Please use the correct format in monthly calendar threads!

[peregrina2000]

For the past couple of years, the mods have volunteered to create calendars that show forum members’ names, date of departure, and departure city. The hope is that it gives people a chance to connect with others leaving at or near the same time from the same place.

PEOPLE — We have to do this manually. We have asked over and over and over — please use the proper format, because it makes our job much easier. When you use the right format, we can copy and paste. When you use the wrong format, we have to essentially create another, properly formatted, entry. Not a big deal when you have to do one, but the calendars are used by hundreds and hundreds of people, many of whom continue to ignore our repeated pleas.

So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

Here is the format we would like to see:

Feb 3 @Krimpa (SJPP).

April 11 @peregrina2000 (Villajoyosa - Lana).

We are getting cranky and may go on strike soon.

 

[Pilgrim9]

Thank you for clarifying expectations. I am 100% in favour of standardization and clear, unambiguous communications.

If a person was to include the year, would it be appropriate to use this format:

2025 Feb 3

2026 April 11

I.E. #1, YYYY Mmmm dd

I.E. #2, proceeding left to right from the general to the specific.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thank you for clarifying expectations. I am 100% in favour of standardization and clear, unambiguous communications.

If a person was to include the year, would it be appropriate to use this format:

2025 Feb 3

2026 April 11

I.E. #1, YYYY Mmmm dd

I.E. #2, proceeding left to right from the general to the specific.

We don’t need the year, because we only do the calendar six months ahead of time, so the year isn’t necessary.

Thanks!

 

[C clearly]

And, we want you to write your forum name along with the start point (even though of course we can see who you are), because then we can quickly copy-and-paste, without having to type the name ourselves.

Consider this to be practice for following the precise format of the registration for your compostela. It is practice at home like @pjacobi is always recommending!

 

[Flog]

Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what is this 'proper format' you speak of and why the insistence on using the American format? Should we use pounds and ounces instead of kilograms, miles instead of kilometres, too? I know some do on here, but..

We are in Europe, where we use the format DDMMYYYY.

Today here in Europe and in Spain, it is Friday the 6th of September.

 

[trecile]

Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what is this 'proper format' you speak of and why the insistence on using the American format? Should we use pounds and ounces instead of kilograms, miles instead of kilometres, too? I know some do on here, but..

We are in Europe, where we use the format DDMMYYYY.

Today here in Europe and in Spain, it is Friday the 6th of September.

Yes, you are missing something. Laurie isn't referring to the way that we write dates.
Laurie is referring to the format in the posts on the the monthly calendar threads (I just edited the title of this thread to clear that up)

Here are those instructions with the correct format that makes it easier for the moderators to update the calendars.

If you are planning to start a Camino in October 2024, you are invited to add a post to this thread – scroll down to the last post, and create a new post giving your expected start date, start location, and the route if it is not the Francés. It is very helpful if you post in the following exact format (but not in bold or red):

April xx @forumname (City, Route if not Francés).

 

[Flog]

Yes, you are missing something. Laurie isn't referring to the way that we write dates.
Laurie is referring to the format in the posts on the the monthly calendar threads

What is it I'm missing? She wants them written in the American/Canadian format and not in the European one, is that correct?

 

[C clearly]

What is it I'm missing? She wants them written in the American/Canadian format and not in the European one, is that correct?

NO! Look at the calendar threads here.

The dates are all written as, for example Sept 5, which is neither here nor there. I wrote them that way for 28-31 days for all 12 months of the year, thinking that there would be no confusion. OK, maybe that would be considered American/Canadian and you would have preferred 5 Sept. However, if I were to re-write them all in the internationally correct fashion, I would write 2024-09-05, which is the SI standard. Then 90% or more of the forum members would be confused.

If you are not using the calendar thread, you do not have to pay any attention to this thread.

 

[trecile]

What is it I'm missing? She wants them written in the American/Canadian format and not in the European one, is that correct?

