Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Lumber prices are going bananas, so why aren’t my trees worth more?
This article of mine isn't exactly geeky but I thought it might be of interest nonetheless: With lumber prices going through the roof from demand driven by pandemic changes, it seems like forest-filled New Hampshire should be reaping a windfall. But issues from the...
T-minus three and counting to eclipse! (Years, of course)
Three years is a long time to look ahead in an era when most of us can’t see beyond getting that second vaccine shot (on Thursday for me – hooray!). But it’s not too long if you’re an eclipse fanatic. “The hospitality industry, they need to be preparing! We’ve got to...
Can old wood-burning electricity plants make money?
The Valley News reports that a Maine firm called Stored Solar has bought wood-burning power plants in New Hampshire that have shut down because their electricity is too expensive to compete in the deregulated market. The whole story is here. It's a good story that...
N.H. patents through April 11
By Targeted News Service The following patents were assigned in New Hampshire from April 4 to April 11. *** Parallel Wireless Assigned Patent for End-to-End Prioritization for Mobile Base Station Parallel Wireless, Nashua, New Hampshire, has been assigned a patent...
Did ocean noise levels change during the pandemic?
From UNH News Service: An international development team, led by researchers at the University of New Hampshire, has created a software program that can process sound data collected from the world’s oceans in a more standardized format that will enhance research and...
After a wind storm, forest ‘tip-ups’ can spur diversity
When big trees fall over in a storm, their upended root masses can the raised six, ten or more feet in the air. They slowly rot over many years forming what's called a tip-up or, after many decades, a pillow. (Alongside the pillow will be a depression where the roots...
Ice-out is getting earlier, but it’s an imprecise measure
One New Hampshire spring tradition is declaration of "ice out" on lakes, of which the most famous is on Lake Winnipesaukee, the state's biggest body of fresh water. This year it was declared on April 5, which is pretty early. The announcement led a reader to ask me:...
You are my sunshine, excessive sunshine …
A lot of meteorological records that are kept - wind, precipitation, snowfall, temperature - but I didn't realize that sunshine was one of them. Silly me! The Blue Hill Observatory in Massachusetts says that March tied for the sunniest on record with 1915: 243 hours...
Keene’s COVID sewage-testing is now spotting variants
Keene was among the first - maybe the first - New Hampshire city to start testing of sewage for SARS-CoV2 viruses (here's my story from last August). Now they're testing for two variants, as well, as the Keene Sentinel reports. I suspect this will become routine...
Tired: Whale watching. Wired: Offshore wind-farm watching
As a rule I don't pay much attention to surveys of people's attitudes about things that don't exist yet, because their vague assumptions about what's involved (based on the usually vague wording in the survey) have nothing to do with reality. But let's make an...
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