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Granite Geek NH

@granitegeeknh.bsky.social
1.1K followers 627 following 4.9K posts

Daily newspaper reporter for 48 years & counting. Concord Monitor (New Hampshire, the Granite State). Sci/tech, business, energy, environment. Granite Geek blog & newsletter since 2006: granitegeek.org. dbrooks@cmonitor.com. he/him

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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 6h
Like everybody I sometimes get email from a company about an order when a customer has put in the wrong email address. This one today might be the best.
DW Brooks Funeral Home, thanks for shopping locally!
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Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 6h
Pediatricians renew call to ban raw milk as anti-science rhetoric reigns arstechnica.com/health/2026/...
arstechnica.com
Pediatricians renew call to ban raw milk as anti-science rhetoric reigns
In renewed policy, pediatricians review the benefits of heating milk to kill germs.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 12h
That reminds me, I need to back up my system ... www.concordmonitor.com/2026/10/07/c...
concordmonitor.com
County says backups saved it from paying ransom after cyberattack - Concord Monitor
Merrimack County restored systems via backups following a late August ransomware attack; few details available yet.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Big jump in maximum wind power for New England: 2,200 MW today, a 10% increase from the previous maximum of 2,000 MW. Somebody got hooked up into the grid. A year ago the maximum was 1,430 This is about 15% of the maximum grid usage at the time.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I try not to be the cranky old guy ranting that I've done the same story too many times and I can't stand it!!! but anything leaf-peeping-related brings out the grump in me. This is as close as I'll get. www.concordmonitor.com/2026/10/05/o...
concordmonitor.com
On a scale of 1 to 10, this year's foliage season is... - Concord Monitor
New Hampshire lacks an objective way to rank its annual foliage season, following the cancellation of a University of New Hampshire research project intended to quantify color changes through satellit...
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
After three decades in NH and at least 100 visits to Boston, walked the Freedom Trail this weekend. It was fun. Took the ferry back from the Constitution, which was eqqally fun. Classic case of "locals don't do tourist stuff unless family members visit"
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This doesn't count plain hybrids as "gasoline-only" so it's slightly misleading - but it's still a big deal.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/b...
techcrunch.com
BMW built the same car for gas and electric. The EV is $4,400 cheaper. | TechCrunch
The new BMW 3 Series shows just how quickly EVs have caught up to fossil fuel vehicles on pricing.
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worm @rfksbrainworm.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If you ever wondered why visible light is those particular wavelengths, it's because life evolved to see in the narrow range where water is transparent
Diagram of absorption of emf by water. There's a gap right that dips in the 500 nm range
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Installed a heat pump a couple weeks ago just in time for New Hampshire autumn. Oil-fired furnace, get thee behind me! Today it's well over 70 now and so humid I'm tempted to test the air conditioning part of it.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This is a big deal and not just for Dolly Parton fans - Nashville's a hub for Southwest so this gives Manchester more one-change connections throughout the country. It's also a nice expansion from the endless flights to Florida. www.concordmonitor.com/2026/10/01/m...
concordmonitor.com
Southwest offers direct flight to Nashville from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport - Concord Monitor
Southwest Airlines will add daily nonstop flights to Nashville from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Might make an interesting sandwich. But a more expensive sandwich.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It doesn't feel like New Hampshire is in a drought because we've had regular rainfall as shown by our wildfire rating which has been "low" most all of 2026. But regular rain isn't necessarily enough rain; we've accumulated a rainfall deficit which is showing up in our groundwater.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Those night minimums are real killers. Literally. It used to sound over-the-top to say that parts of the world would become uninhabitable due to climate change. It's about to come true.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I could probably turn my beat into nothing but A.I. and climate change www.concordmonitor.com/2026/09/30/a...
concordmonitor.com
N.H. Authors seek shares of Anthropic's $1.5B settlement - Concord Monitor
N.H .authors are part of a $1.5 billion settlement by A.I. company Anthropic, but that doesn't answer bigger questions about fair use and what artificial intelligence is doing to writing and publishin...
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
There was a nuclear-power summit in New England. Here's my opinion.
We really need to build a ton of solar, wind and batteries and make changes to grid operations and to the way we use energy. But that's complicated. It's more fun to geek about a single type of technology!
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
We have guests coming for the weekend. Our microwave just died - and because of the space we built for it, only one model can fit and nobody around here carries it. Fortunately, the guests are relatives. You're allowed to cut corners for relatives!
