OK, good points about American parts, US assembly plants, and profits kept overseas by branches of US companies. Maybe a Kentucky-built Camry is more "American" than a Canadian-built Buick, if you really get in the weeds about it. As for US workers monopolizing the benefits of every Ford, etc., sold, that was 1950, not now. Sooooo...My rule of thumb is: any GM or Ford-sold vehicle is more American than anything sold by any other major manufacturer. While I'm at it, I'll try to favor products of US assembly plants. The quality gap is gone, and their vehicles are increasingly world-class in design as well.
>"I eat at Waffle House a few times a year (truly good waffles, coffee tastes like battery acid almost identical to Starbucks, iced tea is mediocre), have not eaten at Krystal for about 1000 years...not a misprint...yes, 1000 years..."
Gotta Agree! Waffle House does make good waffles, but don't much care for anything else there. Although it seems I did get a biscuit and sausage gravy there that was pretty good.
Krystal is pretty much the same as White Castle. The "Krystal" Burger has gotten outrageous in price for what ya get. Looks like it would take about 10 of the patties to be 1/4 #.
HOWEVER :shades:
They do serve a pretty good breakfast for the money.
I usually get the senior breakfast with an extra egg.
2 eggs any style. ham, sausage pattie or bacon Biscuit or 2 pieces of toast and jelly grits or hash browns Unlimited coffee
The total price is $3.26 including tax. Really is quite tasty
I can not for the life of me see what people find so alluring about Starbucks. I start getting indigestion before the first swallow gets to the stomach. Must be a cult thing or a test of endurance. Kind of like keeping a GM car running. :P
>" I think there used to be a hamburger chain called Kelly's or something with a scotch colored motif in Augusta back in the 70's too, but I don't remember if they were in Hotlanta - you got grease soppin's by just blotting with a napkin and then squeezing!. "
Not familiar with the one you are talking about. I don't go inside the I-285 ring around Atlanta except to the Airport occasionally.
However we do have 3 Waffle Houses in my little town. Pretty much within 1-2 miles of each other and always busy. I don't know why! :sick:
I think Starbucks tastes scorched. I'm not into labels and status, so McDonald's is fine with me if I'm getting some from the drive -up. Heck, none of my friends in the great Pacific Northwest drink Starbucks either, but I guess its got some Yuppie status. They do have some good pastries though if you don't mind the price and often they are the only choice in the airport.
"Tell me again... how many teaspoons in a cup"...I don't see how that is relevant...OK, so half of a meter (1000 millimeters) is 500 millimeters...half of an inch is...half an inch...half of a foot is...six inches...you make it sound like nobody needs a ruler to measure half a meter but that you need a ruler to measure six inches...
The recipe reads "one cup of milk" or maybe "8 oz of milk" or "250 milliliters of milk"...whatever way you do it, something must be measured by some container that has markings on it with marked quantities...finding the line for 1 cup is no more difficult than finding the line for 250 milliliters...and for that you want to convert the entire country???
The USA is 3000 miles across coast-to-coast...whatever that is in kilometers, so what???...what is wrong with knowing that 2 cities are 75 miles apart instead of "X" kilometers???...maybe it's just what I am used to, but I do not see the usefulness of mandating changes to metric...OK, so I don't use a 1/2 inch wrench anymore, I use an 11 mm (or whatever the number is) wrench...I can get used to that simply because if the 1/2 inch doesn't quite fit, I pick up 2 or 3 metric wrenches to see which one firs snugly...but why is a pint and a cup any "more difficult" than 250 ML...it is still a line on a measuring cup, but I can visualize what a pint is...
Millions of barrels of oil have leaked out of Deepwater Horizon...will I have a better idea if you convert that quantity to liters, or imperial gallons???
Am I committing heresy if I bake a German Chocolate cake using 2 cups of fluor instead of 500 ML of flour because it is German???
While we are not the largest market in the world TODAY, from 1945 to about 1990 we WERE the market that EVERYONE wanted access to...if one was living between 1945 to, say, 1980, demanding that they convert to our system would have been logical, simply because they needed us more than we needed them...we could certainly live w/o Mercedes, Audis, VWs, Porsches, etc. but they would kill to have access to our market, or, better put, they would kill if we cut them out of our market, so forcing them to convert to us would have been quite easy...
Yes, I do know that a 2x4 is not really 2" x 4", but how many millions of our houses are built on 16" centers???...can that number be converted to millimeters or centimeters or decimeters???...yes, it could, but what is wrong with 2x4???
Whether thousandths of an inch or of a mm or cm, one still needs a micrometer...we seem to have done quite well in the last century measuring our things in 1000ths of an inch...just read the micrometer...
Real cooks (and most of the world, again) follow recipes by weight not volume. A cup of water weighs 8 ounces, but the same cup full of melted chocolate weighs 10 ounces. It's a stupid way to make fudge. Get a scale and toss the cups with lines on them.
You nailed it. It taste like it has been on heat for several hours, scorched and strong. Some of our best friends like to go there and sometimes we go along to not be bad sports. My wife will get a cup of regular coffee and a cup of hot water and mix them. Add plenty of creamer a couple pounds of sugar and it is tolerable, but not good.
>"..., but I guess its got some Yuppie status."
I agree! Kind of reminds me of the "Coffee Houses" that were popular in the 60s. Sometimes just watching the people is an adventure in itself. They sip their purchase like it is the nectar of the gods. We sip and gag. Where have the yuppies and hippies gone that used to recite poems at the Coffee Houses, in contempt of the establishment? Now is the time to resurface and the place is Starbucks.
The one good thing is that Starbucks sits in front of a large parking lot of a Public's Grocery shopping center. Every 1st Saturday, during the summer, a hundred + "Rodders" bring their cars there for a free show. Everything from T Models to dressed out Corvettes. Mostly beautiful Detroit Iron from days gone by! Sad what has happened to them!
While we are not the largest market in the world TODAY, from 1945 to about 1990 we WERE the market that EVERYONE wanted access to...if one was living between 1945 to, say, 1980, demanding that they convert to our system would have been logical, simply because they needed us more than we needed them...we could certainly live w/o Mercedes, Audis, VWs, Porsches, etc. but they would kill to have access to our market, or, better put, they would kill if we cut them out of our market, so forcing them to convert to us would have been quite easy...
Hmmm... So much for "competition", I guess. Your opinion appears to be "Do it my way or hit the highway".
And, yes, we could certainly live without the import models, but we didn't.
Why?
Because those models filled the requirements demanded by those purchasing those models. Nothing difficult to understand there.
