 point put at freezing point. So when it's freezing outside it's below 0 and when it's not it's above 0.

I do think though that inches, feet, yards and miles don't add up logically as the metric system does.

And in daily conversation the 12 hour clock is used here as well, so you say for instance: "See you at 7 tonight". I definitely think that having the exact 24 hour time available as well is much less confusing though. 19:00 really is an evening hour and 7:00 is a morning hour.

[Dutchy]

Oh, I'm 1m83cm, btw. 6'0" for all you inch/foot lovers out there. :)

[Dae Jinn]

Originally posted by Dutchy
See, that's how easily you get confused with this foot stuff. :p
Sorry, couldn't resist. :p
I'm from Canada, so I learned metric in school, and then had to use inches et all, in college. Both are alright, but metric is a bit easier math-wise :lol

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Diego Van Derveld
Whats there to know about the metric system? Its factors of 10, thats it. Conversions are a pain in the neck, but thats all. They're easy to convert, but I think the ease of use in American systems comes from their units not being bulky. Saying I'm 6'1" is much less cumbersome than calling me 1 meter and however-many centimeters (which is a number in the 90's).


Well, putting it that way, the Fahrenheit scale is bulky as well. :)

[Diego Van Derveld]

Its just that with such a big discrepancy between meters and centimeters, you've got a lot of "pocket-change" units on your hands, with such heights. With 12 inches in a foot, it seems a bit more manageable. I wonder why height isn't in decimeters? So that you'd be 18dm, 3m. Eh...now the see-saw shifts the other way. (shrug)

[J'hrea Alsac'lynol]

Yah the inches, and feet with height are pretty easy to understand for me. It's alot easier to comprehend with, and get a feel for, but when it comes to feet, inches on almost every other measurement it is truly annoying, though I understand it, still really annoying.

[JonathanLB]

"inch/foot lovers out there"

How do you know that someone has to be an inch lover if they are a foot lover, or a foot lover if they are an inch lover? ;)

[Dutchy]

Decimeters exitst as well, yes. I'd be 18.3dm then. 1.83 m, 18.3 dm, 183 cm, damn, there's just no end to the logic of this. :p

Inches don't seem quite precise enough for most purposes.

Of course it's all a matter of what you're used to. It's interesting to read the different point of views nonetheless, though. :)

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
"inch/foot lovers out there"

How do you know that someone has to be an inch lover if they are a foot lover, or a foot lover if they are an inch lover? ;)

Hey, I'm the foot **** master, massage-wise anyway. ;)

[Diego Van Derveld]

Yep. Its all a matter of preference and how it feels on a case by case scenario.

[JonathanLB]

Dutchy, I just saw that movie (again for about the 5th time) Saturday night, wrote my review but no DVD notes yet so I can't post it (the review is already 8.5 pages cuz I had to quote so much, including that whole conversation).

Jules: Don’t be telling me about foot massages; I’m the foot **** master.
Vincent: You given a lot of ‘em?
Jules: **** yeah. Got my technique down and everything. I don’t be ticklin’ or nothing.
Vincent: Would you give a guy a foot massage?
Jules: **** you.

[Dutchy]

Geez, it censored my already censored word!

That's another thing that sucks here: the censorship. :p

[Dutchy]

I absolutely LOVE Pulp Fiction. Prolly the single most quotable movie of all time.

"I don't know if it's a worth 5 dollars, but it's pretty **** good!"

[JonathanLB]

No I have seen it many times. I never saw it in theaters, but shortly after. I have the two-disc set now too, the good DVD edition.

I'm sure I've seen it at least 5 times...

[Sanis Prent]

Guys...LANGUAGE. Veiled profanity or not, lets cut it out ok :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Hmmm lemme try my new favorite joke in the metric system.

*holds fingers about 6.5 cm apart*

But I thought THIS was 17 cm!!

--------
Hmmm.,.,,.

[Dutchy]

Yup, I immediately edited it, coz I was sure you saw it before. :)

I've seen it close to 10 times, I'm sure. It's in my all time Top 10.

*cut* Like I said, the censorship here sucks. :p

[JonathanLB]

language?! Those are just movie quotes, from one of the best films ever, I might add ;)

Everyone gets so touchy about language. I fail to see how a combination, any combination, of letters can be either "good" or "bad," lol. It's so funny.

Fock isn't a swear word, yet it is only one letter different from a "bad" word. Yet nobody would call fock a bad word, or what about hit? That's another word entirely, yet add an "s," which is in and of itself not a bad letter, and you have two goods combining to make a "bad" word? Hmm something fishy about that.

