Rough start: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we hustle our way through another busy workweek – and, here on Long Island, come to terms with the worst 24-hour stretch in New York football history.
Yes, the Jets eked out a win, but the season-ending injury of projected savior Aaron Rodgers, following the Giants’ humiliating opening-night shellacking, was hard to watch. Remember, fans, teams are never as good – or as bad – as they appear in Week 1. (And if you buy that happy h@?$[$#!+, you’re gonna love…)
Not a good sign: But you can brush it off on National Defy Superstition Day.
Think happy thoughts: It’s Sept. 13 out there, a great date for optimism – today is both Positive Thinking Day, when we’re encouraged to accentuate the good/eliminate the bad, and National Defy Superstition Day, when black cats, broken mirrors and other unlucky omens (including star-quarterback curses) bow to brighter dispositions.
Double chocolate: This should put your head in a good space – today is also International Chocolate Day, unwrapped every Sept. 13 and not to be confused with World Chocolate Day, which falls on July 7 and is completely different. (Actually, it’s exactly the same, but we’re not complaining.)
The Ice King: Also not complaining were customers in Calcutta, India, who enjoyed commercial ice for the first time on this date in 1833, courtesy of innovative American entrepreneur Frederic Tudor.
Light touch: Other bright ideas associated with this date include the carbon-filament lightbulb, a major improvement over Thomas Edison’s original design, patented on Sept. 13, 1881, by largely underrated African American inventor Lewis Latimer.
Professional portrait: But (from left) Tinkers, Evers and Chance didn’t get along so well off the field.
Tinker to Evers to Chance: It was lights out for the competition after Chicago Cubs Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance – arguably the greatest double-play combination in baseball history – took the field together for the first time 121 years ago today.
Told you so: Also making a bold play was unquestionably dedicated American physician Jesse Lazear, who allowed himself to be bitten by a mosquito in Cuba on this date in 1900 to prove the insects transmitted yellow fever. (He was dead two weeks later.)
Got it ’Wright (eventually): And back to baseball, where we find Alexander Cartwright – the sport’s rightful inventor – finally being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sept. 13, 1938.
Cartwright, who compiled the modern rulebook defining the game, had to overcome decades of false credit lavished upon Abner Doubleday, a career U.S. Army and Union officer who did not invent baseball.
Walk the walk, eh: Canadian war hero Laura Secord (1775-1868) – whose 20-mile trek to warn British troops of an imminent American attack made her a North of the Border legend – would be 248 years old today.
Yellow light: Walter Reed (and friends) attacked yellow fever.
Also born on Sept. 13 were English writer, trader and spy Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), whose “Robinson Crusoe” is second in linguistic translations only to the Bible; American Army physician Walter Reed (1851-1902), namesake of the U.S. Army’s flagship medical center (and a yellow fever-fighting colleague of the aforementioned Jesse Lazear); American business magnate Milton Hershey (1857-1945), who built a chocolate empire; British author Roald Dahl (1916-1990), who sold hundreds of millions of children’s books but apparently wasn’t a very nice guy; and American columnist and author Judith Martin (born 1938), the etiquette authority known best as “Miss Manners.”
Bern, baby, Bern! And take a bow, Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr.! The classically trained guitarist and retired professional baseball player – who captured four world championships patrolling center field for the New York Yankees and was later nominated for a Latin Grammy – turns 55 today.
Wish the pride of Puerto Rico well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips make sweet music and your calendar events belong in the Hall of Fame (as does Bernie).
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Getting their DUE: A record-setting federal grant will help Adelphi University attract high-achieving, low-income students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
The National Science Foundation’s Division of Undergraduate Education has awarded a six-year, $2.49 million grant to Andrea Ward, Adelphi’s associate provost for research and special projects, to partially fund an “integrative support program” designed to ensure student success in the university’s STEM programs. Specifically, the stipend will promote the success of high school students with a demonstrated financial need who plan to pursue biology, chemistry, computer science and other STEM-related studies at the Garden City-based institution.