The buyers (and there were millions sold) didn't care one way or the other about the wrench size needed to service their vehicle. Those buyers didn't make their purchases based on what a mechanic's desire happened to be, nor will any car buyer (or toaster buyer, or TV buyer, or lawn mower buyer) do so in the future.
But, as you so elequently pointed out, the US is no longer guaranteed to remain the largest market, so its about time we got into step with the rest of the world.
So far as I know, there isn't anyone or any country DEMANDING we convert to the metric system. Its simply a case of supply and demand. If we wish to sell products in those markets, we will most certainly have to accomodate the needs and desires that are tied to those markets.
One of those "constraints" is using the metric system.
So, we are going to convert to the metric system, regardless who thinks otherwise. IT WILL HAPPEN, if for no other reason that it makes absolutely no sense for a multi-national company to operate on 2 different sets of standards...especially, when the average US consumer really doesn't car if his car (or toaster, TV set or lawn mower) is constructed with metric standards or US standards.
In fact, the metric system has already infiltrated the US market far more than most realize. I suspect things such as road signs (mile markers, etc) will be some of the last things to change, but I have little doubt that it will indeed happen.
"I bet you bill in tenths of an hour."...actually, you are correct, but we do that for the benefit of the client...billing by tenths means every six minutes...if we used "normal" fractions, it would probably be by 1/4 hour (15 minutes) when many interacrions with clients, or short phone calls on their behalf, are often 5-8 minutes...
1/8 hour might be difficult since an 1/8 hour is 7.5 minutes, and that fraction does make less sense than an even fraction of 1/10 = six minutes...
Now, I can agree that while the next wrench size after 1/2 might be 9/16 or 5/8, whereas the next wrench size after 10 mm is 11 mm, or is it 12 mm???
Watching Food Network they often use 1 cup flour or 1/2 cup flour, rarely do they weigh it on a scale...a teaspoon of vanilla, 2 cups of water or chicken broth, they virtually weigh nothing, at least on the shows I watch (Barefoot Contessa, Rachel Ray, Big Daddy, Guy Fieri...none of these folks ever weigh anything that I can see, they measure quantity in cups...actually, they say "use two cups" but they eyeball it and throw it in...
Yes, back in the 60s and 70s, I would have meant "my way or the highway" and if we said that they would have complied in about 2 minutes...
Do you know your waist/inseam in metric???...do you want to buy your pants as a 34 inch waist, 34 inch inseam, or should it be XX cm waist, XX cm inseam???
Jenny Craig commercial: Look honey, I lost 21 mm from my waist and 2.6 kilograms in just one week...what the hell does that mean???...but I can visualize losing 4 inches off my waist and 10 pounds of weight...
Sorry, I ain't converting until I their is no other choice...or they bury me in a six foot I mean a 183 cm pine box... :P
Do you know your waist/inseam in metric???...do you want to buy your pants as a 34 inch waist, 34 inch inseam, or should it be XX cm waist, XX cm inseam???
No, I don't YET purchase my pants in metric measured units, but its already there in the sizes of hats, shoes, and in many belts. So, I do know my waist measurement in metric units, because of several belts I own.
Sorry, I ain't converting until I their is no other choice...or they bury me in a six foot I mean a 183 cm pine box...
Don't worry. You won't be alone. They'll probably be prying 12" rulers out of the "cold, dead hands" of many before the conversion is complete.
union voted 384-22 to NOT take pay concessions. They figure that they will get a transfer within GM when GM just closes the plant next year.
GM wants to be in the assembly business only. They wanted to sell the plant to a Wis. co. that would make it a viable operation as a supplier to GM as long as they could have wages and benefits equal to $25 an hour for workers.
Today's rate for union workers at the plant: $80 an hour cost for pay and benefits. The union owns 10% of GM. Obama owns 51%.
Well, Kip, since GM, Ford, and, maybe Fiat-ized Chrysler were born and still are HQ'ed here, anything they sell qualifies, to me, as more American than anything Toyota sells. Plus, after all, the bulk of Toyota's profits and best jobs are NOT here. JMHO.
Yes, I do know that a 2x4 is not really 2" x 4", but how many millions of our houses are built on 16" centers???...can that number be converted to millimeters or centimeters or decimeters???...yes, it could, but what is wrong with 2x4???
Actually, my house uses real 2x4's, 2x8's, etc. Either it pre-dates the era when they started dressing lumber, or my grandmother's uncle just didn't care when he built it! Makes it a bit of a pain when it comes to remodeling, as those newfangled 1 3/4 x 3 1/2's and 1 3/4 x 7 1/2's don't quite line up!
Nailing up plywood, sheetrock, etc is also an adventure, as the spacing isn't anything that divides into 48".
"They'll probably be prying 12" rulers out of the "cold, dead hands" of many before the conversion is complete."...you are right...my handgun in one hand and my 12 inch ruler (or 36 inch yardstick) from the other...
Speaking of yardstick, do they call it a "meterstick" over there in "commie-land?"...
Sorry, I just don't want to give up a system that has worked so well and don't want to convert to a system that, to me, offers no advantages whatsoever, except that it is divided by a factor of 10...oh, whoopee, that factor of 10...
...actually, you are correct, but we do that for the benefit of the client...
bwahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!! (sorry, could not resist :P )
Now, I can agree that while the next wrench size after 1/2 might be 9/16 or 5/8, whereas the next wrench size after 10 mm is 11 mm, or is it 12 mm???
They go up a mm at a time. Just think, our foreign make cars cost more because they need to have 2 speedometers - one in km/hr and one in mph. So keeping double inventory costs, too.
Since the US market will become less important over time, our ability to shove our little measurement system down the rest of the world will diminish....
Sorry, I ain't converting until I their is no other choice...or they bury me in a six foot I mean a 183 cm pine box...
Careful, isn't that sounding just like the UAW who you (correctly) say is living in the past? :confuse: :P
union voted 384-22 to NOT take pay concessions. They figure that they will get a transfer within GM when GM just closes the plant next year.
I hear GM China is hiring.... :P
GM wants to be in the assembly business only. They wanted to sell the plant to a Wis. co. that would make it a viable operation as a supplier to GM as long as they could have wages and benefits equal to $25 an hour for workers.
It's about time. This leaves a chance for US workers to get those jobs instead of all the other foreign manufacturing that GM uses.
Sorry, I just don't want to give up a system that has worked so well and don't want to convert to a system that, to me, offers no advantages whatsoever, except that it is divided by a factor of 10...oh, whoopee, that factor of 10...
Sorry, the UAW just doesn't want to give up a system that has worked so well and they don't want to convert to a system that, to them, offers no advantages whatsoever....
