Tick tock challenge: Welcome to Wednesday, intrepid innovators, and not to pressure you or anything, but the clock is ticking – now just 10 shopping days until Christmas, including Christmas Eve, which means you better get cracking.
You’ve still got time – in fact, today’s a brilliant day for a little online shopping (read on). So, pause that Anxiety Clock, take a deep breath and enjoy this jam-packed innovation review … just the thing to kick off a productive hump day!
Cue the open fire: And get your roast on today.
Nick of time: With 10 shopping days until Christmas, it must be Dec. 14 out there, a date bursting with bargains – National Free Shipping Day, a “prime” opportunity (see what we did there?) for last-minute givers with thousands of e-retailers (both big and small) covering shipping costs.
Speaking of getting them while they’re hot, it’s also national Roast Chestnuts Day, when the street-vendor favorite comes home.
We Dare Defend Our Rights: Also coming home was Alabama, which became the 22nd state on this date in 1819. (For the record, that’s actually Alabama’s second state motto – the first, We Rest Here, lacked a little verve.)
Quantumania: Regularly visiting various states was German physicist Max Planck, who laid out quantum theory for the German Physical Society on this date in 1900.
Wired up: The Silvertown, ready and cable.
All on the line: Also getting around was the cable ship Silvertown, which began a 2,000-mile journey from San Francisco to Honolulu on this date in 1902, laying submarine cable all the way – the first transpacific telegraph wire, which went live about a month later.
Try, try again: Exactly one year later, three days before they officially made history, the Wright Brothers gave it the old college try – but Wilbur’s first flight attempt at Kittyhawk quickly crashed on Dec. 14, 1903.
Connected: And speaking of new heights, the Viaduc de Millau (Millau Viaduct) opened on this date in 2004, stretching more than 2.5 kilometers over the River Tarn in Southern France.
The cable-stayed viaduct, which crosses a deep gorge, is supported by pylons as high as 336 meters (roughly 1,100 feet), making it taller than the Eiffel Tower and the world’s tallest bridge.
Bravo, Brahe: Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) – who mapped the Solar System, plotted stars and invented astronomical instruments still in use – would be 476 years old today.
Grace in space: Coleman, spaced out.
Also born on Dec. 14 were French astrologer, apothecary and physician Michel de Nostredame (a.k.a. Nostradamus, 1503-1566), who saw it coming; Scottish surgeon Sir William Watson Cheyne (1852-1932), who pioneered antiseptic surgeries across Britain; German aeronautical engineer Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain (1911-1998), who thought up jet engines; American molecular biologist Solomon Spiegelman (1914-1983), who did the legwork for modern DNA technology; and Brown University Professor of Mathematics Jill Pipher (born 1955), former president of the American Mathematical Society and other prestigious institutions.
Fluting in zero G: And take a bow, Catherine Grace “Cady” Coleman! The retired U.S. Air Force colonel, former NASA astronaut and amateur flutist – who spent more than 180 days in space, reported a UFO during a Space Shuttle flight and performed a “space duet” with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson – turns 62 today.
Wish the space ace well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips achieve a higher orbit – and your calendar events are always identified quickly.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Regional victory: An environmental watchdog with operations in Connecticut and Westchester County has won federal support for an ecological restoration project in Queens – great news for coastal Long Island.
Connecticut-based Save the Sound has been awarded $2.38 million through the National Coastal Resilience Fund, administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The stipend will support the Big Rock Wetland Restoration Project, which aims to construct a “living shoreline” along the Douglas Manor section of Queens – including the installation of concrete oyster reefs and the replacement of invasive reed species with native marsh grasses.
The multiyear transformation will help the shoreline adapt to rising sea levels and “dissipate storm wave energy to reduce erosion,” according to Save the Sound, while supporting biodiversity throughout the sound. “In densely built environments like New York City and Long Island, it is especially important to enhance coastal resiliency,” noted Save the Sound Regional Ecological Director Laura Wildman. “Funds such as this are critical to plant the seeds of restoration and … implement these essential restoration projects.”
