No. 1074: Rockets blast off, streaming tech proliferates, Barry Bonds bulks up and the LIA goes to Washington

 

On and on: You’re on target, intrepid innovator, with another warm workweek on file and a sun-splashed weekend on tap!

Just one more busy Friday on the way, and this snappy week-in-innovation review to start it on the right foot. Onward!

Persistent pledge: Before we dive in, and now that we’re feeling healthy again and focused fully on the future, a quick reminder that the Innovate Long Island Reader Pledge Drive never really ends.

Oh, we’ll bang the drum every few months (sort of a seasonal push, à la NPR), but consistent support in between those larger fundraising efforts is what really keeps the newsletter and website content you love free of charge. Our safe and secure support page is always open – thanks in advance for your generous support!

When you care enough (to eat the very best): While you’re taking care of Innovate Long Island, remember to take care of yourself, too – today is July 24, after all, and that’s the primary mission on International Self-Care Day (brought to you by the International Self-Care Federation, which was established on this date in 2011).

One good way to show yourself a little love is to skip the fast food – a Herculean challenge on National Drive-Thru Day, but there it is.

Kissing cousins: Speaking of shows of affection, it’s also National Cousins Day and National Thermal Engineer Day – so if your cousin is a thermal engineer, well, bonus.

Either way, line ’em up – National Tequila Day, celebrating the distilled spirit (made exclusively from the blue Weber agave plant, for the record), is chilled and poured every July 24.

Poll position: Anything but chill are U.S. Presidential polls, the first of which was published on this date in 1824 by the Harrisburg Pennsylvanian newspaper and immediately caused controversy (It gave Andrew Jackson a commanding lead in that year’s Presidential campaign, which Jackson would finish in a virtual dead heat with John Quincy Adams, who was later appointed President by the House of Representatives, for the those keeping score.)

Hail hydro: Also uniquely influential is hydroelectric power, which became an industrial-use reality on July 24, 1880, thanks to Michigan’s Grand Rapids Electric Light and Power Co.

Machu ado about something: Also finding his way was American adventurer Hiram Bingham III, the Indiana Jones template who re-discovered the lost Incan city of Machu Picchu in southern Peru on this date in 1911.

Liftoff: Back here in the States, it was 76 years ago today when a NASA rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla. – the first-ever rocket launch from the future Kennedy Space Center.

Splashdown: And it was July 24, 1969, when astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins – and the space capsule Columbia – parachuted into the Pacific Ocean.

The successful splashdown ended their eight-day Apollo 11 mission, which famously marked humanity’s first visit to the lunar surface.

Simón says: Venezuelan military and political leader Simón Bolívar (born Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco, 1783-1830) – the American Revolution aficionado remembered best for leading several South American nations to independence from Spain – would be 243 years old today.

Also born on July 24 were French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), whose “The Three Musketeers” was just the tip of his sharp historical-fiction sword; American chemist Alice Ball (1892-1916), a pioneering African American scientist who invented the first successful treatment for leprosy; pioneering American aviator Amelia Earhart (1897-????), whose disappearance remains one of history’s greatest unsolved mysteries (though new clues show promise); American lawyer, politician and social activist Bella Abzug (1920-1998), one of the 20th Century’s most influential feminists; and American actress, singer, model and philanthropist Lynda Carter (born 1951), still a true wonder.

* : And take a bow, Barry Lamar Bonds! The retired American baseball player – who holds Major League Baseball’s career records for home runs, walks, intentional walks and MVP awards, and MLB’s single-season records for home runs, walks, intentional walks and slugging percentage, but will forever be remembered as a cheater – turns 62 today.

Take your best shots at the tainted home run king at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always enhance our performance.

 

About our sponsor: New York Institute of Technology’s 90-plus undergraduate, graduate, professional and doctoral degree programs incorporate applied research, real-world case studies and professors who bring decades of industry knowledge into the classroom. The university’s student-centered approach, academic support programs, generous scholarships and career-oriented programs support its mission to provide all qualified students access to opportunity – while its community of doers, makers, innovators and healers empowers graduates to change the world, solve 21st Century challenges and reinvent the future. Learn more here. 

 

BUT FIRST, THIS

Capital gains: One of Long Island’s busiest business boosters has taken its centennial celebration to the nation’s capital.

