Put your money…: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we scrimp, save and otherwise struggle to make ends meet along the affordability-challenged road to socioeconomic greatness.
Yes, this week’s none-too-surprising Consumer Price Index/inflation report, staggeringly bad (for Republicans) political polls and too-little-too-late presidential affordability pivot merely fan the flames of Americans’ paramount fiscal concerns – but we’re thrilled to put all that aside for a few moments to dream of better days ahead and otherwise bask in the hopeful promise of innovation.
Upper crust: We were going to run a picture of a root canal … but this seemed much more appetizing.
…where your mouth is: Today is May 13 and we can’t deny a bit of an oral fixation today, starting with National Cough Drop Day, an annual celebration of the … medicinal tablets? curative candies? soothing suckers? We can’t decide, but whatever you call them, humans have been popping them in our mouths to relieve coughs and sore throats for more than 3,000 years.
Also rather mouthy is National Root Canal Appreciation Day, a second-Wednesday-of-May preventative-maintenance merrymaker that’s a dream come true for your local DDS – but a nightmare for everyone else.
Maybe if you hummus a few bars: Of course, no oral fixation is complete without a mouthwatering holiday menu – so we proudly offer International Hummus Day (dipping into Mediterranean-style mashed chickpeas), National Fruit Cocktail Day (delighting taste buds and/or recalling middle-school cafeteria horrors), National Apple Pie Day (USA! USA!) and – to top it all off – National Crouton Day, all served fresh on May 13.
More to the point (or less): There’s not much need for a knife with that menu, but if you use one, consider the kind with the rounded tip – introduced on this date in 1637 by Cardinal Richelieu of France, who tired of brutish dinner guests stabbing their daggers into chunks of meat and picking their teeth with the pointed weapons.
Shocking development: Not sure what they ate or what (if any) cutlery was in play, but the first-ever meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers took place in New York City on May 13, 1884. (The AIEE merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers in 1964 to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, which reigns today as the world’s largest organization of technology professionals.)
“Grand” father: Employing loads of electrical engineering was the world’s first four-engine plane, the Le Grand, which took to the skies over St. Petersburg, Russia, on this date in 1913 (with aeronautics legend Igor Sikorsky behind the stick, for the record).
Fasten-ating: Simple in design, limitless in application, Velcro is one of history’s greatest innovations.
Beauty hook: Also holding things together is Velcro, which was trademarked 68 years ago today by Swiss inventor (and famed mountaineer) George de Mestral, who’d invented the ingenious hook-and-loop fastener in 1948 and patented it seven years later.
Triple play: And it was May 13, 1992, when history’s first – and, to date, only – three-person spacewalk occurred in Earth orbit, outside the Space Shuttle Endeavor.
Astronauts Richard Hieb, Thomas Akers and Pierre Thuot stretched their legs, so to speak, on a mission to capture the 4.5-ton Intelsat VI satellite and maneuver it into the shuttle’s cargo bay, where it was refitted with a perigee kick motor and then released into a higher, more functional orbit.
Core skill unlocked: Danish seismologist Inge Lehmann (1888-1993) – who was not only the first Danish seismologist and the world’s first woman geophysicist but is credited with discovering the Earth’s inner core – would be 138 years old today.
Out of sight: Blind from just after birth, Stevie Wonder became a child sensation and never looked back.
Also born on May 13 were Greek American pathologist, zoologist and microscopist George Papanicolaou (1883-1962), the “Father of Cytopathology” and inventor of the “Pap smear” test; American professional boxer Joseph Louis Brown (1914-1981), who was known best as Joe Louis (or the “Brown Bomber”) and defended his heavyweight title an astounding 25 times; American actress, singer and comedian Bea Arthur (born Bernice Frankel, 1922-2009), a Tony- and Emmy-winner remembered best as “Maude” or a “Golden Girl,” depending on your generation; Mexican American guitarist, singer and songwriter Ritchie Valens (born Richard Steven Valenzuela, 1941-1959), who died in a tragic plane crash shortly after achieving fame and fortune; and Scottish poet and essayist Kathleen Jaime (born 1962), the fourth-ever Scott Makar (essentially, her country’s “royal court poet”).
Isn’t he lovely: And take a bow, Stevland Hardaway Morris! The American singer, songwriter and musician – known eternally as Stevie Wonder, true royalty of the Pop, Soul, Gospel, Jazz, Funk and R&B genres – turns 76 today.
Don’t You Worry ’Bout a Thing – just send birthday wishes to the Sunshine of My Life Our Lives at editor@innovateli.com, where we downplay Superstition – but do believe our best content is Signed, Sealed, Delivered by your news tips and calendar events. (Or, just Call to Say I love You … that always renews our Faith).
About our sponsor: Located just a stone’s throw from New York City, Drake Media Studios is Long Island’s premier destination for professional brand messaging, bright-light corporate events and world-class television and streaming productions. Featuring state-of-the-art equipment, talented staffers and 8,200 square feet of sound stages, editing suites and support spaces, DMS is one of the most welcoming video/film production facilities in the nation – and we can’t wait to share your story! Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Again with the environmental reviews: After defeating the Trump Administration’s attempts to cancel offshore wind developments, New York State is wading into battle against a Rhode Island-based nonprofit with a similar agenda.
