JoAnne Wilson recently submitted this beautiful photo of Setauket Harbor. She writes, “I took this photo at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28th as I strolled down Shore Road. Only wish the entire community could have shared the moment with me. We are all so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.”
Send your photo to [email protected]
By Michael E. Russell
Let us talk about Tik Tok. Americans spent over 50 billion hours on this App during 2022. It is perhaps one of the fastest growing businesses in the world today. This company generated $9 billion in revenue last year with analysts projecting more than $14 billion this year. This is a ten fold increase since 2020.
A short tutorial. Tik Tok is a subsidiary of Byte Dance which is China based. Are we getting a little uncomfortable yet? Tik Tok CEO Shou Zi Chew spent 5 hours on the hot seat testifying before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Not a comfortable place to be. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington State, stated that Tik Tok is “a tool to manipulate America” forcefully declaring it should be banned. During the hearing it was asserted that Chinese President Xi Jinping is the real power behind Tik Tok.
Shockingly, both sides of the aisle don’t believe that Chew’s testimony stating that Tik Tok is not an agent of China rings true. Both Democrats and Republicans see Tik Tok as a geopolitical and social media risk.
Something has to give. It is highly unlikely that the status quo will remain in place. A possibility is that Tik Tok is banned. First Amendment problem? Another is an outright sale. In that case, Meta, Alphabet and Snap could be potential big winners. Just a note: 95 million Americans use Tik Tok daily for an average of 90 minutes a day. No wonder our kids are not outside riding their bikes. This situation should be followed closely by all of us. Banning Tik Tok and other Chinese based apps will certainly lead to retaliation on U.S. companies. However, the Congress sees Tik Tok and other social medias as increasingly dangerous to the mental health of our youth. To be continued.
How about this market!
Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank self-destructed. UBS Group, my former employer, took over Credit Suisse in order to keep it from collapsing. A Swiss Bank, really!
In spite of the banking sector getting pummeled, the Nasdaq had its best quarter since 2020, up 17%. A stock I have been touting, Nvidia is up 101 points in 3 months, not too shabby. Back to the banks. With investors wary about depositing money in banks due to the government selectively choosing which accounts to insure, where do we put our money? Some investors have moved back into the crypto-currency market. UGH, short term memory.
We have witnessed Sam Bankman Frieds FTX exchange crash this past June. Crypto has given us a year full of scams, arrests, bankruptcies and billions in lost value. In spite of these spectacular events, crypto currencies such as Etherium and Bitcoin are up 40% this year, i.e., Bitcoin was at a low of 16,700 early January closing this past Friday at 28,716. For the life of me, I am having trouble calculating these numbers on my abacus … not enough beads.
In closing, let me speak to the tragic loss of Dr. Mark Funt, my daughter Sarah’s father-in-law. Mark was a great presence in our community. A highly skilled physician, loving husband, father, and a special Poppy to his grandchildren. He will be sorely missed. We love you MIF.
Michael E. Russell retired after 40 years working for various Wall Street firms. All recommendations being made here are not guaranteed and may incur a loss of principal. The opinions and investment recommendations expressed in the column are the author’s own. TBR News Media does not endorse any specific investment advice and urges investors to consult with their financial advisor.
YIELD: Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
Heat round waffle iron. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix together waffle mix, milk, egg, oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 teaspoon each sunflower and berry colors until blended. Let batter stand 5 minutes to allow color to fully develop.
Pour about 1/3 cup batter onto center of waffle iron. Close lid. Cook about 3 minutes, or until no longer steaming. Carefully remove waffle. Repeat with remaining batter. Cut each waffle into 8 triangles. Set aside.
In another medium bowl, stir sky blue color and remaining sunflower color into cream. Add confectioners’ sugar and remaining vanilla; beat with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spoon into re-sealable plastic bag. Cut piece off one bottom corner.
To decorate and serve waffles, place waffle triangles onto serving plates and pipe green colored cream on wide side of each triangle to resemble carrot tops.
