A few words on measurements and units and how to convert ingredient amounts between the systems
I grew up with the metric system, and I still find metric units much easier to use than the "American standard" units.
In most of my recipes I try to give quantities in American standard and metric units. Where exact amounts don't matter, I will appropriately round off the equivalents. So don't be surprised to see 1lb = 500g instead of the exact 1lb = 454g.
gives a nice overview of sensible unit conversion in the "The Recipe" chapter.
See the Wikipedia page about United States customary units for details about history and unit conversion.
For baking I use a kitchen scale and weights for dry goods.