I'm sorry, did you read the post that I quoted? The part in red bolded letters?
This is ONLY about the format for posting on the Calendar threads. We don't need a year. Only the day of the month. We don't even need the name of the month, because if someone is posting on the September calendar thread we know that the month is September. All we need to know is which day they will be starting the Camino.

For example, if you were planning to start the Camino Primitivo from Lugo on September 26th you would enter: September 26 @Flog (Lugo, Primitivo)

That's it!

 

[Flog]

For example, if you were planning to start the Camino Primitivo from Lugo on September 26th you would enter: September 26 @Flog (Lugo, Primitivo)

Yes, but I wouldn't write it that way.
Amazingly as it happens, and I don't think I mentioned it on the forum, but anyway.. I'm actually starting out that day, the 26th, my birthday.. but from Ourense. If I were to post it on the calender thread, I would put:
26th September @Flog (Ourense,Sanabrês) but I'm not. I just wanted clarification that you want those of us who do, to use a non Spanish and non European date format for the calender thread, thanks!

 

[trecile]

Yes, but I wouldn't write it that way.
Amazingly as it happens, and I don't think I mentioned it on the forum, but anyway.. I'm actually starting out that day, the 26th, my birthday.. but from Ourense. If I were to post it on the calender thread, I would put:
26th September @Flog (Ourense,Sanabrês) but I'm not. I just wanted clarification that you want those of us who do, to use a non Spanish and non European date format for the calender thread, thanks!

That would be perfectly fine. because the important thing is that the part after the date (in whichever format you prefer) is what we copy from your post into the calendar. We only need the date to know where to put it.

September 24 - @yukonwanderer (SJPP).

September 25 - @ehoekman (Irun-del Norte).@thepacman (Le Puy-en-Velay). @KDN715 (SJPP). @JoeMartin SJPP. @CatPhillips (Madrid). @CactusGal (SJPP). @DesertGuy (SJPP). @Walkingboy (Seville - VDLP). @CarolamS (Salamanca- Vdlp). @lthrnck55 (SJPP).

September 26 - @gini007 (SJPP). @rig085 (SJPDP).

September 27 - @IanC (Oviedo - Primitivo). @Palomazim78 (SJPP).

Please don't use Roman numerals though.

And 26 September is an excellent day to have a birthday!

 

[C clearly]

If I were to post it on the calender thread, I would put:
26th September @Flog (Ourense,Sanabrês)

As it happens, that would be fine, because all we want to do is to look at the day of the month, stick it in our brains, copy "@Flog (Ourense,Sanabrês)", scroll up to the first post, click "edit", find the date before we forget, and paste the info we had selected.

I just wanted clarification that you want those of us who do, to use a non Spanish and non European date format for the calender thread, thanks!

I am seriously offended that you insist on characterizing it this way, which was not the point of it all. Post however you want. We can just delete all the calendar threads if you are going to make an international incident of it.

I see that @trecile has posted more nicely than I.

 

[trecile]

As it happens, that would be fine, because all we want to do is to look at the day of the month, stick it in our brains, copy "@Flog (Ourense,Sanabrês)", scroll up to the first post, click "edit", find the date before we forget, and paste the info we had selected.

In earlier Calendar threads we didn't show the format that we want, and we would have to either memorize each person's name, date, starting place, and route, or if we were doing a bunch of them at once write it all down before going up to the actual Calendar to enter the information. This new system has made it so much easier for your underpaid (i.e., volunteer) moderators to keep the Calendars up to date.

 

[RobertS26]

After reading this thread, it has become abundantly clear to me why we can't get people to stop rustling plastic bags at 4:30 am.

 

[Flog]

I am seriously offended that you insist on characterizing it this way, which was not the point of it all. Post however you want. We can just delete all the calendar threads if you are going to make an international incident of it.

I see that @trecile has posted more nicely than I.

International incident, seriously offended, right.

It was the subjectve use of the term 'proper format' that prompted my questioning of it, that was all. Not a big deal. Yes, trecile was notably kinder in her response.

