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Words *Do* Have Meaning

By Bill on March 25, 2008 | | Comments (15)

Yeah, like *that's* an original title. However, since FbL was kind enough to quote me in her latest post -- despite almost choking on something else I said (and which I’ll trot out whenever her keyboard needs washing again) -- so, I figured I'd add today's installment on Iraqi terminology.

The stoo'nts gave all the instructors nicknames (wotta surprise, eh?).

I've discovered that *mine* is "Haji," which, in this neck of the woods, they use to designate an elder as "Patriarch" or "Father-figure" -- but, knowing their sense of humor, I suspect is somewhat more akin to "Gramps"...

* * * * * * * * * *
Thing A Thong Of Thick Pens

Wheee! We just got a shipment of sundries from the Home Office: paper clips for the memos we haven't been producing (no printer or paper), staplers (sans staples) for the schedules we haven't been printing (no printer or paper), medical kits for the wounds we haven't sustained (no paper = no paper cuts) and big ol' thick Magic Markers™ in designer colors that we don't use (presently, a black entry on the whiteboard means it's scheduled this week, a red one means it's scheduled next week -- since we're all guys, the concept of a *chartreuse* task is beyond us).

On the bright side, our USAF Official PX/BX Thong Monitor reports that two-thirds of the thongs nestled coyly between the SWAT-style pistol lanyards and the "Writes Underwater!™" Pens appear to have been purchased. Back to you, Cassie.

On the even-brighter side, the warmer weather (it hit 35C at 1000) has encouraged those contractors of the female persuasion to dress in a somewhat breezier style, resulting in some amusing near-collisions in the chow hall between guys paying more attention to the scenery than to the guardrails lining the salad bar at just-below-belt-buckle level...

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15 Comments

By Yu-Ain Gonnano on March 25, 2008 9:07 AM
On the even-brighter side, the warmer weather (it hit 35C at 1000) has encouraged those contractors of the female persuasion to dress in a somewhat breezier style, What? No Pictures?
 
By BillT on March 25, 2008 9:31 AM
Nope, no pix. After the suicider set himself off in that chow hall south of here, taking *anything* inside (other than your weapon) is verboten.
 
By Trias on March 25, 2008 9:33 AM
Wow an American used Celsius. This is a proud day. I imagine the sweating had little to do with the weather.
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 25, 2008 9:53 AM
Heh. I *still* prefer Farenheit - and not just because I grew up with it... it allows for finer gradations. Fooey on C. It ain't below zero until it's below zero in F!
 
By BillT on March 25, 2008 9:55 AM
A lot of the sweating had to do with the abysmal climb performance of a 135shp diesel-engined aircraft in 35C. And I've used Celsius before. Mostly to keep the Denizennes from hollering at me to take more cold showers (and not for the obvious reason, either)...
 
By Damian on March 25, 2008 10:20 AM
Regarding the celsius/farenheit thing, consider yourself lucky if you feel completely comfortable in one or the other. Up here in the frozen white north (it's going to snow again today in Toronto), we're not quite sure which to use for any given purpose. For example, I'm currently trying to get a bit healthier. Since Christmas, I've lost almost thirty pounds. I'd have to actually do the math to know the kilogram equivalent. I happen to know my height in centimetres because it was on my military ID those many years ago now, but I think of myself as five-foot-ten. If I'm working around the house, the studs are still sixteen inches apart, the ceilings are eight feet high, and the fence I'm building outside this spring will be six feet tall. But if I'm driving down the highway on my commute, I'm monitoring my speed in kilometres per hour, and my hike or run is always measured in kilometres. I buy litres of milk or gasoline. And twenty five degrees is pleasantly hot, whereas thirty five is make-sure-you-stay-hydrated weather. Unless I'm cooking, in which case I'm still setting the oven to 375 before I put the chicken in. Yet another example of how Canadians remain torn between the European and American influences in our day-to-day lives...and damned inconvenient if you ask me.
 
By Fred on March 25, 2008 10:56 AM
I'm still trying to figure out what -41 fahrenheit is in Celsius. I think my calculator broke.
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 25, 2008 10:56 AM
Whiner. Blame US for everything! 8^D
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 25, 2008 11:13 AM
Oddly enough Fred - it's... -40 or so.
 
By HomefrontSix on March 25, 2008 12:41 PM
Fred - -41*F is just flipping cold. No Celsius needed. Was that ambient temp or with wind chill?
 
