Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Many small airports are struggling as general aviation stagnates
I got my pilot's license many decades ago at a Tennessee airport so small that you had to buzz the runway once before landing, to scare off the deer, but I haven't flown since Reagan was president. But I remain interested in what is known as general aviation, so I was...
Did you miss Science Cafe Concord? Let’s go to the video …
Concord TV records every monthly Science Cafe Concord, broadcasts it and posts an edited version online. Here's their take of the most recent cafe, about citizen science. Check it out!
Why would coders’ income alter depending on whether they use tabs or spaces?
I do not write software, but I am fascinated and/or perplexed about the weirdest claim I have encountered in a long time: This survey that says programmers who use tabs to indent their code make less money than coders who use spaces: Indeed, the median developer who...
Coal and Power, I: Use of coal to create electricity in N.H. has plummeted
In the 2004-2015 decade, N.H. reduced the total amount of electricity it produced through burning coal by 77 percent, the 8th-biggest decline of any state, according to federal data. That's one of the reasons it is so hard to determine how much Eversource's coal-fired...
Coal and Power, II: As auction of Bow power plant nears, could it switch from coal to wood?
One of the big questions regarding energy in New Hampshire at the moment is the pending sale of more than a dozen power plants still owned by our utility, Eversource, including a large coal-fired plant in the town of Bow, just south of Concord. That power plant came...
Dive into the citizen science smorgasbord, courtesy of Science Cafe
Great discussion last night at Science Cafe Concord about "citizen science" projects. As promised, here are more details about various possibilities discussed at the session (which you can see on Concord TV's page - the taping will be edited and online in a week or...
Do different types of scientists like different types of pets?
Twitter has its problems, as is known by anybody who uses it or has seen it help destroy democratic institutions around the world, but it can be fun, too. There's an ongoing thread called @realscientists that working scientists use to discuss their daily life, their...
The solar eclipse could cut New England solar power by 1300 MW
The Aug. 21 solar eclipse cutting through the U.S. will miss New England by hundreds of miles, but the partial shading of the sun by the moon will be enough to reduce the region’s solar power by an amount equal to the output of Seabrook Station. ISO-New England, the...
When biomass power fades, loggers struggle
The low price of natural gas is clobbering every other fuel for electric power plants - nuclear, coal, whathaveyou - and biomass is no exception (as Concord Steam found out). One of the groups being hit is loggers, who can no longer sell low-grade wood for chips - and...
Why are hiking trails in New Hampshire so darn steep and rocky?
This story of mine ran in today's Concord Monitor. I had a blast with it - my family has long wondered "why are trails in other parts of the country easier than in New Hampshire?", so I got a chance to answer it. The next time you find yourself cursing as you stumble...
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