Sorry, I just don't want to give up a system that has worked so well and don't want to convert to a system that, to me, offers no advantages whatsoever, except that it is divided by a factor of 10...oh, whoopee, that factor of 10...
Sorry, the UAW just doesn't want to give up a system that has worked so well and they don't want to convert to a system that, to them, offers no advantages whatsoever....
LMAO, good one, I almost lost my coffee through my nose, LOL.
My only comment on this subject is that I hate having to buy 2 different socket sets, one metric and one American.
British Imperial System: Traditional system of weights and measures used officially in Great Britain from 1824 until the adoption of the metric system in 1965. The United States Customary System of weights and measures is derived from it. British Imperial units are now legally defined in metric terms.
Sorry, I just don't want to give up a system that has worked so well and don't want to convert to a system that, to me, offers no advantages whatsoever, except that it is divided by a factor of 10...oh, whoopee, that factor of 10...
Sorry, the UAW just doesn't want to give up a system that has worked so well and they don't want to convert to a system that, to them, offers no advantages whatsoever....
Funny how that works, isn't it?
I want mine! Screw you!
You see it all the time. I wonder how many UAW employees avoided less expensive Wal-Mart goods and Chinese made appliances, foreign grown produce, etc..
"Since the US market will become less important over time, our ability to shove our little measurement system down the rest of the world will diminish....
Careful, isn't that sounding just like the UAW who you (correctly) say is living in the past?"...
Somehow, I see a slight difference between UAW workers who expect to be paid for not working (Jobs Bank) and me, who only wants to continue using a system that is: 1. well known by everybody in this land of 300-plus million people 2. costs no extra to use it in this country 3. any tooling or machinery costs are FULLY PAID FOR...the cost of making a one foot ruler, in inches, has been fully paid for and amortized over 50 years ago...the cots of making measuring cups for kitchens, using ounces or cups, has been fully paid for, anything we buy for our homes that needs to be manufactured has had the tooling costs paid for, not counting costs of materials... 4. Example: a gallon of milk...the cost of the container and the machinery that fills one gallon was paid for years ago...hence, the cost of making things using American measurements costs not a penny more, whereas the UAW literally costs more by the day... 5. pants are manufactured, and stocked by the stores, in waist size by inches and then inseam...you make them incur extra costs to change over the metric, along with dairy farmers...BTW, will eggs still be called medium, large, extra large and jumbo, or do the metrics screw that up, too???
tlong: your analogy, IMO, does not work in my world...yes, I am living in the past, but the measurement system does not cost any more, and converting to metric will certainly cause severe emotional distress among 300 million purchasers who cannot figure it out, plus the retailers who have to mark it that way on their shelves...
What is wrong with saying Atlanta is 60 miles from the Alabama border...what do we gain by converting that to kilometers???
Speaking of that, every speedometer already has the miles and kilometers stamped on the dial, or the metric conversion is in the programming of the digital readout...that, too, was designed and paid for over 20 years ago...
Change is NOT always good, or for the better...and change for the sake of change is even worse...for reference, see Obama Administration...
You ARE right about one thing, tho...we WERE the world market from 1945 to about 1990...now, thanks to the spread of capitalism (mostly thanks to us), we are becoming less of a power on the world stage...like the UAW, we are working ourselves out of a job... :sick: :lemon:
Altho, take away the US market from Benz, BMW, Audi, etc and see how well THEY do...we may not be the power we once were, but we still buy more stuff, high end and low end, than many other nations combined...maybe Buick can live in China alone, but most other companies can't...
When I went to work for GM, I had to learn to work in metric. I left GM and now work in inches again. GM tried every new idea that came along. They spent millions on training. Kaizan, lean, fewest inventory turns, everything computerized, 6 sigma, 5S, Shaizan, FMEA, ISO 9000, and on and on and on. They kept up with everything new in the industry. They never passed on adding a new tool and paying for the expensive training that went with it. They especially hired Japanese consultants and methods. Guys would come in for $2000 a day and we would show them everything we were doing. They would mumble a few things in broken Japanese-English and in the end they suggested nothing helpful.
I think we'll be a country using two systems of measurement for a long time. It costs a lot of money to change tooling and it can be expensive to go back and revise past data, etc. I believe the marketplace does a good job of sorting it out and is preferable to the govt dictating. Global business like Aerospace are metric because that is what their market is. Businesses like construction, real estate and transportation will probably not convert because they tend to be local. (If the govt does dictate conversion you'll want to brush up because there will be a ton of titles, deeds, etc. that will have to be updated.)
People who went to school during the past decade or two are more comfortable with metric. Prior to that you really only got exposed to it in school in a conversion section during Jr. High math and then high school chemistry. Everything else was geared to the American system including physics. So unless you went on to major in the sciences in college, worked in a global business, or were in the military you didn't get much exposure to it.
Once you learn it, the metric system really makes sense, but I expect to be driving using miles for many years out.
Its pretty much impossible to tell i you are buying American. Even if a car is made here it might be with parts built in Malaysia or Korea or where ever. What if its built here but still built by Chinese, Japanese or Mexicans or whoever? Whats important to me is quality and reliability. Im not American brand loyal just to pretend Im a patriot. By the way, did you know the Chevy Aveo is actually a Daewoo? If you know about cars you know the Chevy or Geo Prism is a Toyota Carolla. American cars are made in Canada and Mexico half the time. I would like to buy cars made in America by Americans but the bottom line is this, If "American" car companies want me to buy their product they need to build them with quality and the long lost ingredient PRIDE.
As the US automakers are just beginning to get back on track, the UAW and their new leadership seem to be going back on the warpath already. I would not be surprised if in the next decade or two most GM and Ford is not produced here, while the non UAW transplants will be producing most of their US market in the states. It's the work rules and negative attitude at the UAW that is hurting the domestic automakers and will ultimately force them to leave in order to compete and survive. Very sad.
"Businesses like construction, real estate and transportation will probably not convert because they tend to be local. (If the govt does dictate conversion you'll want to brush up because there will be a ton of titles, deeds, etc. that will have to be updated.)"...
That is why I think you are wrong (altho I may also be in left field myself)...there will NOT be a conversion of old titles and deeds, they will just stay the way they are..."Start at the pin at the old oak tree 164.3 feet east of the old well, thence go 206.8 feet to the edge of the old road"...those measurements will never change, IMO, and that is why I believe that the "local" portion of what you say will stay with our inch/foot/yard/mile system...it is in-house, so to speak, and NOTHING is to be gained by switching to metric...an acre of land can still be 200 ft x 200 ft, houses can still be 30 feet x 50 feet, and built 16 inches on center, and nobody is harmed by this, except a European or Asian who comes to this coutry, buys a home, and says to the Realtor...how big is a 50 foot house and a 20 foot pool???