 

[C clearly]

seriously offended,

Yes, I was genuinely dismayed. No eye roll.

 

[C clearly]

I spent quite a bit of time writing out those 365 dates, and thought I had done something that was useful and wouldn't be confusing. In my normal life I usually use the ISO format of 2024-09-05. I never even remember which is the American way and which is the European. In Canads, both 5 Sept and Sept 5 are used and perhaps for that reason we are less likely to use the confusing number-only style (5/9/2024 vs 9/5/2024)..Is the placement of the number before or after the month, an issue, when the month is wriitten out?

 

[trecile]

Yes, trecile was notably kinder in her response.

It's a Libra thing - trying to maintain that balance.

 

[trecile]

I spent quite a bit of time writing out those 365 dates, and thought I had done something that was useful and wouldn't be confusing

I don't think that people realize how much time @C clearly (and @David Tallan for November) spend creating these threads. Sure, the first part (the instructions that apparently don't get read very carefully) is copied and pasted. But after that every date is entered, and holidays that could have an impact on the Camino are researched and included.
Many thanks to @C clearly for taking this on!

 

[lettinggo]

Hola

The tone in this thread is way off.

Lettinggo

 

[Kirkie]

Greetings pilgrims! Perhaps this is an opportunity to stick my nose in uninvited and agree that the service of the moderators keeps the forum afloat. We all know the rules, and more or less manage to stay on topic
Some are far better at that than I am, I must confess.
There are times when I would be at odds with one or other moderator in my mind, but mostly I say: come on, hen, you have other things to get het up about!
EDIT:
I deleted some lines here. Why? Off topic!

So, with that, off I go into a new day - Friday, 6th September 2024.
Those ahead, happy Saturday. Those behind, Happy Thursday!

 

[Turga]

We are in Europe

Yes, ”we” are in Europe in the sense, that the forum is hosted from Santiago. On the other hand, “we” are also an international community, which IMO is one of the things (apart from the pilgrim/walking aspect) that adds to making this forum so interesting - so bumping into different date formats and differences in other unit is just part of it (I’m just glad that I don’t have to calculate in pounds, inches, Fahrenheit and miles, I don’t know how they do it ).

 

[Harland2019]

I haven't read all of the above posts but just wanted to thank the moderators for their work as the monthly starting list proved useful to me to message others starting at SJPdP the same day I was beginning enabling me to meet up for a drink and a meal the evening before.

 

[Sirage]

It reminds me why I always walk Caminos alone.

And, it now has me thinking what dramas may also unfold during my walk next year if I add it to the forums's calendar, and have a LIVE thread, and would then not be strictly walking alone.

 

[Kathar1na]

I did read all of the above posts.

I know now that the word "format" in the moderators' plea does not refer only, or even mainly, to the date format. It refers to the way forum members communicate their information: They are asked to include not only the day when they start but their forum name and the town where they start and the name of the chosen Camino. And the latter two pieces of info in brackets.

Because some, but not all, don't even read the first post in a Calendar thread. Or any of the other posts following the first post.

Because if they did they'd know how they are expected to write their announcement and make less work for the moderator in charge of the calendar thread.

 

[Kathar1na]

Sure, the diversity of cultures is enriching and we like to see us as a culturally tolerant global community. And we are.

However, and that is perhaps not clear, the date format month day year is not known in Continental Europe unless one is familiar with American customs.

Europeans use, and are familiar with, the format day month year and, nowadays, also the format year month day when the format is numeric only.

Even those of us who learnt English at school years ago were taught the British way of writing and saying dates, namely the 3rd of April or sometimes April the 3rd (more orally than in writing iirc) but not April 3. Style manuals for the UK recommend 3 April (i.e. no "third" anywhere).

One could put forward the idea that it is a useful piece of knowledge to have and a useful skill to practice to write dates the way they do it in Spain, what with booking accommodation and tickets etc when you plan to go on Camino in Spain.

 

[peregrina2000]

OMG, I left the forum last night before dinner and returned this morning to see that all hell has broken out. The only point was to state once again the rationale for our repeated requests for a certain format.

