Will Canada ever become the 51st State of America?

[?Impact]

1 hour ago, Omni said:

1 in 60 doesnt need a watch

Certainly there is a trade off in resolution, but I am referring to the cumulative error problem with dead reckoning. Even the best INS systems suffer from the problem, and they of course would need an accurate timepiece to operate anyway. Without accurate time, you are quickly lost. No effective navigation system works without time. Anybody who talks about using dead reckoning only is not telling you the whole story, they are hoping to find a landmark to get a new fix.

Charles Lindbergh is a good example, while he did carry a timepiece his navigation was through dead reckoning and not very accurate. He used landmarks, even fishing vessels to help him guess where he was. In fact he tried to ask the crew of a fishing vessel where he was, cutting his engine to lower noise and shouting where is Ireland (unsuccessfully). Upon stumbling onto the coast, he looked for landmarks finally recognizing  Cape Valencia and Dingle Bay to get a new fix and resume a compass course. Most of the rest of his flight however was visual.

[Omni]

4 hours ago, ?Impact said:

Certainly there is a trade off in resolution, but I am referring to the cumulative error problem with dead reckoning. Even the best INS systems suffer from the problem, and they of course would need an accurate timepiece to operate anyway. Without accurate time, you are quickly lost. No effective navigation system works without time. Anybody who talks about using dead reckoning only is not telling you the whole story, they are hoping to find a landmark to get a new fix.

Charles Lindbergh is a good example, while he did carry a timepiece his navigation was through dead reckoning and not very accurate. He used landmarks, even fishing vessels to help him guess where he was. In fact he tried to ask the crew of a fishing vessel where he was, cutting his engine to lower noise and shouting where is Ireland (unsuccessfully). Upon stumbling onto the coast, he looked for landmarks finally recognizing  Cape Valencia and Dingle Bay to get a new fix and resume a compass course. Most of the rest of his flight however was visual.

No one is saying DR is a very accurate way of navigation, and yes you need some sort of timer to tell you when you should be getting there. However using 1 in 60 simply requires some math and then an accurate compass so you can hold the heading you have calculated.

[Argus]

Can this topic be renamed to 'The controversies and wonders of the metric system as seen by geeks and nerds"? 

Thank you.

[Guest]

Yeah, epic thread drift.  Heads are exploding down Moderator Way.

[Wilber]

23 hours ago, Omni said:

Good, you get the Imperial system is used in the US, now, are you gonna tell me there is a difference in knots?

At the equator, one nautical mile equals one minute of latitude. One degree of latitude equals 60 nautical miles. That is why knots are used. If you have a globe and want to know how the distance between two places, simply stretch a string from one to the other then place it along a meridian, count off the degrees and it will give you the distance within 60 miles.

[Omni]

6 minutes ago, Wilber said:

At the equator, one nautical mile equals one minute of latitude. One degree of latitude equals 60 nautical miles. That is why knots are used. If you have a globe and want to know how the distance between two places, simply stretch a string from one to the other then place it along a meridian, count off the degrees and it will give you the distance within 60 miles.

Correct except the latitude spacing remains constant. You don't need to be at the equator.  

[Wilber]

 

10 hours ago, Omni said:

Remind me to explain the 1 in 60 rule to you one day. You'll be amazed how you can navigate even without GPS.

Dead reckoning is an art, navigation is a science.

[Omni]

Just now, Wilber said:

 

Dead reckoning is an art, navigation is a science.

I can remember the days before we even knew how to spell GPS.

[Canadianjim]

.Not as long as I am alive,.

[Wilber]

2 minutes ago, Omni said:

Correct except the latitude spacing remains constant. You don't need to be at the equator.  

 Not quite but for practical purposes, yes.

[Canadianjim]

On 2016-12-17 at 9:36 PM, Omni said:

Heaven forbid we adopt a system that actually makes mathematical sense. Oh wait, we already have. Keep trying you can figure it out. You may get some blowback from BC, who I doubt enjoys measuring things using a system that is Imperial.

From someone who clearly doesn't understand the  superiority of the  metric system. I guess the horse and buggy  days still appeal  to some people.

