Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Mirror Lake’s crazy winter, another sign that weather is no longer predictable
Note: I ran a quickie version of this story in the blog/newsletter on May 31. This expanded version ran in the Monitor on June 10: Mention the concept of “ice in” and “ice out” to a New Hampshirite and chances are we’ll think of Lake Winnipesaukee. Our biggest lake...
NH patents through June 9
(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 Hampshire through June 9. System, Method, and Apparatus for Infusing Fluid DEKA RESEARCH...
NHPR looks at sorry state of grid connections in NH
All over the country - in much of the world, in fact - there's a logjam of renewable-energy projects trying to get connected to the grid. Basically the problem is that the system in most countries was built for the old grid, where power went one way from a relatively...
Your pine trees look bad? Don’t worry
Several readers have emailed me in the past week or two, asking why their pine trees look so crummy. This is the answer, from the state: White pine trees in New Hampshire have been dropping needles, but that is to be expected after last year’s rainy late spring and...
NH was hard hit by “missing births” during COVID lockdowns
An analysis of US births of babies conceived during the pandemic lockdown says births fell 3.7 percent, on average, across all states but fell an estimated 16% in New Hampshire, more than any other state. Notably, the report says that while births fell sharply as the...
Wait – there’s a nuclear reactor *where*?!?
If you want to win a bar bet, try this question: Where’s the closest nuclear reactor? People will say Seabrook, of course, but depending on where you are in the state, the answer might actually be Lowell, Mass. (Check distances on a map before making the bet.) This...
I found a software license printed on a 115-year-old metal plunger
NOTE: Hunting through old blog items, I found this piece from 2016. I thought it was entertaining enough to rerun Don't you just hate software licenses and the way they mean you don't really own the things you buy? Of course you do, and you also think they're an...
AMC layoffs partly reflect public’s changing outdoor tastes
The Appalachian Mountain Club, the 80-pound gorilla of outdoors recreation in the Northeast, has laid off a bunch of folks for a variety of reasons, including rising costs and changing habits. The Boston Globe has a big story on it (the article is here) with this...
Mass. community geothermal heat-pump project is being turned on
The district geothermal pilot in Framingham, Mass., that I wrote about two years ago goes online this week, reports Canary Media: On Tuesday, utility Eversource will flip the switch on the country’s first utility-operated underground thermal energy network. The...
Skip the transformer delay: Run the EV charger off a battery
It takes a honkin' big battery to power an EV fast-charging station, but that' s how a two-vehicle station in Weymouth, Mass., works, according to this Boston Globe story. Using a battery lets them sidestep a shortage in transformers. The battery can be recharged by...
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