HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Subject: British Imperial Weights and Measures
Organization: The Embassy BBS +44-(0)992-448903
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 12:22:22 +0000

Hello Paul!

07 Jan 93, Paul Smee writes:

 PS> So, 1 UK pint = 20 UK (fluid) ounces
 PS>               = 1.20095 US pints
 PS>               = 19.2152 US (fluid) ounces

 PS> Or, 1 UK (fluid) ounce = .96076 US (fluid) ounce.
 PS>     1 US (fluid) ounce = 1.0408 UK (fluid) ounces.

Wouldn't it make more sense for these volumes to be expressed in litre's or part?

ie:     1 UK pint = 0.568   l
        i US Pint = 0.47275 l


that makes the comparison nice & simple!

Noel

Noel@lonemb.demon.co.uk

--  
The Embassy BBS          Internet: lonemb.demon.co.uk
Broxbourne Herts         Fidonet:  2:257/102.0
United Kingdom           Dialup:   +44-992-448903(Int) 0992-448903 (UK)
From: mingos@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Truly English?
Date: 7 Jan 93 12:14:25 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

Coundn't find a more appropriate newsgroup to discuss this in, so I'm sorry if
this is a bit off the beat.

 A few years ago, Margaret Thatcher became a grandmother.  She came out of her
house and proudly announced 

 		"We are a grandmother"

 Now, this was clearly the intended message (ie was not a slip of the tongue), 
and was clearly done for effect, as was usual with her.  What I'd like to know
is, could this in any way be regarded a correct use of the english language? 
What was the implied meaning - that the child, as her grandchild, was part of 
our common heritage?  It just seemed really pompous, and has bugged me ever
since.
			Curious
					Corwin.
     
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:18463 soc.culture.celtic:8644
From: gdb15@grebe.cl.cam.ac.uk (Guy Barry)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: Shetlands oil fiasco
Date: 11 Jan 93 12:22:22 GMT
Reply-To: gdb15@cl.cam.ac.uk
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK

In article <C0ouoo.DJI@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk> dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David Morning) writes:
>yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Dave Shariff Yadallee) writes:
>
>>Is there ANY current information available about the Braer bungle?
>
>Of course there is, read a newspaper. 

How do you know what's in the Canadian newspapers?
--
Guy Barry, University of Cambridge | Phone: +44 (0)223 334757 
Computer Laboratory                | Fax: +44 (0)223 334678
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street  | JANET: Guy.Barry@uk.ac.cam.cl 
Cambridge CB2 3QG, England, UK     | Internet: Guy.Barry@cl.cam.ac.uk 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: ambidge@ecf.toronto.edu (Chris Ambidge)
Subject: Re: British Imperial Weights and Measures
Organization: University of Toronto, Engineering Computing Facility
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 15:41:28 GMT

In article <1993Jan5.133637.2267@aber.ac.uk> dpl@aber.ac.uk (David Philip Langstaff) writes:

[about various mnemonics...]

>>>"A Pint's A Pound the Whole World Round"
>>
>>I was under the impression that:-
>>
>>A pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter.
>>
>
>I thought it was:
>" A Litre of water's a pint and three quarters"
>
>-- or is that a different nmemonic altogether ?

no, I believe you're thinking of "two and a quarter pounds of jam
weigh about a kilogram"
 
  -- or do you have to subtract 32 first?  Or is it afterwards?  I never
     could remember.

Chris
-- 
Chris Ambidge / ambidge@ecf.toronto.edu / ambidge@ecf.utoronto.ca  
   chemical engineering / university of toronto
   200 college st / toronto ON / M5S 1A4 // 416 978 3106
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: a-kevinp@microsoft.com (Kevin Purcell)
Subject: BBC World service on KCMU!
Date: 08 Jan 93 17:19:42 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corp.
Distribution: pnw

KCMU 90.3 FM broadcasts a feed from the BBC World Service from 
6pm to 7pm. They use the Newsline program in lieu of their previous 
(and perhaps more expensive) news service. Lots of UK and world news 
here and on FM too so no crackles or crashes. They even had the South 
Africa vs New Zealand cricket results yesterday! 

The only problem is that KCMU have only 500W from Capitol Hill, so depending
upon where you are I dunno what reception would be like down your way.

