News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Life
Culture & Art
Hobbies
News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Culture & Art
Hobbies
Don't believe Einstein? Then explain Santa Claus! - Granite Geek
There’s no Granite Geek next week – it’s Christmas after all! – so here’s an advance look at next week’s Monitor column. There’s a standard way to shut down physics cranks who say they’ve disproved Einstein –for some reason, cranks never “disprove” scientists who aren’t famous – and that’s to point to your GPS. The satellite system […]
UNH Space Tech Hub gets first partnership (for $180K) - Granite Geek
he University of New Hampshire Space Tech Hub, part of the Space Science Center, today announced plans to partner with Laconia, N.H.- based Rogue SpaceSystems to build a 3D learning model that will provide information on high-energy electrons in space, helping plan and protect assets including satellites and spacecraft operating in that area. Rogue Space Systems Corporation received this recent […]
NH patents through Dec. 15 - 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 Dec. 15. *** Packaged Current Sensor Integrated Circuit ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS, LLC, Manchester, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12163983 B2, initially […]
Canada lynx sightings point to success in conservation efforts - Granite Geek
Canada lynx, the big-footed cousin of bobcats, are making it back into northern New England, as VTDigger notes in this story, which understandably has a Vermont focus. No guarantees it will continue, of course, but let’s hope. “The future presence of lynx in Vermont will depend on maintaining habitat connectivity between Vermont, New Hampshire, and […]
Looking for a (probably extinct) New Hampshire trout, via YouTube - Granite Geek
It’s embarrassing that it took a guy from New York to teach me a cool piece of ecological history in a local spot I’ve been to multiple times. And via YouTube, no less – egad! The spot is Dublin Pond, also called Dublin Lake, which is halfway between Peterborough and Keene perfect for casual kayaking. […]
NH patents through Dec. 15 - 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 Dec. 15. *** Packaged Current Sensor Integrated Circuit ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS, LLC, Manchester, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12163983 B2, initially […]
Childhood flu vaccination is falling here, there and everywhere - Granite Geek
Childhood flu vaccination is down 7% nationally this year compared to last year and the decline is a lot worse locally, reports Axios Boston: In Massachusetts, 58.7% of kids were vaccinated in the 2023-2024 season compared to 53.6% in the current 2024-2025 season (as of November). Vermont saw a 16.8% decline in childhood flu vaccinations […]
Plymouth State gets grant to develop first-of-its-kind Snow Drought index - Granite Geek
From PSU: With a two-year, $192,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), researchers at the Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute at Plymouth State University (PSU) will comb through nearly a century’s worth of snowpack data from across the Northeast to develop a Snow Drought Index and other tools to be used by NOAA, […]
Governor admits free market can't handle vital medical industry, urges government control - Granite Geek
That headline isn’t the way Gov. Sununu would put it but that’s the essence of his letter to the Biden administration – here’s an IndepthNH story about it – in which he said the administration needs to “become the leader of this national issue rather than outsourcing the problem to one manufacturer.” In other words, […]
December snow-killing "rain on snow" events have increased by 46% - Granite Geek
After yet another warm-rain-killing-snowpack event, New Hampshire Bulletin reports on analysis showing that it’s not our imagination: they really have increased. ROS days increased 17 percent between 1981-2010 and 1991-2020, Peachey found. Even more telling is that ROS days in December increased 46 percent between the two climatologies. In the earlier climatology, ROS days peaked […]
Multi-pronged tussle over N.H. state energy policy roles - Granite Geek
If you like seeing how the sausage is made, as they say, check out the detailed New Hampshire Bulletin article about upcoming struggle over the role of various regulators in shaping New Hampshire’s energy policy. Basically, there is disagreement about what exactly the long-established body the Public Utilities Commission should do compared to the relatively […]
Using A.I. 'is almost like dealing with an alien intelligence' - Granite Geek
Dartmouth Health sent out this article about a study of using A.I. to analyze radiographs (X-rays, to you and me). The whole article is linked below, but I want to highlight this quote because it’s really interesting: “It is incredibly easy to fall into the trap of presuming that the model ‘sees’ the same way […]
Vaccines are great; free vaccines for kids are greater - Granite Geek
New Hampshire residents have always been pretty sensible about getting ourselves vaccinated, certainly better than those scared-of-modernity goofballs in Vermont because we know a good deal when we see it. And you can’t get a much better deal than avoiding deadly diseases with an occasional injection. About $24 million is collected annually from health insurers […]
Doctors write 'solar prescriptions' for poor patients using power from their rooftop panels - Granite Geek
One of the arguments in favor of distributed energy (mostly behind-the-meter solar on rooftops) is that it allows us to do interesting things with electricity that can’t be done with the old model of getting power only from a big plant far away. A terrific example is happening in Boston, where Boston medical Center physicians […]
NH patents through Dec. 8 - 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 Dec. 8. *** Method of Manufacturing a Dielectric Lens ASTRONICS AEROSAT CORPORATION, Manchester, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12160042 B2, […]
This is the hottest year on record - but maybe the coldest year of the rest of your life - Granite Geek
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed what many experts anticipated: 2024 will almost certainly beat 2023 to become the hottest year on record. It will also be the first with an average temperature exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold – in fact the average temperature for 2024 is likely to be close to 1.6C above pre-industrial […]
Science (meaning us) thrives with the long-term view – who’s going to pay for it? - Granite Geek
