Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Power prices went insane on Xmas Eve – why?
Wholesale power prices in New England rose more than 10-fold for a while on Christmas Eve, apparently because an unnamed power plant stopped producing as much as expected and we couldn't import as much electricity from New York and Canada - presumably because they...
As we enter Year 4 of the Pandemic Era, my mask is (sigh) still on
Three times in 2022 it looked like I might be able to finally stop wearing that annoying face mask in public. In late February, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in New Hampshire, which is the best metric for the spread of the disease, plummeted downward...
Museum exhibit about Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
The Hubbard Brooks Experimental Forest is one of the hidden scientific gems of New Hampshire. There's an interesting-looking art/science exhibit about it opening at Plymouth State that could be worth checking out. Here;s the press release: Plymouth State...
Why is NH still burning coal for power?
Two reporters with the Granite State News Collaborative took a long look at why Merrimack Station in Bow is still burning coal for electricity - the last plant in New England to do so. (Spoiler alert: Capacity auction.) The story doesn't cover anything that I and many...
Patents in NH through Jan. 1
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Jan. 1 *** Sanitization Device and Adaptor for Use With the Same SOCLEAN INC., Peterborough,...
Home battery backup is rare in NH but it does exist
Robert Holt’s reaction after his neighborhood lost power in the recent storm was different than mine. “This is, like, perfect! This is how it’s supposed to go!” he said, looking back at how his home performed. Holt was happy because his home is one of the few in New...
Coyote hunting in Massachusetts
Shooting coyotes is, surprisingly, a poor way to reduce the population because of the way they react as a group. (I mentioned it in this story about attempts to regulate coyote hunting in the state; right now you can hunt coyotes any time you want.) But that doesn't...
Manchester is NH’s grid leader
Thanks to digital mapping, it's possible to calculate how grid-like any city's street layout can be. This story in The Economist explains it: Geoff Boeing of the University of Southern California created a measure of city “entropy”, looking at how consistent the...
N.H. patents through Dec. 25 (w/ no Santa jokes)
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Dec. 25. *** Pre-Assembled Coupling Assemblies With Pipe Fitting ASC ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS,...
N.H. bitcoin advocate convicted of fraud
(The Union-Leader has more details here, although you may hit the paywall) Associated Press: A New Hampshire man was convicted Thursday of running an unlicensed bitcoin exchange business and laundering over $10 million in proceeds of romance scams and other internet...
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