What's Half of a Hundred?

I keep having confusion from watching too many digital clocks and time counters (e.g. making CD-Rs).

Sometimes 0.30 means you're halfway done.

Sometimes 0.50 means you're halfway done.

I see something like 0.42 come up on my screen and I have to stop and think.  I hate that!

NoCoPilot wrote:

I have to stop and think.  I hate that!

True. Thinking can be painful.

Actually this leads into a very interesting discussion I had once -- was it here? -- about microwave programming.

You must be able to key in "1:00" and get 60 seconds of cooking.  However, if you key in "0:99" you get a minute and 39 seconds.

So how would you key in a minute 40?

If you enter two digits, they are seconds. If you enter more than two digits, the two ending digits are seconds, the leading digits are minutes.

So for a minute and forty seconds you enter "140" which the oven shows as "1:40".

I guess that works to explain it. I was going to say anything over 99 is automatically converted to minutes and seconds rather than seconds.

0:60 = 1:00
0:61 = 1:01
0:99 = 1:39
1:00 = 0:60
1:01 = 0:61
1:40 = 1:40

NoCoPilot wrote:

I was going to say anything over 99 is automatically converted to minutes and seconds rather than seconds.

Exactly. It is odd, though. One might reasonably expect that any number over 59 be converted to minutes and seconds. It would result in the same time of cooking, just a different display.

I just touch the "Popcorn" button.

The only time I use the microwave oven is when my wife is out of town.

It's great for drying the dogs after a bath.

Except for the Rottweiler. Don't try it with the Rottweiler. Seriously!

Yes, I learned that the hard way with Popper, rest in peace.

I agree, NoCo. I tend to catch myself making mistakes thinking :50 is a half when :30 is correct or vice versa. The lack of standardization is annoying.