I am very sorry to the mods who had to engage in this back and forth.

On re-reading this entire kerfuffle, I see that the first salvo came from someone who raised an issue that our calendar thread doesn’t even touch on! The month and year should be very obvious to anyone signing up on a thread entitled “November 2024 start — Check in here!” We do not ask people to give us the year. We need the day so we can stick you in the right line after scrolling up to edit the calendar. You can say November 2 or 2 November, we just need the number. So this DDMMYY vs. MMDDYY is another instance of people not paying attention to what we are saying. There is no YY part of the entry. Excuse me, Flog, but I also take offense at your description of our “insistence on the American format.”

@trecile and @C clearly have already explained, but I will say it one more time. We like to COPY AND PASTE the forum member name and place of departure/camino. We put the day of departure in our decrepit memories and then scroll up and edit the calendar.

If you think this is another example of US hegemony, I would respectfully ask you to reconsider.

And one more time, to restate the obvious - we do this hundreds of times every month and all we ask is that you make the job a little easier.

 

[oursonpolaire]

I am concerned that I will be extending the thread even longer than should be the case but to avoid confusion over thinking of a certain format as American/Canadian, here is the Canadian standard (https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/writing-tips-plus/date-numeric). Many private companies use US software, bringing in a certain confusion.

And our cheques are all numeric dating now, which causes great difficulties for those of us who prefer to use the feasts of saints for dating; written two days before the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady....

 

[Bartman]

I wonder if there would be a way to integrate a calendar such as Google calendar into this process and that would eliminate the need for moderator attention at all... Maybe. With all the computer power and all the wisdom of the forum there's got to be somebody that would be able to do that possibly through a spreadsheet or a database that could display that. That way you could have data validation at the input in terms of date format you could have a field for forum name, and if programmed correctly it would accept either at name or without the app and it would add it, you could have a field for starting point if it's other than Camino Frances. Thinking out loud here hopefully somebody more knowledgeable than I am with the computer programming app programming and stuff there's got to be a way to integrate that into the forum. There might even be a function within the forum program itself that could facilitate that. I'm just throwing some ideas out there to see if we can get some relief for these great moderators.

Bartman

 

[60LifeChange]

May 1 @60LifeChange (SJPP).

 

[peregrina2000]

May 1 @60LifeChange (SJPP).

Oh, thank you @60LifeChange for the great format but the May 2025 calendar is not live yet. The calendars typically get posted about 6 months ahead of time, so I assume you will see the May calendar sometime before the end of the year.

 

[JustOneGuy]

Aren't we talking about a calendar for a trek? Then, I would suggest using "stardate" as THE format. Something like: "Captain's log, stardate 41276.9", to be read with some solemnity.

I swear I will use it on my first Camino.

Regards,
JustOneGuy's log, stardate -298317.96350055654.

 

[MickMac]

International incident, seriously offended, right.

It was the subjectve use of the term 'proper format' that prompted my questioning of it, that was all. Not a big deal. Yes, trecile was notably kinder in her response.

Divide and conquer Flog old one but a good one, give the poor moderators union a break they have already threatened strike action

 

[Flog]

I seem to have upset many. It wasn't my intention, though I accept that it was provocative and I apologise to all concerned.

 

[trecile]

I know now that the word "format" in the moderators' plea does not refer only, or even mainly, to the date format.

The date is the least important item to be formatted "properly"!

I wonder if there would be a way to integrate a calendar such as Google calendar into this process and that would eliminate the need for moderator attention at all... Maybe

We used to have a different calendar system, but it was harder to use, and very few members knew it existed or how to find it in the forum.

It would be wonderful if the forum software allowed a form for follow up responses to a thread, but it doesn't, so we (mostly @C clearly) came up with the method that we are currently using, which enables members to check at a glance who else from the forum will be on the Camino with them.

 

[peregrina2000]

I wonder if there would be a way to integrate a calendar such as Google calendar into this process and that would eliminate the need for moderator attention at all...

