Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
N.H.’s role in video game history depended on corporate OK from Indiana
I'm sure you're familiar with the role that Ralph Baer's team had in creasing the first home video game as a side job while they were working at defense contractor Sanders Associates (now BAE Systems) in Nashua. If not, here is one of many stories I've written about...
If “fog” makes you think “fat, oils, grease” then this story is for you
It must be admitted that in the honor roll of modern problems, few sound as funny as “fatbergs.” “We were literally laughing, tears rolling down our faces, talking about all the things that had been discovered in this glob of waste,” said Laura Lady, recalling the...
As ash trees die, Hubbard Brook saves some for research
If we have no choice but to go through an ecological catastrophe, we might as well try to learn something from it. This is the idea behind a unique experiment in the Hubbard Brook Forest that will protect about 300 ash trees from the ravages of the emerald ash borer...
N.H. patents through 11 September
By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Sept. 11. *** BAE Systems Information & Electronic System Integration Assigned Patent for Method for Detecting Uncooled Thermal Systems BAE Systems...
Science Cafe back in person in Nashua – one of 3 (!!!) such programs.
Science Cafe NH is returning to in-person events in Nashua at Margarita's Restaurant, 1 Nashua Drive. It's been a long time! The first monthly gathering will be Wednesday, Sept. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. Topic: Health Impacts of Climate Change Panelists will be Dr. Bob...
U-L profiles smart developments that combine retail, office, housing
The answer to traffic congestion isn't the Eisenhower Era approach of building more lanes, it's building communities where everybody doesn't need to drive everywhere. The Union-Leader has a profile today of three such developments being built in New Hampshire that...
Saga continues of the maybe-or-maybe-not-illegal arcade star with NH connection
A guy named Billy Mitchell holds a special place in a niche-y part of New Hampshire history: In 1999 at the iconic gaming arcade Funspot, a he achieved the first-ever perfect score on an arcade version of Pac-Man – 3,333,270 points over about six hours. Or did he?...
A Vermont librarian owns a social media site older than Facebook
A Vermont librarian now owns MetaFilter, a social network that was started in 1999. It's one of those sites that I have occasionally encountered over the decades although I've never been part of it. "There’s some people who have been a part of this particular online...
Maine’s strict internet privacy law passes a legal challenge
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — One of the strictest internet privacy laws in the United States has withstood a legal challenge, as a group of telecommunication providers has dropped its bid to overturn the Maine standard. Maine created one of the toughest rules in the nation...
NH Electric Co-op to pay for EV-to-grid w/ real-time rates
Technology is cool but without rules and regulations and money, it doesn't do much. So it's cool that New Hampshire Electric Co-op is testing a "transactive" energy rate that pays for electric vehicles (and battery storage system) to discharge power into the grid when...
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