Kevin Purcell N7WIM/G8UDP (Seattle, WA)          a-kevinp@microsoft.com
(206) 726 8032
"I speak only for myself"
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Silly Bible semi-pedantry [was: Re: Happy Christmas!]
Date: 8 Jan 93 11:43:07 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

In article <1993Jan7.181117.7674@netcom.com> sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller) writes:
>He can't help it.  You have witnessed possibly your first lecture
>from an American Bible Belt Christian.
>
No, not my first. When things get a bit slack on s.c.b or
uk.politics, I go off and do a bit of Prod-bashing on
soc.religion.christian. Great fun - almost as much fun as
defending the Prods in NI in s.c.celtic.

Matthew Huntbach
From: marcusc@acfcluster.nyu.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Martini
Date: 11 Jan 93 03:30:47 GMT
Organization: New York University

A small curiosity.  I have just been watching Master piece theatre here in New
York - which featured a production of a Bertie Wooster /Jeeves story.
Stephen Fry, in an introductory monologue, presumably designed to give
needed background info to the American market, describes what a gentleman's
gentleman was.  He refers at one point to "mixing martinis" for the 
gentleman.  This caused me a little thought.  Martinis are "mixed" in
the US but not in Britain (in fact an american martini is what we would call a
gin and it in UK). My question is this:  is this a slip on behalf of the
American producers or were martinis mixed in Britain in the thirties. I 
would be extremely grateful if someone could shed some light on this matter.
Email response would be fine as I don't read this group that much.

PS You can make a great martini / gin and it by adding a table spoon full
of scotch (three parts gin one part dry vermouth).  Just a little trick
I picked up on the journey of life.

Clifford Marcus
NYU

MAR

Marcusc@acfcluster.nyu.edu
From: gdb15@grebe.cl.cam.ac.uk (Guy Barry)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,uk.politics
Subject: Back to the Liberals (was Re: Silly Bible semi-pedantry)
Date: 7 Jan 93 11:14:43 GMT
Reply-To: gdb15@cl.cam.ac.uk
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK

In article <1993Jan7.103545.27019@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:

>Most people don't sit down, analyse the policy of each
>political party, and vote accordingly. If this were the case,
>the Liberals would win every time. 

Evidence, Matthew?

(Nice to get back to the old squabbling after the Christmas break!)
--
Guy Barry, University of Cambridge | Phone: +44 (0)223 334757 
Computer Laboratory                | Fax: +44 (0)223 334678
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street  | JANET: Guy.Barry@uk.ac.cam.cl 
Cambridge CB2 3QG, England, UK     | Internet: Guy.Barry@cl.cam.ac.uk 
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:18553 alt.usage.english:10481
From: sandee@Think.COM (Daan Sandee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.usage.english
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Date: 12 Jan 1993 19:02:30 GMT
Organization: TMC
NNTP-Posting-Host: tremor.quake.think.com

In article <1993Jan12.032713.10746@news.columbia.edu>, gmw1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes:
|> 
|> Speaking of the "store" thing, does anyone know the history behind the
|> word for "store" in most romance languages being cognate with our word
|> "magazine" ??

What's the problem ? A magazine is a place of storage (see dictionary,
derived from some Arab word). Both "store" (in English) and "magazine"
(in various Romance languages) came to have another meaning "shop
selling sundry goods". Another example of this is "warehouse".

The interesting bit is "magazine" now meaning "periodical" (i.e., a particular
type of publication). This originated from the oldest magazines, in this
sense, being a collection of miscellaneous bits and pieces, not necessarily
united by a theme or editorial direction. This usage is restricted to
English.

Daan Sandee                                           sandee@think.com
Thinking Machines Corporation
1010 El Camino Real, Suite 310
Menlo Park, CA 94025                                  (415) 329-9300
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Truly English?
Date: 8 Jan 93 17:03:07 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

In article <1993Jan8.130841.22702@bnr.uk> agc@bmdhh286.bnr.ca (Alan Carter) writes:
>In article <1993Jan8.120809.19731@dcs.qmw.ac.uk>. mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
>|>                                            ...However, the use
>|> of plural forms for the first person singular can be a feature
>|> of working class speech, and I would guess it was really
>|> another case of an emotional Mrs.T slipping into her native
>|> Lincolnshire.
>
>Oh, give us a break Matthew! Seriously, I'd assumed that she'd got into
>the habit of saying 'we' rather than 'I' in order to defend the fiction
>of Cabinet Government,

I thought I was giving you a break in taking an unaccustomed
position (for me anyway) of defending Thatcher.

