Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Electric companies want to buy and sell natural gas, which seems weird
The electric grid is all about technology - you can argue that it's the biggest, most complicated machine ever made - but regulations and finance are at least as important to its operation. That's why I wrote a story about (take a deep breath) the decision by state...
Longtime patent fan judge decides software patents are bad and probably shouldn’t exist
Open source fans are excited by a judge's ruling in major software-patent spat (Intellectual Ventures, a patent troll, vs. Symantec et al) that some are saying could spell the end of many, if not most, software patents. Wording like this has them psyched up: Software...
This story has the best photo of an empty hole I’ve ever seen
Well-drilling companies are having a field day in this drought, as I discuss in today's Monitor. The story includes a Geoff Forester photo down an empty dug well that will send shivers down the spine of many a worried homeowner.
Patents are like murder trials: The reality is much duller than you’d think
If BAE System’s “N-path cascode transistor output switch for a digital to analog converter” gets your pulse pounding, then lists of patent filings are for you.
Skating indoors? Thank brine
I usually write about brine - a mix of salt and water that has a lower freezing temperature that plain old water - as part of its use clearing roadways in winter. But today in the Monitor, I get to write about it as the technology that lets you ice-skate indoors....
Why did the forest-dwelling, wide-ranging mammal cross the road?
Roads are a big problem for wildlife movement, as any driver knows who has swerved around a bunch of wild turkeys or a deer leaping out from the woods suddenly. Roads slice up even our rural North Country into relatively small chunks of land where wildlife can feel...
The handsomest man on radio, once a week
Once a week I chat for a few minutes with NHPR's Peter Biello, the host during All Things Considered in the evening, usually about that week's column in Monitor. They run at about 4:45 each Tuesday evening, but if that doesn't fit into your commute (what...
UNH research II: The solar wind and our planet’s radiation belt
UNH researchers used data from more than 10 spacecraft, including information from a UNH-led instrument on board NASA’s Van Allen Probes twin satellites, to get measurements of both the Earth’s inner and outer Van Allen radiation belts, two doughnut-shaped regions of high-energy particles trapped by Earth’s magnetic field, during the uncommon solar wind conditions.
As always, Massachusetts lags NH: Their corpse flower finally blooms
The corpse flower at Franklin Park Zoo near Boston finally bloomed, a week after the one at Dartmouth College bloomed.
Hey, I’ve got a newsletter! It’s free, and worth every penny
Hey there, Faithful And Devoted Reader, I have great news: I have started a weekly email newsletter because it's trendy - no, wait, I mean because it's an useful way to get you information and entertainment. The Granite Geek newsletter had a soft launch last week and...
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