A very Harley Christmas: The Suffolk County HOGs spread the spirit.
Hogging the road: And that’s a good thing, when the annual Suffolk County HOG Motorcycle Ride comes to town.
The fourth-annual HOG ride (by the Suffolk County Chapter of the Harley Owners Group) did just that Dec. 10, with roughly 200 bikers making the 40-mile ride from Oakdale to New Hyde Park to deliver some high-octane holiday cheer – and loads of donated toys, distributed by an on-site Santa – to Ronald McDonald House families. The charity ride, Suffolk County HOG’s biggest annual gathering of Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts, also raised more than $6,000 for the construction of a planned Ronald McDonald House facility in Suffolk County.
Ride organizer Nicholas Nigro said participants were happy to help kids battling illness “celebrate for a day” with their families, while Ronald McDonald House Charities-New York Metro CEO Matt Campo gratefully applauded the charity effort. “Events like today put smiles on the faces of the families that stay here,” Campo noted. “We will collect enough toys in the last 30 days of the year to last us all of next year.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 23: Cross-talking with Donna Drake.
Only one Long Island podcast chats up the executives, entrepreneurs, investors and inventors shaping the Long Island innovation economy, from up-and-coming influencers to superstar international scientists to leading captains of industry.
Another great conversation drops next week – but Season 3 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, sponsored by Huntington-based message master Brandtelling, has already reached new heights. Come on up!
TOP OF THE SITE
Positive note: Cyberattacks, inflation and other risks concern mid-market CEOs – though most remain optimistic, according to the latest Marcum-Hofstra CEO Survey.
Historic selection: A private East Hampton burial ground has been nominated for inclusion on the state and national registers of historic places.
Thrice weekly: If you’re reading this fantastic newsletter on our website, thank you – did you know there’s a subscribers-only “calendar version” distributed on Mondays that’s not published online? Fortunately, subscriptions are always easy, always free.
VOICES
Voices healthcare anchor Terry Lynam shares the unique story of Kelly Owens, the frustrated poster child for bioelectronic medicine – living proof of its unparalleled healing abilities, massively discouraged by the slow pace of “electroceuticals” clinical development.
STUFF WE’RE READING
The empire strikes back: Russia’s relentless assault is decimating Ukraine’s gross domestic product. Reuters estimates damages.
The rise of skywalkers: Drone technologies – and the constant battle for our attention – are taking advertising skyward. Axios looks up.
The phantom menace: Too-Afraid-to-Lose Syndrome commonly cripples newly promoted managers – but it doesn’t have to. Forbes suggests solutions.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Enthea, a Massachusetts-based psychedelic healthcare insurance provider, raised $2 million in seed funding led by Tabula Rasa Ventures.
+ Alio, a Colorado-based medtech focused on non-invasive, wireless patient monitoring, raised $18 million in Series C funding led by Widjaja Family Investment Office, Chase Field and Thomas Krebs.
+ Cabana, a Washington State-based mobile hospitality innovator, raised $3 million in funding led by TechNexus Venture Collaborative.
+ GigFinesse, a New York City-based digital platform connecting live music venues and performers, raised $3.6 million in seed funding led by Bessemer Ventures Partners, Cosmic Venture Partners and Matthew Rutler, among others.
+ MarginEdge, a Virginia-based restaurant-management and bill-payment platform, raised $45 million in Series C funding led by Ten Coves Capital, Fiserv and Derive Ventures.
+ Plant Prefab, a California-based building-tech innovator, raised $42 million in Series C funding led by Gerdau Next Ventures, Asahi Kasei, Brown Angel Group, ICT Capital, Unreasonable Collective and Western Technology Investments.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know (just ask Nixon Peabody). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Wave As You Go By Edition)
From the jaws of victory: Even The American Conservative knows who to blame.
Self-defeating: Conservatives explain why the “Red Wave” crashed in November.
Surf’s up: Science explains how stunning “wave clouds” formed over Wyoming.
Show me your hands: Alexa now responds to a wave of your hand.
New wave: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Nixon Peabody, always riding the leading wave of newer and better legal strategies. Check them out.
