El no-no: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we plow into the heart of December – the only plowing we’re doing here on Long Island, with long-range temperatures running high and nary a snowflake in sight.
We’re not complaining, and there’s a long way to go until Spring – but as of now, it looks like it won’t be a white Christmas (or much of a white anything) this year, thanks to the strong El Niño warming the Pacific and most of the continental United States.
The reindeer came later: But Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Christian bishop praised as a “wonderworker,” launched the legend of Santa Claus about 1,800 years ago.
The Ol’ St. Nick who started it all: Now that we’ve jinxed the whole season, let’s get to the innovation – it’s Dec. 6 out there, and we kick off with St. Nicholas Day, celebrating the Third Century do-gooder who inspired the modern-day Santa Claus. (Actual dates may vary, depending on orthodoxies and calendars, but Dec. 6 – the anniversary of Nicholas’ death – is the most common.)
Pawnography: With just 18 shopping days until Christmas, you may be hard-up for cash – thankfully, today is National Pawnbroker Day, when we’re encouraged to liquidate our unwanted items.
You might get a few bucks for your old microwave, though maybe you should think twice about trading it in on National Microwave Oven Day, when cavity-magnetron devices warm the cockles (in addition to the leftovers).
Look it up: These and other useful facts can still be found in the Encyclopedia Britannica, which was first published in Scotland on this date in 1768. (It’s been out of print since 2012 but carries on in digital form, for those keeping score.)
Left face: Useful facts were also included in the first edition of The Washington Post, which ran four total pages, cost three cents and clearly catered to Democrats when it debuted on Dec. 6, 1877. (For the record, WaPo nearly folded in the 1920s, when Conservative owner Ned McLean went all-in backing scandal-plagued Republican President Warren Harding.)
Righteous reversal: Liberal ideals abounded 158 years ago today, when Georgia – now ranked among the nation’s most racist states by number of hate groups, books banned from schools, the criminalization of critical race theory and other metrics – ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, outlawing slavery in the United States.
Sexy beast: Joyce’s “Ulysses” was originally deemed too salacious for American audiences.
A bit risqué, maybe: Speaking of banned books, Irish author James Joyce’s “Ulysses” was un-banned in the United States on this date in 1933, when a federal judge ruled the book was not obscene.
Oh, Brothers: And it was Dec. 6, 1955, when Dr. Joyce Brothers – the future television personality/eminent psychologist – became the first woman to win the top prize on a TV gameshow, conquering “The $64,000 Question.”
The good doctor overcame allegations of cheating and became a national celebrity, repeating the feat on the spinoff show “The $64,000 Challenge” and making guest appearances on everything from “Happy Days” to “Baywatch” to “The Simpsons.”
For the “Trees”: American journalist, literary critic, lecturer, editor and poet Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918) – remembered best for the short poem “Trees,” cut down by a sniper’s bullet in World War I – would be 137 years old today.
Psyched: Fortune put mind over matter.
Also born on Dec. 6 were American chemist, inventor and businessman Charles Martin Hall (1863-1914), who mastered aluminum production; American zoologist Libbie Henrietta Hyman (1888-1969), a prolific textbook writer still referenced today; British occultist Dion Fortune (born Violet Mary Firth, 1890-1946), a ceremonial magician, novelist, author and good friend of the Ascended Masters; American lyricist Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), the first songwriter to earn a Pulitzer Prize; and overfed leaping gnome Z (born 1970), your humble Innovate Long Island newsletter scribe.
Checking it twice: And take a bow, Craig Alexander Newmark! The American Internet entrepreneur – known best as the founder of Craig’s List (and second-best for his generous philanthropy) – turns 71 today.
Wish the e-magnate well at editor@innovateli.com, where your generous news tips earn high ratings and your calendar events are always on our list.
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College delivers exceptional academic and applied-learning outcomes through scholarship, research and student engagement. Our commitment to student-centered learning and inclusiveness prepares exemplary citizens equipped to excel in a competitive, diverse and technically dynamic society. Long Island’s first public institution of higher education, Farmingdale State is a regional economic cornerstone, with 96 percent of graduates working in New York State and 75 percent working on Long Island. We prepare emerging leaders in the growing technology, engineering, business and healthcare fields. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Get to work: A Long Island nonprofit focused on manufacturing-sector workforce development has set a course toward offshore wind.
