Outrage! FOOBAR can’t be used on a vanity plate
Computer geeks need to picket their local DMV office: The state has ruled that FOOBAR cannot be a vanity license plate. Presumably they confused it with FUBAR, meaning "effed-up beyond all recognition" - whereas FOOBAR is, of course, placeholder terminology long...
read morePrivate space flight will/won’t be important for space science
I've always wondered how much of the crowd that shows up for Science Cafe NH events is there for the food and beer. Last night we had a natural experiment: I moderated a special SCNH in the Discovery Center, without edibles or drinkables, and filled the hall with more...
read moreThe circle of life, squirrelpocalypse edition
Last year the squirrels and chipmunks ran rampage all over New Hampshire, as you'll recall. They ate everything in our garden and berry bushes before we could stop them - it was the first time in 20 years we picked no raspberries. This year? We're entering the...
read morePredictions for our future weather keep getting worse
It has been more than 15 years since I wrote my first "N.H. weather will be like the South, at the rate we're going" article. It was based on work from Cameron Wake at UNH, and had a map showing the outline of North Carolina moving north. At the time it seemed a bit...
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It’s hard to know how much water is in a snowfield
If you've ever shoveled snow, you realize how hard it is to know just by looking how much water it contains (i.e., how much each shovelful will hurt your back). A foot of snow lying in my yard, where I've measured it for years, sometimes melts down to less than an...
read moreN.H. is 2nd state to drop allowable arsenic levels in drinking water
UPDATE: My Monitor column has more detail: You can read it here. From Dartmouth News Service: Research from the Toxic Metals Superfund Research Program at Dartmouth College formed the backbone of technical information used by the state of New Hampshire in its recent...
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It’s true: Everybody speeds (within rounding error)
91.7% - that's how many drivers went over the 30 mph speed limit on a section of road in Dunbarton in one week in June, according to data collected by one of those flashing speed-limit signs. That's the most fun part of my story today (read it here) about these signs....
read moreAnother NH wind farm rises, finally
Almost 10 years after it was first proposed, wind turbines are being built in the town of Antrim. (Story is here) It will be 28.8 megawatts with nine turbines, making it the fourth wind farm of any size in the state. People and organizations fighting the plan because...
read moreNew Hampshire patents
The Concord Monitor runs a list of patents that have been issued recently to companies or individuals in New Hampshire. Check it out.
read moreA simple road-longevity fix: Thicker asphalt
From UNH News Service: As the summer months heat up, so will the asphalt and other materials used to make roads, and climate change is just making it worse. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire say because of this one of the best ways to extend the life...
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Science Cafe NHAbout Granite Geek
Dave Brooks has written a science/tech column since 1991 – yes, that long – and has written this blog since 2006, keeping an eye on topics of geekish interest in and around New Hampshire, from software to sea level rise, population dynamics to printing (3-D, of course). He moderates monthly Science Cafe NH discussions, beer in hand, and discusses the geek world regularly on WKXL radio in Concord.
Brooks earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics but got lost on the way to the Ivory Tower and ended up in a newsroom. He has reported for newspapers from Tennessee to New England. Rummage through his bag of awards you’ll find oddities like three Best Blog prizes from the New Hampshire Press Association and a Writer of the Year award from the N.H. Farm and Forest Bureau, of all places. He joined the Concord Monitor in 2015.