Marking its 100th annum in 2026 with a year-long series of observances, the Long Island Association dispatched a delegation to Washington this week for official Congressional recognition of the LIA’s century of regional service. Association leaders – including Acting President and CEO Stacey Sikes and Board Chairman Larry Waldman – met with U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (both D-NY), as well as the four members of Long Island’s Congressional delegation, to discuss the federal policies and investments critical to the region’s future growth.

The LIA and its 100 years of dedicated socioeconomic service were also called out on the floors of the Senate and House of Representatives chambers, with Schumer calling the association “the beating heart of Long Island’s economy” and U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-1st Dist.) applauding a “voice for the Long Island business community.” The recognition, according to Sikes, “reinforced the importance of strong partnerships with federal leaders to advance policies that strengthen Long Island’s economy … and make our region more affordable and competitive for future generations.”

In case of emergency: The Suffolk County Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit sprang into action at a crowded special-needs school this week – and the students inside loved it.

The People’s Arc of Suffolk welcomed a visit from ES personnel – essentially, the SCPD’s version of a SWAT team – on Wednesday, allowing students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to get up close and personal with the people and hardware that keep the county safe. During the special event at the organization’s Bohemia-based Educare Center, ES officers showcased armored vests, tactical shields, cutting-edge radios and remote-controlled drones, while students were able to climb through their Emergency Service Truck and enjoy safety-first, hands-on demonstrations of various emergency equipment.

The idea, according to People’s Arc of Suffolk Vice President of Children’s Services Dana Schillinger, was to familiarize the differently abled students with uniformed personnel who may someday assist them during a crisis – and might otherwise be scary. “It’s great to have community members come to our school to build that relationship for them,” Schillinger noted. “That way, they’re not scared of them if one day there’s an emergency and they need to ask for help.”

 

TOP OF THE SITE

Stream a little stream: Our songs, movies, meetings and telehealth services all travel different digital streams – and knowing which is which, according to Voices Technology Anchor Brad Carlson, is the difference between glitchy headaches and smooth sailing.

We’ll get there eventually: We are so close to our newsletter-subscription goal! (Actually, that’s not true. Our goal is 8.3 billion subscribers – basically, everyone on Earth – and that’s going to take a while. But we’re happy to welcome new friends one at a time. Please spread the word!)

 

ICYMI

Open hailing frequencies! The earthbound everyman (and woman) can now speak directly to the International Space Station (and other orbiting satellites) thanks to a Stony Brook University graduate’s reach-for-the-stars ambitions.

 

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 Alabama: Birmingham-based startup game-maker IronSpark Studios sets out on a high-tech quest for better animation and new interactive experiences.

From Ohio: Mogadore-based advanced-testing titan Omega Laboratories partners with Canadian cannabis creator Cannabix Technologies on breath-based “recent use” detector.

From Utah: Salt Lake City-based learning leader Instructure helps speed innovative products to market with the standalone Instructure Foundry.

 

ON THE MOVE

+ Elliot Weiss has joined Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group. He is an adjunct professor of intellectual property and business law at the Pratt Institute in New York City.

+ Melville-based H2M architects + engineers has announced several new hires:

• Isabelle Alves has been hired as a staff designer. She is a recent graduate of Dunwoody College of Technology.
• Sarah Irfan has been hired as a staff engineer. She is a recent graduate of Stony Brook University.
• Richard Longo has been hired as a staff engineer. He is a recent graduate of Villanova University.
• Arielle Schor has been hired as a staff engineer. She is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia.

+ Sam Rausman has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Melville-based Long Island Chapter. He is chief executive at Protect Your Family Pooled Income Trust in Lynbrook.

 

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 New York Tech). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.

 

BELOW THE FOLD (Here Comes the Spider-Man Edition)

Super-strength: “Superhero fatigue?” That’s “Supergirl” kryptonite – Spidey is set to smash box-office records.

Secret identity: Speculation abounds on a popular “Stranger Things” alum’s unknown “Brand New Day” role.

Swing: There are many renditions of Spidey’s catchy theme song, but Michael Bublé’s 2001 take is still the jazziest.

Friendly neighborhood: Please continue supporting the innovative institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including the New York Institute of Technology, where small-college intimacy and big-time ambition overcome villainous socioeconomic challenges, one super-powered graduate at a time. Check them out.