As @trecile noted, we used to have a “forum calendar” where members could input their information directly. But we found that members weren’t using it properly (do you see the trend line here?!), and it sometimes resulted in a member’s name appearing on the calendar for every single day he or she was on the camino. This happened no matter how many times we repeated the proper procedure. So we switched to this method, but it has turned out to be equally difficult for forum members. That’s why I posted this thread, and that is why we keep on saying it in the Calendar threads themselves.

For some more history on the “old calendar,” see this thread.

 

[David Tallan]

What is it I'm missing? She wants them written in the American/Canadian format and not in the European one, is that correct?

It has nothing to do with the date format and everything to do with the information needed and order in which it is presented to facilitate copying and pasting into the monthly calendar post.

Specifically

month day @forum name (starting place - route).
So:
Nov 2 @David Tallan (Salamanca - Torres).

Could also be: day month, or year day month, or even just day of the month, since they are monthly threads, although giving us the month lets us know if you have posted it in the wrong thread.

We are not copying and pastimg the date, so we don't really care about the date format. It just tells us where to put the rest of it which we  are (hopefully) copying and pasting. The closer you can get it to that format, with the parentheses, dash, period, etc., the less we have to spend time editing to keep it consistent or typing in ourselves.

And yes, I know this information has been shared a few times above. But we keep thinking that if we can just word it right, somehow, people will understand what is being requested, so we try again with a slightly different wording.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

(I’m just glad that I don’t have to calculate in pounds, inches, Fahrenheit and miles, I don’t know how they do it ).

I am "they" and I don't know how "you" do it. .

Also, I am straining at a gnat here, but think the way we use dates in North America makes more sense. My opinion is that it is far more logical to put the Month first, followed by the day of that month next as it seems more chronologically in order...
May 6th, 2024 vs 6th May, 2024.
And this one leaves everything up for grabs when it's all digits and makes no sense to me; 5/6/24 or 6/5/24...who knows which one is being used at times.

 

[trecile]

(I’m just glad that I don’t have to calculate in pounds, inches, Fahrenheit and miles, I don’t know how they do it

I am "they" and I don't know how you do it.

The the exception of celsius, everything about the metric system is much easier for me than imperial measurements!

For temperatures in degrees celsius I just remember that
0 is freezing
10 is cold
20 is nice
30 is hot

 

[VNwalking]

I am very sorry to the mods who had to engage in this back and forth.

I as well.
Various conventions of how to write dates are irrelevant to the thread. Why we all have to discuss (=argue about) such things here is one of those Forum mysteries.

 

[peregrina2000]

The the exception of celsius, everything about the metric system is much easier for me than imperial measurements!

For temperatures in degrees celsius I just remember that
0 is freezing
10 is cold
20 is nice
30 is hot

Ok, I know that this is wildly off-topic, but I sense that the temperature is cooling and people are getting the message —

My C to F trick is that I remember 3 different conversions

16 C is 61F
28 C is 82 F
40 C is 104F

That’s good enough to orient me on my camino walking days, which never go into deep freeze territory, though I do know that 0 C is 32 F.

I know it would be easier if I just stopped doing the conversions and learned to feel it, as I have for kms to miles and m to feet on the Camino — it is truly difficult for me to answer a question about a 16-mile stage with 4,000 ft elevation until I convert it to kms.

 

[trecile]

Also wildly off topic, but I read this humorous post on a Camino Facebook group that half of the responses thought was a serious post:

Camino de Santiago | Kicked out of Spain for Imperial Measurements | Facebook

Kicked out of Spain for Imperial Measurements A very cheerful young pilgrim from Arizona, named Jake, walked with me for several days last year on the Camino Frances. He was a popular guy....

www.facebook.com

 

[peregrina2000]

So when I threaten to cut off the fingers of the next forum member who uses the wrong format for the calendar entry, will everyone think I am joking?

 

[trecile]

So when I threaten to cut off the fingers of the next forum member who uses the wrong format for the calendar entry, will everyone think I am joking?

