Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
N.H. patents through March 13
By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire from March 6 to March 13. *** Bottomline Technologies Assigned Patent for Method, Apparatus for Non-Exact Matching of Addresses Bottomline Technologies,...
Mammoth tooth (our only type of fossil) goes on sale for charity
In Northern New England, where geology melted dinosaur remains ("igneous" has the same root as "ignite" after all) and glaciers ground up everything else, the only fossil you're likely to find is a woolly mammoth tooth or maybe a bit of rib. As I've noted several...
Who requires those big gas-price signs at every station? The answer may surprise you!
There is no aspect of inflation that gets shoved in our faces like gasoline prices. But why? Why are gasoline and diesel the only products that have to announce their up-to-date price on signs so big you can’t ignore them if you tried? Buying gas is certainly a big...
Solar and batteries are pushing into the New England grid
As a further sign of changes happening to the electric grid, non-traditional power sources – solar and wind generation, energy storage and reduction in demand resources – accounted for 15% of all power production that won the latest futures auction in New England....
100th birthday of NH video game pioneer Ralph Baer
March 8, 2022, marks the 100 th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Henry Baer in Pirmasens, Germany. Baer would go on to create seminal electronic devices, toys, and gadgets., including his groundbreaking conceptualization and work in what was to become the modern...
Electric car chargers aren’t gas pumps, they’re horse troughs
When my wife and I got a Prius a half-dozen years ago we became those annoying people who pay very close attention to their gas mileage, and we quickly realized that New Hampshire winters do a number on MPG. On average, the January mileage in our gas-electric hybrid...
N.H. patents through March 6
By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire from Feb. 27 to March 6. *** DEKA Products Assigned Patent for Pressurized Vapor Cycle Liquid Distillation DEKA Products, Manchester, New Hampshire, has been...
At least we don’t have to worry about ticks in winter – oh, wait, yes we do
In the name of science and of informing you, dear reader, I spent a half-hour last week walking up and down my yard dragging an old towel embroidered with Big Bird’s face. The goal of this inelegant activity, done before Friday’s snowstorm, was to test a statement...
A new (but not really) insect scourge: Spongy moth
The insect Lymantria dispar formerly known as Gypsy Moth is now the Spongy Moth. It will not, alas, be any less of a problem. From phys.org: The ESA Governing Board voted unanimously last week to approve the addition of "spongy moth" to ESA's Common Names of...
Dartmouth proves you’ve got to have a screw loose to use reddit
OK, that's not what they proved - but who can resist a reddit joke? Not me! Here's what they actually did: "Dartmouth researchers have built an artificial intelligence model for detecting mental disorders using conversations on Reddit, part of an emerging wave of...
Return to the Concord Monitor