Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Neither sunlight nor used cooking oil have to go through the Strait of Hormuz
We all know that the chaotic war in Iran is driving up prices for everything petroleum-related, from gasoline to heating oil to fertilizer, but less obvious is its effect on what you might call petroleum-adjacent products. For example, the glop left behind after...
With 1,309 potholes fixed so far, this is a horrible year for Concord streets — just like every other year
I put the controversial bit of this story at the very end - even so, I've already been yelled at online about it. I learned long ago that people get mad at any pothole story which doesn't bristle with outrage and tell people that this is the worst it has ever been...
Goddard’s first liquid-fueled rocket flight was 100 years ago
I missed that March 16 was the 100th anniversary of Robert Goddard's first flight of a liquid-fueled rocket from a farm owned by a cousin near Worcester, Mass., where Goddard was born. I wrote about the 80th and 90th anniversaries, so it's annoying to miss this one!...
Non-profit helps schools prepare for hacking attacks
A hacker infiltrating the local high school doesn’t sound like much of a threat in today’s threat-filled world, but Alyssa Rosenzweig begs to differ. She knows what the bad guys are after: students’ data. “It’s not an immediate threat but, in 10 years, when they go to...
That long-distance jaunt by a fisher was brought to you by technology
The story of a young female fisher who walked from a UNH parking lot all the way to Franconia Notch looking to establish a new home is intriguing, despite its sad ending. But the really interesting part is what it says about the way technology is giving us incredible...
NH patents through March 15
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 in the week through March 15. System and Method to Detect the Presence and...
We had a pretty cold winter but much of the U.S. broke heat records
I still had 16 inches of snow in my yard last week (it's mostly gone now) so it seems like it was a cold, harsh winter. Not so, reports Scientific American in this story. Nowhere in the U.S. had a record cold winter this year. Nowhere even came close.What did set...
NH stretch of the Appalachian Trail is really popular
On the assumption that the Venn diagram of geeks and hikers has a lot of overlap, some news: New Hampshire’s 161-mile section of the Appalachian Trail saw 2.88 million “recreational visits” in 2025, according to estimates from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, making...
MAGA ruins another fun, useful thing: Ig Nobels are fleeing US to Europe
For 35 years the satirical Ig Nobel awards have been a geeks' delight in the Cambridge, Mass. No longer. This year's event is moving to Zurich, Switzerland, due to fear of rampant human rights abuse by ICE and its supporters. “During the past year, it has become...
Farewell small, cheap, crappy paperbacks; I will miss you
One of the greatest information-sharing devices of the past century is about the disappear. But before I go into Boomer Lamentation Mode and bemoan the decline of modern society, there’s another side of the equation that I’ll address. The device in question is the...
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