Monkeytreats

Why is it that the United States is completely incapable of getting on board with any worldwide standard, no matter how much sense it makes?

For example…

Celsius: Used everywhere. Freezing water is zero degrees. Boiling water is 100 degrees.
Fahrenheit: Used in the U.S. Freezing water is 32 degrees. Boiling water is 212 degrees.

Metric: Used everywhere. The meter is a clearly-defined fraction of the Earth’s circumference. The liter is derived from the volume of water contained within a cubic meter. The kilogram is based on a physical chunk of metal, known as The Kilogram, that is kept in Paris and is duplicated to provide a widely-available standard.
English measurement: Used in the U.S. A foot is…well, sort of the same length as some people’s feet. A pound is…well, a pound. Don’t even get me started on fluid ounces and hogsheads.

GSM 900/1800/1900 phones: Will work anywhere. You can purchase them as soon as they’re available in Europe.
GSM 850/1800/1900 phones: Will work anywhere. You can purchase them about twelve months after the Finns have gotten tired of them and moved on to thumbnail-sized subvocal communicators with direct retinal displays that melt away body fat while you talk, and exude pheromones that make you irresistable to sexual partners of whatever gender floats your boat. Those MIDI Tupac ringtones don’t seem all that great anymore, do they, Yankee boy?

This is my long-winded way of explaining that I’m REALLY CRABBY that there isn’t even a release date for the Nokia N90 in the U.S.

Please to explain how the following makes sense:

1. There is something being sold.
2. I want this thing.
3. I have the money to purchase it.
4. There is no scarcity of this item.
5. I am not allowed to purchase it.

On the other hand, I haven’t had my fiancee, cats, and house washed away by a hurricane, so perhaps my yuppie dork complaining is kind of silly in the grand scheme of things.