Ultimately, the largest NSF award in Adelphi’s history will fund a minimum of 25 scholarships for deserving high schoolers – a win for them and their future employers, according to Ward. “There is a growing need for professionals across the STEM fields,” the principal investigator noted. “In developing this grant proposal, my colleagues and I set out to create opportunities … for students who have shown great interest and aptitude in the fields that are most in demand.”
Lee-ward: The latest forecast models steer Hurricane Lee clear of Long Island — and straight toward the New England coastline.
…is a good offense: With Hurricane Lee churning toward the U.S. coast, Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t standing pat.
The governor on Tuesday announced the proactive deployment of 50 New York State National Guard soldiers across Long Island, bolstering the state’s previously announced hurricane-preparation protocols. The troops will assist the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, the New York State Department of Transportation and other state agencies with the strategic positioning of nearly 1,400 dump trucks, 300-plus large loaders and hundreds of other pieces of heavy equipment critical to clearing downed trees, servicing damaged infrastructure and otherwise responding to major weather events.
As of Tuesday afternoon, forecast models showed the center of the storm passing well east of Long Island on a direct course for northeastern-most shores, but Lee’s potential cone of influence still included much of the Island. “We are keeping a close eye on this storm,” Hochul said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, I have deployed the National Guard and directed state agencies to prepare emergency-response assets and be ready to respond to local requests for assistance.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 28: John Nader, absolutely positive.
Season 4 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast picks up next week right where we left off: more informative and entertaining conversations with amazing innovation-economy leaders. Until then, there are nearly four dozen uplifting chats waiting to be heard.
TOP OF THE SITE
Still responding: Years of study by Stony Brook University researchers proves a direct link between 9/11 Ground Zero service and early-onset cognitive decline.
Always thinking: Thank you in advance for sharing this smart and funny newsletter with your fellow innovators. Now share your wisdom by creating their very own individual subscriptions … always easy, always free.
VOICES
Innovate Long Island is proud to introduce the latest heavy hitter powering our mighty Voices lineup: Stony Brook University Clean Energy Business Incubator Program Executive Director Heidi Anderson, our first-ever Technology Editor, who leads off with a strong call for skilled workforces to install and maintain the next generations of clean-energy tech.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Raiders of the lost Ozarks: Northwest Arkansas is working hard to shake its hillbilly image. Axios reimagines rural.
Temples of doom: Economists predict a crashing office market will create a nationwide “doom loop.” Markets Insider expects trouble.
The last crusade: Senate Republicans warn House Republicans their flimsy impeachment inquiry has zero chance of proceeding. The Hill faces facts.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ BlueWave, a Massachusetts-based solar developer and operator, raised $91 million in financing from KeyBank and U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance.
+ Momofuku Goods, a New York City-based distributor of restaurant-grade pantry essentials, raised $11.5 million in funding led by Alliance Consumer Growth, with participation from Siddhi Capital.
+ Advantek Waste Management Services, a Texas-based industrial waste-management innovator, raised $8 million in seed funding led by Lowercarbon Capital.
+ Noetik, a California-based AI drug-discovery company, raised $14 million in seed funding led by DCVC, Zetta Venture Partners, 11.2 Capital, Catalio Capital Management and Epic Ventures.
+ SkinnyDipped, a Washington State-based snack brand, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by David Grutman, with participation from Alesso, Kevin Durant, Kaskade, Steve Aoki and Marshmello.
+ MessageDesk, a Nevada-based text-messaging platform, raised $1.6 million in seed funding led by Reno Seed Fund, AZ-VC and the Sierra Innovations Entrepreneur Fund of the Sierra Angels.
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 (Long And Short Of It Edition)
What, me funny?: Short’s takes are mostly hilarious, according to his fans (and best friends).
Short version: The A-list is rallying to Martin Short’s defense
Long version: Why social media are stretching to 10-minute videos.
Longer version: How your birthday became a week-long celebration.
Long Island legend: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Nixon Peabody, where long experience makes short work of all legal challenges. Check them out.
