Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
‘Tiny houses’ raise not-so-tiny regulatory questions
You've probably been hearing a lot lately about tiny houses - houses smaller than 1,000 square feet houses on individual foundations or trailers, usually built on site unlike manufactured housing and with more attention to energy efficiency and internal detail (and...
A flight-calculating slide rule used by Mr. Spock is real, still used 75 years after its invention
In pre-computer days, there were many variations of the slide rule. These were portable devices of varying shapes, with various scales (often logarithmic), that had different sliding or turning markers. They were used to simplify conversions or calculations, and their...
Blockchain was used in a NASDAQ transaction, which may be less earth-shaking than it sounds
Although NASDAQ says a recent share transaction was the first private securities issuance documented with a blockchain (the technology underlying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies), this Quartz piece notes that it is more of a PR stunt than anything wildly...
A soft-bottomed boat is better when you’re untangling net-snared whales
A $20,000 grant will be used by the Maine Department of Marine Resources to buy a soft bottom inflatable boat that can maneuver more safely and effectively when Maine Marine Patrol respond to entangled whales. “Often, responders have to pull alongside an entangled...
If we have distributed energy production, why not distributed sewage processing?
Interesting article in the Boston Globe today about an idea from the Charles River Watershed Association: Develop lots of relatively small sewage-processing systems instead of a few really big ones, and combine them with food waste composting to produce electricity...
The dulcet tones of GraniteGeek on the radio
Brady Carlson and I did not sing "chestnuts roasting by an open fire," so it's safe to listen to our talk about restoring the American chestnut to eastern forests - which you can do by clicking right here.
Robotic dinosaurs in New Hampshire! (No, it’s not a political commentary)
The SEE Science Center in the Manchester Millyard is holding over a traveling exhibition of robotic dinosaurs because ... well, robotic dinosaurs. It claims 6 species of dinosaurs, two Cretaceous sea creatures and a pterosaur. Visitors will be inspired by a total of...
First snowstorm raises the important issue: Wipers up or wipers down?
We are finally - FINALLY! - getting some snow today, and while it's pretty crappy, more like big white icy pellets than snowflakes, I'll take it. Plus, it's a good excuse to revisit one of my favorite stories, which I wrote two winters ago, concerning the burning...
Too hot? Cool off by reading the Farmer’s Almanac predictions for recent weather
A screenshot to remind you of how wonderfully accurate the Old Farmer's Almanac is in its secret-sauce weather predictions.
Four NH transfer stations actually recycle Christmas lights
Recycling Christmas lights is not easy, separating out the plastic coasting and the bulbs from the metal - which is why most places just heave them into the landfill when they break, which they always do. The Concord Monitor reports that four new Hampshire transfer...
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