Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire

Boy, that warm rain destroyed our snowpack
Look at these two photos sent out by the Mount Washington Observatory. Top image is Jan. 10, bottom image is Jan. 13, after two days of warm rain. Extreme weather, indeed. The photo shows Mt Jefferson and Mr Adams, with a bit of Mt. Madison on the right edge, seen...
Recent patents by NH inventors and/or companies
My favorite is the “pants assembly”, too
Our deep freeze proved we need gas pipelines – or it didn’t
In this contentious energy debate, the cold snap is a sort of Rorschach Test. Where do you stand?

The first baby born in NH was demographically significant, for more than one reason
Yes, it’s interesting for the obvious reason, but the state’s first baby of 2018 reflects another demographic trend more important for New Hampshire in the short term: Her family is a classic example of domestic in-migration.

Collect rabbit poop in the wild – for science!
Need I say more?
NH solar power: Growing fast, still dinky
Photovoltaic electricity is growing fast in New Hampshire, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration: We went from an estimated annual production of 45,000 megawatt-hours during the first three quarters of 2016 to 78,000 Mwh in the same period of...
Blockchain is an awesome technology, but what exactly is it good for?
I decided I don't get enough email from readers calling me an idiot, so I wrote this for today's Concord Monitor: The holidays are over and the weather has been weird, which makes people grumpy. So let’s be grumpy, too. Specifically, let’s be grumpy about one of most...

Heating oil = diesel (within a suitable margin of error)
Of course, filling up a 250-gallon heating oil tank with 5-gallon cans of diesel brought from the gas station might take a while.
The best email I’ve gotten in a while, whatever my ‘tested IQ’ might be
” I have a tested IQ of 197. If you’re lucky, yours might be half what mine is.”

A surprising number of patents each week have an N.H. connection
How many patents each week have an N.H. connection - that is, get issued to a person or a company in the state? A reasonable number, actually. Here's the list for the final week of 2017, courtesy of Targeted News Service: Cryptzone North America, Nashua, New...