Matthew Huntbach
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: david@postman.gr.osf.org (David George)
Subject: Re: British Troops in Bosnia
Organization: OSF RI Grenoble
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 07:17:00 GMT

> The point was that all Mr. Major's talk about not wanting to take any
> military action at all to help the Bosnians, for fear of endangering
> the British forces on the ground

In fact the whole area is "so safe" that, according to last weeks European
newspaper "hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers are flocking back" to
the area "to take advantage of deserted Adriatic beaches".  A long article
extolling the virtues of Yugoslavia (except the nasty Serbian bit) followed.

They'll be doing plugs for Iraq and Cambodia next.

I expect this is another article written from the safety of the European's
London desk.

David.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.usage.english
From: nadeau@bnr.ca (Rheal Nadeau)
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 93 01:47:53 GMT

In article <ll41omINNdhr@news.bbn.com> rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman) writes:
>In article <1993Jan11.233015.28726@csi.uottawa.ca>, misrael@csi.uottawa.ca (Mark Israel) writes:
>|>    British houses often have the bath in a separate room from the
>|> toilet, so the euphemism "bathroom" wouldn't work.  Of course,
>|> "water closet", "W.C.", "the loo", etc. are often used.
>
>On a recent trip to Italy, I was surprised to find public
>rest rooms often labelled "WC", since I understand that to
>be a strictly British usage, and "W" isn't even a letter in
>the Italian language.

For that matter, WC, water-closet, and waters, are all used in France.
Which amuses us Canadiens enormously.

       The Rhealist - nadeau@bnr.ca - Speaking only for myself
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: The Body Shop and the North Laines
Date: 7 Jan 93 13:35:45 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

In article <8545@charon.cwi.nl> steven@cwi.nl (Steven Pemberton) writes:
>In article <1993Jan5.093038.12364@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
>> In those days the North Laines where it
>> was situated was a run-down area full of discount shops.
>Not true! It was full of really interesting and unusual shops of the
>type that have more or less died out now: a shop that only sold cork
>and objects made from cork (now preserved in the local museum I'm
>told); a shop that only sold eggs; the 'Co-operative Clothing store'
>with cash thingies that wizzed across the shop on wires to the
>cash-desk; 'Creature Enterprises' a punk clothing shop; butchers that
>sold auction-style on Saturday afternoons, with great crowds of people
>bidding. It was a great area.
>
Yes, it was certainly a great area, and I regret its
trendification in recent years, though as someone else pointed
out the recession may be pushing things back; I don't get down
there much these days. The butchers, egg shops etc, however,
did sell things cheaply, that's what I meant. There were also
shops selling cheap imported shoes from eastern Europe, which
is where I got all my shoes as a child because we couldn't
afford Freeman Hardy and Willis. There were genuine junk shops
rather than overpriced antique shops. And yes, the cork shop is
preserved in Brighton Museum.

Matthew Huntbach
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jac54@cas.org ()
Subject: Paris Air Show, was Re: Travel to London
Organization: Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 20:23:56 GMT

In article <1993Jan7.180521.27860@iscnvx.lmsc.lockheed.com> kelley@phecda (Sean Kelley) writes:
>
>My parents will be attending the Paris Air Show in June and I was
>planning on meeting them in Paris.  I have the opportunity to fly to
>London for a low air fare.  Would it be very difficult and expensive
>to travel from London to the coast then to a ferry to Normandy?

	The Paris Air Show can be a miserable experience (at least
	it was the last time I was there) unless you're planning on
	re-equipping an Air Force.  Certain facilities (food, toilets,
	seating) are non-existent unless you can get into the viewing stand.
	Even there they aren't too great.

	When you go, leave the hotel very early in the morning and take your
	own refreshments and something to sit on.

	Alec.
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:18565 alt.usage.english:10491
From: jmunro@wyse.wyse.com (Jim Munro x2497)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.usage.english
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Date: 12 Jan 93 20:23:22 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.british
Organization: Wyse Technologies San Jose, Ca

>In article <1993Jan11.020701.9391@news.columbia.edu>, gmw1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes:
>> d) The word "quite"
>>

Yes, the word 'quite' is often ambiguous. When used literally as in 'the cup is quite
full', it generally means 'almost full'. When used as a qualifyer for a positive,
such as 'the book was quite good', or 'he is quite nice', its a form of understated
praise which really means that the book or the person were in fact very good, but
the speaker does not want to appear over enthusiastic, after all that would never
do!

