Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Maine may try an innovative way to spur solar power
The Maine state legislature is considering a novel plan that appears to move rooftop solar power into more mainstream marketplace, reports Greentech Media: The bill proposes to replace net metering -- which credits rooftop solar customers at the full retail...
Atlantic salmon return to the Connecticut River – 5 of them, at least
The long attempts to bring Atlantic salmon back to the big rivers of southern New England, the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers, has pretty much failed. They just couldn't overcome all those dams preventing the fish from moving between sea and spawning ground, plus...
Remembering the worlds first wind farm – in New Hampshire
Nothing in particular prodded this story, except that I found a copy of it online beyond a paywall and thought I'd snag it before I lost the paywall access. This is from a story I wrote in 2013: The world’s first wind farm stood on the north side of Crotched Mountain...
The Navy brings back the sextant – take that, GPS
A high school buddy of mine who served in the Navy can do a very funny routine about trying to locate the ship's position with a sextant, ending with his captain dryly noting that he had decided placed their aircraft carrier was sitting in the midst of an Asian...
Chess club at North Country prison
Albert French, who has a USCF rating of 1921 making him one of the 20 best players in teh state, leads a chess club at the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility, a state prison in Berlin. NPR had a story about the program a couple of weeks ago: Here it is. I...
Malaria – yes, malaria – found in our white-tailed deer
A University of Vermont researcher is among those who has found a malaria parasite infecting white-tailed deer in New England. She had discovered a malaria parasite, Plasmodium odocoilei--that infects white-tailed deer. It's the first-ever malaria parasite known to...
Visiting a working granite quarry is lots of fun
A couple of weeks ago I visited Swenson Granite quarry in Concord, and the story ran Sunday. My photos are with it, and if I say so myself they're pretty good - which just goes to show that with a decent camera and lens (thanks, Monitor photo staff!) and an...
A little buried thorium will remain beneath a NH parking lot
You may not realize it but the mantles on gas camping laterns - fabric-like items that glow incredibly brightly with a relatively small amount of fuel - are radioactive. They contain thorium, enough to the point that there are warning labels on these lanterns. Turns...
When it comes to getting enough sleep, N.H. is pretty average
Ranking the 50 states according to this-or-that criteria is always fun, even if clicks-seeking websites have turned it into a joke. Here's today's fun ranking: Which states get the most sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The caveat, as is often the...
Granite Geek On The Air: The highway sign edition
If you want to hear me have trouble pronouncing "micro-prismatic" then you should listen to my weekly chat with Peter Beillo of NH Public Radio. If you don't want to hear it, you can read the transcript. Here it is, either way.
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