Good morning, it’s Tuesday. Welcome back to work. If you’re finding it challenge to get plugged back in after three days off, I feel your pain.
One thing that often helps me is to re-establish a routine. Change is the spice of life and all that, but there’s something to be said for the predictability of getting up at the same time, eating the same thing, going to the gym, clocking into work, etc. The brain is relieved of choice, which I find soothing and also mentally freeing.
It does take a certain degree of discipline to stick to a regimen. But self control is a muscle and you can get better at it over time if you work at it.
This is a belief shared by no shortage of people, including a woman named Annabella Milbanke, an English aristocrat, mathematician, and philanthropist, who lived in the late 1700s/early1800s and is perhaps best known for her brief and tempestuous marriage to the poet Lord Byron (George Gordon).
You might be familiar with Lord Byron for his connection to the author Mary Shelley (nee Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin) and his influence over her best known literary work, Frankenstein. Byron was actually the influence for the character of Victor Frankenstein and also for other characters in two of her subsequent books.
Byron, one of the major figures of the Romantic movement and viewed by some as among the greatest British poets, had what some would call an interesting sexual history. He was the world’s first modern celebrity, which placed him under significant scrutiny, making his love life the subject of great public interest.
In an attempt to escape the intense rumors that surrounded his personal peccadillos – including a widely-speculated affair with his own half-sister, with whom he may or may not have fathered a daughter – Byron married an aristocrat named Annabella Milbanke, who so loved mathematics that her husband jokingly referred to her as the “princess of parallelograms.”
The marriage was deeply troubled and lasted less than a year, but did result in the birth of a daughter who grew up to be Ada Lovelace, a woman far before her time credited with many things in a field that was, and sadly still is, overwhelmingly dominated by men – including being the first computer programmer.
Ada never met her father. She was only a few months old when he departed England permanently in the spring of 1816, and only eight years old when he died in Greece in 1824. Here’s where the start of this post finally begins to make sense. (Thanks to everyone who hung in there with me up to this point).
To counteract what she believed were “dangerous” poetic tendencies that her daughter might have inherited from Byron, Milbanke brought her up to be a scientist and a mathematician, which worked – though only to a degree.
Lovelace used her intellect, curiosity, and creativity to work with mathematician Charles Babbage on a prototype of the digital computer. Arguably, modern-day technological advancements would not be possible without her work.
The second Tuesday in October (in other words, today) is Ada Lovelace Day, which was founded in 2009 to encourage more women to be like Ada and pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Though women have made gains in some of these fields, progress has been uneven and they remain woefully under-represented across the board.
It will be overcast today, though there isn’t any rain in the forecast, and it will be on the warmer side, with the temperature topping out in the mid-60s.
In the headlines…
Houthi rebels threatened a “swift and painful” response against U.S. interests across the Middle East on Monday if President Donald Trump joins Saudi military strikes against the group.
Saudi Arabia has launched an investigation into why its air defenses failed to intercept a barrage of Houthi missiles and drones that struck Riyadh’s international airport, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 300.
A growing number of empty supertankers are avoiding the Persian Gulf following recent Iranian attacks on regional maritime infrastructure.
Oil prices fell in early morning trading in Asia after surging nearly $2 per barrel the day before as investors weighed supply disruptions threatened by attacks on Saudi Arabia against the potential influx of Russian diesel.
Trump’s surprise decision to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel fuel stunned Ukrainian and European officials, who were meeting with U.S. envoys at an exclusive golf club near Miami.
Trump on Monday defended last week’s decision to temporarily ease restrictions on Russian diesel fuel exports after the announcement drew bipartisan criticism.
President Trump said that he was “looking at” firing Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, following revelations that she had asked a Republican donor to pay her credit card bill in exchange for access to senior Trump administration officials.
Federal agents executed a search warrant at the home of Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Monday, according to three people briefed on the matter, the kind of investigative step the Justice Department has long shied away from so close to an election.
The Justice Department confirmed that it secured a court-authorized warrant for a law enforcement action, but the agency did not name Omar or confirm what investigation the search was connected to.
Trump used his rally in Youngstown, Ohio, yesterday to defend his administration’s investigation into the Democratic congresswoman.
More than 100 people chanted “Ilhan! Ilhan!” at an afternoon rally in Minneapolis in support of Omar. Speakers addressed the crowd from the bed of a pickup truck behind a large sign that said, “We Stand With Ilhan.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani slammed the search of Omar’s Washington, D.C., home, saying that her citizenship “should not be weaponized” against her.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday that New York State would sign on to President Trump’s tax-credit program, which was designed to benefit both public and private school parents but has divided Democrats.
Hochul faced some boos and hecklers giving her a thumbs-down as she marched uptown in Monday’s 82nd annual Columbus Day parade in Manhattan.
Trump returned to his New York on Friday, showcasing America’s “New Golden Age” and promising to help GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman flip the Empire State red as the GOP makes its final push toward November’s midterm elections.
Over the course of a speech spanning more than 1 hour and 20 minutes, Trump ripped Hochul over her immigration and energy policies, called Attorney General Letitia James a “dog” and repeated his false claims that Democrats cheat in elections.