When used in connection with a negative, such as 'she is quite horrible', it is
a form of over emphasis and means thet 'she is totally horrible'.... quite.


Jim Munro

 

Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: eac@world.std.com (Eric A Cottrell)
Subject: Re: Record shops (LPs)
Keywords: car prices
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 19:52:27 GMT

In <15767@lupine.ncd.com> aledm@grant.ncd.com (Aled Morris) writes:

>As for pricing, the UK MRP on the Escort LX 16v is about #9k?  The cheapest
>Escort in the US is $10k.  Thats without Air, Auto or any fancy options.
>To get a comparable car to the UK one will take you closer to $15k.  Hmmm...
>where's the difference?
Yes we have to be careful to compare apples with apples.
 
I see alot of smaller cars in the UK. I rented a 1.3 liter Ford Fiesta and
was very pleased with it's performance. Fuel ecomony was good which offsets
the higher gas price. I was also surprised to find a self-service petrol
station on Skye with a reasonable price. I would not hesitate to rent a car
again and may do that when visiting Burn's country this year.
 
On some other comments I have seen...
 
Last Summer I talked to a BR employee while waiting for a train. He said
that he would not live in the US because it is too expensive. I think the
same way about the UK. I wonder if we each think it is expensive due to media
reports on costs of certain items?  We are having problems in the US about
health costs and my company has tried to keep cost down. There is the NHS
in the UK, but I would not want to wait a couple of months for certain
procedures.  I think we agree that CDs are too expensive, but is there
anything cheaper in the UK than elsewhere?
 
One benefit (??) of VAT over Direct Taxes is that VAT also gets money from
tourists. I looked into the VAT Recovery Scheme (Note: UK Usage) and it is
only reasonable if I spend 50 Pounds Sterling or more on certain items.
 
Some B&Bs are actually cheaper in the UK than the US. When some
people start a B&B in the US they think they can get 75 or more dollars
per night. I suppose it is cheaper than those 135 dollar hotel rooms in the
area, but I think they miss the point. I admit that B&Bs in London are
expensive, but I usually stay in a nice quiet town, like Bedford, and take
the train in.
 
73 Eric   eac@world.std.com
From: wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Archers update, please
Date: 12 Jan 93 15:34:37 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

In article <C0Jp63.Jxn@ccu.umanitoba.ca>, jrichmn@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Joy Richman) writes:
> I am an Archers addict and have noticed that there have been very few
> updates on this bulletin board of late.
>  Can anyone tell me whether Ruth's
> baby has been born yet,
No
> whether the vicar/vet has proposed to Carolyn,
Yes---and she's taking a few days to think about it. He's getting uptight,
she's getting confused. But now his dog has died of poisoning and that is
bringing them back together (one hopes.......)
> whether Nigel has re-proposed to Lizzie? 
No. She's becoming friendly with the new GP, Dr Locke, and he's not very happy
about it. He's even taken to talking to anybody and everybody about it.
Meanwhile Mummy Pargetter is back from the Caribbean again, where no-one wanted
to know her and is trying to make up with Nelson, who is stedfastly resisting
her.
-- 

Stephen Wilcox             |   For Sale: Posts in British Government. Suit
wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk    |   outgoing American. Highest bids accepted.
From: ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Ray Dunn)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Eastern hemisphere electrical power
Date: 8 Jan 93 03:03:12 GMT
Organization: Not Philips.

In refd article, ewadams@netcom.com (Ernest Adams) writes:
>Generally I'm not in favor of trying to make the Old World more like the
>New, but in this case I'll make an exception. Non-lethal line voltage
>just makes better sense than 220 volts. It's like putting that smelly
>stuff in natural gas: you don't *have* to do it, but it gives the
>innocent victim of a breakdown better odds of surviving.
>
>(It also means our power cords can be discreet little things, not enormous
>cobra-hooded snakes that make a little radio look like an arc welder...
>but that's an aesthetic consideration.)

You got that quite the wrong way round.  Being more than twice the voltage,
the UK plugs/cords could be _half_ the size of US ones to carry the same
amount of power, i.e.  half the current.