The Institute for Workforce Advancement, a Hempstead-based 501(c)3 nonprofit, has launched OSWLONGISLAND.ORG, a resource-packed, user-friendly website designed to explain the lifecycles of individual offshore-wind projects, match skills to jobs required by those projects and guide users toward companies active in the wind-power industries. Supported by Massachusetts-based developer Vineyard Offshore, the site features employment data provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and NYSERDA’s Offshore Wind Youth Action Program, with specific digital pathways for collegians, younger students, employers, educators and supply-chain organizations.
The IWA dubbed the new website the first step toward a “complete online and in-school offshore-wind career guidance program,” ultimately providing jobs assistance to students and transitioning professionals alike. “The current roster of offshore projects in New York waters will require the buildout of a workforce as large as the aerospace and defense industries were at their peak,” noted IWA Executive Director Phil Rugile. “Engaging students and young adults before the height of industry demand ensures these jobs stay local.”
League leaders: SCCC students (top, from left) Wilson Pineda, Dylan Zagal and Enoch Gomez, along with teammates (bottom, from left) Justin Trieu and Ryan Riazi, rocked the Fall 2023 National Cyber League Competition.
High cyber: Suffolk County Community College did SUNY proud in the recently completed Fall 2023 National Cyber League Competition.
The SCCC team of Ryan Riazi, Jose Miguel Mancero, Wilson Pineda, Justin Trieu, Enoch Gomez, Manuel Gomez and Dylan Zagal finished in the top 10 percent of all teams in the biannual national competition, in which competitors face cybersecurity challenges such as identifying hackers via forensic data, auditing vulnerable websites and recovering from ransomware attacks. Officially, the SCCC squad finished 50th in the nation, 21st in the Northeast and fourth among all competing community colleges, while emerging as the top SUNY school in the twice-annual contest.
That’s a stellar performance in a competition that attracted 8,583 students from 802 high schools, colleges and universities across all 50 states, according to SCCC Cybersecurity Club Advisor Jon Sadowski. “The outstanding results these students achieved comes from transforming the knowledge gained from the high-caliber curriculum at Suffolk and executing those skills in a real-world scenario,” Sadowski said. “The dedication and enthusiasm of this group of students is amazing.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Connecting flights: A high-end, duty-free retailer operating in multiple U.S. airports has joined with two major hunger-relief organizations to tackle food insecurity across Greater New York.
Inspirational message: We’ll be back soon with all-new episodes … until then, catch up on everything (and everyone) you’ve missed on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast – dozens of informative, motivational and entertaining one-on-ones with the region’s brightest innovators. Inspiration awaits!
VOICES
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year (“authentic”) speaks to everything from business branding to national politics, according to ZE Creative Communications Executive VP and Voices Media Anchor David Chauvin, who sees ex-Congressman/forever laughingstock George Santos as a cautionary tale about the future of American governance.
STUFF WE’RE READING
One and only: Embracing the joyful simplicity of singlehood. HuffPost plays the field.
Twofer: Living on one income in a two-income household (and why you should). Real Simple streamlines your budget.
Thrice as nice: The United States is among 22 nations pledging to triple their nuclear-energy capacity. Power Magazine splits the atoms.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ EndoQuest Robotics, a Texas-based medical device pioneer, raised $42 million in C-1 funding led by CE Ventures, McNair Interests and Puma Venture Capital.
+ Trackstar, a New York City-based application-programming interface for warehouse-management systems, raised $2.6 million in seed funding led by TMV.
+ Seismic Therapeutic, a Massachusetts-based biotech pursuing biologic drug discovery through machine learning, raised $121 million in Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Codon Capital and Gaingels.
+ Ursa Major, a Colorado-based rocket-propulsion innovator, raised $138 million in Series D and D-1 funding led by Explorer 1 Fund, Eclipse and BlackRock.
+ Local Infusion, a Tennessee-based manager of tech-enabled infusion centers, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Blisce, with participation from Meridian Street Capital and existing investors.
+ SparkMeter, a Washington-based grid-management specialist focused on Africa, Asia and the Americas, raised $5 million from Honeywell Smart Energy.
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 Farmingdale State). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Love And Hate Edition)
Diva deluxe: Talented, temperamental Callas left a complicated legacy.
Love: Science explains how to rekindle the spark with a spruced-up love nest.
Love/hate: Exploring society’s complex relationship with Maria Callas, the Soprano of the (20th) Century.
Not even worth hating: Yes, scummy George Santos is now selling Cameo videos – and yes, he’s already been played for a fool.
Strong feelings: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, where passion for academic excellence and personal growth is channeled into tomorrow’s leaders. Check them out.