EDIT: Dutchy, censorship in general sucks.

I posted that great poem I wrote at TFN and got in big trouble for it even though I censored the language. I'm sure it "offended" someone. I hate people. People are so stupid. Anyone who is offended by language should be sent to Mars where a sense of humor isn't appropriate or needed. Here on Earth, humor (like my damn poem) is appreciated and nobody reads something funny and goes, "Oh. My. God. There is swearing in that. It's not funny. It's horrible. I think I am going to go report it to the admins" (someone did this at TFN).

Oh well I told them already, I'm City Rep of Portland, with or without TFN, and I will just make my own forum where I'm admin and there is no admin/mod powers ever used (which is more like this forum in many ways, at least we don't have nonsense like that going on).

[Sanis Prent]

Sorry guys :)

If it were my house, I'd let you cut loose like Tourrettes victims. But its all about the kids man, the kids :)

(waggle eyebrows conspiratorily)

But kids can't read your PM's :)

[Dutchy]

"They got the metric system, they don't know what the hell a quarter pounder is!" Appropriate! :)

[Diego Van Derveld]

Doh! You beat me to the punch :)

Royale' with Cheese :) Classic :D

[JonathanLB]

Yeah it's all good Sanis...

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Sanis Prent
Sorry guys :)

If it were my house, I'd let you cut loose like Tourrettes victims. But its all about the kids man, the kids :)

(waggle eyebrows conspiratorily)

But kids can't read your PM's :)

Kids can also see people shooting up each other with big guns on TV. :)

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Diego Van Derveld
Doh! You beat me to the punch :)

Royale' with Cheese :) Classic :D

I like how the movie starts with the whole Amsterdam conversation. :)

[Diego Van Derveld]

Eh, but we've all learned from Columbine that added gun control laws and tight control on the "F" word will always keep our children safe.

(Hot Topic POWDERKEG -- neither here nor there. Move along :D)

[Dutchy]

Jonathan, wholeheartedly agreed. People are so uptight about language. Or, Americans anyway. Overhere in Holland we really don't make a big deal about it at all.

It's OK to show guns and weapons on TV in the USA, but the F-word is a big nono. I can't remember the last time a person was killed by a word.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Speaking as a mod in the other forums, bypassing the swear filter will earn you an edit there. Or, if we're doing our job, it should. :)

Its all about CENSORSHIP BABY! *places big black CENSOR sticker on herself and parades around*

[Dutchy]

I seems odd to me that a post that was passed by the swear filter should still be edited. I'd say the filter needs an update then.

[Diego Van Derveld]

Oh, I don't agree with it at all. Personally, I think that the preventative measures of the past decade have descended further and further into a realm where common sense doesn't exist. There are, however, those that do believe in such things. Its not an arduous chore to respect them in a public forum :) Since its not a life or death issue, I can agree to disagree here, and move on :)


Edit: Actually Dutchy, thats not a bad idea. I'll see what I can do. That would help ease the workload :)

[Admiral Lebron]

For science the metric system works cos its easier to convert between volume and mass and what not in it. But outside of science and star wars (because everything is in metric for some strange reason) I never use it. I like my scales more then yours.

[Diego Van Derveld]

I've always liked military time. It just sounds cool.

[ReaperFett]

Everyone gets so touchy about language. I fail to see how a combination, any combination, of letters can be either "good" or "bad," lol. It's so funny.
You're not getting out of this with that argument Jon! Take it like a man! ;)

[JonathanLB]

What do you want me to say? lol.

Well I just got my 2nd 24 hour ban from TFN, even though I'm the highest ranking member of the local Fan Force, haha. It's just such a joke, jesus christ, all because I posted that Valentine's Day poem. They totally went nuts about that. It was FUNNY, do people have no idea how to react to anything anymore?! Jesus, if I wanted it to be offensive I would have posted something much worse. All I was trying to do was introduce some humor into people's days.

I really don't think I have an interest in being part of the Fan Force at all if they are going to act like that. It's total interference from idiots who live in entirely different states. I think the existing group of members, which has gotten along very well under my leadership, should simply create our own Fan Force independent of TFN.

Anyway, I hate TFN. It's the worst Star Wars site on the net. It's the "best" for news, but it's absolutely the worst for true fans. I want to see a site truly run FOR the fans BY the fans -- i.e., all of the people who run it love ALL of the Star Wars movies. Instead, we have a puppet government in there run by LOTR lovers who hate the prequels. It just shows every time you go there anymore. It's just as negative as the real media!

