Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#131

Post by blackhope » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 9:55 PM UTC

This is a reminder that the USA still held black folks as slaves in 1776.

This was woven into American society from the very start.

Recall that the Native Americans were referred to in the Declaration as "merciless Indian Savages", and have been systematically attacked and abused, also since the very start.

If you're celebrating Independence Day today, this is what you are actually celebrating.

It should be a day of sad contrition and sorrow for the racism and other evils wrought upon many generations, not a celebration.

Consider this if you're enjoying Independence Day today.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#132

Post by jholman » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:02 PM UTC

jedberg wrote: post #109

chrismorgan wrote: post #98

Feels strange to have single decimal places in your inch figures. I’d have expected something like eighths, sixteenths and thirty-seconds of inches, even though the decimal representation of them is unwieldy (1⁄32″ becomes 0.03125in). That also helps you avoid fractional pixels, which is worth doing if convenient: 1⁄32″ is 3px, because 1in is defined as 96px. (As an Australian, the main place I’ve ever seen fractions…

We usually use fractions, but sometimes we're forced to use decimals, usually when related to computers, since the usual fractions don't translate well to decimal.

Wait, what?

You're saying that Americans preferentially use base-2 fractions (nearly) everywhere except on computers; on computers you preferentially use base-10, even though said computers are going to store the values as base-2?

That's the funniest thing I've heard all week.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#133

Post by brightball » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:12 PM UTC

blackhope wrote: post #131

This is a reminder that the USA still held black folks as slaves in 1776. This was woven into American society from the very start. Recall that the Native Americans were referred to in the Declaration as "merciless Indian Savages", and have been systematically attacked and abused, also since the very start. If you're celebrating Independence Day today, this is what you are actually celebrating. It should be a day of…

No, it’s not. Before American independence the British crown held slaves.

Prior to independence both SC and Virginia actually requested to pause or slow down the slave trade. They had to make this request to England and it was refused. The Declaration of Independence laid the groundwork for the eventual end of slavery that culminated in the Civil War.

After US independence, Britain began to wash their hands of slavery eventually in 1834. It’s also worth keeping in mind because during the War of 1812 the British attempted to arm both slaves and native Americans to help their war effort...while still practicing slavery themselves. You can imagine the effect such an action had on local relations as well.

America’s independence should be celebrated by everyone. Selective history should not.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#134

Post by gnuisance » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:13 PM UTC

blackhope wrote: post #131

This is a reminder that the USA still held black folks as slaves in 1776. This was woven into American society from the very start. Recall that the Native Americans were referred to in the Declaration as "merciless Indian Savages", and have been systematically attacked and abused, also since the very start. If you're celebrating Independence Day today, this is what you are actually celebrating. It should be a day of…

Tunnel visioning on slavery is a pretty bad mindset. There are many facets to American society beyond slavery. It's almost impossible to imagine a person today who supports slavery. We've come a long way, and nobody is celebrating slavery.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#135

Post by OJFord » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:14 PM UTC

Symbiote wrote: post #120

OJFord wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, I didn't know about this, that feet and inches used to differ across the world. If only they'd done pints, fluid ounces, and cups, etc. too! (Cups are particularly annoying: there's British, US, US Legal, and metric. The best recipe-following advice is that it's never going to matter. But it's annoying.)

I lived in Britain for over 25 years, and never saw British cups used as a measure. A recipe given in ounces and pints might be using Imperial or US ounces and pints, but a recipe in cups is American. (It can matter when something is in another unit, like "4 eggs".)

They're extraordinarily rare in recipes for sure, basically only in old ones.

But if you buy a 'cups' measure it ~never says which of the four it is, and it may well be there old Imperial size. (I have one. Was a popular one on Amazon, nothing obscure.)

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#136

Post by OJFord » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:15 PM UTC

petepete wrote: post #67

OJFord wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, I didn't know about this, that feet and inches used to differ across the world. If only they'd done pints, fluid ounces, and cups, etc. too! (Cups are particularly annoying: there's British, US, US Legal, and metric. The best recipe-following advice is that it's never going to matter. But it's annoying.)

I thought the whole point of cups was that the actual quantity didn't matter, so long as your ratios were consistent.

That works if everything is measured in them. (At which point obviously you can call it whatever you want, it's nothing more than a ratio as you say.)

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#137

Post by wizzwizz4 » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:27 PM UTC

Symbiote wrote: post #126

wizzwizz4 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean… the only thing still measured in stone is babies, and even that's falling out of favour.

Babies weigh less than 1 stone (14 lb), they would traditionally be weighed in pounds and ounces. From searching "baby weight NHS", it looks like all the advice uses grams, so I assume that's current practise.

Well, I must've completely misunderstood several conversations, then. Which would be characteristic.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#138

Post by xellisx » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:27 PM UTC

skybrian wrote: post #110

chrismorgan wrote: post #98

Feels strange to have single decimal places in your inch figures. I’d have expected something like eighths, sixteenths and thirty-seconds of inches, even though the decimal representation of them is unwieldy (1⁄32″ becomes 0.03125in). That also helps you avoid fractional pixels, which is worth doing if convenient: 1⁄32″ is 3px, because 1in is defined as 96px. (As an Australian, the main place I’ve ever seen fractions…

Rulers, drill bits, and wrenches typically use fractions of an inch where the denominator is a power of two, but circuit board design often uses decimal fractions of an inch. The holes in a breadboard are commonly .1 inches apart.

Then the whole mils thing...

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#139

Post by Bjorkbat » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:28 PM UTC

iliaznk wrote: post #39

Stratoscope wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And 1812 when I clicked just now. This must mean something!

1812 – that's when Napoleon invaded Russia.

1901 when I upvoted, the year when Teddy Roosevelt became President.

I now have a strong urge to keep peace on the continent and rough-ride over a company under an antitrust investigation.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#140

Post by amyjess » Sat, Jul 04, 2020, 10:45 PM UTC

chrismorgan wrote: post #98

Feels strange to have single decimal places in your inch figures. I’d have expected something like eighths, sixteenths and thirty-seconds of inches, even though the decimal representation of them is unwieldy (1⁄32″ becomes 0.03125in). That also helps you avoid fractional pixels, which is worth doing if convenient: 1⁄32″ is 3px, because 1in is defined as 96px. (As an Australian, the main place I’ve ever seen fractions…

All small measurements in the US are done in power-of-two fractions of an inch. In fact, much of the initial opposition to the metric system here was led by the construction industry, who has found from experience that 1/2" 1/4" 1/8" 1/16" etc. measurements are too convenient to ever give up.