A few weeks ago I wrote about my experience living in a place where US purchases were made without pennies (here it is, if you missed it). Prices were rounded up or down to the nearest nickel, which is why I called it "Americans are going to have to learn to calculate...

Two and a half years ago, I presented a carefully thought-out argument for not requiring schools to teach cursive, calling it the equivalent of teaching about slide rules. I expected praise for my insight, but instead was berated as a dunderhead by more readers than I...

The SEE Science Center continues its 13th season of Science on Tap on January 13th.   Science on Tap events are informal discussions with local scientists and experts on a particular topic presented by the SEE Science Center.    On Tuesday January 13th our topic...

I had an abbreviated version of this post on the blog recently but expanded it for the Monitor. Here's that version: in this news-free time of year, I'm not shy about recycling material! As Christmas approached, the 400 members of the House and 24 senators have...

The biggest national news in 2025 often involved energy — how to make it, who gets to use it, who is going to need it. New Hampshire has sidestepped most of those questions so far but still saw plenty of energy news. Goodbye, coal The closing of the Merrimack Station...

There has been a hiccup in patent collection tech; we missed some pre-Christmas. Sorry! Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New...

Legislative Service Requests (LSRs) are sort of placeholders for bills that are in the process of being written and have yet to be considered by the New Hampshire legislature. More than 1,000 have been filed in our voluminous House and small Senate. Many of them never...

Axios Boston reporters (here it is) that Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard are expanding deer hunting season and may even - gasp! - allow hunting on Sunday. the reason: diseases carried by ticks that the deer spread around. Lyme disease cases are 11 times higher on the...

Unfortunately, this preliminary report on the state of Mount Washington's ecosystem contains no surprises: High visitation has taken a toll on the unique and fragile alpine ecosystem atop the Northeast’s highest peak, where erosion, trampling, and invasive species are...

The newest large-scale solar array in Concord, which got an official groundbreaking Monday, is good news from the cheap-electricity standpoint, but it’s also a lesson in the obstacles slowing our transition to 21st-century energy. The 5-megawatt array — the biggest...