One to go: You’ve done it again, intrepid innovators – another winter workweek in the bag, another well-earned weekend in the offing.
Great job! But before we put up our feet, we’ve got to wrap up our Friday, so let’s get to it.
In the clutch: Hug it out today.
Sweet embraceable you: It’s Jan. 21 out there, and whether you prefer National Hug Day or National Hugging Day, go ahead and put the squeeze on someone you love.
The white one: Today is also National New England Clam Chowder Day, which is tasty but not to be confused with Feb. 25’s National Clam Chowder Day, which doesn’t discriminate between its vichyssoises.
If you crave some crunch with your soup, consider National Granola Bar Day, celebrating the wholesome little bricks this and every Jan. 21.
Hot off the press: Also adding a little bite was author William Brown, who penned the first American novel – “The Power of Sympathy, or The Triumph of Nature,” a tawdry tale of illicit love published on this date in 1789.
Where the wild things are: Speaking of going au naturel, the Wilderness Society – still America’s largest and busiest advocate for wilderness preservation – was formally founded on Jan. 21, 1935.
Finding Nemo: The USS Nautilus, the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine, was christened by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower and launched into Connecticut’s Thames River on this date in 1954.
Named for the fictional submersible commanded by Captain Nemo in “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” the Nautilus – which became the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole – finally retired in 1979.
Big deal: The Boeing 747 debuted in 1970.
Mumbo jumbo: The Jumbo-Jet Age arrived on this date in 1970, when a giant Pan American World Airways 747 – the first to enter commercial service – left John F. Kennedy International Airport, bound for London.
Although the history books are firm on the Jan. 21 date, the actual history is a little fuzzy – especially about the precise departure time of the overnight red-eye.
Crossing the SSTs: And in other groundbreaking aviation news, the first two Concorde flights carrying commercial passengers simultaneously took off from London’s Heathrow Airport and Paris’ Orly Airport 46 years ago today.
Busting the sound barrier – and cutting travel time by more than half – the English flight made for Bahrain in the Persian Gulf and the French flight sped to Senegal, en route to Rio de Janeiro.
Tough beat: American artificial-heart recipient Barney Clark (1921-1983) – who received the first plastic-and-metal Jarvik 7, which was not exactly a medical miracle – would be 101 years old today.
Prime cut: Nicklaus, golden standard.
Also born on Jan. 21 were American dentist Horace Wells (1815-1848), who pioneered the use of dental anesthesia; German chemist Felix Hoffmann (1868-1946), the first to synthesize both aspirin and heroin; French couturier Christian Dior (1905-1957), who gave women’s fashion a post-World War II makeover; legendary British funnyman Alfred Hawthorne “Benny” Hill (1924-1992), a madcap mix of slapstick, burlesque and highbrow humor; and American computer programmer, business magnate and philanthropist Paul Allen (1953-2018), who sparked the microcomputer revolution by co-founding the Microsoft Corp.
Masters class: And take a bow, Jack William Nicklaus! The retired professional golfer – who won six Masters and a record 18 PGA major championships, but was even more successful off the links – turns 82 today.
Give the legendary Golden Bear your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips are an incredible Cinderella story and your calendar events are a mirac – it’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!
About our sponsor: Farrell Fritz, a full-service law firm with 15 practice groups, advises startups on entity formation, founder and shareholder agreements, funding, executive compensation and benefits, licensing and technology transfer, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. The firm’s blog, New York Venture Hub, discusses legal and business issues facing entrepreneurs and investors.
BUT FIRST, THIS
The truth hurts: A survey of Greater New York adults shows strong dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of COVID-19 testing.
The latest Mount Sinai South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll – with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percent – reveals that better than 80 percent of Long Island and New York City residents believe the government should be doing more to make COVID-19 tests publicly available. A clear majority of respondents (roughly 57 percent) hold the federal government most accountable for the lack of available testing, while just 15 percent place the blame on Albany.
The poll of about 600 regional residents – sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union and conducted the first week of January by landline and cell phone – also shows that more than 60 percent of respondents fear the pandemic will stretch out for another year. The first Truth in Medicine Poll of 2022 is the 15th in the series and the fifth straight focused on the novel coronavirus, following a three-part Truth About COVID-19 poll (released in stages between February and October 2020) and a Truth About Vaccine Boosters poll released in September 2021.
Time bomb: The Doomsday Clock stays put, which is not good.
Ticked off: The dreaded Doomsday Clock – which considers the threats of nuclear war, climate change, disruptive technologies and diseases like COVID-19 to calculate how close humanity is to extinction – is staying right where it is.
But don’t get too comfortable. In leaving the clock set at 100 seconds to midnight for the second straight year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board – which includes 11 Nobel Prize laureates, among other top thinkers – is not applauding stability, but instead warning that humanity remains closer to global catastrophe than it’s been at any other point in its spotty history.
The Doomsday Clock marks its 75th anniversary this year, and while scientists had noted some glimmers of hope over the past 12 months – particularly regarding environmental causes – they simply couldn’t turn back the clock, according to Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists President and CEO Rachel Bronson. “The Doomsday Clock continues to hover dangerously, reminding us about how much work is needed to be done to ensure a safer and healthier planet,” Bronson said Thursday. “We must continue to push the hands of the clock away from midnight.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Bioelectronics, unchained: A wireless nerve-stimulation device small enough for laboratory mice is redefining bioelectronic medicine, again, at the Feinstein Institutes.
It’s who you know: Cornerstone tax consultancy Cerini & Associates has acquired a Syosset tax preparer with real estate- and construction-industry connections.
Lots to learn: Top minds, regional perspectives, great conversations – Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast has lots to say. Get smarter now.
ICYMI
Offshore wind-power contracts generate billions; state budget spends hundreds of billions.
BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)
Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:
From California: Interactive web series Going Public offers live commentary and one-click investments for savvy early-stage investors.
From Canada, eh: Toronto-based dog-grooming trailblazer Dandylion introduces new line of pet-cleaning products with “human personal-care standards.”
From California: San Francisco-based digital innovator Raydiant acquires University of Amsterdam spinoff Sightcorp and its AI-powered restaurant management platform.
ON THE MOVE
Alan Wong
+ Oceanside-based Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital has named Alan Wong chief medical officer and senior vice president for medical affairs. He was previously vice president for patient safety, chief quality officer and chairman of internal medicine at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre.
+ Gerard Luckman has been elected president of the Turnaround Management Association’s Long Island Chapter. He is a partner and chairman of the Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Practice Group at Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana.
+ Hsiang-chi Meng has been named medical director of Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital. She was most recently associate medical director, physician advisor and hospitalist at Lenox Hill Hospital.
+ Marianna Mooney has been named managing partner for the Long Island office of New York City-based Prager Metis CPAs.
+ Anthony Pancella has been named president and CEO of the Suffolk County Regional OTB Corp.
BELOW THE FOLD (Around-the-Clock Edition)
Upward facing dog: Yoga in the afternoon, better sleep at night.
Morning: Six day-starters that will help you get it together (or close enough).
Afternoon: These daytime necessities will help you sleep better at night.
Night: Security tips to keep the graveyard shift safe and sound.
Always: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Farrell Fritz, where business law is the perpetual focus. Check them out.