Only if you preface the statement with "THIS IS A JOKE" and add afterwards.

 

[C clearly]

My opinion is that it is far more logical to put the Month first, followed by the day of that month next as it seems more chronologically in order...

How is the month first more chronologically in order? The date first is more logical in terms of smallest unit first, then middle-size unit, then largest unit (year). What is logical about the middle-size unit first, then the smallest, and then the largest? A month doesn't start before the first day of it.

The beauty of the Year-Month-Date format is that it annoys all traditionalists.

P.S. When writing the date with words, I do tend to use the month first, followed by the day and the year - However, it is just a matter of style, with no logic involved. Maybe I'll start doing 2024 September 6, henceforth, just to prove I can change!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

How is the month first more chronologically in order? The date first is more logical in terms of smallest unit first, then middle-size unit, then largest unit (year). What is logical about the middle-size unit first, then the smallest, and then the largest? A month doesn't start before the first day of it.

The beauty of the Year-Month-Date format is that it annoys all traditionalists.

I have no problem with Year-Month-Date sequence and I am normally a traditionalist. I just don't prefer the date listed before the month, but that's just me. It has a nothing to do with the Camino calendar, which is just fine the way it is.

 

[trecile]

My opinion is that it is far more logical to put the Month first, followed by the day of that month next as it seems more chronologically in order...

It's not more chronologically in order, it's just what you are used to.

I have no problem with Year-Month-Date sequence and I am normally a traditionalist. I just don't prefer the date listed before the month, but that's just me. It

If you were a traditionalist in most European countries, your tradition would be day, month, year.

 

[C clearly]

I have no problem with Year-Month-Date sequence and I am normally a traditionalist. I just don't prefer the date listed before the month, but that's just me. It has a nothing to do with the Camino calendar, which is just fine the way it is

I just added a P.S. to my post, basically saying that I do the same thing.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

If you were a traditionalist in most European countries, your tradition would be day, month, year.

Of course it would be.

 

[Pilgrim9]

I am "they" and I don't know how "you" do it. .

Also, I am straining at a gnat here, but think the way we use dates in North America makes more sense. My opinion is that it is far more logical to put the Month first, followed by the day of that month next as it seems more chronologically in order...
May 6th, 2024 vs 6th May, 2024.
And this one leaves everything up for grabs when it's all digits and makes no sense to me; 5/6/24 or 6/5/24...who knows which one is being used at times.

There is no North-America-wide standard format.

Unfortunately the formatting of dates varies widely, as can be seen in this article.

List of date formats by country - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When choosing a date format, it will be impossible to please everyone.

Let us be thankful that the moderators are doing their best to bring value to this forum, and let us simply accept whatever date format that they select.

 

[trecile]

When choosing a date format, it will be impossible to please everyone.

That's why I spell out the month so that there's no ambiguity when I write March 4, instead of 4/3 or 3/4.
When people post ride share threads with dates that can be ambiguous I edit the title to spell out the month.

 

[David Tallan]

Also wildly off topic, but I read this humorous post on a Camino Facebook group that half of the responses thought was a serious post:

View attachment 177293

Camino de Santiago | Kicked out of Spain for Imperial Measurements | Facebook

Kicked out of Spain for Imperial Measurements A very cheerful young pilgrim from Arizona, named Jake, walked with me for several days last year on the Camino Frances. He was a popular guy....

www.facebook.com

I will have to remember this for December 28th.

 

[David Tallan]

When writing the date with words, I do tend to use the month first, followed by the day and the year - However, it is just a matter of style, with no logic involved. Maybe I'll start doing 2024 September 6, henceforth, just to prove I can change!

You could also say "6th of September, 2024", which, although it would not follow the ISO date standard used in IT systems, might sound more like English.

Note: for anyone reading the thread later, who doesn't want to re-read everything to find out what the thread is actually about (which is not date formats), I refer you to my post #37, where I tried to summarize.

