Metric vs. Standard

So I was thinking about the metric system and the American "standard" or "traditional" system earlier today. Did you know that there are only three countries in the world that don't use the metric system? Liberia, Burma, and last but not least...the United States.

I actually kind of like the metric system, everything is nice and even:

10 mm = 1 cm
100 cm = 1 meter
1000 m = 1 km

1000 ml = 1 liter
1000 cc = 1 liter

1000 mg = 1 gram
1000 g = 1 kg

I think you get the picture. Likewise, you have the American "standard" system:

12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
5280 ft = 1 mile
1760 yards = 1 mile

128 fl oz = 1 gallon

16 oz = 1 pound

I think you get that picture too. I just realized that the U.S. system is doubly confusing with weight and liquid measurements both being called "ounces". Where as the metric has it separated with "grams" and "liters". There's no confusing those two.

You would think us Americans would be math experts with all of that converting. Please, if you're an American, and you're a math expert, raise your hand...

...

That's what I thought.

Anyways...the only thing missing from the metric system is the equivalent to the "foot". I looked it up, and there actually is such a thing as a "metric foot" I see why they did it like that, but that way is too confusing. No wonder it never caught on. 30 cm for a metric foot? That's not even a multiple of 100 cm (1 meter). At least the French went for the "1/3 of a meter" approach. But even then, how do you measure exactly 1/3 of a meter? Good luck with that one.

I'm proposing a new, simple definition for the metric foot. Make it 25 cm. That way there is exactly 4 metric feet in a meter. To me that is much more logical, and usable, than what they currently define a metric foot as now.

I'll show how easy this new metric foot is to use. Instead of saying "It's 1.8 meters wide." (Which is equal to about 6 U.S. feet.) You would say, "It's 7 feet 5 cm."

Sure, for us Americans it sounds confusing as all get-out. But I bet to the rest of the world it makes a lot of sense. Also, you would only need to call it a "metric foot" in the U.S. It would be common place for the rest of the world.

Take note, the revolution has begun. The new, simple, logical, practical, "Metric Foot" started on 2/27/2008.

It makes perfect sense to me...1 cm, 1 foot, 1 meter...all multiples of 100. But maybe I'm just crazy, and the rest of the world doesn't mind jumping from 1 cm to 1 meter.

First Game

Finally had our first game today. We won 5-1. I did alright for my first time out in awhile. It's good to play again.

Sunset...

From my apartment.

Cancelled

I was all pumped today because we were supposed to have our first soccer game. Well, turns out it was canceled because it rained...YESTERDAY!?! What a joke. I guess that's what happens when you barely have enough water to sustain your field/grass in the first place. If we would go play when it's all wet, by the time next week's game rolled around the field would be dirt.

Steroids & Baseball

I don't get these people out there that are complaining about how "congress is wasting time and tax payer dollars on baseball". Is there something I'm missing here? The last time I checked, steroids were illegal in the United States without a doctors prescription. And seeing how MLB hasn't really done anything to stop the use of steroids (and potentially encouraging the use, or at least not discouraging the use), the government finally had to step in. Baseball has essentially turned its back on what could be described as an illegal drug ring. Except this time the drugs aren't crack, cocaine, speed, marijuana, etc., the drugs are steroids.

I have no problem with the federal government stepping in to break up ILLEGAL ACTIVITY in baseball. I don't hear many people saying it's a waste of time and money trying to break up and prevent drug smuggling from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, etc. This is exactly the same thing, except it involves different drugs, and it's right in our back yard.

Zidane & Ronaldinho

Superbad

Not to be unoriginal, but the title is self explanatory. Superbad is SUPER BAD. I don't recommend this movie to anyone, period. Vulgar and crude would be a couple of good adjectives. Enough said.

Winter

Not to rub it in for my Midwestern peeps, but I am so thankful to be living where I live. After seeing on the news the last few weeks all of the crazy winter weather going on, it is so nice to go outside and have 60 degrees and sunshine. And technically speaking, this winter has been slightly colder than normal. It is now perfectly clear to me why I left the Midwest...not having to deal with winter is amazing.

Post Super Bowl Conclusion

After letting the results of the Super Bowl set in for a couple of days, I've come to one conclusion...it was a giant let down (no pun intended).

Goes to show that I should have stuck to my past method of tuning in periodically, and then watching the end if it was close. This game was utterly boooorrriiiinnggggg for three quarters of the game, with the score being 7 - 3 going into the fourth. Not only was the game boring, but the commercials were completely lame too! What is going on here?!? Funny commercials used to be a guarantee. Anyways, back to my point...
What happened to the high powered Patriots? People will, and have argued, that NY's defense slowed them down, but there was something more to it. There had to be. In the fourth quarter they looked like that Patriots we saw all season long. They marched right down the field and scored a touchdown like it was no big deal. It's like the first three quarters they were just hanging out, with no sense of urgency, like it was a pickup game or something. I will never understand what they were doing for those first three quarters, it's like it was a different team.

Now yes, the fourth quarter was pretty exciting. And yes, you can argue it was great to see the underdog knock off the favorite; I'm almost always a fan of the underdog myself. However, I think this year was an exception to the underdog rule. There was a chance for perfection. More than that, a chance to make history. It's not like undefeated seasons happen all the time in the NFL, if they did then my argument would have no merit. But they don't. It's only happened once in the Super Bowl era, and that was 36 years ago. To understand how hard of a feat this is, since then, no team has even had the chance to finish unbeaten. Now as a sports fan, how can you not want to witness something like that? About the only legitimate excuses out there are if you are a DIE HARD Giants fan, or if you absolutely HATE the Patriots. I think it's fairly safe to say that not many people fall into one of those two categories.

I don't get it? Everyone is saying, "What a great win!" and "The best upset ever!". No, my friends, I must disagree. Not only the Patriots, but we as sports fans, have missed a chance to witness history. A chance that in all likelihood could possibly never happen again.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the Giants and I'm not trying to take anything away from their championship. I take my hat off to them. But in the end the Giants were a very average team that put together a good run in the playoffs. BIG DEAL. That happens all the time. 2006 Steelers anyone? Who's gonna remember that team 50 years from now? They won the Super Bowl just two years ago and I can barely jog my memory.

The only reason this game will ever be remembered is by referencing the Patriots as the best team ever to not win the Super Bowl, which is extremely tragic.

Soccer

A word of advice...don't go and play a legitimate game of soccer after months of doing nothing. I did precisely that yesterday, and my hip flexors are as sore as sore can be.