Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
What we need: A 3D-printed statue of NH video game pioneer sitting on a public bench
I thought I was pretty clever to pursue a state historical marker for the creators of the BASIC computer language (as I note elsewhere), but I've been one-upped by the group that wants to recognize Ralph Baer, who led the team that created the first home video game...
Application for that BASIC historical marker is in
You'll be happy to know that I have sent off an official application to the N.H. Division of Historical Resources to create a highway historical marker honoring the creation of BASIC and the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System. I'll keep you posted. Baffled? Read this...
A picture (well, a chart) is worth 1,000 words
Hurricane Florence was large played out by the time it made it to New Hampshire on Tuesday, but still dumped an impressive amount of rain. The best graphic representation is seen above: An automated streamflow gauge run by the U.S. Geological Survey recorded it at the...
$20 million to boost NH tissue engineering & similar biomaterials development
From UNH Today: UNH will lead a five-year EPSCoR project funded by the National Science Foundation to develop innovative approaches in the development of biomaterials, such as those used in implants and tissue engineering, which hold the potential to save patient...
There’s lots of carbon trapped in the soil, and we really want it to stay there
Remember when carbon was just another listing on the periodic table that nobody mentioned unless they were geeks making a “carbon-based life form” joke? Ah, those were the days. Now we can’t move without bumping into news about carbon dioxide or carbon equivalents or...
Is biomass power good or bad for the environment? The answer is …
As you may have heard, there is great debate at the moment about how and whether to support biomass energy, a fancy term for burning chopped-up trees to generate heat and power. The debate centers on a complex tangle of economic questions involving jobs and costs. But...
Manufactured home coop in Upper Valley to get 132 KW solar array
Note; This is a lightly edited version of a press release from Vermont Law School - I cut out the gratuitous quotes - but it seems pretty legit. Mascoma Meadows, a 50-unit resident-owned manufactured-home cooperative in Lebanon, N.H., will soon use solar power to...
Biocontrol seems to have solved the winter moth problem in Massachusetts
Want some good environmental news? Sure you do! How about this: "After 14 years of effort, we have successfully converted winter moth, a major new defoliator invading eastern New England, into a non-pest, presumably on a permanent basis. ... We have averted what was...
It’s surprisingly hard to create a systems so blind people can vote independently
The state will be rolling out tablet-based voting systems for New Hampshire’s sight-impaired voters at Tuesday’s election and that should make it easier for them to cast ballots privately and independently – but maybe not too quickly. “You can read everything at once,...
Database says only 19 NH schools have solar panels
Schools are an obvious place to put solar panels, since they use most of their power during the day and have big, flat roofs. But upfront funding is a problem. A national database (here) lists 19 New Hampshire schools with installed solar, a couple of them private but...
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