Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
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...
Open-source community looks at medical device shortage
At least one New Hampshire member of the Makerspace community - Adam Shrey, one of the leaders of MakeIt Labs in Nashua, the state's first makerspace - is involved in an effort to create open-source medical equipment. I talked to Ja’dan Johnson in Flordia, who's...
NH Tech Alliance webinar for businesses in the time of COVID
Tomorrow (Friday, march 20) the New Hampshire Tech Alliance will hold a webinar on "options available to New Hampshire businesses struggling with many sudden changes. This webinar is free and open to all. It will also be recorded and immediate available to everyone...
Yes, the COVID virus is natural
There's no New Hampshire angle to this, but in the light of some wacko speculation it seems useful: From Scripps Research The COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin, scientists say LA JOLLA, CA – March 17 – The novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that...
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