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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Dowding on October 01, 2001, 03:08:00 PM

Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Dowding on October 01, 2001, 03:08:00 PM
...why do you write your dates backwards?  :D

Most other countries write it day/month/year - i.e. logically.

Yet you write it month/day/year. Is there some kind of historical reason?

I was writing an SQL statement in MS-Access and it was a pain in the arse for it to interogate my database, because SQL only uses American dates. I worked it out eventually, but still... why?

I demand to be told.  ;)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Eagler on October 01, 2001, 03:11:00 PM
because it's easier??  :)

it's easier to say April 15th, 1959 than to say the 15th day of April in the year of 1959  :)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: AKDejaVu on October 01, 2001, 03:13:00 PM
Why do you guys drive on the wrong side of the road when the rest of Europe does it the other way?  Oh.. and the rest of the world that wasn't colonized by y'all ;)

AKDejaVu
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Dowding on October 01, 2001, 03:22:00 PM
Touche.  :D

But while April 15th 1959 is fine by me (isn't that much different from 15th of April 1959), why the 4/15/59 malarkey? It makes it very difficult for easily confused Europeans.

Just wondered if there was an historical reason. Like it was decreed as a point of defiance in that constitution thing you are fond of.  ;)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: AKSWulfe on October 01, 2001, 03:56:00 PM
Because Dowding, it's very easy really..

04(small number)/25(big number)/2001(even bigger)

April 25th, 2001

Granted, not all the time will the first number be smaller- but considering it starts with 1 and ends at 12 while days start at 1 and could end anywhere from 27 to 31, it makes more sense, since it has the potential to be a larger number.

Besides 25/04/2001 just looks funny.    ;)
(Honestly, I do not know)
-SW

[ 10-01-2001: Message edited by: SWulfe ]
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: leonid on October 01, 2001, 04:05:00 PM
Got me Dowding.  I like the logic of day-month-year myself, and besides '9 May 1945' just looks cooler  ;)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Rocket on October 01, 2001, 04:18:00 PM
Because when we won the war of Freedom from the Great Opressors.(American Revolutionary War). We decided we weren't going to use something that those damn brits used. :P :P  :D

Rocket
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: miko2d on October 01, 2001, 04:38:00 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Dowding:
...why do you write your dates backwards?   :D

 I wish it was the least of our problems...

 miko
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: hitech on October 01, 2001, 04:54:00 PM
Me being the math guy it makes more since to  Year/M/D Just like any other number most significant to least but alas I don't belive
I have a change of getting it changed.
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Dinger on October 01, 2001, 06:48:00 PM
We as Americans seem to love the Anglo-Saxon genitive.  If you doubt me, just glance through the posts here and note every time someone mistakes the Anglo-Saxon genitive for the plural. (you know, the guys who say: "We're gonna nuke the hell out of those darn Afghani's" instead of "What beef do we have with the Afghanis?")
So April 15th, 2001 is easier for us to swallow than 15th of April, 2001.
Frankly, I prefer using Roman numerals to indicate the month, as in:
1-X-2001
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Lizard3 on October 01, 2001, 07:24:00 PM
Long time ago in Navy boot camp I was taught to use day month year, with the month in written form, in all official log books and such.
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Skuzzy on October 01, 2001, 07:37:00 PM
I'm with HT on this one.  Try sorting a database by the date, if the date is not in YY/MM/DD format.  Oy,..the headaches.
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: AKDejaVu on October 01, 2001, 08:15:00 PM
Quote
Me being the math guy it makes more since to Year/M/D Just like any other number most significant to least but alas I don't belive
I have a change of getting it changed.

HiTech,

Sometimes I read your posts and am completely amazed that you wrote anything as wonderful as AH.  Not so much that you aren't capable of it... just that it would have been done 80% faster if you didn't have to go back and check for typos.

 :D

AKDejaVu

now back on topic...
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: capt. apathy on October 01, 2001, 08:52:00 PM
We don't write our dates like you guys for the same reason we don't use the metric system.  We don't have to and we kinda like it when we annoy people.
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Snoopi on October 01, 2001, 10:53:00 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Rocket:
Because when we won the war of Freedom from the Great Opressors.(American Revolutionary War). We decided we weren't going to use something that those damn brits used. :P :P     :D

Rocket


That must explain why U.S.citizens won't write or speak ENGLISH.    :p    :D


Dowding: technically speaking, anyone who lives in North America, Central America or South America are "Americans".
Maybe we should start using the term "United Statesians" err "United Statesei" ?  hmmm....    ;)    :D

[ 10-01-2001: Message edited by: Snoopi ]
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Swoop on October 02, 2001, 07:25:00 AM
Quote
Originally posted by AKDejaVu:


HiTech,

Sometimes I read your posts and am completely amazed that you wrote anything as wonderful as AH.  Not so much that you aren't capable of it... just that it would have been done 80% faster if you didn't have to go back and check for typos.