Your comment about Boeing makes sense...if they want to sell to Japan Air Lines, or Lufthansa or British Airways, they must cater to their needs and go metric...
And nothing wrong with being 5 feet 9 inches tall, even tho it probably converts easily to cm or mm...
Oh, and don't forget your new baby, a healthy 8 lbs, 5 ounces...do we HAVE to convert that to kilograms, when everyone can visualize that baby???
Did I tell you how much I tried to eat that 16 ounce filet mignon, or was it that XX kilogram hunk of meat???...metric simply does not cut it...(pun)...
I may be living in the past, but my desires cost the system, and society, NOTHING
When I went to work for GM, I had to learn to work in metric. I left GM and now work in inches again. GM tried every new idea that came along. They spent millions on training. Kaizan, lean, fewest inventory turns, everything computerized, 6 sigma, 5S, Shaizan, FMEA, ISO 9000, and on and on and on. They kept up with everything new in the industry. They never passed on adding a new tool and paying for the expensive training that went with it. They especially hired Japanese consultants and methods. Guys would come in for $2000 a day and we would show them everything we were doing. They would mumble a few things in broken Japanese-English and in the end they suggested nothing helpful.
How'd that work out?
It worked out very poorly. They also came up with jobs bank and went into the aerospace business (Hughes). They told us about our patriotic duty to buy their products, and they sang about motherhood, apple pie, and Chevrolet. The only thing they forgot to do is pay attention to their most primary mission: build excellent vehicles. Just goes to show that no amount of buzzwords or fads will make up for an inferior product.
1. well known by everybody in this land of 300-plus million people
And the world population is approaching 7 billion. 300 million is, at best, a minimal amount on the world stage. As we manufacture less, our dominance in the selection of measurement methods diminishes as well.
2. costs no extra to use it in this country
Nope, not as long as we don't upgrade any products or wish to sell beyond our borders. Try ramming your wants and desires down a consumer-based economy and see how far you get with it.
3. any tooling or machinery costs are FULLY PAID FOR...the cost of making a one foot ruler, in inches, has been fully paid for and amortized over 50 years ago...the cots of making measuring cups for kitchens, using ounces or cups, has been fully paid for, anything we buy for our homes that needs to be manufactured has had the tooling costs paid for, not counting costs of materials...
Until tooling replacement is needed. And, since much of that tooling replacement will come from overseas manufacturers, it will either be metric based or cost significantly more. Frankly, we don't make rulers the same way we did 50 years ago...or, 25 years ago. Same goes for measuring cups and ceiling fans.
4. Example: a gallon of milk...the cost of the container and the machinery that fills one gallon was paid for years ago...hence, the cost of making things using American measurements costs not a penny more, whereas the UAW literally costs more by the day..
Really? How long do you think milk bottling machinery lasts, on average? Ever heard of maintenance and repair? Try finding an oil filter for a straight-8 Packard at your local AutoZone.
. 5. pants are manufactured, and stocked by the stores, in waist size by inches and then inseam...you make them incur extra costs to change over the metric, along with dairy farmers...BTW, will eggs still be called medium, large, extra large and jumbo, or do the metrics screw that up, too???
Actually, we already pay an incremental cost, because pants are primarily made in metric based countries, which charge us incrementally for converting the sizes to US standards. There is only a minimal amount of textile manufacturing still done in the US today.
Face it. You're on the losing side of progress. The change is coming, whether you believe it/want it/like it or not. The only question is when.
Don't like it? That's ok. Folks probably didn't like it when they removed the running boards from cars back in the 40's. There were, no doubt, compelling reasons to keep them. When was the last new car you saw with running boards?
There will always be resistance to change, but there will always be change.
During this recession/depression I have seen many people struggle to find work, struggle to keep work, struggle to just keep food on the table. I have changed my buying habits. I buy American products/services any chance I can. I put my money where my mouth is, or better yet where my future is. Spending your way out of a job, may be another way to view buying foreign goods and services. For me, I am done sending my money overseas. As I visit other chat rooms around the net I see other Americans feeling the same way I am. Spread the word if you feel the same..
During this recession/depression I have seen many people struggle to find work, struggle to keep work, struggle to just keep food on the table. I have changed my buying habits. I buy American products/services any chance I can. I put my money where my mouth is, or better yet where my future is. Spending your way out of a job, may be another way to view buying foreign goods and services. For me, I am done sending my money overseas. As I visit other chat rooms around the net I see other Americans feeling the same way I am. Spread the word if you feel the same..
I agree. Buy at car ASSEMBLED IN THE USA, regardless of the name of the parent company.
> Folks probably didn't like it when they removed the running boards from cars back in the 40's. There were, no doubt, compelling reasons to keep them. When was the last new car you saw with running boards?
There would be some interesting changes if we converted to metric:
We's have the Eminem movie "12.8744 Kilometer" Every Memorial Day, we'd look forward to the Indianapolis 804.65 race. Winnie the Pooh would live in the "404,690 Square Metres Woods" "It hit me like 1.016 ton of bricks!" We'd read Ray Bradbury's classic novel "Celsius 232.7777777777778" Cowboys would wear 45.461 liter hats "He went the whole 8.2296 metres for a first down." You'd go to McDonalds and order a "0.1134 Kilogramer with Cheese. " "If you give them 2.54 centimeters they'll take 1.6093 kilometers!" Charles Ingalls would greet his middle child by saying, "Hey there, 0.28415 liter!"
>"Well, Kip, since GM, Ford, and, maybe Fiat-ized Chrysler were born and still are HQ'ed here, anything they sell qualifies, to me, as more American than anything Toyota sells. Plus, after all, the bulk of Toyota's profits and best jobs are NOT here. JMHO"
Recon the differences in opinions are what keep these forums running.
Looks like you prefer to buy "Name Brand". PERIOD!
Whereas I prefer to buy from the folks that create jobs right here in this country.
Makes no difference to me whether or not the corporate office has Toyota on top of their building or GM. Given the choice I will buy the one that created jobs for my friends and their families and the people that supply and service them and sell to them.
Selling a car that is manufactured in Mexico, Germany, Canada, China, Japan or any other foreign country will add to a D3 bottom line as a corporation. But it does little to help the guy right here trying to feed his family. Exception being the fat cats at corporate offices.
I don't understand how anyone can consider a car built in Mexico with 65% American parts is "More American" than a car built in the USA, by American Workers with 65% American parts.
