Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Library asks why buy if you can borrow? (Not just books)
In the latest twist of the borrow-things-rather-than-own-them movement, Concord Public Library has unveiled a novel program in which they’re lending out stuff as varied as ukuleles, soil analyzers and paper shredders. At least, I thought it was novel. Turns out...
Winnipesaukee gets a record-late and pretty feeble “ice-in”
Think twice before you go ice skating: "This is probably the thinnest I've seen it". NHPR has the Lake Winnipesaukee ice beat covered: Read/listen here.
Solar and wind made 7% of N.E. electricity in 2022
Solar and wind accounted for about 7% of the electricity produced by generators within New England in 2022, according to ISO-New England, which oversees the six-state power grid. Solar was about 3.4% of the total and wind about 3.8% but solar is growing much faster....
N.H. patents through Feb. 5
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Feb. 5. *** Determining an Action by an Electronic Device Based on Voltage at a Port of the...
Big onshore wind project in Maine gets OK
A 1,000-megawatt wind farm in northern Maine (already the region's wind-power leader) has been approved by the state PUC, along with a 345-kilovolt transmission line. Massachuseets will but 60% of the power and Maine 40%. Story from UtilityDive is here. Longroad...
Cities start to question “always more parking!”
Parking requirements for new construction are a hidden expense because they either take up space that could be a business or housing, making it harder or more expensive to build, or they require an expensive building to provide short-term auto storage (A 2016 study...
As tourists turn to EVs, the state’s charging gap could cost us
From Energy News Network (whole article is here) A coalition of tourism organizations representing more than 3,300 businesses throughout the state is now backing legislation that would help ramp up charging infrastructure by making chargers less cost-prohibitive to...
Rolling your eyes at ‘teaching science through art’? Maybe you shouldn’t
Pardon me for sounding cynical but over the years I have become dubious about claims that art can bring science to the masses. It seems to me that translating the quantitative into the qualitative usually creates little insight for the general public. But even if that...
N.H. patents through Jan. 29
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Jan. 29. *** Hybrid Air and Liquid X-Ray Cooling System Comprising a Hybrid Heat-Transfer...
An anniversary to be proud of, I guess
I'm not sure whether to brag about this or be embarrassed, but wikipedia tells me today is the 20th anniversary of my first edit on that unexpectedly effective website. According to their stats, I have made 40,438 edits over those decades, from creating entire...
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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 WGIR-AM radio..
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.