Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Reporting this made me cry “the claw, the claw!” like the Martians in ‘Toy Story’
Wouldn't you love to operate a 5-ton claw that picks up 1.5 tons of trash at a single swoop? If only ... http://www.concordmonitor.com/waste-management-plant-penacook-burning-debris-1613572
Hugo Awards again “gamed” by group with political aim
For the second year running, one of the biggest prizes in science fiction and fantasy writing, the fan-voted Hugo Awards has been monopolized by nominations from Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies, groups who campaign against what they see as the fields' dominance by...
How does a microbe help us make artificial snow?
Interesting piece and video by Science magazine about how "a specialized protein from a bacterium that jump-starts the freezing process when water is close to 0°C—a talent the microbes normally use to damage their host plants" is used to help snowmaking at ski areas....
Lack of competition for Tesla chargers at Hooksett tolls is troubling
My Monitor column today wonders why the Tesla chargers at the Hooksett tolls aren't used more (there aren't that many Teslas on the road - d'oh!) and more importantly, why there aren't any chargers that can fit other electric cars. The answer to the latter: No other...
Putting scaffolding around a 200-year-old State house dome is not trivial
Lots of details in today's Monitor (here) about the scaffolding and repair project on the N.H. State house dome. Mostly I write so Geoff Forester could take a nighttime photo of the scaffolding.
Five obstacles facing self-driving cars, including when I change the tires
A nice piece on Vox today about the five main obstacles facing autonomous vehicles covers material I've thought about (weather limiting sensors, AI is bad at figuring out what people are thinking) but also some things I hadn't considered - such as: Many car...
Protests & politics get attention, but it’s business that killed big gas pipeline
For the past couple of years the proposed Kinder-Morgan gas pipeline through southern New Hampshire has created protests and political posturing galore, but it was sheer business that killed it: Not enough power companies signed up to buy gas under the long-term...
Autonomous cars instead of public transit – Beverly Hills leads the way
Beverly Hills - a small California city you may have heard of - is planning to create a publicly accessible system using autonomous vehicles as point-to-point transportation, instead of something old-fashioned like buses. This is forward-looking and cool, or...
Granite Geek on the radio: “The squid is all bright”
The Nashua Telegraph wins the headline award this week for my column, at least for babyboomer Who fans: "The squid is all bright" To understand what that means, you'd can read my column (with the Concord Monitor headline) or listen to my chat with NHPR's Peter...
Maine is edging toward the end of landline phones
The AP has a good story (seen here via the Portland Press-Herald site) about a Maine law that will let Fairpoint start edging away from the universal-service mandate, which requires landline phone companies to make access available to virtually everyone. The Maine law...
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