Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Yes you should clean surfaces, but COVID often spreads via aerosols – hence ‘distancing’
As the COVID-19 shutdown spreads, we know not to get close to other people. But what about pets? Swingsets in the park? The daily copy of the Concord Monitor? Should we stay away from those, too? This virus is so new that answers are still being developed, but a study...
Shutdown visible in NH driving, electricity usage
Traffic on New Hampshire turnpike system is plummeting, judging from trips at the state’s tollbooths. Data for the past four weeks: WEEK ENDING – TOTAL TRIPSMARCH 1 – 2,109,479MARCH 8 – 2,157,186MARCH 15 – 1,985,029MARCH 22 – 1,351,693 (lowest in past year by about...
Remembering Spanish Flu brings to mind the ‘doomed to repeat it’ line
America downplayed the Spanish Flu because they didn't want to harm the war economy, and Concord ended up turning Main Street buildings into emergency hospitals. That's one lesson I learned when I interviewed a local historian about how New Hampshir reacted to the...
As N.H. gets more COVID testing, we gaze with envy at South Korea
My dad fought in the Korean War and took photos of the devastated, dirt-poor country. Now we look at South Korea with envy as they have all the testing material to protect their society from COVID-19, and we have to ration our tests because we don't have enough gowns...
First a rush on toilet paper, now a rush on VPNs
The use of Virtual Private Networks has risen 124% in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, and risen even more in other countries. That's according to this report from a VPN company (so take it with a grain of salt). VPNs are a good way to protect your privacy, as...
Distillery makes hand sanitizer (probably illegal, but who cares?)
A small craft distillery in the tiny town of Windsor, N.H., has switched to making hand sanitizer. "Legally, we kind of weren’t supposed to be doing this, but no one cares right now,” said Erin Bell, Silo’s chief distiller, on Thursday as she was getting ready to...
N.H. telemedicine hub is seriously ramping up
I wrote about (but didn't visit - such is reporting in the COVID era, sigh) the telemedicine hub at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in the Monitor. Telemedicine was going to be the topic of this week's Science Cafe, so I turned it into a story instead. The hub is...
N.H. guidelines on who should be tested or treated for COVID-19
From New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, March 21: As COVID-19 becomes more common in our communities, testing every person presenting with mild symptoms of fever or respiratory illness becomes impractical and does not change how a person’s illness...
How big is a virus? ~ (1 / Earth)
I'm going through books on my shelf, looking for things to discard. Reading Rudy Rucker's "Mind Tools" I came across this tidbit, driving home how tiny viruses are: "The Earth's diameter is about 10^7 meters, and a virus is about 10^-7 meters across. So compared to a...
Hiking the AT is a bad idea right now
UPDATE: Since I posted this two days ago, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is asking people to stay off the AT, even for day hikes. Hiking the Appalachian Trail might seen like a perfect way to get through the COVID shutdown of life - I'm laid off, so let's do that...
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