The Wednesday Post

Exploring the Evergreen State, Part VII
Coffee in the lobby or your room.

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Last week, we were visiting Grand Coulee Dam.  That only whetted our appetite for the Bonneville Dam, which we'll stop by on the way back west through the Columbia River Gorge.  There's still a few weeks left in our tour of Washington, so we'll finish the day resting up at a roadside motel.

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Surging waters of the mighty Columbia River, below the [unintelligible] of Bonneville Dam, Oregon and Washington.

Posted: September 30, 1967


Dear Ed & Bertha -

Here we are in Oregon.  Had a nice trip up.  Both fine and hope you both are the same.  Hope your foot is better Bertha.  Give our best to all.

Love from Edith & Gilbert



Air View of $100,000,000 Bonneville Dam on Columbia River Highway Connecting Oregon and Washington

Largest Lift Navigation Lock in the World

Forty-two miles east of Portland on the Columbia River is the [unintelligible] Bonneville Dam, erected at a cost of $65,000,000 and completed in 1940.

Burlington, Wash. Aug. 16 -50

Dear all: A line now to let you know that we are at the Dale's in an atmosphere of laughter when around Mae.  We all came here yesterday; drove thru rain almost the whole way.  To-day is sunshine again.  Dallon, Emil, and pa went to Canada (B.C.) to-day.  Tillie and I are helping Barbara keep house here.  Tillie was very busy putting beans and chickens in the locker before we came.  Will stay here until after Sunday.  We all are O.K. hoping that you all are the same, also hope that Delmar is getting along good.  With Love, pa and mom.

Called on St. Muellers [?] on our way here




FISH LADDERS AT BONNEVILLE DAM

On the Columbia River, connecting Washington and Oregon.  The ladders are a series of step pools which allow the salmon to swim upstream to their original spawning grounds.

Posted: June 30, 1959

Martha & Ani





BONNEVILLE DAM CONNECTING WASHINGTON WITH OREGON P56

This $52,000,000 navigation and power dam has created a deep lake 50 miles inland to The Dalles on the Columbia River.  It is navigable by ocean going vessels.  Of particular interest are the three sets of fishways which protect the passage of salmon up and down stream.

Not Posted


Dear gumma

I hope you will comme soon.  We are glad pa is here.  We will be up this summer.

Love Nora





On Highway 99 Beside the Cowlitz River

Cowlitz Motel
Rt. 1, Box 258 A
CASTLE ROCK, WASH
PHONE UN 4-4811  TOLEDO

Just a few steps from the Cowlitz, one of the Northwest's favorite steelhead and trout streams...  Tiled showers...  room controlled electric heat.  Coffee in the lobby or your room... Good food next door.

Posted: November 8, 1963


Dear Bev & Al -

Waiting for Bill who is seeing a customer & thought of you guys so just a note to let you know we miss you.

Love,
Elenna & Bill

The Infinite Art Tournament, Left Bracket Third Round: Van Doesburg v. Manet!

Theo Van Doesburg had a inauspicious start in the tournament, tying his first First Round against William Dobson, who subsequently sunk like a stone.  But after losing his second First Round match, against Ernst Haeckel, Van Doesburg has put together a series of three wins to stay alive in the Left Brackets.

Today, he meets Manet, a big-name painter who arrives here after a Round Three upset versus Timothy Ely.  Who will stay alive to take on the winner of Man Ray/Marc?  Let's find out, starting right now.

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Theo Van Doesburg
1883 - 1931
Dutch

• Tied with William Dobson in his first try at the First Round, in December 2012.
• Skunked by Ernst Haeckel in a second shot at Round 1.
• Snuck by his contemporary John Marin in First Round Elimination by a two-vote swing. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
• Beat early master Simone Martini in the Left Bracket Second Round.
• Beat John Martin in Left Bracket Second Round Elimination by a two-vote swing -- YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!

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Édouard Manet
1832 - 1883
French

• Thumped on Minimalist Robert Mangold in Round 1.
  
• Overcame Andrea Mantegna in Round 2.
  
• Lost to living American Tim Ely in Round 3 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!

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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.

The New Monday Quiz Celebrates π Day

Hey, it's March 14!  And, I've been doing a bunch of arguably grown-up things in the physical world, so I need a super-straightforward topic if there's going to be a Monday Quiz.  Therefore, today's topic is:

π

1. What is π, anyway? Not the numbers, but their significance.


2. What's 2πr?


3. What's πr²?


4. What's 4/3 πr³?


5. If all you had was the 2πr formula, you could reason out pretty quickly that π was going to be between two and four. How?


6. If all you had was the πr² formula, you could do the same thing. How would that work?


7. True or False: Although it had long been established that π must be between 3 and 3.25, it could not be calculated with precision until the advent of modern computers.


8. True or False: Because each successive digit of π requires an order of magnitude of computer power to calculate, an accurate figure to 1000 decimal places reached in 1970 has, as of 2015, only been extended to 1200 decimal places known with absolute certainty.


9. True or False: When a British scientist exclaimed "How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics," what did that have to do with this quiz?


10. A fellow named Rajveer Meena holds the world record for memorizing and reciting π to the greatest number of decimal places. About how far out do you suppose he got? Oh, go on, guess. It's only the Monday Quiz.

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round One: Rembrandt v. Reni!

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn
1606 - 1669
Dutch

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Guido Reni
1575 - 1642
Italian

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Vote for the artist of your choice! Votes go in the comments. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.

The Infinite Art Tournament, Left Bracket Second Round: Parmigianino v. Oldenburg!

Parmigianino
1504 - 1540
Italian

Sandwiched by Giovanni Paolo Pannini in Round 1.
Lambasted Johann Friedrich Overbeck in First Round Elimination.

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Claes Oldenburg
Born 1929
Swedish-born American

Walloped Orcagna in Round 1.
Lost to José Clemente Orozco in Round 2.

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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting, but likely much longer.

The Wednesday Post

Exploring the Evergreen State, Part VI
This spillway is 1,650 feet wide.

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Do people still include hydroelectric projects on their grand tours of the American West?  They sure used to!  This week, our tour of Washington brings us to that state's famous engineering marvel.

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GRAND COULEE DAM


At [unintelligible] may be seen the world's largest pumping [unintelligible] which elevates water 280 feet through ten giant flumes into the world's largest irrigation canal, feeding the water to the storage and balancing reservoir in the Grand Coulee.  The water is then conducted through syphons and canals for a 10 million acres of semi-arid land in the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project.

Posted: October 10, 1968


All these figures astound me.  We had lunch overlooking the spillway.  Most interesting.
Love "Doc"



GRAND COULEE DAM
Lake Roosevelt behind Dam.

2 - 27 - '53

Dear Friend: How nice to have another letter, & to have your new address.  Your letter came (Tuesd.) just after Jean had gone to Hospital for an Operation Wed - a.m.  Ed will take her mail out tonight, as she is doing fine & can enjoy them now.  I am sure she will answer just as soon as she feels able to do so.  We think of you folk often, & do not want to ever lose you.

Love, Margaret Read



GRAND COULEE DAM, WASHINGTON

The view from the shore of the Mighty Columbia River displays the huge spillways of the world's largest concrete dam.  This spillway is 1,650 feet wide.  This dam has created Roosevelt Lake which is 151 miles long and extends into Canada.

7/27/62

Still headed West.
Mac

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round Two: Polke v. Pollock!

Sigmar Polke
1941 - 2010
German

Beat Serge Poliakoff in Round 1 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!

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Jackson Pollock
1912 - 1956
American

Defeated Antonio del Pollaiolo in Round 1.

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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.