Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
To train A.I., Dartmouth tries using the Bible – lots of Bibles
(The first thing I thought of when I read this was Asimov's short story "The Last Question") By David Hirsch, Dartmouth News Service: In search of inspiration for improving computer-based text translators, researchers at Dartmouth College turned to the Bible for...
NH historical marker for the creator of cool murder-scene dioramas
As we await approval of my proposal for a historical marker honoring BASIC (the holdup right now if finding a good location on a state-maintained road), let's note an excellent addition to the program: The N.H. Division of Historical Resources announced that a New...
Deciding who parks in “green” parking places is complicated
When I go into Boston I drive to one of the distant subway stations and take the train, because who wants to park in Boston? I generally go to Alewife at the end of the Red Line because it has a massive (if not well maintained) parking garage. For years there were a...
In Cuba, those old American cars share the road with Chinese electric motorcycles
I recently got back from a 10-day trip in Cuba, a place I'd never been. (Despite what I'd heard it is quite easy for Americans to visit there, assuming you can survive a nation with nary a McDonalds, Coca-Cola or Dunkin Donuts to be found.) The most interesting geek...
Dartmouth group offers fix for that scary computer chip security flaw
By Joseph Blumberg, Dartmouth News: Dartmouth computer science graduate students are applying their research techniques to fundamental security flaws recently found in nearly every computer chip manufactured in the last 20 years. Until new designs are implemented, an...
Should we save this gorgeous ash tree? It’s not an easy decision
This is the story of a massive, gorgeous tree that will die before long, the fact that we could save it but probably won’t, and the way that thousands of people, perhaps including you, are facing this same choice. “It’s a hard decision,” is how Ethan Belair, the UNH...
New Hampshire is finally getting a festival to celebrate bats (as in mammals, not baseball)
There's a festival for everything else in the world, so why not the coolest of all mammals: bats? Why not, indeed. The first New Hampshire Bat Festival will be held this Saturday, October 20, at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge. The one-day festival will have...
Updating the shallow ‘dug’ well for the modern world
Few things say “old-time New England” more than getting your water from a dug well, a 20-foot hole in the ground covered with a concrete top that pipes water into your house. But what if there was a whole type of dug well, one so new that its design has been patented?...
Drone-pilot training starts at Concord airport
Drones have begun flying at Concord Airport as operations get off the ground at the state’s first training facility for unmanned aircraft. The training facility from ArgenTech Solutions of Newmarket opened earlier this month after receiving an airspace waiver that...
The best fans are fair-weather fans, and science shows why
Are you excited about the Boston Red Sox and all the baseball-y stuff they do really well? I sure am! There’s that guy who hits it a lot, he’s great, and those guys who throw it wicked fast, I love ‘em. And what about those people who run around and catch the ball?...
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