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Prof Ray Wills @profraywills.futuresmart.com.au · 30/08/2026
COP28 pledge for a nuclear tripling of new nuclear build was in December 2023 Since that target announced the world has installed: ☀️ Solar Power: ~1,230 GW 💨 Wind Power: ~280 GW 🔋 Battery Storage: ~185 GW ☢️ Nuclear: ~0 GW
electricity generation by energy source
build time of power plants comparedelectricity generation by energy source from year source exceeds 100TWh
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
My free weekly newsletter goes out in (checks clock) 8 minutes, so it's probably too late to sign up this week. But you can read all the stories, and sign up for next week's newsletter, at the blog: granitegeek.org
granitegeek.org
Granite Geek - Concord Monitor
Sci-tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire by David Brooks WHO IS THE GEEK? David Brooks has written a weekly science/tech newspaper column since 1991 – yes, that long – and has written this blog si...
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
My favorite story in the Monitor today. Doesn't play it for cutesy laughs but doesn't try to make it seem more than it is. The flavor of drinking water is a big part of quality of life. My son, living near Philly, still misses our well water. www.concordmonitor.com/2026/09/30/c...
concordmonitor.com
Concord was disqualified from a state drinking water taste test. Officials say it's 'water under the bridge.' - Concord Monitor
Concord has been so dominant in the state’s competition for best-tasting drinking water that the city manager has compared its success to the great Boston sports dynasties of his generation. The capital city brought home the title of best-tasting tap water in New Hampshire in six of the last eight annual state competitions. This past […]
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Growing crops indoors, with LEDs or aquaponics, sounds cool and even reasonable if talking about greenhouses rather than "vertical farms." But the economics doesn't always work out. www.mainepublic.org/climate/2026...
mainepublic.org
Springworks Farms' Lisbon headquarters for sale
The aquaponic vegetable operation appears to have shuttered.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Are they going to suspend the surcharge for registering an electric vehicle too? No, didn't think so
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Darn. I was looking forward to this as an intriguing departure. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/29/a...
bostonglobe.com
‘Digger’ is the worst movie of Tom Cruise’s career - The Boston Globe
As Denzel said in ‘Malcolm X,’ you’ve been ‘hoodwinked and bamboozled’ by this film’s mendacious marketing.
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Terre-Strial @terre-strial.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert, 1965
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Maybe it's age but I find few things less interesting than digging up a time capsule. I've covered or seen coverage of dozens of them over the years and none had anything of any particular interest.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We know the answer but in case you, like many of us, think a small wind turbine would be cool to have ...
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I threw my back out yesterday, as I do every few years. Almost immobile then, slow-walking with a cane now. It never happens after something dramatic - carrying people from a burning building or lifting a car off an accident victim. I did it yesterday by putting on a sock.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Mighty Sparrow's "Conga Man" is one of the funniest and also most discomforting dance tunes around. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/a...
nytimes.com
The Mighty Sparrow, Trinidadian Titan of Calypso, Is Dead at 91
He was sometimes described as the last of the true calypso singers. But in fact he simultaneously preserved calypso tradition and invented it anew.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Ocean-spanning kelvin wave (discovered by Lord Kelvin of the temperature scale) is coming. Indirect result of climate change. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Concern mounts over slow-moving, planetary-scale ‘kelvin’ wave heading for California
The ocean phenomenon could raise sea levels by up to a foot as El Niño keeps warm water trapped along the coast
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 27/09/2026
You say that a wave of nuclear hype is crashing on the shoals of "cost and regulatory hurdles"? Huh.
bloomberg.com
AI’s Nuclear Power Push Runs Into Cost and Regulatory Hurdles
Nuclear startups in the US have pulled in $4.6 billion this year. But even with surging demand from data centers, it will take many years for most new reactors to get switched on.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Wind turbines like the Nor'Easter - New England has set a new wind-power record (2020 MW) as well as its third-highest output, in the last 18 hours.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
TIL that the Eulerian walk problem of the bridges of Königsberg (you can't cross all of the seven just once) was solved by the Soviet Union in World War II: They destroyed a couple of the bridges with bombs.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Geofencing watercraft and snowmobiles and ATVS to limit speeds or keep them away from sensitive areas - fantastic idea! I can hear the "freedom" screaming already. cleantechnica.com/2026/09/24/t...
cleantechnica.com
Taiga Launches OS-5 Software, Bringing Industry-First Geofencing Its Electric Fleet - CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription, on Patreon, or on Stripe. Help us produce all of the high-quality, original content we publish week after week despite the challenges of c...