UK plugs are thus much safer than US ones, and can handle up to 3,500 watts
without problem, a common rating for electric kettles, heaters etc.  In the
US (and Canada), the maximum power of appliances is 1500 watts, and even
then, the cord and particularly the plug/socket get quite hot in use.

In addition, house wiring in the UK commonly uses "ring circuits", almost
unknown in the US, so that house wiring in the UK carries 1/4 of the
current than in the US for the same power application (half the current
because of the doubled voltage, and half the current because of the twin
return to the distribution panel).

Electrical fires are caused by _current_ not voltage.  There are
significantly more electrical fires in NA than in the UK.

On the subject of electricution, certainly 240 volts is more of a problem
than 110 volts, however even in the UK, casual contact with the mains
supply rarely gives more than jar and a shock(!).  The normal type of
situation that causes fatalities inside the home is when water is involved
in one way or another, e.g.  a heater falling into an occupied bath.  Under
these circumstances 110 volts is no less lethal than 240.

The most common type of accident here in Canada is caused by coming into
contact with the overhead exposed external supply coming into the house,
for instance by an alumin(i)um ladder falling against them.  Several
accidents of this type a year are reported here in Montreal.  Distribution
of the supply in the UK at the local level is almost universally
underground, certainly in the vicinity of buildings.
-- 
Ray Dunn at home        |  Beaconsfield, Quebec  |  Phone: (514) 630 3749
ray@philmtl.philips.ca  |  ray@cam.org           |  uunet!sobeco!philmtl!ray
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: gdb15@grebe.cl.cam.ac.uk (Guy Barry)
Subject: Re: The Liberal Party RIP. (was: Re: Silly Bible semi-pedantry [was: Re: Happy Christmas!]
Reply-To: gdb15@cl.cam.ac.uk
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 20:33:46 GMT

In article <C0pK0M.A7D@dscomsa.desy.de> Hallam@zeus02.desy.de writes:

[about the Maastricht "paving bill"]

>Paddy made his speach in order to forstall anyt attempt by the rest of the party
>to support Labour and vote against the government. He should have objected to
>the bill on the grounds that it did nothing more than praise the government and
>had no relevance whatsoever. Since Maastricht was in the Tory Manifesto, failure
>to carry the bill was a matter of confidence.

I broadly agree with you here.  There was no need for the Lib Dems to
support the Government on a vote whose sole purpose was to save the
Tories' face.  They'd already expressed their support for the
Maastricht bill when it received its second reading a few months earlier.
My personal view is that the Lib Dems should have abstained on the vote.

>Paddy was playing party games because he didn't want an imediate general
>election because he knew that there would be no chance of a hung parliament.
>With the Tories in dissaray they would have no chance of repeating their
>unlikely victory earlier in the year. The Queen would have been in a very
>difficult possition in that refusing a dissolution would have lead to
>considerable pressure from the republican faction. This would have put a written
>constitution and reform of the house of Lords back onto the Labour adgenda.

I don't agree with you here, since I don't believe there would have
been an immediate general election.  Major dropped his threat of a
general election about a week before the vote; I don't know why,
though I did hear a rumour that the Queen *had* told him she would
refuse a dissolution.  	Also, I think there would have been a very
good chance of a hung parliament if an election had been called.
Labour would have had to gain 55 further seats for an overall majority
of one (after only managing to gain 40 in April).

--
Guy Barry, University of Cambridge | Phone: +44 (0)223 334757 
Computer Laboratory                | Fax: +44 (0)223 334678
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street  | JANET: Guy.Barry@uk.ac.cam.cl 
Cambridge CB2 3QG, England, UK     | Internet: Guy.Barry@cl.cam.ac.uk 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: evansg@uproar.enet.dec.com (Gwyn Evans @ IME)
Subject: Re: Where are the DNS reports?
Reply-To: evansg@uproar.enet.dec.com (Gwyn Evans @ IME)
Organization: Digital Equipment Service Industries Solutions Company Ltd
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 12:09:41 GMT


  If you mean VNS, then although I've been around, I've not been getting
any news/sport sections to forward... With luck they'll appear again
now that more people are getting back to work.
--
+======================================================================+
| Gwyn Evans  | evansg@uproar.enet.dec.com |  Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK  |
| DESISCo - Digital Equipment Service Industries Solutions Company Ltd |
|  Views expressed and statements made are mine and not those of DEC   |
+======================================================================+
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british