On Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:40:27 -0700 (PDT), pat wrote:

> blake murphy wrote:
>>o.k., that sorta makes sense. *but i doubt that, say, crystal palace vodka,
>>has much of an overseas market.
>
> But it competes in the liquor store against foreign products.
>
> Incidentally, the producer of Crystal Palace vodka is Sazerac and they
> have lots of brands and imports/exports. So they have a financial
> interest in eliminating technical barriers to trade.

i just wanted to pick a ridiculous exampe. mad dog 20/20?

> Consumers in America and elsewhere want to buy French brandy, Scottish
> whisky, Italian Amaretto, and American bourbon. They may well want to
> choose between a local liquor and a foreign (to them) one.
>
>>maybe i'm just used to the u.s. tail wagging the world dog.
>
> The interesting thing for me is that some people say metric units
> would be too difficult in the shops. But liquor and wine has been
> metric for decades. Nobody seems to worry. I think it shows that
> there's a difference between what people think about change and how
> they behave after change.

sure. you just do a (in my case, fuzzy) calculation in your head, or say
'1.75 liters is a big-ass jug.'

your pal,
blake