DejaVu, if I was to describe you as a "nit picker to the extreme" would you disagree?

 (http://www.swoop.com/images/logo_small.jpg)

EDIT: Spelt his shreckin name wrong and I just know he'll nit pick if I dont change it.

[ 10-02-2001: Message edited by: Swoop ]
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: AKDejaVu on October 02, 2001, 07:39:00 AM
No Swoop.  I would not.  That was a joke... that's why I put a smiley face on it.

Maybe you only see what you want to see?

AKDejaVu
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Swoop on October 02, 2001, 07:47:00 AM
How about "blatantly argumentative and condecending"?

 (http://www.swoop.com/images/logo_small.jpg)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: straffo on October 02, 2001, 07:53:00 AM
DJv we have a nice tool called a compiler to handle this not so creative task  :D

Btw our vocabular is quite limited :
() {} + ++ - -- * / if else ; for while do ...  ;)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Nifty on October 02, 2001, 08:47:00 AM
Quote
Originally posted by AKDejaVu:
No Swoop.  I would not.  That was a joke... that's why I put a smiley face on it.

Maybe you only see what you want to see?

AKDejaVu

didn't you tell me once that smiley faces aren't "get out of jail free" cards?   :eek:
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: AKDejaVu on October 02, 2001, 08:51:00 AM
Between you and me swoop... they are not.  Not between the stalker and the stalkee.

Now.. If I have a rich and storied tradition of taunting HT or even making fun of him.. then that's another story.  If you want to find where I've done that then go ahead.  If you'd like to find where I've ever criticized HT's gramar before then go ahead.  Please... I'd be interested to see it because I don't ever recall doing it.

... maybe at the same time... you could list the people that have criticized or joked about his gramar without you saying a word about it.

Way to take a fun thread and ruin it swoop.

Done with you and this.

AKDejaVu
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Swoop on October 02, 2001, 08:58:00 AM
hey Ripsnort, bet ya a BMW he wont let anyone else have the last word either.

DjV, truth is I just plum forgot to put a smiley on that first post, meant to.  Damned if I'm going back to add one now though.  

  (http://www.swoop.com/images/logo_small.jpg)

[ 10-02-2001: Message edited by: Swoop ]
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: miko2d on October 02, 2001, 09:12:00 AM
Quote
Originally posted by hitech:
Me being the math guy it makes more since to  Year/M/D Just like any other number most significant to least but alas I don't belive
I have a change of getting it changed.

 All programmers use yymmdd notation.
 It's like our special sign for dedicated. It helps to confuse ignorants and stupid people. We are smart enough to understand their ways and a little inconvenience is a small price to pay for being perceived as mysterious and arcane, right?
 I say, bring in reverse polish notation and Dvorak keyboards!!  :)

 miko
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Gadfly on October 03, 2001, 01:48:00 PM
Uh-oh, not the reverse polish notation again!  I like military style: day(numeric), month(alpha), year(numeric)

03Oct2001

If nothing else, it elimnates commas.
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Gunthr on October 03, 2001, 02:09:00 PM
Dowding, I've been wondering for a long time how come you Brits have your Sergeants and Corporal chevrons upside down ... its bad enough you drive on the wrong side of the road!

And a friend told me that when you Brits go to the movies, you put something sweet on your popcorn? Is that true?

Here in the states, I always get popcorn at the movies. When the counter girl asks me if I want butter on that, I tell her,  "No thanks, you don't have to treat me special... just give me that same yellow crap you give everybody else  ;)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Pongo on October 03, 2001, 02:25:00 PM
Welcome to my world.
Dowding you are blaming all of America for the metal flatulance of one contract programer at Microsoft.
Probebly the same guy that made all rounding in VB6 use the Bankers algorithm instead of the normal rounding that all other microsoft tools use.
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: SB on October 03, 2001, 02:36:00 PM
Quote
Originally posted by AKDejaVu:


HiTech,

Sometimes I read your posts and am completely amazed that you wrote anything as wonderful as AH.  Not so much that you aren't capable of it... just that it would have been done 80% faster if you didn't have to go back and check for typos.

