#176775 - 05/09/08 11:59 AM
HEXATRIGESIMAL yard work
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dalehileman
veteran
Registered: 07/10/05
Posts: 1417
Loc: Apple Valley, CA, USA
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A nearby discussion entitled pantagruelian prompts me to recommend the base-36 system
http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=17971&hilit=base+36
...in which "10" means 36. It is a very handy system inasmuch as this number is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and itself (did I miss any?). There are even better bases in that respect but they are bigger so would make a multiplication table prohibitive
Also it works out nicely in using every letter of the alphabet: ...8, 9, A, B, C....X, Y, Z, 10, 11..., the last representing 37
In making life's decisions, especially doing yard work, this base has become an important guide. Formerly just the numbers 1 and 3 figured strongly into my work. For instance, how many branches must I chop from that tree? Immediate answer: 1. However, a shrub may require more frequent attention and so the obvious numeral in such cases is 3
But it soon became apparent in pulling weeds, etc, that a larger number would be appropriate, and so I chose 36. However, commonsense also figures into our choices and so when I have an especially onerous task I must draw a line somewhere else. But fortunately as I have indicated, 36 is handy for breaking up into discrete partitions
For instance let's say I make 3 circuits of my property every day, wherein, besides weeding and pruning I must ultimately move 18 cubic yards of mulch from one location to another. Parking my wheelbarrow at the compost pile I therefore address 12 shovelsful at a time so at day's conclusion it contains 36 shovelsful, which I then duly trundle to the new site
Join me in my quest to propagate Base-36
_________________________
dalehileman
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#176789 - 05/09/08 07:25 PM
Re: OCTOSYLLABLE yard work
[Re: Faldage]
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dalehileman
veteran
Registered: 07/10/05
Posts: 1417
Loc: Apple Valley, CA, USA
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Bran, in fact that's my usual choice where I feel I have a choice
Fal the names of the numbrers between 9 and "10" are A, B, C,.....X, Y, Z
_________________________
dalehileman
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#176790 - 05/09/08 07:25 PM
Re: OCTOSYLLABLE yard work
[Re: Faldage]
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dalehileman
veteran
Registered: 07/10/05
Posts: 1417
Loc: Apple Valley, CA, USA
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Bran, in fact that's my usual choice where I feel I have a choice
Fal the names of the numbrers between 9 and "10" are A, B, C,.....X, Y, Z
_________________________
dalehileman
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#176792 - 05/09/08 10:07 PM
Re: HEXATRIGESIMAL yard work
[Re: dalehileman]
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The Pook
old hand
Registered: 02/20/08
Posts: 730
Loc: Tasmania
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I suppose it may have some advantages for Americans who insist on staying in the dark ages with weights and measures based around a quarter of this and six of that and 12 of those, but the rest of the world is perfectly content with base ten since they use the more logical and consistent metric system. The answer to your problems is to stop moving cubic yards and start moving cubic metres!  ...and why do you need to count weeds, in any number base?? Doesn't matter how many you count, you still have to do it again.
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#176799 - 05/09/08 10:43 PM
Re: HEXATRIGESIMAL yard work
[Re: The Pook]
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of troy
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 10/17/00
Posts: 5396
Loc: rego park
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we are (some reluctantly, but none the less) being drawn into a more metric world.
Milk is still sold by the gallon, but soda is sold my the liter/1.5 liter/ and 2 liter bottle.
knitting needles are no longer willy nilly, US size 6 (formerly about 6.3mm, became 6.25mm, and has now 'shrunk' to 6mm.)
yarn(and fabric is still sold by the yard, not meter, but is labeled in metrics as well as non metrics.
(i've had a "yard stick" that isn't.. (its a meter stick) for years..) and most of my tape measures are dual/marked in inches/cm )
Lots of places, with out an requirements or regulation, billboards announce the temp in F and C... and of course, metrics are taught in schools.. (along with inches/feet/yards)
But its still common (on this board and others like it) to hear of people stating their body weight in 'Stone", or to hear of scores, (of years, of people, of....) and i am pretty sure they still sell eggs by the dozen.. (and lots of other things, invoces still use 'gross' as a common grouping.
and while farmers might sell hectarces of land, they produce (and sell on the commodities market) bushels of grain, and barrels of oil..
Metric are not so universal as we are led to believe. (Speed on hiways is labeled in meter per hour, but places are still miles away!)
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#176814 - 05/10/08 01:15 PM
Re: HEXATRIGESIMAL yard work
[Re: The Pook]
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dalehileman
veteran
Registered: 07/10/05
Posts: 1417
Loc: Apple Valley, CA, USA
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Fal: Good question
Pook it's called whimsy
_________________________
dalehileman
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