The Buick Regal was mentioned above. Made in Germany. German parts suppliers and German workers putting it together. German stores and housing selling to them. How is that "More American" than the Camry build here with 65% +/- American supplied parts and 100% American workers? True there may be a few Japanese management types at the Assembly Plant. And there might be a few Americans at the German Assembly plant. But the overall picture dictates the Camry put more dollars in American pockets to SPEND HERE than the Regal.
"Face it. You're on the losing side of progress. The change is coming, whether you believe it/want it/like it or not. The only question is when."
I must concede you have a point...but I do believe it will be quite some time before all of our street signs denotes km's instead of miles, and it will also be quite some time before Paula Dean and Barefoot Contessa start measuring flour for their cakes and cookies in ml's instead of cups and teaspoons (now, y'all, just add 6 milliters of heavy cream to this mixture, and y'all will end up with a liter of batter...yeah, right)... :P
I must concede you have a point...but I do believe it will be quite some time before all of our street signs denotes km's instead of miles, and it will also be quite some time before Paula Dean and Barefoot Contessa start measuring flour for their cakes and cookies in ml's instead of cups and teaspoons (now, y'all, just add 6 milliters of heavy cream to this mixture, and y'all will end up with a liter of batter...yeah, right)...
LOL!!!
I do admit, it would sound a bit strange at first. And, I agree that road signage will be one of the last things to change.
But, one would think women would be all for the change. After all, there are 2.2 lbs/kg.
What woman wouldn't like so have a smaller number to denote her weight?
"......a cup is half a pint, a pint is half a quart, a quart is 1/4 gallon...what do we gain by selling milk by the liter...why bother???"
Ha!!! The same point I try to make to my son when he shows me science problems done in metric.
I do think though, that because we are accustomed to the SAE version, it is just that simple for us. For someone who doesn't know any better, a system based on 10's may be simpler. We think in terms of 8 oz for a cup and 12 inches for a foot, then go to pints and yards, whereas they just think of 1000 mm= 1 meter or 1000 ml = 1 liter.
But if someone asks you what's an inch, you can point to the tip of your middle finger :P to the first knucle, and say "THAT'S an inch!". Point to your foot and say "THAT'S a foot" (no pun). Or stretch out your arm and say from the tip of your nose to the outstreched tiip of your fingers is a YARD.
Of course the US in theory was going metric in the 70s (this was actually not the first attempt to do so). In 81 my mom and I were on a highway in Arizona that was marked in metric. Canada was so sure we were going metric that they did and then we weaseled out.... Good joke on them! :P
I used to be all in favor of metric conversion but nowadays I kind of like feet and inches and such. That said I think conversion is eventually unavoidable but Bob and I don't have to worry about it. People our age in Canada will give you directions in miles even though the signs are in kilometers. By the time Americans are actually thinking in metric we'll be two meters under.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Physicians, for the most part, use metric measurements. This is not a reason to switch to it for general purposes though. Probably the most compelling reason would be to be more unified with the rest of the globe FWIW.
Physicians, for the most part, use metric measurements. This is not a reason to switch to it for general purposes though. Probably the most compelling reason would be to be more unified with the rest of the globe FWIW.
If one really gets down to basics, the metric system is already deeply embedded into the USA. Cars are one of the most obvious areas. Exports are another.
As you mentioned, the medical establishment is almost all metric based. So is the electronic industry, as well as most household appliances. Its even made its way into the building supply industry, but in a less obvious way. The next time you're in Home Depot, check out the thicknesses of the materials on the plywood aisle. You'll still see thicknesses measured in US units, but much of it is metric based, and relabeled in the corresponding US standards. For example, 25/64 roughly equals 1 CM.
Many motorized yard implements are metric based. Shoes and hats now come in dual unit sizes (US and metric). And, packaged food products have been dual labeled for years. How long has Coke come in 1 and 2 liter sized bottles?
The list goes on and on.
In fact, if the average consumer understood how much simpler it would be to compare prices using a standardized sizing system based on metric measurements (say, in 100 gram incrementally sized units), they would most likely demand an immediate conversion. No more need for a calculator to determine the best price between 2 cereal boxes, one at 14 oz. and the other at 18 oz....The calculation could easily be done in one's head.
Comments
Gotta Agree! Waffle House does make good waffles, but don't much care for anything else there. Although it seems I did get a biscuit and sausage gravy there that was pretty good.
Krystal is pretty much the same as White Castle. The "Krystal" Burger has gotten outrageous in price for what ya get. Looks like it would take about 10 of the patties to be 1/4 #.
HOWEVER :shades:
They do serve a pretty good breakfast for the money.
I usually get the senior breakfast with an extra egg.
2 eggs any style.
ham, sausage pattie or bacon
Biscuit or 2 pieces of toast and jelly
grits or hash browns
Unlimited coffee
The total price is $3.26 including tax. Really is quite tasty
I can not for the life of me see what people find so alluring about Starbucks. I start getting indigestion before the first swallow gets to the stomach. Must be a cult thing or a test of endurance. Kind of like keeping a GM car running. :P
Kip
Not familiar with the one you are talking about. I don't go inside the I-285 ring around Atlanta except to the Airport occasionally.
However we do have 3 Waffle Houses in my little town. Pretty much within 1-2 miles of each other and always busy. I don't know why! :sick:
Kip
..."My rule of thumb is: any GM or Ford-sold vehicle is more American than anything sold by any other major manufacturer. "
Not sure what you are saying there. Seems contradictory.
Thanks,
Kip
Why can't the Regal be built in the USA? Huh?? :lemon:
Regards,
OW
The recipe reads "one cup of milk" or maybe "8 oz of milk" or "250 milliliters of milk"...whatever way you do it, something must be measured by some container that has markings on it with marked quantities...finding the line for 1 cup is no more difficult than finding the line for 250 milliliters...and for that you want to convert the entire country???
The USA is 3000 miles across coast-to-coast...whatever that is in kilometers, so what???...what is wrong with knowing that 2 cities are 75 miles apart instead of "X" kilometers???...maybe it's just what I am used to, but I do not see the usefulness of mandating changes to metric...OK, so I don't use a 1/2 inch wrench anymore, I use an 11 mm (or whatever the number is) wrench...I can get used to that simply because if the 1/2 inch doesn't quite fit, I pick up 2 or 3 metric wrenches to see which one firs snugly...but why is a pint and a cup any "more difficult" than 250 ML...it is still a line on a measuring cup, but I can visualize what a pint is...
Millions of barrels of oil have leaked out of Deepwater Horizon...will I have a better idea if you convert that quantity to liters, or imperial gallons???