Then I ultimately got banned for saying that if the D.C. Fan Force guy was offended by the poem, he "must be a total square." Oh yeah that's a REAL slam/flame there, lol, my god.

That's ok, I usually post on that forum maybe 1 time per week, lol, so a 24 hour ban is not something I would even notice unless they told me. ;)

[ReaperFett]

Go on Jon, keep insulting me, I've always wanted to test out my little ban button.







;)

[Admiral Lebron]

You're right. Apart from the unofficial encylopedia and the news, I don't use it.

[ReaperFett]

Well I find that its the best SW site :)

[JonathanLB]

Well I think it's a lousy SW site because of the people that run it, HOWEVER it has great news and links that I generally check out. Other than that, well, it's just a sad time when that's our "best" site. Reaper may be right. I mean I still visit TFN daily and I don't visit the other sites because they strike me as even worse. Jedi Net or whatever is really biased. Their forum was run like a total dictatorship. I thought for sure I had landed on Coruscant during Imperial rule.

Reaper, haha, I wasn't insulting you I hope ;)

I think this forum is well run, one of the best run on the net, really, because there isn't much administration. That government which governs the best, governs the least. Couldn't be more true.

I've always run forums like that, too, absolutely no admin powers used if possible. Unless there is a SPAM attack or something.

[ReaperFett]

yes, JediNet IS worse :)

[Diego Van Derveld]

Site, yes.

Forum, not by a long shot.

TFN's forums never really seemed like a "community" to me. Its more of a "gaggle". You honestly have no clue who's who and what's going on.

[JediBoricua]

I have to agree on the general forums in TF.N. Ugh, the Literature forum is so big you can't have an argument. If you do then the Mara lovers will jump you, or the Anakin lovers, or ReaperFett ;).

On the other hand my FanForce Forum is very cool. The good thing is that we see each other almost every week so there is always somehting going on on the forum. We are currently rewriting LOTR with inside jokes. It's hillarious. And the best thing, we curse in spanish!!! Mwahahahaha!

[Diego Van Derveld]

Yeah, FanForce is another matter, I guess :)

[JMK]

:lol

[Jedi Master Carr]

:lol that is hilarious. I have visited the tfn boards before and they are rough they ban first ask questions later. :p Its not bad to look at some of the arguments and so but I don't go there to chat , I agree its no communtiy.
As far as the American vs Metric debate, I agree that it is really depends what you are used to, we have been used to miles, and stuff for years and that is why most of us see it as easier, even if it isn't as efficent as the metric system.

[Figrin D'an]

The FanForce boards are interesting... I check out the one for my area fairly often, since I kinda helped to start the chapter... some decent conversations.

But nothing like what we have here... I have yet to find a better community of boards than what exists here.

[Admiral Lebron]

Alas, I have no FanForce in my area. :(

[JonathanLB]

I agree, even though I'm sure a number of people probably hate me here, haha, I still think this is the best forum I have been on.

I'm just not a big forum fan, I find that if you don't know the people that well, they jump on you mercilessly and viciously.

I mean I go to Rotten Tomatoes and if I post something like, "Well I think AOTC is better than TTT, but I absolutely love them both," then I get something like, "Are you STUPID?! Haven't you seen The Three Colors Trilogy, Jean De Florette, The 400 Blows, and every work by Kurosawa? Because if not, you have NO RIGHT to comment here, stupid."

Umm... I just don't consider that especially useful conversation. I've never been able to get away with expressing any opinion there without getting absolutely hammered by someone. I mean granted sometimes, 5 people agree with me, 2 disagree, but those 2 who disagree really make a point of trashing whatever I said!

I think it's rather unproductive but also just seems destructive and hurtful, really. I'd rather talk film in real life....

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I agree, even though I'm sure a number of people probably hate me here, haha, I still think this is the best forum I have been on.
Its a love/hate relationship, Jon. They love to hate you. ;)

[JonathanLB]

I get it, lol, so I am like Darth Vader? You know, without good ol' Vader, there is no Star Wars Trilogy...

:D

I see now, it's all coming clear to me.