 

[C clearly]

"6th of September, 2024", which, although it would not follow the ISO date standard used in IT systems, might sound more like English.

I am not trying to sound more English.

 

[trecile]

I will have to remember this for December 28th.

December 28th? I was think April 1st.

 

[David Tallan]

December 28th? I was think April 1st.

December 28th is the April 1st of Spain, O innocent one.

 

[VNwalking]

it is truly difficult for me to answer a question about a 16-mile stage with 4,000 ft elevation until I convert it to kms.

I'm the same, also with temperature. The trick is not converting at all, and just connecting felt experience with whatever the number reads on the pharmacia sign when you go through a town. Really, it's not hard.

 

[trecile]

For temperatures in degrees celsius I just remember that
0 is freezing
10 is cold
20 is nice
30 is hot

40 C is 104F

Yes, I should have added 40 is blast furnace

It regularly gets above 100+ F/40 C in the summer where I live, but I'm not out walking for hours a day with a backpack! I'm in my house with air-conditioning, or in my car with air-conditioning, or in shops with air-conditioning. I took my walk this morning before the temperature reached 20 C.

 

[Tincatinker]

Time erodes linearly. Since the start of this thread we have all got older: not obviously wiser

 

[Turga]

we have all got older: not obviously wiser

.... but perhaps slightly less bored? (he pondered with the wisdom of age).

 

[Kirkie]

Lovely, isn't it, the thread has survived!
Ad multos anos!..
What's the date today?
If this is all we have to recover from, pity about us, as is said around where I live...

 

[Turga]

perhaps slightly less bored?

Well, talking about being bored….

I sometimes read a post somewhat similar to this (fictional) story:

“I started out early this morning with the aim of doing 22 miles before the heat really kicked in at around 3 pm. At 18,5 pounds my backpack was on the heavy side and I was carrying a lot of water: 1,2 gallons in the side pockets with an additional 15 fl oz in my easy-grab bottle. At around noon the temperature was already soaring around 102 F and I was at the foot of this hill; not very high, perhaps 300 ft. but in this heat it felt like scaling a proper mountain. There was a steep slope to my right, and suddenly some small rocks came tumbling down missing my head by just 12 inches I guess – what a day! I really looked forward to resting my feet and having a pint!”

Then starts a process in my head something like this:

• Miles to Km: 22 x 1,609 = 35,4 Km
• Pounds to kg: 18,8 x 0,4535 = 8,39 kg
• Gallons to liters: 1,2 x 3,785 = 4,542 liters
• Fl oz to DL: (15 x 29,57) /100 = 4,43 DL
• F to C: (102 – 32)/1,8 = 39 C
• Ft. to meters: 300 x 0,305 = 107 meters
• Inches to cm: 12 x 2,54 = 30,48 cm
• Pint to liters: 473 / 1000 = 0,473 liters

….and then I can finally make some sense out of it. I guess that if the above was written using metric units a similar but reverse process would occur on “the other side” (if you’ll pardon the expression).

I think I’ll go for a long walk now

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

I'm lucky. I'm was born in '64 and New Zealand started conversion to the metric system shortly after ('69) so I grew up with both.
I don't have to convert, I just 'know'. (Well, except for temperature)

To keep in line with the thread I do struggle with the American way of writing dates. It makes it particularly hard to remember the date of important events. 9/11 in particular. And yet Americans always talk about the fourth of July, not 7/4.

I appreciate it is just yet another example of cultural difference. Much like the American use of the word gallon - it's a completely different measurement to the English gallon. It's possible that such differences exist between Mexican /South American Spanish and that of Spain but because my Spanish is lousy I'm not aware of any.

 

[Flog]

….and then I can finally make some sense out of it. I guess that if the above was written using metric units a similar but reverse process would occur on “the other side” (if you’ll pardon the expression).

