On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 13:30:27 -0800, James Newtons Massmind wrote:

> > Apparently, warm beer causes a phobia for decimal points, so=20
> > instead of
> > writing .001uF, the Brits like to write 1nF.

I don't think it's a phobia for decimal points so much as a phobia for mu=
ltiple zeros.  Employers here=20
certainly seem to have that when deciding employees' salaries...

I have to say that I didn't realise that others *didn't* use nF - as far =
back as I can remember it's been used=20
here.  The only change in units that I can remember is when Hz replaced c=
/sec.  It took me some time to find=20
out the conversion factor (pre-Internet of course) :-)

As for "Warm Beer" - as a card-carrying member of CAMRA (the Campaign for=
 Real Ale, probably the most=20
successful consumer pressure-group) I have to correct the allusion.  The =
correct temperature to serve English=20
Ale is that of the cellar in which it is stored - which if it's built pro=
perly tends to remain at about +10C=20
(50F) year-round without any interference.  The reason it's not chilled i=
s so that you can taste it - I=20
realise that most American beers don't actually have a taste (nor do most=
 "Eurofizz" pressurised beers=20
available over here) so cooling them to sub-zero doesn't make them any wo=
rse, but frostbite isn't something=20
that I look forward to when I go for a drink! =20

And why is it you can't go for "a quiet drink" in the USA?  Every bar see=
ms to have multiple noise-sources=20
that make it hard to have a conversation.  The worst one I found was a sm=
all bar in California, in which they=20
had: televisions showing five different channels, one set of televisions =
showing an online quiz, a jukebox,=20
and a Karaoke stage, all going at once!  I can understand that some peopl=
e want to feel like they're part of a=20
huge raucous crowd, but what about those who don't?  There doesn't seem t=
o be a single place that's designed=20
to allow a quiet, relaxing chat while drinking with a friend or two.  Eve=
n the ones that call themselves an=20
"English Pub" have the TVs and such (like the one near you, James - I can=
't remember its name but I think it's=20
on the south side of San Marcos Blvd. on the way from Fry's to the coast =
- now I think about it, it may be=20
called The Churchill...).

Oh, and for *the best* tasting beer, go to Burton-upon-Trent in the Midla=
nds of England (Burton =3D Anglo-Saxon=20
"Beer Town") and find a Marston's pub.  Have a pint of "Pedigree" from a =
handpump, or better yet by gravity=20
straight from the barrel (if it's a Marston's pub and they haven't got a =
pump with Pedigree on it, that's how=20
they serve it).  You can get Pedigree in bottles, but it really isn't the=
 same, and the difference between=20
handpump and gravity-served is remarkable.
=20
> The phobia of decimal points is caused by all the cases where the point=
 was
> missed by someone reading the schematic or assembling the PCB. I person=
ally
> like the way the letter can be used in place of the decimal. E.g. 4.7K
> written as 4K7. That is REALLY easy to read on a PCB silkscreen so you =
don't
> have users trying to find a 47 ohm resistor.
>=20
> Warm beer is caused by using Lucas refrigeration. Or that is what my Da=
d
> told me after trying to get the A/C working in his '68 E-Type.=20

Air conditioning in an E-Type???  I am flabbergasted!  Why not just open =
the roof?  Actually, while an E-Type=20
looks pretty, I don't like them.  They are fine in a straight line, but o=
nce you start doing any serious=20
cornering their handling tends towards that of an upright piano.  Give me=
 a Lotus of that era any day - an=20
Elan Plus2 for example.  The carbs need tweaking weekly, but I know how t=
o do that so no problem!  While I was=20
still at school I worked weekends in a garage that specialised in perform=
ance cars, and my then-boss gave me a=20
lift in a Plus2 once - going round a roundabout at 70mph felt like you we=
re sitting in an armchair at home -=20
amazing roadholding!

As for Lucas, it's sadly their electrics that most cars here used to have=
.  I've had to replace enough of=20
their stuff on cars I've owned to build a complete electrical system from=
 scratch!  And I've seen a Triumph=20
Stag that had to be completely rewired after a cable or two caught fire..=
. mind you, my current car has had=20
problems too, and I think the electrics are Bosch - the switch for the he=
ated mirrors just stopped working and=20
a new unit was about =A350.  Luckily they'd implemented it using a small =
microswitch of a standard size, so I=20
took it apart and replaced that myself and it's been fine since.  Now the=
re's just the intermittent interior=20
light and the door-that-won't-unlock to fix...

> P.S. I inherited a 1956 XK-140 Coupe that I would like to sell to a tru=
e Jag
> collector. It is basically this car:
> http://www.highwayone.com/Classifieds/Jaguar/BlackXK140.html but with a
> black interior and yellow paint. And I expect to get something closer t=
o
> $20,000 rather than $80,000.

Again very pretty, but not really my style (and I haven't got the money a=
nyway!).  Good luck finding a=20
suitable new owner.

> Please change the subject line if you reply regarding Lucas, Beer, or
> Jaguars.

I assume this is an inclusive-or, so I've done so!

Cheers,


Howard Winter
St.Albans, England



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