Mission Hill Family Estate brings Iceland to the Okanagan. The ‘Encounters with Iceland’ is a
major sculpture exhibition featuring the works of Icelandic artist Steinunn
Thórarinsdóttir. From now until October
2014 the interpretive exhibition will feature more than 40 large scale
sculptures, the largest exhibition of the artist’s works ever in North America. See pictures at http://www.kelownanow.com/tourism/tourism_info/news/Tourist_Information/14/06/25/Stunning_Icelandic_Sculptures_Free_to_View_at_Mission_Hill
NOTE that the exhibit was within
walking distance of our bed and breakfast during our recent visit to the
Okanagan Valley in British Columbia
The Okanagan Valley, about 155 miles long, is located in
south central British Columbia. The
valley is almost dry enough to warrant being called a desert. Dozens
of parks surround Okanagan Lake, and activities include skiing, mountain
biking, camping, hiking, backpacking, golf and diving. Wildlife includes California bighorn sheep,
and the area is famous for bird watching.
http://www.okanaganbritishcolumbia.com/
What's in a Name by John B. Theberge A
“desert” is variously defined, but in colloquial terms is “land where the water
bucket is empty.” Among climate-based
definitions are: average precipitation
less than 250 mm per year and precipitation is less than potential
evapotranspiration, that is, what comes down is less than what would go up if
anything was left to go up. The Osoyoos
region in British Columbia, receiving an average of 317 mm per year, does not
qualify under either definition. Nor
does it even qualify for “semidesert” under one definition, because it receives
more than 178 mm. But it does qualify
for “semi-arid,” falling within the range of 250 to 500 mm.
Gellatly Nut Farm Regional Park is 4 hectares of a working heritage farm in the Okanagan
Valley. The Gellatly Nut Farm
Society(GNFS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the hundred
year old orchard and trees in perpetuity.
David Erskine Gellatly, his wife
Eliza, and their eldest son David Jr. emigrated from Scotland to Ontario in
1883. They spent ten years in Ontario before heading west. In 1900
they purchased 320 acres at what is now known as Gellatly Point. In 1910
David Sr. bought an additional 350 acres at Boucherie Flats. His farm was
prospering and the family venture now included the largest greenhouse in the
interior, a box factory, packing house, and a wharf for dispatch of produce by
boat. The Gellatly Nut Farm became the
cradle of hardy nut growing and breeding in North America. The park
opened to the public in September 2005. The farm is a work in progress
with ambitious plans underway to preserve, stabilize, restore, renovate, and
rehabilitate the heritage buildings. The GNFS's role is that of
advisory/fundraising duties as well as managing the annual nut harvest which
runs from mid August to mid November depending on the current year's growing
conditions. 100% of proceeds from nut and seedling sales help support plans
for the protection of the historic Gellatly Nut Farm. http://www.regionaldistrict.com/services/parks-services/regional-parks/gellatly-nut-farm-regional-park.aspx
An approximate value for Celsius or Fahrenheit or vice
versa can be found just by memorizing a few landmark values and by knowing
there are about 2 ° F in 1 ° C. With
each 10 degree Celsius temperature change there is an 18 degree Fahrenheit
change. Let's start with the temperature
conversion everyone knows, 0 ° C = 32 ° F, each time 10 ° is added or
subtracted to the Celsius temperature, add or subtract another 18 Fahrenheit. 0 ° C = 32 ° F; 10 ° C = 50 ° F; 20 ° C = 68
° F; 30 ° C = 86 ° F http://www.theweatherprediction.com/basic/conversions/ Another method for approximate conversion to
Farenheit is to double Celsius and then add 30.
Example: 20 Celsius doubled is
40, and 30 added makes 70.
One kilometer = 0.6214 miles. Find
metric conversions and charts at http://www.metric-conversions.org/ A method for approximate conversion from
kilometers to miles is to subtract 50%, then add 10% back.
Example:
10 kilometers halved is 5. Add 1
to make 6 miles.
The use of the metric system for all purposes has been legal in Canada since 1873,
but in fact only the scientific community used it until 1970 because its use
was purely voluntary. It was only after
the adoption of resolutions favoring metrication by associations of scientists,
engineers, manufacturers and builders, that the government in January 1970
announced in a "white paper" that Canada would go metric. In 1971 the government appointed Metric
Commission Canada with the mandate of planning and managing the
conversion. The Commission adopted
the target of converting by 1980 every aspect of national life. Some hundred sectorial committees,
representing all aspects of the national life, were named and charged with
drawing up plans. To coordinate it all,
every plan was entered in a critical path data base, with every plan ending at
or before 1980. Find chart for official
metrfication from France (1795) to Jamaica (1998) at http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/international.html
Although the use of metric measurement standards in the United States has been authorized by law since
1866 (Act of July 28, 1866; 14 Stat. 339), the
U.S. today is the only industrially developed nation which has not established
a national policy of committing itself and taking steps to facilitate
conversion to the metric system. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/205a
On 23 December
1975,
President Gerald R. Ford signed the Metric Conversion Act of 1975,
which finally gave official federal sanction for the U.S. to convert to using
the metric system. However, the 10-year
deadline (for conversion), which was in the original bill that was ready for
the U.S. Congress to vote on, was somehow dropped from the final version of the
bill. So no deadline was set for making
the U.S. transition to metric system usage.
This 1975 metric law did provide for a 17-member U.S. Metric Board (USMB)
to be established to "coordinate the voluntary conversion to the metric
system." The Board was given no
power to mandate metrication, but was directed to plan and coordinate metric
conversion. Two members of the USMA were
nominated by President Ford, in 1976, to serve on the U.S. Metric Board. However, President Ford's term expired before
the U.S. Senate approved Ford's nominees.
Therefore, new nominees were named by President Jimmy Carter when he
took office, but the USMB was not appointed until late in 1978. In the 1980s, USMA worked with pro-metric
groups and citizens to get several metric bills introduced. But these bills either were defeated or died,
without a vote, when the congressional year was over. However, the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988 finally was passed and signed by President
Ronald Reagan. This bill amended
the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 to " . . . designate
the metric system of measurement as the preferred system of weights and
measures for United States trade and commerce." From the late 1970s to early 1980s, the U.S.
Metric Board held some meetings in various U.S. cities, but did little to
forward the transition to metric. In
1982, President Reagan retired the USMB, stating that it had served its
purpose. After disbanding of the USMB, a
Metric Program (MP) Office was established under the Department of Commerce.
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 1184 August 29, 2014
On this date in 1724, Giovanni
Battista Casti, Italian poet and author was born.
On this date in 1756, Jan Śniadecki, Polish mathematician and
astronomer was born.
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