Hochul announced that New York will join President Trump’s school choice program, allowing families to pay tuition at yeshivas and other religious schools with scholarships funded by donations that qualify for federal tax credits.
After months of attacks on the campaign trail, Hochul and Blakeman are set to face off tonight in their first and only scheduled debate in the race for New York governor.
Knicks owner James Dolan is hosting a fundraiser for Blakeman on Thursday at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden; tickets start at $10,000.
The Associated Builders & Contractors Empire State Chapter hosted its yearly Construction Excellence Awards gala where more than 200 construction industry professionals gathered to celebrate projects, workforce development, safety achievement and more.
Refugees, survivors of human trafficking and some Afghan and Ukrainian asylum-seekers are among the 60,000 low-income immigrants across New York affected by the latest round of Medicaid cuts.
Republican state lawmakers are calling for more transparency regarding how much discounted electricity data centers are receiving from the New York Power Authority.
As gas prices continue to climb, drivers will have to contend with another increased expense — this time via an E-ZPass charge or by mail rather than at the pump.
While seeking support from Hasidic leaders, Blakeman said Mamdani would not act if riots hit their community.
A broad daylight shooting by federal immigration officers in New York City is putting the Mamdani-Trump bromance to the test.
Mamdani is facing mounting pressure from his Democratic Socialist comrades to oust top cop Jessica Tisch over the ICE shooting that rocked the Bronx last week – but little flack has been headed his way.
Mamdani said on Monday that the NYPD had strengthened its accountability systems after an officer was allowed to retire before facing a disciplinary trial over the death of a teenager.
Mamdani ordered the police to conduct a review of their use-of-force policies, which were central to an oversight board’s decision to recommend excessive force charges against the officer, Salvatore Alongi, in the death of the 19-year-old Win Rozario in 2024.
“Every New Yorker deserves to know that force will be used lawfully, carefully and only when necessary,” Mamdani said in a statement. “We have an obligation to Win’s family and to every New Yorker who calls for help in a moment of crisis.”
The man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New York City last week remained in solitary confinement at a federal lockup in Brooklyn on Monday with a bullet still lodged in his neck, according to his attorneys.
Mamdani compared US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s recent shooting of a man in the Manhattan enclave of Marble Hill to a mass shooting scene – and called for an end to the agency’s operations in his city.
Private school tuition reimbursement spending in New York City has soared past $1 billion, exposing gaps in the public school system and disparities in who can navigate the process.
Big Apple college-educated residents have a higher unemployment rate than their less-educated peers for the first time in more than a decade, according to labor statistics highlighted by the city comptroller — who suggested AI might be to blame.
Mamdani, bucking a tradition long observed by previous mayors, declined to march in the Columbus Day Parade on Monday.
Hasan Piker called the protesters who jeered Mamdani at an Oct. 7 vigil last week “opportunists,” who “tarnished” the anti-Zionist movement’s message.
Cea Weaver spent years dueling and often beating powerful real estate interests, her sights fixed on getting buildings off a “hamster wheel” of speculation and neglect. Under Mamdani, she had a chance to put the city’s power behind that effort.
New York City’s plan to move thousands of freight deliveries out of trucks and onto the waterways took a small but important step forward when a boat docked in the Bronx to pick up 800 pounds of produce.
Actress Selma Blair missed multiple doses of a “powerful” medication and hit her head before a wild midair meltdown on Sunday night aboard a JFK-bound flight, her lawyers claimed.
The “Cruel Intentions” star was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on two assault charges for allegedly repeatedly kicking a cop in the head and attacking a nurse as she was taken to a hospital after the violent outburst on a Delta Airlines plane.
Sean “Diddy” Combs was reportedly taken by ambulance for medical treatment early Saturday for a head injury suffered in a fall at the federal prison where he’s serving time.
More than 60 NYC ferry captains have joined the Transport Workers Union of America — in what the labor group hopes will put more pressure on the Big Apple for future contract negotiations.
A new Siena poll shows Democrat Blake Gendebien leading his Republican opponent Anthony Constantino in NY-21 by 4 percentage points, an indication that Democrats may be able to flip a seat long viewed as a GOP stronghold.
Menands Mayor Brian Marsh says Harding and Mazzotti has asked the village for documents about the death of Harbe Nagi, 7, who was found dead in a pool next door to a home his family was visiting in June after his disappearance sparked a multi-day search.
The City of Saratoga Springs has posted traffic signs on South Broadway and Union Avenue instructing people entering Saratoga Springs to disregard panhandlers.
The first arrest under a 2023 statute banning transportation of equines for slaughter in New York is presenting challenges for the district attorney prosecuting the case.
Despite recent reports raising concerns about North Greenbush’s fiscal position, Supervisor Joseph Bott III said he is “comfortable” after submitting his 2027 budget proposal to the Town Board.
A historic marker commemorating a Civil War soldier from Troy who earned a Medal of Honor is now clearly readable and vibrant thanks to a community effort.
For the first time in its 11-year history, the New York State Salt Summit took to the Capital Region, encouraging statewide collaboration to advance environmental stewardship toward solving the pollution and health issues caused by an over-reliance on road salt.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
