Presidential Announcement on NASA TV 15:15 Eastern

[benny 0]

Even if we did raise the average salary but rather the number of teachers employed, I'd say it's likely our kiddies might do a little better. Hell, they don't let JMs jump with 30 students at once. Why should a teacher have to teach 45 kids how to read at once?

Never go to a DZ strip show.

[SkydiverRick 0]

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Even if we did raise the average salary but rather the number of teachers employed, I'd say it's likely our kiddies might do a little better. Hell, they don't let JMs jump with 30 students at once. Why should a teacher have to teach 45 kids how to read at once?

I don't think that the analogy fits exactly but I see your point. I agree that the education system needs improvement. Smaller classes are a start. I don't think that money alone can fix things though. Educating all children to their potential is in everyones interest.

never pull low......unless you are

[billvon 2,991]

>And still no more or less accurate.

It's less accurate. A kilometer is exactly 1000 meters. A mile is approximately 1609.347 meters.

>Also, are you suggesting that there have never been engineering
>failures due to a misplaced decimal point? I certainly hope not.

Not at all. ANY time you have to convert, there is room for error. It is just easier to move a decimal place two places to the right than divide by 1609.347.

>The entire concept of units used for every day human based
>interaction is completely arbitrary.

Of course. The trick is to pick one that is the most useful. And when you have a system that doesn't need conversion factors from angstroms to kilometers, from micrograms to metric tons, it's just a bit more useful.

Quick - how many ounces in an imperial ton? Do you know, or will you have to find your calculator?

>To an average person going about their normal lives, a liter is no
> more or less accurate than a gallon. A centimeter no more or less
> accurate than an inch. A kilometer no more or less accurate than a
> mile.

I agree; to most people it doesn't matter. To pilots, it can make the difference between getting there and running out of fuel. To spacecraft navigators, it can cause the loss of the vehicle. To engineers, it can make the difference between getting to market with two screwups in six months vs four screwups in eight months.

Problems in conversion have a cost; nothing's free. To most people, the units they use simply don't matter. Liters vs quarts is a non-issue to someone who wants milk. To an industry like aerospace or electrical design, the units they choose have a direct effect on the cost of doing business and the reliability of their products. Having to put two sets of measurements on everything has a price as well.

[benny 0]

That's my point exactly. I'm all for space exploration. However, we need to get our priorities straight. And there's plenty to be worrying about here at home. Hell we could have hired more teachers and gone to Mars if Bushie didn't have to give all that money "back" to the top 1/2 of one percent of income earners. Oh and let's not tax dividends too, that way all the people who are fortunate enough to make money just because they already have money can keep more of that money!

Never go to a DZ strip show.

[quade 4]

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It's less accurate. A kilometer is exactly 1000 meters. A mile is approximately 1609.347 meters.

No. A mile is -exactly- 5280 feet and a kilometer is approximately 3280.839895 feet.

As you can see, neither is more accurate only perhaps more convenient.

What we really should do is come up with an entirely new system based on Planck length.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kallend 2,027]

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Not a can of worms.

Just a favorite little engineering argument of mine.

I'm almost certain that both Professor Kallend and billvon know I'm only semi-serious in my convictions on these points.

I mean, I'm not exactly a luddite member of the flat earth society and I think they know that as well.

If I recall correctly, only 7 standard quantities are used to define exactly all SI units. That is not true of Imperial, where many more conversions are required. In quantum electrodynamics, where accuracies down to the 13th place are required, Imperial just doesn't hack it. What is the Imperial unit for electric current? In SI, it's the ampere(amp). How about Imperial for magnetic induction? Illumination level?

And don't forget, I was born in the capital of the Empire.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Designer 0]

Yeah,the dude is sooooooooo in the dark about engineer and designer stuff!Didn't it take 15-20 yrs just to do the "Shuttle"?7 yrs 2 months and a few days just to get the "Jedei Sweptwing" I wanted.Get ready to get ripped off!