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Newsletters December 16, 2020

No. 555: Pace pact, time travel and immunization, Island-style – plus, a big first finish for CEBIP

  You asked for it: Admit it, dear readers – you griped about last winter’s lack of snow and the little tyke buried deep in your pragmatic soul is tingling with excitement. Or maybe you hate snow. Either way, get your milk and bread, ’cause here it comes. The parents strike back: It’s Wednesday, Dec. 16, and as we await Long Island’s first significant snowfall in nearly two years, we’ll issue a heartfelt apology to…

Newsletters November 11, 2020

No. 547: On Patton, the birth of calculus and a smart new entrepreneurism angle

  Who’s there? Knock knock, friends – it’s Nov. 11 out there, which is Veteran’s Day, of course, and we can come back later if you’re among the lucky few taking a holiday. For those on the job, welcome to Wednesday and the midpoint of this latest workweek – not to mention Armistice Day in New Zealand, France, Belgium and Serbia, plus Polish Independence Day, since you asked. Underestimating their forces: We grossly misstated the…

Newsletters October 23, 2020

No. 542: Earth, Smurfs and the iPod all begin – and so does a new era in Bay Shore

  No argument here: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, as we recover from another debilitating debate night – hopefully, the last we’ll ever see like that – and wrap up another busy workweek. It’s Oct. 23 on Long Island and around the world – a big date for our readers in Hungary (National Day), Brazil (Aviator’s Day) and Thailand (Chulalongkorn Day, commemorating the 1910 passing of King Chulalongkorn, beloved fifth monarch of the Chakri dynasty)….

Newsletters July 15, 2020

No. 516: On margarine, Boeing and The Rosetta Stone – and playing the odds at Jones Beach

  Hot days, cold stretch: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as COVID-19 rages across the land – though not in New York, where we’ve earned a reprieve – and we steam into the second half of this latest sultry summer workweek. It’s July 15 out there – a tough one for the selfish, with it being National Give Something Away Day and all. No accounting for tastes: It’s also National Gummi Worm Day (that’s a…

Newsletters June 12, 2020

No. 509: On peanut butter cookies, LaGuardia Airport and kelp – plus baseball (remember that?)

  Phase 2 Friday: You’ve done it again, dear readers! Another tough workweek conquered – and, as your reward, Long Island’s first weekend under Phase 2 reopening protocols. Well played! It’s June 12 out there, and while you’re probably itching for your teenager to find a summer job after a half-year of home learning, it is indeed the U.N.’s World Day Against Child Labour, which is a very different matter and no joke. That’s, like,…

Newsletters May 20, 2020

No. 502: TopDocs, bottom dollars and lines in the sand, on a good day to be a millionaire

  Place your bets: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as Long Island eagerly anticipates its Phase 1 reopening (not just yet) and we patiently muscle through another WFH workweek (marking, like, 850 in a row, though we may have lost count). For those keeping score, with Nassau and Suffolk about to eclipse 30 trace cases per 1,000 residents and regional COVID-19 hospital deaths dropping fast, the good money is on Phase 1 baby steps for…

Newsletters April 22, 2020

No. 494: In which Earth Day, the National League and fresh NSF Fellows all arrive, but COVID-19 won’t leave

  People of Earth: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as Long Island, the United States and a good chunk of the civilized world muscle their way through another workweek in the Age of Coronavirus. It’s April 22 out there, which of course makes this Earth Day’s 50th anniversary – certainly not what anybody expected it would be, though maybe that’s not all bad. Cool beans: Meanwhile, you might still have some in the house after…

Newsletters March 18, 2020

No. 484: We do the twist, the bump and the IDA shuffle – all from the comfort of home!

  It could be worse: A lot worse, dear readers, as we hunker down, suck it up and otherwise follow sage advice designed to save lives. It’s Wednesday out there, March 18 to be precise, and as everyone readjusts to the new normal, we acknowledge National Supreme Sacrifice Day – and remember there’s plenty of real estate between inconvenience and true sacrifice. Too close for comfort: Another natural for a coast-to-coast lockdown, today is also…

Newsletters February 12, 2020

No. 474: On molecular diagnostics, robo-busts and T Rex – and happy birthday to the author of your youth

  Back stretch: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, and the clubhouse turn of our latest socioeconomic sprint. It’s Feb. 12 out there, replete with offbeat observations: choose from National Lost Penny Day, National Plum Pudding Day and Valentine’s Hug Day, a cuddly precursor to the big lovers’ day. They do: Speaking of lovers, it’s also a notable date for same-sex unions – National Freedom to Marry Day, which was actually started by a law firm…

Newsletters January 8, 2020

No. 464: Charging into the 20s, with Hawking, Cousteau, surgery bots and a new Penn Station

  Off we go: The holidays are over and reality returns, dear readers, as a fresh month, year and decade of socioeconomic innovation begins. It’s Wednesday, Jan. 8 – Babinden in Belarus, celebrating midwives, and World Typing Day, promoting speed and accuracy. Sweets: It’s also National English Toffee Day and National Man Watchers Day, which attempts to balance societal scales by encouraging women to gawk at men for a change (not sure about the thinking…

Newsletters October 4, 2019

No. 443: On Ken Morrelly, the LIREDC’s highest hopes, Sputnik and the Queen of the Damned

  Ten-four, good buddy: Breaker, breaker, dear readers, and thanks for having your ears on as we keep the left door closed, put the hammer down and speed toward another well-earned weekend. It’s Friday out there, Oct. 4 to be precise, which of course means it’s 10-4 and National CB Radio Day, first proclaimed in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter to salute the Citizen Band as an emergency resource and to honor enthusiasts. Off the…

Newsletters August 21, 2019

No. 431: Inventing Google, superior supercomputing and just the fax, ma’am

  Equatorial shift: Over the hump we go, dear readers, as we slide into the second half of this summertime workweek on Long Island and around the world (except in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s winter). Senior circuit: Whatever your season, it’s Aug. 21 out there – and to the 47 million-plus U.S. citizens ages 65 and older (according to the 2017 census), enjoy your National Senior Citizens Day. Readers of all ages can get…

Newsletters June 7, 2019

No. 412: On Prince, Pence, Columbia, clams and Northwell Health’s new ‘ranch’ dressing

  Finishing what you started: Another busy workweek ends, dear readers, and another warm weekend dawns. It’s Friday, June 7, out there, and you’ve completed yet another hard-run marathon of socioeconomic progress. Well done. Here’s the scoop: As a reward, please enjoy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. Here, them roar: You know who likes chocolate ice cream? Many of the 1.7 million members of Lions Club International, the world’s largest service organization, which launched in…

Newsletters May 1, 2019

No. 401: Manufacturing optimism, planning to win and crusading in capes – plus, the importance of summer schooling 

  May day! Don’t panic, dear readers – it’s merely the first of May and the midpoint of another busy week of socioeconomic innovation (being Wednesday and all). For the record, with a long (and sometimes dark) history extending back thousands of years, May Day is not all maypoles and pies. Let freedom ring: Here in the 21st Century, May 1 marks Armed Forces Day in Mauritania and Constitution Day in both Argentina and Latvia….

Newsletters March 22, 2019

No. 391: Kirk lives, rockets blast, lasers fire – and it’s a water world after all

  Welcome to Friday: You’ve done it, dear reader – the end of another busy workweek is upon us, and the first weekend of spring has sprung. Well played. It’s March 22 out there, marking the United Nation’s annual World Water Day, which reminds us that clean, potable water is “a human right.” (They take this to heart at Adelphi University, as you’ll see below.) More Power to you: With Saturday’s national Powerball jackpot soaring…