News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Life
Culture & Art
Hobbies
News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Culture & Art
Hobbies
NH patents through Aug. 10 - Granite Geek
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Aug. 10. Power Budget Calculation Using Power Headroom PARALLEL WIRELESS, INC., Nashua, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12382401 B2, initially […]
When floods hit dirt roads, runoff hits waterways - Granite Geek
I live across the street from a dirt road that runs down a short but steep hill. When there are really heavy rains, as happens more often these days thanks to our warming atmosphere, sand can flow clear across the road into my driveway and the town has to come out and push the sand […]
NH patents through Aug. 3 - Granite Geek
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Aug. 3. *** Reinforced Wood Fiber Core and Method of Making Thereof SOUHEGAN WOOD PRODUCTS INC., Wilton, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent […]
The NH state marsupial is ... - Granite Geek
The opossum, of course. What other choice was there? U-L story here. When I was a kid, possums were a southern thing. I don’t think they were found in New Hampshire back then, or at least were very rare. Just another species moving north as we change the climate.
NH: At least we don't have to worry about wildfires like out West. Climate change: Oh, yeah? - Granite Geek
Compound interest in banks is fun. Compound disasters in our surroundings, not so much. Consider wildfires, as the town of Henniker is currently doing. We haven’t thought much about wildfires in New Hampshire for 125 years, since the White Mountains stopped being ignited by cinders from logging trains. But climate change is bringing wildfires back […]
Mass. town banned gas hookups, 'did not slow new construction or make it more expensive' - Granite Geek
Canary Media has a story about Lexington, Mass., doing what more towns should do – banning new nat-gas hookups in buildings – and the result on housing construction. Surprisingly, perhaps, it had no effect. Whether this is translatable everywhere is uncertain, since Lexington is a pretty well off town in an area with a ton […]
Dartmouth joins search for ways to use AI to treat addiction and mental health disorders - Granite Geek
ChatGPT and other AI language models can drive people crazy (as has been shown, alarmingly) so maybe it can help keep them sane. That’s roughly the idea behind “a new artificial intelligence institute backed by the National Science Foundation, building on the university’s pioneering research in developing digital therapeutics for treating addiction and behavioral and […]
NH firm: We're first to deploy 1 million kilometers of undersea cables - Granite Geek
New Hampshire, like many places, has a lot of large companies that few know about because they don’t sell directly to consumers. SubCom of Newington is one of those. It recently celebrated a milestone this month when it became the first company to deploy 1 million kilometers of subsea cable systems. It helps that it […]
Manchester's airport is too close to Logan for its own good (redux) - Granite Geek
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport was the only airport in New England to see passenger traffic decline last year, despite the arrival of new airlines and routes. While the decline was small — less than 1 percent — the numbers are a disappointment to boosters of what was once the fastest-growing airport in the country. This reflects […]
NH patents through July 27 - Granite Geek
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through July 27. Controlled-Impedance Compliant Cable Termination ARDENT CONCEPTS, INC., Hampton, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12368270 B2, initially filed May […]
That weird carved plaque on Kearsarge has seen better days - Granite Geek
In my long journalism career I have never had a chance to combine geometry, historical preservation, vandalism, hiking, map-making, state governance and giant poles atop nail kegs into a single article. Until today. The story’s news hook, as we journalists say, involves what might be the state’s most unusual historical plaque. It was carved into […]
How to get weather emergency alerts - Granite Geek
The flooding in Texas. North Carolina and New York City, wildfires in Canada and record-breaking heat in New England are reminders that the supercharged climate means disaster can strike anywhere at any time. It also means that interest in weather alerts and emergency preparation, once limited to places like Tornado Alley, are entering the New […]
'World’s largest permanent Lego installation at minifigure scale' - Granite Geek
That is how SEE Science Center in Manchester’s Millyard describes its enormous (22 feet long) model of the millyard built with Lego bricks. I think “permanent” is the key word because I’ve seen larger city models at Legolands but that’s nit-picking. If you’re a Lego fan (and I suspect a non-small portion of people who […]
NH keeps growing slowly with a few hot (and cold) spots - Granite Geek
See the interactive map at https://nhfpi.org/blog/lakes-and-mountains-lead-new-hampshires-population-growth-while-some-cities-shrink/ From NH Fiscal Policy Institute: New U.S. Census Bureau estimates indicate that while New Hampshire’s population grew by about 30,300 people (2.2 percent) between 2020 and 2024, that growth was not evenly distributed across municipalities. The Lakes Region and White Mountains saw some of the fastest population increases, likely […]
NH governor vetoes law to make it easier to skip vaccines - Granite Geek
In a pleasant surprise, Gov. Ayotte has vetoed (that is, killed) House Bill 358, which would make it easier for parents to apply for religious exemptions to child vaccine requirements in school. New Hampshire used to have a very good rate of vaccination for kids entering kindergarten but it has slipped badly as part of the […]
Net-zero development in NH to open - Granite Geek
A net-zero housing development in Hudson that I wrote about a year ago will have a ribbon cutting next week. This 13-lot, 26-unit condex (duplex condos) subdivision features all-electric homes designed to produce as much energy as they consume thanks to high-performance building design, rooftop solar, and smart energy systems. They cost $700,000 each, which […]
Air conditioning is killed the planet (said the guy with whole-house heating) - Granite Geek
You know those irritating people who like to announce that they don’t watch TV as if it’s a mark of cultural superiority? I’m afraid that I’m one of them, except my snobbery involves air conditioning. “Air conditioning?” I’ll ask with a wry smile, amused at the presumption. “We don’t have that in our house. This […]