[ReaperFett]

TFN's forums never really seemed like a "community" to me. Its more of a "gaggle". You honestly have no clue who's who and what's going on.
If there wasnt a community feel, I wouldnt have been there as long as I've been here :)

[JonathanLB]

Nice of you to say, but I posted on TFN for several years and never felt it had a community feel. There are tens of thousands of posters, thousands of posts per day, and it's impossible to achieve a community with that many people. I'm not just saying that in theory. I'm saying I posted there extensively for a LONG time and always found it to be unrewarding.

I made a few awesome friends in the SW fan community there, for a while, but I don't know what they're doing now really. I always liked Go-Mer-Tonic, he's cool, very pro-Star Wars, but I couldn't stand the vast majority of people there. Too anti-SW for me, even on a SW message board. I also liked this guy who used several different names, but he was banned a few times for no good reasons really. I mean, what he said was so tame, it was just incredible, and the bashers egged him on over and over and they didn't receive punishment whatsoever. That truly made me disillusioned with the whole forum, so that's about when I stopped posting in the main sections.

I mean, not only were true Star Wars fans NOT honored properly with respect, but the bashers received the benefit of the doubt the majority of the time.

When JLB Movies is popular, I hope to establish a Star Wars forum there made specifically for the true fans. People can feel free to discuss the movies as they choose, but there won't be any talk (in that forum) about how "awful TPM was" or any nonsense like that. They can take those to other forums on the message board, though, I just will reserve one forum for the true fans that'll be free of interruptions from morons. lol.

[ReaperFett]

There's bashers, there's gushers. It balances out ;)

[JonathanLB]

At the very most, one in five posters there is a basher, BUT they are so much more vocal that it often seems like a majority, lol.

Simply put, I think every basher on TFN who posts regularly is not just idiotic but not even worthy of wasting my time with their posts.

Now if someone I ask about TPM says, "Hey, you know, I didn't really like that much. I mean it was ok..." That is one thing. But to hang around a forum for YEARS, I'm talking MULTIPLE YEARS at a time and continue to dwell on the same subject negatively, rather than using this energy for something positive, is so incredibly pathetic that I can't even think of a good word for it.

I talked about TPM for 6 months after the release on TFN's forums, then I felt that I had seen every discussion already and I left because that was that. There was no more to talk about. Then these people stayed there for years at a time still rehashing the same worn-out arguments. I think even the gushers are somewhat wasting their time, though I have great respect for them, for being that loyal to defending Star Wars. They sure are more patient than I was. I gave it 6 months and that was it, I was done with that.

Honestly though, you don't see me at the Harry Potter forums talking about how much better I was hoping HP2 would be. I mean, seriously people, this is pathetic, people in other nations work night and day to feed their families, and some people here in the wealthy nations like the U.S. have the time to waste 2 hours a day COMPLAINING about a darn movie? Jesus. It's one thing to talk about it positively each day, if that is something that puts a smile on your face and makes you be able to wake up in the morning, but if you are going to be so negative, you should harness that negative energy and use it for something, like eliminating world hunger, or even something simple like perhaps writing in a journal, or maybe writing a book, or doing some part time charity work, or anything!

I spend most of my time on college and my review site. I don't have time to argue with people for 2 hours a day about any one movie. I certainly enjoy film-related discussion and consider it, actually, a vital part to my film education, but that has its limits. Mostly, I just like to spend my time building my site, then I have to do school, even though it's not something I like especially.

I just get disappointed in people who show no effort to do anything with themselves. I have so much more respect for the person who is failing at difficult tasks, or struggling in them, than I do with someone who lives every day like they are going to live forever, just toiling away at a boring job, being negative about life, not working to change their situations, and then not really making other people happier either. The guy who works his butt off and fails has a right to complain about life and how unfair it is. He has tried, he has given his hardest in the pursuit of a noble cause. The man who refuses to take risks, sits around and mopes about his lousy job, and decides that he "can't do any better" is not worthy of any pity whatsoever. That kind of person is a loser, not because of their skills or talents (or lackthereof), but because they admit defeat, which is by defiinition the attitude of a loser.

Bashers, in my opinion, are losers. When I say "bashers," that term is meant only as people who hang out on TFN, on a three times per week basis for at least 30 minutes a day, who still complain either about TPM or AOTC, though each movie was released at the very least 6 months ago or more (in the case of TPM). That is a "basher," in TFN terms, and in my terms, that is a loser.

[ReaperFett]

A basher is someone who will put himself out to have a go at whatever he bashes. So your analogy works :)

[Diego Van Derveld]

Bashers = vocal minority.

If I were to get political here, I could draw some connotations >D

But, I digress :)