[Wilber]

6 minutes ago, Omni said:

I can remember the days before we even knew how to spell GPS.

Sure, I had to learn DR by drawing vector triangles. Later on we graduated to circular slide rules with wind plotters like the Jeppesen E6B. I still have one, plus a CR5 and a CR3. You still need a compass, timepiece and accurate charts with up to date compass variation. Unless you are in the far north where it gets really interesting with things like grid nav.

[Omni]

1 minute ago, Wilber said:

Sure, I had to learn DR by drawing vector triangles. Later on we graduated to circular slide rules with wind plotters like the Jeppesen E6B. I still have one, plus a CR5 and a CR3. You still need a compass, timepiece and accurate charts with up to date compass variation. Unless you are in the far north where it gets really interesting with things like grid nav.

The high arctic is where an accurate time piece can be your best friend. And a copy of "Finding the suns true bearing" when your compass is spinning around in circles. I still have my E6B as well.  

[Omni]

12 minutes ago, Canadianjim said:

From someone who clearly doesn't understand the  superiority of the  metric system. I guess the horse and buggy  days still appeal  to some people.

I made the switch over way back when they legislated it here and I'm quite comfy with it now. The one thing though I still have to think about is if I go to the deli and I want enough corned beef to grace some rye bread, how many hundred grams do I really need?

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Omni said:

I made the switch over way back when they legislated it here and I'm quite comfy with it now. The one thing though I still have to think about is if I go to the deli and I want enough corned beef to grace some rye bread, how many hundred grams do I really need?

I still like a pint, too.

[Omni]

3 minutes ago, bcsapper said:

I still like a pint, too.

That's true. Yesterday I brought home 4260 ml of beer. Sounds like it should last the rest of the winter. Actually won't likely last the rest of the week.

[Guest]

4318 ml for me. 

[Wilber]

Me to. But I think you mean 431.8 ml

Edited December 19, 2016 by Wilber

[Omni]

1 hour ago, bcsapper said:

4318 ml for me. 

That might be pushin' it a little. 

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, Wilber said:

Me to. But I think you mean 431.8 ml

No, it was a Mill St. assortment pack. I added them up. 

[taxme]

17 hours ago, Bryan said:

Lots of people did want it, and were happy for the change. The only thing we did wrong was to not enforce the change more widely. 

I am glad that playing golf or playing Canadian football did not change and both are still using the imperial system.  We still can buy building material and tools that are still sold in feet, inches and yards. What is left is kilometers and celsuis. Revert back to farhenhiet and miles and we are back to the good old days. There would really be no big deal to revert back because just about every Canadian visits the USA at least once or twice a year, and they pretty much know the old imperial measurements that America uses or close too it. No problem for the children to learn the imperial system just as it was no problem for children to learn the metric system. North America needs only one measurement system, not two. Our biggest trading partner didn't go metric, so why did we?

Papa Trudeau comes to mind. Probably due to his trying to make Canada appear more European rather than appearing more American. Just a thought.   

[?Impact]

7 minutes ago, taxme said:

I am glad that playing golf or playing Canadian football did not change and both are still using the imperial system.

Give me a break, I've seen your swing and it doesn't matter if you measure in yards or meters, you ain't taking any strokes off. 

[Omni]

2 minutes ago, ?Impact said:

Give me a break, I've seen your swing and it doesn't matter if you measure in yards or meters, you ain't taking any strokes off. 

Yeah when it comes to golf I prefer to stick with the Imperial system. My drives sound a little better in yards than meters.

[taxme]

40 minutes ago, Omni said:

Yeah when it comes to golf I prefer to stick with the Imperial system. My drives sound a little better in yards than meters.

For once I must agree with you. 

[taxme]

45 minutes ago, ?Impact said:

Give me a break, I've seen your swing and it doesn't matter if you measure in yards or meters, you ain't taking any strokes off. 

Where did you see my swing? Someone stole it from me last year. My grandchildren were really upset. When they did use that swing I would always tell them to hang on tight because if you fall off you will be about two feet from the ground when you hit it. They had no problem with me saying two feet. They knew what it was. Fantastic, eh?