From: bowman@montana.com   
      
   On Wed, 7 Jan 2026 20:10:44 +0000, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:   
      
   > On Sat, 3 Jan 2026 14:26:55 -0000 (UTC)   
   > Lars Poulsen  wrote:   
   > []   
   >>   
   >> *The Metric Reform*   
   >>   
   >> Around 1963, the Bristish government pushed through a general   
   >> conversion   
   >   
   > 1973 would be nearer when decimal coins came in.   
   >   
   >> to the metric system. personally remember a set of posters published by   
   >> the Construction Industry Training Board, which I ordered through the   
   >> mail after hearing them advertized on Radio Luxembourg. English born   
   >> colleagues remember ditties they learned in school, such as "a litre of   
   >> water's a pint and three quarters" or "two and a quarter pounds of jam   
   >> weighs about a kilogram".   
   >>   
   >>   
   > Boards are still 8ft, er,  I mean 2400mm long   
      
   And will be for the foreseeable future, although you have to be careful. A   
   trip to Home Depot will turn up piles of 92 5/8" boards. They're precut   
   studs that allow for the top and bottom sill thicknesses.   
      
      
   A friend who was an architect mentioned a revolutionary technique that had   
   been developed. I don't remember the details but the idea was to lay up a   
   brick or concrete block wall dry and then spray it with a polymer that   
   would bond the bricks together much better than traditional mortar.   
      
   It went nowhere. Not only did the masons' union oppose it, building codes   
   would have to be revised, and fitting standard prebuilt doors and windows   
   would be a problem without the usual 10mm mortar joint.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)