By Outlaw 13 on March 25, 2008 9:12 PM
Oddly enough there was a similar thong situation that I noticed while stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq. AAFES could never keep Dr Pepper in stock, but there was a constant flow of assorted thongs. Actually made me wonder who the hell was buying these things...because I never saw that many women about. One of life's great mysteries.
 
By Trias on March 25, 2008 9:48 PM
Fahrenheit does not allow for finer gradations. That's why fractions and decimal points exist. And it isn't ever below zero if you use Kelvin. -41F is -40.6 Celsius. Actually the American system is just a muddled British system (the US altered it to Americanize it to be Not British because of of Independence) so in effect it's the Brits fault. The British system was always built on muddle in the first place. The 10 basis system I think developed by the French SI (who hated the British dominating even the tiniest bit of culture) was probably the best thing since sliced croissant and one of the few things I have enormous respect for the French with. It's superior in it's simplicity and that really is the end of the story. It replaced the British system in Australia and even Britain eventually and is the most widely used system across the world, the primary exception was always the US. A fact which has forced me and every other scientist or engineer and probably commerce handlers to muddle through conversions back and forth.
 
By Justthisguy on March 25, 2008 11:36 PM
Oh, Trias, that's just dog poo, 'specially since computers were invented. 12 is factorable by 2, and 3, and 4, and 6. 10 is factorable by what, 2 and 5? The common gradations on English-speaking rulers are in negative powers of two; 1/2, 1/4, ... 1/64, 1/128, etc. If it weren't for the French system, we wouldn't have round-off errors in bank computers. The decimal system is for people who can't do arithmetic in their heads without looking at their fingers. I suppose you think we should adopt the French Revolutionary Calendar, too? May I remind you, that of the objects on the moon, the ones left there by humans who rode them there had the threads of their fasteners described in inches, their velocities described in feet per second, and their weights and masses described in pounds and slugs, respectively. Oh, and it's degrees RANKINE
 
By Trias on March 26, 2008 2:26 AM
12 for what inches to a foot? How many feet in a yard? is it 12? How many yards in a mile? 12 as well? Perhaps in your head (no cheating now) you can tell me how many feet in a chain. If that's too easy what about the number of cubic feet in a gallon? Or better yet the number of grains in a dram. And this is easy, just one unit conversions. Tell me, for the number of grains per dram, just what that's factorable by? The common graduation on US rulers may be that but you are wrong when it comes to most English speaking rulers outside the US. Re: blame the French for your bank errors. Do you even use the French banking system? If not how are you blaming them for the mistakes of your own system? Prove your system would never have a rounding error. No the decimal system is for those who count on a a basis of one to ten. You know.. most people. Why do you make that assumption? Is the calender better? Does it have worldwide use and acceptance? No. You are just letting your dislike of the French blind you. And you should be proud of US achievements. BTW As of 1980 NASA implemented going metric. Because it's better. And degrees Kelvin, look it up.
 
By OBloody Hell on March 26, 2008 5:36 PM
For daily, casual use, there are reasons why the older Brit/SAS standards are sensible. Metric units are relatively-speaking, "arbitrarily" sized --- the measurement is designed by a physics person, not by associated daily uses. A yard is about the length of a man's arm. "A pint's a pound the world around", etc. By contrast, a liter of beer is too much, a deciliter too little. A half-liter is about right, but that violates the powers-of-ten metric principle, doesn't it? The average person does not have to convert in daily life -- who buys exactly a mile of yarn? Who needs to covert drams to bushels? (If you're buying a bushel of Oxycodone, you're involved in illegal activities, aren't you?) Right -- the average person doesn't really gain the advantages of the metric system for the most part -- it's only in commerce, design, and shipping that it really gets felt -- so it makes inarguable sense in any technical usage, but it's at least arguable in day-to-day life. As to the argument that Fahrenheit does not allow for finer gradations, that shows a lack of basic mathematical understanding. 9F=5C, so you get 9 "integral" divisions in F for five such in C. Duh, and QED -- Fahrenheit allows finer gradations "without resorting to decimal points", which was the statement being made. Argue whether the difference is relevant, sure, but make your arguments make sense. It's all moot anyway. Centigrade? Celsius? Fahrenheit? Kelvin? Rankine? Pfah! ------- Réaumur rules!!! :oD .