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Following last week's Science Cafe in Concord on A.I., the Wilton Town Hall Theater - the best art-house theater in New Hampshire - is showing Spielberg's A.I., Ex Machina (which is very good) and Schwarzenegger's Total Recall.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If you're going to fiddle on your phone anyway ... www.concordmonitor.com/2026/09/24/n...
concordmonitor.com
New solar tags track Monarch migrations across America - Concord Monitor
NH Audubon uses new solar-powered tags to track Monarch migrations via a crowdsourced app to help save declining populations.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I think we'd be further along but not as much as we might think; the pushback was very, very strong even then.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Neal Kurk can take a bow.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The way AI will damage is when it starts interacting with other versions of itself, so the whole system spirals out of human control. This is a tiny example.
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Michael Byron #Fella @michaelby.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
'Solar For All, Everywhere': Global Leaders Pitch the Sun as a Solution to Climate Crisis in Open Letter www.commondreams.org/news/solar-f...
commondreams.org
'Solar For All, Everywhere': Global Leaders Pitch the Sun as a Solution to Climate Crisis in Open Letter | Common Dreams
"The path forward is difficult, but the way is clear. We want solar for everyone, everywhere, before the decade is out."
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Today's research project that showed the opposite of what I expected: www.concordmonitor.com/2026/09/22/d...
concordmonitor.com
Climate change made Northeast droughts less intense - Concord Monitor
A Dartmouth study shows climate change has caused fewer and less intense droughts in the Northeast due to increased precipitation.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Boston has four year-round ferries and four seasonal ones. Not autos, just passengers. They could do this. cleantechnica.com/2026/09/21/n...
cleantechnica.com
Norway’s Bastø Electric Shows What Five Years of Ferry Electrification Looks Like - CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription, on Patreon, or on Stripe. Help us produce all of the high-quality, original content we publish week after week despite the challenges of c...
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This is an obvious pitch for places like New Hampshire where the population is increasingly beyond middle-aged and worried about "aging in place." www.revisionenergy.com/blog/aging-i...
revisionenergy.com
Aging in Place: How Solar, Battery Storage, and Heat Pumps Can Help You Stay Comfortable at Home Longer  - ReVision Energy
New Englanders have a long history of independence and resilience – that’s why many homeowners are hoping
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This is going to cause a real traffic mess for a long time in the state's biggest city. Fortunately, New Hampshire has lots of public transit options. hahahahahahahaaa!!!!!! www.unionleader.com/news/local/m...
unionleader.com
Manchester closes Queen City Bridge over structural safety concerns
The Queen City Bridge in Manchester has been closed until further notice after potential structural deficiencies were found during a routine inspection by state transportation officials on Monday.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
snowbrains.com/scientists-i...
snowbrains.com
Scientists in New England Will Ramp Up Snowpack Monitoring This Winter
Scientists in New England will monitor the snowpack around the region like never before with devices they created
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
One thing about reporter newsletters - they reveal the deep secrets of journalism. This is the start of today's Monitor email: "ICYMI: Science Cafe was an enormous success. Such a success that, to my dismay, there was no leftover pizza awaiting my arrival at the office yesterday morning."
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Today's "good news" (which these days is usually "not quite as awful as you feared news") www.concordmonitor.com/2026/09/16/c...
concordmonitor.com
Science Cafe heard that maybe A.I. Armageddon isn't in the cards, after all - Concord Monitor
Professors Nick Smith and James Dobson discussed AI risks and industry motives at a recent Concord Science Cafe event.
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I've gotten on a PR mailing list concerning AI and hunting, for some reason. This is today's subject line and my response was "nearly?!?!?!?"
"Nearly 3 in 4 Americans reject armed hunting drones"
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Once of the most annoying things about losing your hearing is that you can't understand conversations in the room that aren't aimed right at you. So if something comes up related to you and younger folks look over expectantly, waiting for a clever comment, you can only stare blankly and smile.
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Porteño @ploppedballs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
People need to plan for worsening heat/storms/floods for the rest of their lives because it will take at least 50 years and perhaps more to reverse climate change, if ever. Why? 1/
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Granite Geek NH @granitegeeknh.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Another NH town putting solar on a closed landfill. www.concordmonitor.com/2026/09/15/h...
concordmonitor.com
Hooksett begins construction on landfill solar array project - Concord Monitor
Hooksett moves forward with a new solar project on its closed landfill, aiming to lower energy costs and carbon emissions.
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