Governor Kathy Hochul and NYS Attorney General Leticia James have “moved to intervene” in a lawsuit brought by 501(c)3 organization Green Oceans, which aims to invalidate federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approvals for Sunrise Wind, a 924-megawatt wind farm Denmark-based Ørsted A/S is constructing 30 miles east of Montauk Point. Green Ocean – which is leading a coalition of plaintiffs in a multifront fight against offshore wind – says major projects like Sunrise Wind have not undergone adequate environmental reviews and pose serious threats to marine ecosystems.
Albany is calling BS, noting Sunrise Wind – which is projected to generate enough zero-carbon power to sustain 600,000-plus New York homes and provide hundreds of millions of dollars in statewide economic benefits – has been carefully vetted by environmental agencies. “We successfully fought the Trump Administration’s multiple attempts to stop construction on this fully permitted project and expect that we will prevail against this lawsuit,” Hochul said in a statement. “While Washington Republicans are hell bent on taking us backward, here in New York we remain committed to protecting our clean-energy future.”
Making it happen: Students and staff welcome SUNY Old Westbury’s new Makerspace.
Meet your Maker: Creativity has come alive on the SUNY Old Westbury campus, with a new, cutting-edge stage highlighting student innovation.
Welcome to The Makerspace, an interdisciplinary classroom/workshop/showcase featuring state-of-the-art 3D printers, next-level laser cutters, advanced circuitry centers and other technological tools giving big thinkers the resources they need to actualize their imaginations. Part of OW STEAM (the university’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics program), The Makerspace is a specially designed fabrication shop built specifically to stimulate student excitement and simulate real-world experiences – with heavy-duty equipment, next-generation software packages and all kinds of hands-on opportunities standing by, and large glass walls allowing passers-by to look in on the exciting developments.
Those glass walls were a deliberate aesthetic choice, noted Associate Provost Michael Kavic, who trumpeted a “flexible environment” and a “sense of connection, innovation and excitement” in the multidisciplinary mix. “The space allows for a wide range of possibilities, whether students want to work on an abstract art project or a technological invention,” Kavic added. “There’s a kind of magic that lends itself to the deep learning that students engage in while in a place like The Makerspace.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Very cool: Behold, Enercoat – an HVAC-energizing, data center-cooling polymer goop that’s trying to save the world one server farm at a time.
Who said what: From our informative op-ed page to our intimate Debrief Q&As to our must-listen podcast, Innovate Long Island gets you up close and personal with the workaday heroes powering the regional innovation economy. Pick some leaders and go learn how they did it!
VOICES
From the Follow Your Heart Department comes Sur La Table head chef Megan Sinclair, who followed a graphics art/journalism path straight to the kitchen – and to a joyous career as an innovative culinary rock star, as recounted by Voices Food and Beverage Anchor Zelory Gregler.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Inflation consternation: Surging energy, grocery and housing prices have driven U.S. inflation to a three-year high. The BBC does the math.
Software beware: Hackers are using AI to uncover software flaws and execute “mass exploitation events.” Reuters cracks the code.
(Less) nervous in the service: Move over, product-based companies – practical innovation is driving a service-based boom. Forbes embraces human capital.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Travv, an Oklahoma-based AI-native diagnostic platform for veterinary medicine, raised $1.6 million in Seed funding led by Digitalis Ventures, with participation from AniVC.
+ Balcony, a New York City-based data infrastructure for the U.S. property market, raised $12.7 million in Seed funding led by Blockchange Ventures.
+ Ciridae, a California-based developer of operating systems for real economy businesses, raised $20 million in Seed funding led by Accel, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Sunflower Capital and Backcountry Ventures.
+ Basata, an Arizona-based developer deploying specialty-specific AI agents to automate administrative workflows in healthcare operations, raised $21 million in Series A funding led by Basis Set Ventures, with participation from Cowboy Ventures, PHX Ventures, Zenda Capital and Victoria Treyger.
+ Cowboy Space Corp., a California-based orbital infrastructure developer, raised $275 million in Series B funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from IVP, Blossom Capital, SAIC, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Construct Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, Interlagos and founder Baiju Bhatt.
+ VoltaGrid, a Texas-based behind-the-meter power-generation innovator focused on data centers, microgrids and industrial applications, received a $1 billion strategic equity investment from funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Halliburton Company.
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 – on Long Island, and soon, across New York State (just ask Drake Media Studios). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Triple Crown Edition)
Get your Preak on: No thanks, says Golden Tempo, who’s already looking ahead to the Belmont Stakes.
Crown frown: Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo will skip The Preakness.
Preak performance: Like next month’s Belmont Stakes, Saturday’s second leg is also changing course.
Happy to be here: With Belmont Park being rebuilt, Saratoga basks in Triple Crown glory.
Good bet: Please continue supporting the ingenious innovators who support Innovate Long Island, including Drake Media Studios, where the good money is on professional branding, world-class video production and memorable corporate events. Check them out.
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