Am I committing heresy if I bake a German Chocolate cake using 2 cups of fluor instead of 500 ML of flour because it is German???
While we are not the largest market in the world TODAY, from 1945 to about 1990 we WERE the market that EVERYONE wanted access to...if one was living between 1945 to, say, 1980, demanding that they convert to our system would have been logical, simply because they needed us more than we needed them...we could certainly live w/o Mercedes, Audis, VWs, Porsches, etc. but they would kill to have access to our market, or, better put, they would kill if we cut them out of our market, so forcing them to convert to us would have been quite easy...
Yes, I do know that a 2x4 is not really 2" x 4", but how many millions of our houses are built on 16" centers???...can that number be converted to millimeters or centimeters or decimeters???...yes, it could, but what is wrong with 2x4???
Whether thousandths of an inch or of a mm or cm, one still needs a micrometer...we seem to have done quite well in the last century measuring our things in 1000ths of an inch...just read the micrometer...
I bet you bill in tenths of an hour.
:P
I find it really lame that when I'm working on a US item and the 7/16 wrench is too small, what is the next biggest size?
When the 13mm wrench is too small, I use the 14mm. :P
You nailed it. It taste like it has been on heat for several hours, scorched and strong. Some of our best friends like to go there and sometimes we go along to not be bad sports. My wife will get a cup of regular coffee and a cup of hot water and mix them. Add plenty of creamer a couple pounds of sugar and it is tolerable, but not good.
>"..., but I guess its got some Yuppie status."
I agree! Kind of reminds me of the "Coffee Houses" that were popular in the 60s. Sometimes just watching the people is an adventure in itself. They sip their purchase like it is the nectar of the gods. We sip and gag. Where have the yuppies and hippies gone that used to recite poems at the Coffee Houses, in contempt of the establishment? Now is the time to resurface and the place is Starbucks.
The one good thing is that Starbucks sits in front of a large parking lot of a Public's Grocery shopping center. Every 1st Saturday, during the summer, a hundred + "Rodders" bring their cars there for a free show. Everything from T Models to dressed out Corvettes. Mostly beautiful Detroit Iron from days gone by! Sad what has happened to them!
Kip
15/32 ?
But you do have a point. As long as they use full metric sizes. And don't use something like 10.5 mm so we can't service them.
Kip
..."My rule of thumb is: any GM or Ford-sold vehicle is more American than anything sold by any other major manufacturer. "
Not sure what you are saying there. Seems contradictory.
Thanks,
Kip
I agree. However, before I could post the comment, you had already done it, so I'll follow your lead.
Hmmm... So much for "competition", I guess. Your opinion appears to be "Do it my way or hit the highway".
And, yes, we could certainly live without the import models, but we didn't.
Why?
Because those models filled the requirements demanded by those purchasing those models. Nothing difficult to understand there.
The buyers (and there were millions sold) didn't care one way or the other about the wrench size needed to service their vehicle. Those buyers didn't make their purchases based on what a mechanic's desire happened to be, nor will any car buyer (or toaster buyer, or TV buyer, or lawn mower buyer) do so in the future.
But, as you so elequently pointed out, the US is no longer guaranteed to remain the largest market, so its about time we got into step with the rest of the world.
So far as I know, there isn't anyone or any country DEMANDING we convert to the metric system. Its simply a case of supply and demand. If we wish to sell products in those markets, we will most certainly have to accomodate the needs and desires that are tied to those markets.
One of those "constraints" is using the metric system.
So, we are going to convert to the metric system, regardless who thinks otherwise. IT WILL HAPPEN, if for no other reason that it makes absolutely no sense for a multi-national company to operate on 2 different sets of standards...especially, when the average US consumer really doesn't car if his car (or toaster, TV set or lawn mower) is constructed with metric standards or US standards.
In fact, the metric system has already infiltrated the US market far more than most realize. I suspect things such as road signs (mile markers, etc) will be some of the last things to change, but I have little doubt that it will indeed happen.
1/8 hour might be difficult since an 1/8 hour is 7.5 minutes, and that fraction does make less sense than an even fraction of 1/10 = six minutes...
Now, I can agree that while the next wrench size after 1/2 might be 9/16 or 5/8, whereas the next wrench size after 10 mm is 11 mm, or is it 12 mm???
Watching Food Network they often use 1 cup flour or 1/2 cup flour, rarely do they weigh it on a scale...a teaspoon of vanilla, 2 cups of water or chicken broth, they virtually weigh nothing, at least on the shows I watch (Barefoot Contessa, Rachel Ray, Big Daddy, Guy Fieri...none of these folks ever weigh anything that I can see, they measure quantity in cups...actually, they say "use two cups" but they eyeball it and throw it in...
Yes, back in the 60s and 70s, I would have meant "my way or the highway" and if we said that they would have complied in about 2 minutes...
Do you know your waist/inseam in metric???...do you want to buy your pants as a 34 inch waist, 34 inch inseam, or should it be XX cm waist, XX cm inseam???
Jenny Craig commercial: Look honey, I lost 21 mm from my waist and 2.6 kilograms in just one week...what the hell does that mean???...but I can visualize losing 4 inches off my waist and 10 pounds of weight...
Sorry, I ain't converting until I their is no other choice...or they bury me in a
six footI mean a 183 cm pine box...No, I don't YET purchase my pants in metric measured units, but its already there in the sizes of hats, shoes, and in many belts. So, I do know my waist measurement in metric units, because of several belts I own.
Sorry, I ain't converting until I their is no other choice...or they bury me in a six foot I mean a 183 cm pine box...
Don't worry. You won't be alone. They'll probably be prying 12" rulers out of the "cold, dead hands" of many before the conversion is complete.
GM wants to be in the assembly business only. They wanted to sell the plant to a Wis. co. that would make it a viable operation as a supplier to GM as long as they could have wages and benefits equal to $25 an hour for workers.
Today's rate for union workers at the plant: $80 an hour cost for pay and benefits. The union owns 10% of GM. Obama owns 51%.
Actually, my house uses real 2x4's, 2x8's, etc. Either it pre-dates the era when they started dressing lumber, or my grandmother's uncle just didn't care when he built it! Makes it a bit of a pain when it comes to remodeling, as those newfangled 1 3/4 x 3 1/2's and 1 3/4 x 7 1/2's don't quite line up!
Nailing up plywood, sheetrock, etc is also an adventure, as the spacing isn't anything that divides into 48".
Speaking of yardstick, do they call it a "meterstick" over there in "commie-land?"...
