Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
More people still use a dial telephone than I thought
Dozens of newspaper readers, bless their hearts, answered my rotary-phone-seeking plea.
Important New England news: Lobster emoji is now anatomically correct
They take lobster seriously in Maine, even when it's a Unicode standard rather than a seafood delicacy. As reported by the Portland Press-Herald (which knows a good Maine story when it sees one), some objected because the proposed lobster emoji had six legs and two...
Dead ski areas are reopening, for lots of reasons
The stealth reopening of Tenney Mountain ski area in Plymouth on Saturday after almost a decade of neglect is the latest example of a surprising resurrection of dead Northeast snow-sports mountains, and in some ways the most unusual of them. “There have been a great...
The largest plant eradication effort in U.S. history tried to halt stem rust; UNH is working on it, too
From UNH News Service: Stem rust is one of the most feared agricultural diseases in the world, infecting wheat and other cereal crops. The fungal pathogen is capable of severe epidemics, thus presenting a threat to the global food supply. In New England, the disease...
Your choice, building owner: More insulation or solar panels?
In terms of “saving the Earth,” the efficiency program will do six times as much good as the solar panels. Why was it overlooked? Because energy efficiency is boring, that’s why.
Alternative-voting ideas and math oversight of redistricting get shot down
Amid all the high-profile discussion of possible changes to New Hampshire election laws and processes, a trio of less mainstream proposals were shot down Tuesday. One of them would have used mathematics to draw legislative districts, and the other two would allow...
Sliding fee proposed for more-efficient vehicles, to replace gas tax
An electric car would pay an extra $111 and a Hummer would pay an extra $0 under the proposal – your vehicle would be somewhere in between.
Recycling waste is hard, but recycling food waste is harder
Composting isn’t that hard – what’s hard is collecting organic stuff from everybody to be composed.
Lots of dams were removed in New England in 2017
Only one was removed in New Hampshire, however.
Really big trees & really old trees aren’t necessarily the same
It’s the same for me: I’m not really big – I can still wear my college jeans! – but my joints, hairline and ability to stay aware after 9 p.m. say that I’m not really young, either.
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