  :D

AKDejaVu

now back on topic...

You've made one serious flawed assumption. Do you really think HiTech would know a typo if he saw it???   :p

I know better and if I see a post from HiTech without any typos I want to know who is trying to impersonate him!
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: MrBill on October 03, 2001, 03:29:00 PM
Then there is the neat clean method.

posted 1276  :)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: AKDejaVu on October 03, 2001, 03:33:00 PM
Quote
You've made one serious flawed assumption. Do you really think HiTech would know a typo if he saw it???  :p

This occured to me too.  So... the only real way to compensate is if there is a compiler out there that compiles code written in HT format. :D

AKDejaVu
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Replicant on October 03, 2001, 04:50:00 PM
British, Japanese etc drive on the left hand side because we're warriors!    :)  So whilst you're riding down a road or lane you would have your sword in your right hand so it was easier to attack/defend.  Therefore you'd be on the left hand side of the road to do this what with right handed people being more common than left hand people!  Call it our love of history!    :)

Of course, next time you see a car with a guy hanging out the right window with a sword in his hand then he could be British, Aussie, Kiwi, S. African or Japanese etc...

Regards

Nexx

[ 10-03-2001: Message edited by: Replicant ]
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: AKIron on October 03, 2001, 08:36:00 PM
Wonder if the US military still uses the modified Julian date form dddyy. My guess is probably not what with all the Y2K problems.
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: streakeagle on October 03, 2001, 10:13:00 PM
Quote
Originally posted by hitech:
Me being the math guy it makes more since to  Year/M/D Just like any other number most significant to least but alas I don't belive
I have a change of getting it changed.

Actually, the military was starting to head that way when I got out. They are slow to change, but their dependence on computer databases makes filing by date easier in that format, so they were switching to it on electronic forms.

[ 10-03-2001: Message edited by: streakeagle ]
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: straffo on October 04, 2001, 01:27:00 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Replicant:
British, Japanese etc drive on the left hand side because we're warriors!     :)  So whilst you're riding down a road or lane you would have your sword in your right hand so it was easier to attack/defend.  Therefore you'd be on the left hand side of the road to do this what with right handed people being more common than left hand people!  Call it our love of history!     :)

Of course, next time you see a car with a guy hanging out the right window with a sword in his hand then he could be British, Aussie, Kiwi, S. African or Japanese etc...

Regards

Nexx

[ 10-03-2001: Message edited by: Replicant ]

hummmm ...
what about using guns ?  :)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Swoop on October 04, 2001, 07:43:00 AM
What about it?  The gun would still be in the right hand.....


Besides, we're real men over here, we like to get up close and personal.   :D

 (http://www.swoop.com/images/logo_small.jpg)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Dowding on October 04, 2001, 12:30:00 PM
I'm not blaming all of America for anything. Well only some of them. OK, most of them. Well, yes, I'm blaming all of them for the date thing. Every last one.  :D

Gunthr - I think you'll find our army has been around alot longer than yours. So we are right and you are, quite literally, wrong!  :D

We don't 'go to the movies'. Ha! We 'go to the cinema' or 'go see a film'. And sweet pop-corn is far better than salty/butter/plain pop-corn.
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Swoop on October 04, 2001, 01:47:00 PM
Actually I disagree.

Popcorn (of all types including toffee coated) is the spawn of Satan and only eaten by strange people with wierd views on life and they're own toothpick to get all the crap outta their teeth after eating a bag full.

  (http://www.swoop.com/images/logo_small.jpg)

[ 10-04-2001: Message edited by: Swoop ]
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Daff on October 06, 2001, 09:32:00 AM
"Why do you guys drive on the wrong side of the road when the rest of Europe does it the other way? "

Actually, the left side is the correct side. The reason appearantly comes from the knights, as their right side was the weapon side and striking things to the left of you was more difficult than to the right.
 I've seen the same references in Japanese samurai customs. To walk along a samurai on his left side, uninvited was considered a potential threat.

Daff
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Sancho on October 06, 2001, 10:41:00 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Lizard3:
Long time ago in Navy boot camp I was taught to use day month year, with the month in written form, in all official log books and such.

In perfect "ricky" writing too.  :)
Title: An important question for all Americans...
Post by: Animal on October 06, 2001, 10:53:00 AM
jesus christ hitech can you please learn to type?

you are making the whole AH comunity look bad. go play warbirds or ww2ol only smart people play AH