Sorry, I just don't want to give up a system that has worked so well and don't want to convert to a system that, to me, offers no advantages whatsoever, except that it is divided by a factor of 10...oh, whoopee, that factor of 10...
bwahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!
(sorry, could not resist :P )
Now, I can agree that while the next wrench size after 1/2 might be 9/16 or 5/8, whereas the next wrench size after 10 mm is 11 mm, or is it 12 mm???
They go up a mm at a time.
Just think, our foreign make cars cost more because they need to have 2 speedometers - one in km/hr and one in mph. So keeping double inventory costs, too.
Since the US market will become less important over time, our ability to shove our little measurement system down the rest of the world will diminish....
Sorry, I ain't converting until I their is no other choice...or they bury me in a six foot I mean a 183 cm pine box...
Careful, isn't that sounding just like the UAW who you (correctly) say is living in the past? :confuse:
I hear GM China is hiring.... :P
GM wants to be in the assembly business only. They wanted to sell the plant to a Wis. co. that would make it a viable operation as a supplier to GM as long as they could have wages and benefits equal to $25 an hour for workers.
It's about time. This leaves a chance for US workers to get those jobs instead of all the other foreign manufacturing that GM uses.
Sorry, the UAW just doesn't want to give up a system that has worked so well and they don't want to convert to a system that, to them, offers no advantages whatsoever....
Sorry, the UAW just doesn't want to give up a system that has worked so well and they don't want to convert to a system that, to them, offers no advantages whatsoever....
LMAO, good one, I almost lost my coffee through my nose, LOL.
My only comment on this subject is that I hate having to buy 2 different socket sets, one metric and one American.
Traditional system of weights and measures used officially in Great Britain from 1824 until the adoption of the metric system in 1965.
The United States Customary System of weights and measures is derived from it.
British Imperial units are now legally defined in metric terms.
Source of Trivia: Encyclopedia Britannica
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Standard_Whitworth
Sorry, the UAW just doesn't want to give up a system that has worked so well and they don't want to convert to a system that, to them, offers no advantages whatsoever....
Funny how that works, isn't it?
I want mine! Screw you!
You see it all the time. I wonder how many UAW employees avoided less expensive Wal-Mart goods and Chinese made appliances, foreign grown produce, etc..
Careful, isn't that sounding just like the UAW who you (correctly) say is living in the past?"...
Somehow, I see a slight difference between UAW workers who expect to be paid for not working (Jobs Bank) and me, who only wants to continue using a system that is:
1. well known by everybody in this land of 300-plus million people
2. costs no extra to use it in this country
3. any tooling or machinery costs are FULLY PAID FOR...the cost of making a one foot ruler, in inches, has been fully paid for and amortized over 50 years ago...the cots of making measuring cups for kitchens, using ounces or cups, has been fully paid for, anything we buy for our homes that needs to be manufactured has had the tooling costs paid for, not counting costs of materials...
4. Example: a gallon of milk...the cost of the container and the machinery that fills one gallon was paid for years ago...hence, the cost of making things using American measurements costs not a penny more, whereas the UAW literally costs more by the day...
5. pants are manufactured, and stocked by the stores, in waist size by inches and then inseam...you make them incur extra costs to change over the metric, along with dairy farmers...BTW, will eggs still be called medium, large, extra large and jumbo, or do the metrics screw that up, too???
tlong: your analogy, IMO, does not work in my world...yes, I am living in the past, but the measurement system does not cost any more, and converting to metric will certainly cause severe emotional distress among 300 million purchasers who cannot figure it out, plus the retailers who have to mark it that way on their shelves...
What is wrong with saying Atlanta is 60 miles from the Alabama border...what do we gain by converting that to kilometers???
Speaking of that, every speedometer already has the miles and kilometers stamped on the dial, or the metric conversion is in the programming of the digital readout...that, too, was designed and paid for over 20 years ago...
Change is NOT always good, or for the better...and change for the sake of change is even worse...for reference, see Obama Administration...
You ARE right about one thing, tho...we WERE the world market from 1945 to about 1990...now, thanks to the spread of capitalism (mostly thanks to us), we are becoming less of a power on the world stage...like the UAW, we are working ourselves out of a job... :sick: :lemon:
Altho, take away the US market from Benz, BMW, Audi, etc and see how well THEY do...we may not be the power we once were, but we still buy more stuff, high end and low end, than many other nations combined...maybe Buick can live in China alone, but most other companies can't...
How'd that work out?
People who went to school during the past decade or two are more comfortable with metric. Prior to that you really only got exposed to it in school in a conversion section during Jr. High math and then high school chemistry. Everything else was geared to the American system including physics. So unless you went on to major in the sciences in college, worked in a global business, or were in the military you didn't get much exposure to it.
Once you learn it, the metric system really makes sense, but I expect to be driving using miles for many years out.
That is why I think you are wrong (altho I may also be in left field myself)...there will NOT be a conversion of old titles and deeds, they will just stay the way they are..."Start at the pin at the old oak tree 164.3 feet east of the old well, thence go 206.8 feet to the edge of the old road"...those measurements will never change, IMO, and that is why I believe that the "local" portion of what you say will stay with our inch/foot/yard/mile system...it is in-house, so to speak, and NOTHING is to be gained by switching to metric...an acre of land can still be 200 ft x 200 ft, houses can still be 30 feet x 50 feet, and built 16 inches on center, and nobody is harmed by this, except a European or Asian who comes to this coutry, buys a home, and says to the Realtor...how big is a 50 foot house and a 20 foot pool???
Your comment about Boeing makes sense...if they want to sell to Japan Air Lines, or Lufthansa or British Airways, they must cater to their needs and go metric...
And nothing wrong with being 5 feet 9 inches tall, even tho it probably converts easily to cm or mm...
Oh, and don't forget your new baby, a healthy 8 lbs, 5 ounces...do we HAVE to convert that to kilograms, when everyone can visualize that baby???
Did I tell you how much I tried to eat that 16 ounce filet mignon, or was it that XX kilogram hunk of meat???...metric simply does not cut it...(pun)...
I may be living in the past, but my desires cost the system, and society, NOTHING
How'd that work out?
It worked out very poorly. They also came up with jobs bank and went into the aerospace business (Hughes). They told us about our patriotic duty to buy their products, and they sang about motherhood, apple pie, and Chevrolet. The only thing they forgot to do is pay attention to their most primary mission: build excellent vehicles. Just goes to show that no amount of buzzwords or fads will make up for an inferior product.
And the world population is approaching 7 billion. 300 million is, at best, a minimal amount on the world stage. As we manufacture less, our dominance in the selection of measurement methods diminishes as well.