When it comes to science, there’s something to be said for longevity. Consider the Lamprey River. The Lamprey, which flows 212 miles from Northwood through Durham to Newmarket, isn’t exactly a huge river but it is the largest contributor of fresh water to the Great Bay. That means it is also the largest source of […]
Science on Tap: The Air We Breathe - Granite Geek
The SEE Science Center’s twelfth season of Science on Tap discussions continues on December 10th. Science on Tap events are free, informal discussions with local scientists and experts on a particular topic. On Tuesday December 10 the topic will be: The Hyper Local Air We Breathe. Join us to learn how our constructed environment affects air quality. Discover how […]
NH patents through Dec. 1 - 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 Dec. 1. *** Pulsed High Power RF Protection Using Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS) Diode BAE SYSTEMS INFORMATION AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS INTEGRATION INC., Nashua, New […]
The scientifically dubious bills are trotting out in NH - Granite Geek
HB 2025-0912: Prohibiting the intentional release of polluting emissions, including cloud seeding, weather modification, excessive electromagnetic radio frequency, and microwave radiation and making penalties for violation of such prohibition. HB 2025-0528: prohibiting fluoridation of public water systems. HB 2025-0200: repealing the New Hampshire vaccine association. HB 2025-0164: Prohibiting electric vehicles in commercial parking garages. HB […]
Mass. utilitiy gets under the hood of running a 'virtual power plant' - Granite Geek
For people like me it seems obvious that utilities should embrace the “virtual power plant” concept of using connected devices like thermostats and water heaters, along with batteries, to balance out the grid’s needs without building more power plants or transmission lines. Easy-peasy! Or not, as this article from Canary Media makes clear. The very […]
Can drones spot crop disease from on high? - Granite Geek
From UNH News: Seeing the last leaves hanging on to trees in late Fall is a telling sign that New England dairy farmers have wrapped up the year’s field crop operations and are starting to think about what seeds to purchase and plant next spring. For many, the Brown MidRib (BMR) corn variety is an enticing choice […]
Unions: More offshore wind, please - Granite Geek
I’m often surprised that offshore wind doesn’t get more support from the big-corporate world in the U.S., since it requires big finance, big construction, big deals, just like oil and mining – in other words, it has lots of places where big corporations can make big bucks. One group that understands this is labor unions. […]
NH patents through Nov. 24 - 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 Nov. 24. *** Devices and Methods for Excluding the Left Atrial Appendage CONFORMAL MEDICAL, INC., Merrimack, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. […]
The benefits of donating organs - in this case, a brain - Granite Geek
When Ed Stein passed away in July after a long and happy life that was colored but not constrained by mild autism, his sister Kathy wanted to do something that would memorialize him. “He was the kind of guy where he would walk into a room and it would seem full,” she said of her […]
Remote weather monitoring expands on Mt. Washington - Granite Geek
On November 21, five new remote weather monitoring stations went live along the Mount Washington Cog Railway, on the western side of New England’s highest peak. The expansion of the Mount Washington Regional Mesonet (MWRM) kicks off an extensive expansion to enhance weather monitoring in the White Mountains and across New Hampshire. At the end […]
Finding early (very early!) evidence of fish-trapping in Belize - Granite Geek
UNH News: An archaeologist from the University of New Hampshire and her team have collected data which indicates the presence of a large-scale pre-Columbian fish-trapping facility. Discovered in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary (CTWS), the largest inland wetland in Belize, the team dated the construction of these fisheries to the Late Archaic period (cal. 2000-1900 […]
NH solar net metering program left unchanged but timeline isn't extended - Granite Geek
New Hampshire regulators have left in place the state’s net metering program, which pays owners of solar panels when they send power to the grid, but a looming expiration date could make financing more difficult. The order from the Public Utilities Commission makes no substantive changes to the program. Notably, it does not extend the termination […]
NH patents through Nov. 17 - 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 Nov. 17. *** Optical Identifier and System for Reading Same NEURSCIENCES LLC, Bedford, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12142308 B2, […]
NH patents through Nov. 17 - 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 Nov. 17. *** Optical Identifier and System for Reading Same NEURSCIENCES LLC, Bedford, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 12142308 B2, […]
Dartmouth course eyes A.I. from the humanities point of view - Granite Geek
Dartmouth College has a new class called Critical AI that looks at the history and sociocultural impacts of the technologies known as artificial intelligence. Dartmouth News story is here. The Department of English and Creative Writing class is being taught this fall by James “Jed” Dobson, an associate professor of English and creative writing and director […]
Now typewriters are riding the analog wave - Granite Geek
It’s hard to remember now, but in the Good Old Days – the decade through my teenage years, which is everybody’s definition of Good Old Days – the typewriter was just about the most interesting piece of technology in people’s homes. Whether manual or electric, the clickety-clack information machine was the product of a century of […]
Thomas Kurtz, Dartmouth co-creator of BASIC and DTSS, has died - Granite Geek
Thomas Kurtz, the Dartmouth professor who co-created BASIC and DTSS with John Kemeny, helping launch the whole idea of computing and networks, has died. He was 96. MSN has a good story. I interviewed Kurtz via email in 2018 as part of my successful push to get a highway historical marker honoring the creation of […]
Esports - competitive video games - becomes a varsity sport in NH high school - Granite Geek
The NHIAA – New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association – has added esports to the list of competitive high school varsity sorts, reports the Monitor in this story. NHIAA has designated two games for official tournaments hosted at SNHU’s Esports Arena. The first tournament will take place on Dec. 14 for Rocket League on PC (desktop […]