Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
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.
Tonight in Nashua: Science Cafe about heroin, opioids
Science Cafe New Hampshire in Nashua will discuss the science, medicine and policy needs of heroin and opioids. Panelists are pharmacist Vahrij Manoukian of Hollis Pharmacy; Chris Shambarger, liaison to the NH State Police, Paramedic Patty Stolarz of AMR Nashua, and...
CFL bulbs have gone from futuristic to out-of-date in the blink of an LED
The twisted compact fluorescent light bulb has long been used as a design element to represent up-to-date technology, but at the rate things are going it will soon be representing out-of-date technology. This begins a brilliantly written, deeply insightful and yet...
You learn something every day: There are ‘shed hunters’ (no, not garden sheds)
Today's Concord Monitor has a great piece in The Forum section recently about "shed hunters" - a term that refers to people who hunt for antlers that have been shed in the woods, as compared to people who try to find their garden shed in the dark. Who knew? Not me....
Garmin’s purchase of beloved Maine mapmaker has fans very nervous
At the risk of sounding decrepit and backward-looking, I love paper maps. I love online maps and smartphone mapping apps, of course, but there's nothing like a large detailed paper map to give you a sense of place and context. I'm not alone in this, as evidenced by a...
Offshore wind is finally real in the U.S. (in a tiny amount)
I've got a story in the Monitor today about the future capacity auction, which is kind of boring as finance but also interesting as a reflection of the changing face of the electric grid - but the most interesting bit is probably this sentence: The annual auction also...
No GMO labeling in New Hampshire
The New Hampshire House of Representatives killed a bill that would have required the labeled of foods that used genetically-modified ingredients, reports the Concord Monitor. (I covered a standing-room-only hearing on the issue last month, if you want to see more of...
Return to the Concord Monitor