2. costs no extra to use it in this country
Nope, not as long as we don't upgrade any products or wish to sell beyond our borders. Try ramming your wants and desires down a consumer-based economy and see how far you get with it.
3. any tooling or machinery costs are FULLY PAID FOR...the cost of making a one foot ruler, in inches, has been fully paid for and amortized over 50 years ago...the cots of making measuring cups for kitchens, using ounces or cups, has been fully paid for, anything we buy for our homes that needs to be manufactured has had the tooling costs paid for, not counting costs of materials...
Until tooling replacement is needed. And, since much of that tooling replacement will come from overseas manufacturers, it will either be metric based or cost significantly more. Frankly, we don't make rulers the same way we did 50 years ago...or, 25 years ago. Same goes for measuring cups and ceiling fans.
4. Example: a gallon of milk...the cost of the container and the machinery that fills one gallon was paid for years ago...hence, the cost of making things using American measurements costs not a penny more, whereas the UAW literally costs more by the day..
Really? How long do you think milk bottling machinery lasts, on average? Ever heard of maintenance and repair? Try finding an oil filter for a straight-8 Packard at your local AutoZone.
.
5. pants are manufactured, and stocked by the stores, in waist size by inches and then inseam...you make them incur extra costs to change over the metric, along with dairy farmers...BTW, will eggs still be called medium, large, extra large and jumbo, or do the metrics screw that up, too???
Actually, we already pay an incremental cost, because pants are primarily made in metric based countries, which charge us incrementally for converting the sizes to US standards. There is only a minimal amount of textile manufacturing still done in the US today.
Face it. You're on the losing side of progress. The change is coming, whether you believe it/want it/like it or not. The only question is when.
Don't like it? That's ok. Folks probably didn't like it when they removed the running boards from cars back in the 40's. There were, no doubt, compelling reasons to keep them. When was the last new car you saw with running boards?
There will always be resistance to change, but there will always be change.
I agree. Buy at car ASSEMBLED IN THE USA, regardless of the name of the parent company.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
We's have the Eminem movie "12.8744 Kilometer"
Every Memorial Day, we'd look forward to the Indianapolis 804.65 race.
Winnie the Pooh would live in the "404,690 Square Metres Woods"
"It hit me like 1.016 ton of bricks!"
We'd read Ray Bradbury's classic novel "Celsius 232.7777777777778"
Cowboys would wear 45.461 liter hats
"He went the whole 8.2296 metres for a first down."
You'd go to McDonalds and order a "0.1134 Kilogramer with Cheese. "
"If you give them 2.54 centimeters they'll take 1.6093 kilometers!"
Charles Ingalls would greet his middle child by saying, "Hey there, 0.28415 liter!"
Recon the differences in opinions are what keep these forums running.
Looks like you prefer to buy "Name Brand". PERIOD!
Whereas I prefer to buy from the folks that create jobs right here in this country.
Makes no difference to me whether or not the corporate office has Toyota on top of their building or GM. Given the choice I will buy the one that created jobs for my friends and their families and the people that supply and service them and sell to them.
Selling a car that is manufactured in Mexico, Germany, Canada, China, Japan or any other foreign country will add to a D3 bottom line as a corporation. But it does little to help the guy right here trying to feed his family. Exception being the fat cats at corporate offices.
I don't understand how anyone can consider a car built in Mexico with 65% American parts is "More American" than a car built in the USA, by American Workers with 65% American parts.
The Buick Regal was mentioned above. Made in Germany. German parts suppliers and German workers putting it together. German stores and housing selling to them. How is that "More American" than the Camry build here with 65% +/- American supplied parts and 100% American workers? True there may be a few Japanese management types at the Assembly Plant. And there might be a few Americans at the German Assembly plant. But the overall picture dictates the Camry put more dollars in American pockets to SPEND HERE than the Regal.
Thanks for your reply!
Kip
Is it possible to be an all-American company? (MSNBC)
I must concede you have a point...but I do believe it will be quite some time before all of our street signs denotes km's instead of miles, and it will also be quite some time before Paula Dean and Barefoot Contessa start measuring flour for their cakes and cookies in ml's instead of cups and teaspoons (now, y'all, just add 6 milliters of heavy cream to this mixture, and y'all will end up with a liter of batter...yeah, right)... :P
LOL!!!
I do admit, it would sound a bit strange at first. And, I agree that road signage will be one of the last things to change.
But, one would think women would be all for the change. After all, there are 2.2 lbs/kg.
What woman wouldn't like so have a smaller number to denote her weight?
Ha!!! The same point I try to make to my son when he shows me science problems done in metric.
I do think though, that because we are accustomed to the SAE version, it is just that simple for us. For someone who doesn't know any better, a system based on 10's may be simpler. We think in terms of 8 oz for a cup and 12 inches for a foot, then go to pints and yards, whereas they just think of 1000 mm= 1 meter or 1000 ml = 1 liter.
But if someone asks you what's an inch, you can point to the tip of your middle finger :P to the first knucle, and say "THAT'S an inch!". Point to your foot and say "THAT'S a foot" (no pun). Or stretch out your arm and say from the tip of your nose to the outstreched tiip of your fingers is a YARD.
What's a "meter"??
I used to be all in favor of metric conversion but nowadays I kind of like feet and inches and such. That said I think conversion is eventually unavoidable but Bob and I don't have to worry about it. People our age in Canada will give you directions in miles even though the signs are in kilometers. By the time Americans are actually thinking in metric we'll be two meters under.
It's one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the NORTH pole.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
If one really gets down to basics, the metric system is already deeply embedded into the USA. Cars are one of the most obvious areas. Exports are another.
As you mentioned, the medical establishment is almost all metric based. So is the electronic industry, as well as most household appliances. Its even made its way into the building supply industry, but in a less obvious way. The next time you're in Home Depot, check out the thicknesses of the materials on the plywood aisle. You'll still see thicknesses measured in US units, but much of it is metric based, and relabeled in the corresponding US standards. For example, 25/64 roughly equals 1 CM.
Many motorized yard implements are metric based. Shoes and hats now come in dual unit sizes (US and metric). And, packaged food products have been dual labeled for years. How long has Coke come in 1 and 2 liter sized bottles?
The list goes on and on.
In fact, if the average consumer understood how much simpler it would be to compare prices using a standardized sizing system based on metric measurements (say, in 100 gram incrementally sized units), they would most likely demand an immediate conversion. No more need for a calculator to determine the best price between 2 cereal boxes, one at 14 oz. and the other at 18 oz....The calculation could easily be done in one's head.