When I first arrived in your lovely city thirty five years ago, I felt like I'd landed on another planet. Unlike Copenhagen today, almost nothing was written up in english: signs everywhere were in a strange new unfathomable language full of mysterious Æs, Øs and Ås. Coins with holes in them, washers, we called them! Decimal points replaced by commas, where 'half seven' meant six thirty.. so many strange new things to learn and get aquainted with. But when we're young, we can find our way easily.. og jeg fandt langsomt min vej og kom til at elske det hele!

I'm lucky. I'm was born in '64 and New Zealand started conversion to the metric system shortly after ('69) so I grew up with both.
I don't have to convert, I just 'know'. (Well, except for temperature)

I'm of a similar vintage to you and grew up with both. It can be useful, I can convert roughly in my head but for accuracy use metric. I never quite got to grips with Fahrenheit though..

 

[60LifeChange]

Oh, thank you @60LifeChange for the great format but the May 2025 calendar is not live yet. The calendars typically get posted about 6 months ahead of time, so I assume you will see the May calendar sometime before the end of the year.

oops. so darned excited I had to jump on it... I was supposed to retire last year and walk the Camino, instead I became quite ill for four weeks, and when it was over I was too weak to walk much of anywhere. so now? I retire 4/20/25 and have a one-way ticket to Paris, will book a train to St Jean, spend the day experiencing St Jean, then begin the Way and see what happens. So, I will return here when it gets closer. Thank you, wait. learning Spanish, Gracias.

 

[Turga]

signs everywhere were in a strange new unfathomable language full of mysterious Æs, Øs and Ås. Coins with holes in them, washers, we called them! Decimal points replaced by commas, where 'half seven' meant six thirty..

We also drive right - which to you would be wrong

 

[Flog]

We also drive right - which to you would be wrong

Faktisk!

 

[oursonpolaire]

Of course it would be.

Nonsense. A traditionalist would know that the 7th of September is the Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lady, and date cheques accordingly, if possible.

 

[Marla in CA]

For the past couple of years, the mods have volunteered to create calendars that show forum members’ names, date of departure, and departure city. The hope is that it gives people a chance to connect with others leaving at or near the same time from the same place.

PEOPLE — We have to do this manually. We have asked over and over and over — please use the proper format, because it makes our job much easier. When you use the right format, we can copy and paste. When you use the wrong format, we have to essentially create another, properly formatted, entry. Not a big deal when you have to do one, but the calendars are used by hundreds and hundreds of people, many of whom continue to ignore our repeated pleas.

So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

Here is the format we would like to see:

Feb 3 @Krimpa (SJPP).

April 11 @peregrina2000 (Villajoyosa - Lana).

We are getting cranky and may go on strike soon.

THank you for this and I will follow directions. BUt how do I access the calendar if I just want to see when others are leaving and doing the route I am interested in?

 

[trecile]

THank you for this and I will follow directions. BUt how do I access the calendar if I just want to see when others are leaving and doing the route I am interested in?

You just click on the month that you are planning to go.
All of the Calendar threads are here:
Calendar Threads

 

[Sirage]

Perhaps I am a bit obtuse today, but without

All of the Calendar threads are here:
Calendar Threads

I could not find the Calendar, except after searching the forum and found a post from Ivar in 2023 (I think).

I was expecting (perhaps too much) that the Calendar would be under Find Thread or some other menu item. And a simple search did not work.

For example if I were to add my next walk to the Calendar I would not have thought of introducing myself as some people have seen me here before.

 

[C clearly]

Forum members might want to familiarize themselves with the Home page, which can be found by clicking on the shell logo at the top. It is here.

As you scroll down that page, you will get to this Welcome section:


There are several useful links including - FAQs, List your Starting Date..., and How to join and use the forum.

It is true that the basic Search-in-title-only does not consider the prefix Calendar to be part of the title, so you wouldn't find it easily. If you search for the month, in the title only, you will find it but not necessarily at the top of the results.

Maybe we can have a look at how to make this more accessible. Even labelling the "Home" page would be a help.

 

[Marla in CA]

You just click on the month that you are planning to go.
All of the Calendar threads are here:
Calendar Threads

Thank you!