Re: The joy of FORTRAN

On Sun, 02 Mar 2025 23:12:27 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

When Canada went metric they blew gas mileage completely out of the
water by turning the equation upside-down, changing from miles per
gallon to litres per 100 km.  You can't just apply a simple conversion
factor.

I got adept at translating 100 kph road signs into mph but I gave up
completely on cents per liter of gas including the exchange rate. With
Imperial gallons I figured I was getting a bargain; with liters I figured
I was getting screwed.

My first (and only) bike was a Yamaha 80.  And that was cubic
centimeters.
Flat-out down a steep hill I managed to hit 60 mph a few times.

A friend had a Yamaha, a YCS1 iirc. Cute little thing, 180 cc, with
electric start, which was an oddity in the '60s. He had a comedy routine
where he would shake the bike and it would miraculously start while
everyone else was kicking away.

Did I mention it was a two-stroke? If you wanted the front wheel of a
Harley off the ground you better have a jack. On my maiden voyage with
that little beast I managed to get the tire back on the ground before I
hit anything.

He joined the Navy and left it with me and my friends for safekeeping. Big
mistake. We could throw it in the trunk of a '59 Buick 225 and take it to
the woods for some dualsport action way before there were dual sports.