Rooftop solar cut New England's power needs by 5% last year - Granite Geek
From ISO-NE: Solar power installations that are not directly connected to the region’s grid reduced the amount of electricity consumed by New Englanders in 2024 by about 5%. Photovoltaic (PV) systems that are considered “behind all meters” last year reduced demand on New England’s bulk electric system by an estimated 5,266 gigawatt-hours (GWh)—enough electric energy […]
NH patents through July 20 - Granite Geek
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through July 20. Thermocompression Bonding With Passivated Gold Contacting Metal SET NORTH AMERICA, LLC, Chester, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12363877 […]
As quantum mechanics turns 100, it is sneaking into everyday life - Granite Geek
There is no science more removed from practical life than quantum mechanics. Or so I thought. In the 100 years since it was first developed — 2025 is the field’s centenary year, more or less — the physics of the very small has done away with almost everything we take for granted, such as being […]
NH patents through July 13 - Granite Geek
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through July 13. Measuring Abrasive Flow Rates in a Conduit HYPERTHERM, INC., Hanover, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12350790 B2, initially […]
- Granite Geek
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through July 13. Measuring Abrasive Flow Rates in a Conduit HYPERTHERM, INC., Hanover, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12350790 B2, initially […]
Dartmouth grad got a Super Bowl ring, but ... - Granite Geek
A Dartmouth grad got a Super Bowl ring, reports the college. But for geeky reasons. She is a quantitative analyst for the Eagles, a numbers guru who helps make sense of the nearly infinite data points available to her employer. She and her colleagues make data-driven recommendations to help with decisions made by the team’s […]
A wall-mounted printer becomes self-creating artwork - Granite Geek
There’s something a bit odd about the framed drawing that hangs on the wall of Revelstoke Coffee: It keeps changing itself. “We were brainstorming and I thought, what if it is art that makes art?” said Richard Stoyle, who built the computer-controlled device that has been in the Main Street shop for three months. It […]
The heat dome in the coolest summer of the rest of our lives - Granite Geek
I was on vacation playing with a grandchild during last week’s heat dome, so I didn’t pay much attention to the details. Now I’m back at work and wondering: How bad was it? Bad, of course. The state’s official thermometer at Concord airport broke the daily heat record on both Monday and Tuesday, with the […]
Heat domes are confounding forecasters - Granite Geek
Bloomberg Green has a story about heat domes, like the one that roasted us last week, and how their behavior is confounding weather forecasters. (The whole story is behind a paywall but you can read most of it if you subscribe to their Green Daily newsletter.) Meteorologists know, for example, the jet stream — a river of […]
This is why you don't mess with wild animals, even the cute friendly ones - Granite Geek
A New Hampshire man has been hospitalized with symptoms consistent with rabies after being bitten by his pet raccoon, leading Fish and Game to remind people to stay away from wild animals because of the danger of the deadly disease. Rabies is almost always fatal in humans but it is extremely rare for people to […]
Backpacks on birds - Granite Geek
OK, they’re not really backpacks, they’re solar-powered tags that let UNH researchers see where the salt marsh sparrows are going as part of preservation efforts. Sensors in the field spick up signals as the birds fly by. NHPR has the story here. The relationship between these sparrows and salt marshes is so significant that they […]
Solar, batteries saved us many millions during the heat dome - Granite Geek
Canary Media looked at New England’s response to the recent heat dome and said, as I have, that 21st-century energy (solar, batteries) saved our bacon: As temperatures across New England soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in recent weeks, solar panels and batteries helped keep air conditioners running while reducing fossil-fuel generation and likely saving consumers more than […]
How to make a space suit (sewing machines are involved) - Granite Geek
NOTE: Her talk is Thursday, July 9. Nancy-Lee Rodden was given an unexpected task after she got an accounting degree in college and started working. “One of my first jobs was to figure out how much it cost to build a space suit,” said Rodden, a native of Nashua. The firm, ILC Dover in Delaware, […]
NH patents through Juyly 6 - Granite Geek
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through July 6. Randomized SPI for Distributed IPsec PARALLEL WIRELESS, INC., Nashua, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12348486 B2, initially filed […]
A wall-mounted printer becomes self-creating artwork - Granite Geek
There’s something a bit odd about the framed drawing that hangs on the wall of Revelstoke Coffee: It keeps changing itself. “We were brainstorming and I thought, what if it is art that makes art?” said Richard Stoyle, who built the computer-controlled device that has been in the Main Street shop for three months. It […]
The heat dome in the coolest summer of the rest of our lives - Granite Geek
I was on vacation playing with a grandchild during last week’s heat dome, so I didn’t pay much attention to the details. Now I’m back at work and wondering: How bad was it? Bad, of course. The state’s official thermometer at Concord airport broke the daily heat record on both Monday and Tuesday, with the […]
This is why you don't mess with wild animals, even the cute friendly ones - Granite Geek
A New Hampshire man has been hospitalized with symptoms consistent with rabies after being bitten by his pet raccoon, leading Fish and Game to remind people to stay away from wild animals because of the danger of the deadly disease. Rabies is almost always fatal in humans but it is extremely rare for people to […]
Changing climate means trees are keeping more nitrogen, depriving the soil - Granite Geek
Warmer seasons and later onset of cold weather in the Northeast appears to be changing the chemical composition of leaves that fall from hardwood trees, reducing the amount of nitrogen available in the soil. Less soil nitrogen (actually, a different carbon-nitrogen ratio) makes it harder for new plants to grow. That’s the conclusion of experiments […]