This past winter in New England was several degrees warmer than usual (details depend on where exactly you are) and only had one real cold snap, which was terrible from the point of view of outdoor sports, wildlife and anybody with any sense. On the other hand, we needed to use less electricity for heating. Well, sort of. ISO-New England’s Winter recap (read the release here) notes that New England used slightly (1.5%) more electricity this winter (Dec. through Feb.) than last – 30,401 GWh vs. 29.958 GWh. That’s right, more. But importantly, the peak usage – the amount of electricity used duri ..read more

(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 April 28. *** System and Method Improving Inbound Leads and Phone Calls Processing in Sales and Marketing Engagement MICRO MACRO ASSETS, LLC, Salem, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 11968326 B2, initially filed Dec. 29, 2022) developed by Senraj Soundar, Salem, New Hampshire, for “System and method improving inbound leads and phone calls processing in sales and marketing engagement ..read more

With the H5N1 virus (bird flu) showing up in milk from some U.S. cow herds (although not in NH so far), a question arises: What about raw milk? Pasteurization kills off viruses – that’s the whole point – so is there a risk of getting bird flu or related illness if you drink raw milk with H5N1? Yes, a risk. Enough of a risk that those in the know say to avoid it for the time being, as reported in this StatNews story: “I absolutely wouldn’t go anywhere near raw milk in terms of consuming it,” said Richard Webby, an influenza virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn ..read more

The Northeast has a 50-60% chance of a hotter-than-normal summer this year, says NOAA. Ugh ..read more

he era of electric school buses has finally arrived in New Hampshire bringing less pollution, less road noise and maybe even students who are less rambunctious. “Anecdotally it brings the noise of the students down on the bus, because they’re not shouting over the engine,” said Rachel Lane, vice president of Electrification & Sustainability at Student Transportation of America, which operates bus services for a number of school systems. “I have heard bits and pieces where the kids on these buses, they come into school a little bit calmer because their ride has been calmer. Are t ..read more

I wrote last December (here) about the 3-D printer that the University of Maine has developed to print out a house, saying that a bigger one is coming. It has arrived, as the Associated Press reports: The world’s largest 3D printer has created a house that can cut construction time and labor. An even larger printer unveiled on Tuesday may one day create entire neighborhoods. The machine revealed Tuesday at the University of Maine is four times larger than the first one — commissioned less than five years ago — and capable of printing ever mightier objects. That includes scaling up its 3D-prin ..read more

If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter and want to subscribe, add your email at the Granite Geek blog: granitegeek.concordmonitor.com  Suggestions or comments? Drop me a line: dbrooks@cmonitor.com I’m on Mastodon these days, the newsie.social server ..read more

From UNH Extension: The sunny yellow flowerhead of the common dandelion is a familiar sight in New Hampshire lawns. Although long regarded as a pervasive weed, it has gained more positive attention in recent years for its potential to provide an early spring food source for generalist pollinator species. But does it?  The Movement to Support Pollinators  A popular “No Mow May” movement started in the UK to encourage people to hold off cutting their grass to let the weeds flower and provide food for insects, like bees, hoverflies, beetles, and butterflies.  Dandelions certainly h ..read more

More than 28 years ago I interviewed Kenneth Levasseur, a professor at UMass-Lowell, about his innovative new project: A math class via email. In the resulting column I noted that the course, the school’s first official online class, would have students answer questions sent by Levasseur, use email to “pepper him with questions and comments” and put together a “software notebook to demonstrate their knowledge.” In 1995, it was news that a nearby university (I was working in Nashua at the time) offered a credit class via the Internet in any form since schools were just starting to tiptoe into ..read more

(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 April 21. *** Rod End With Locking Device for Struts ALBANY ENGINEERED COMPOSITES, INC., Rochester, New Hampshire has been assigned a patent (No. US 11959511 B2, initially filed April 8, 2021) developed by three inventors Ralph Funck, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Martin Welsch, Henschtal, Germany; and Alexander Wieland, Rodalben, Germany, for “Rod end with locking device for struts.” *** Midair Deployment of ..read more