For more recipes and tips, check out McCormick.com
By Heidi Sutton
Whether you’re enjoying a spring holiday like Easter or simply embracing the opportunities that the new air brings, food remains the centerpiece. And with citrus, each moment can be a celebration. If you love the smell and taste of lemons, then this Lemon Loaf is the perfect sweet bread to bake for Easter. Serve it up for breakfast, brunch, dessert or an afternoon treat.
Glazed Lemon Loaf
YIELD: Makes one loaf
INGREDIENTS:
Loaf
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Zest from 2 lemons
Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Zest from 1 lemon
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F and line your 8 x 4″ loaf pan with parchment paper. Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add in your eggs one at a time and vanilla extract. Into a smaller bowl mix together your flour, salt and baking soda. Alternately add the dry ingredients and your sour cream to the batter, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat between each addition until just combined. Fold in fresh lemon juice and zest and mix until well combined.
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake in oven about 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Meanwhile, prepare glaze by mixing powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together until smooth. Remove loaf from oven and let cool completely (about one hour) before topping with lemon glaze.
Find more citrus recipes at Sunkist.com/Recipes.
By Daniel Dunaief
I’m a happy idiot, or HI for short. I admit it. I’m even thinking of forming a club. No, it’s not a political party, and no, we’re not excluding anyone, which means that self-hating people will struggle to accept that we accept them without exception.
Whew, it feels good to get that off my chest. I know, I know. I’m supposed to find people who disagree with me, who come from a different political party, who celebrate different holidays or different religions annoying or frustrating. I’m supposed to look past those people at the ones who live and think like I do.
How do I know that? My political leaders and the pundits on TV spend a great deal of time telling me that other people are ruining my life, this country, history, religion, baseball and apple pie. Most apple pie has dairy in it anyway, and I’m allergic to dairy, not that I’m offended by dairy or anyone who eats it. I like watching people eat food with dairy, like ice cream, because I know it makes them happy, and as a charter member of the happy idiot club, I’m pleased to share vicariously in other people’s happiness.
I can’t ascribe to the endless need to bicker and find fault. It’s not who I am, and it’s not fun. Sure, people can be annoying and can say things that I find problematic or objectionable.
And, yes, I would take issue with anyone who trampled on principles I believe in or who, through word or deed, violated my sense of right or wrong or who broke the law.
As a matter of daily living, though, I don’t celebrate moments when the other side loses because I often have friends on both sides of any aisle, and I don’t believe a loss for the other side is as good, if not better, than a victory for me.
I’m not going to revel in the schadenfreude that has come to define so much of American life, in which taunting, making faces, humiliating or name-calling makes people happy.
On a daily basis and apart from when I watch political leaders or pundits on TV, I find most people unobjectionable. When I start chatting with someone — whether that’s on the sidewalk, in the supermarket, at the gym, or at an early season baseball game — my first thought isn’t about how they might have voted for the wrong person or that they might believe in the wrong things. I don’t judge the tattoos on their arms, their piercings, or the different clothing they wear.
I listen to what they say and to how they say it and have found that they are as welcoming of me, with my untucked shirt and the endless array of sports paraphernalia I wear, as I am of them.
More often than not, they talk about something relatable, like their day, the struggle to help their children, the search for a plumber who won’t charge too much or their excitement that their daughter just got into an extraordinarily competitive college.
With our phones, we have endless ways to connect with people from all over the state, the country and the world. Our political leaders, however, would have us believe that we should make an effort to disconnect or to disrespect those whom we consider different or other.
Well, as a happy idiot, I won’t scream at you and tell you whom to hate, fear or blame. Like me, you can enjoy the comfort of friends and neighbors hoping for a better tomorrow without the screaming, shouting, insulting or hating. Being happy doesn’t keep you from succeeding or working hard: it keeps you from wasting energy being annoyed, angry, irritated or fearful. So, come, join the happy party.
By Leah S. Dunaief
This is a shout-out to all would-be entrepreneurs. Saturday marks the 47th birthday of The Village Times and hence the beginning of Times Beacon Record News Media. So, if you are thinking of starting your own business or organization, stop thinking.
Just do it.
We know whereof we speak. I mention our start to prove what can be done with energy, commitment, good helpers and a dream.
And a little bit of luck. While we started in 1976, during a depression in the economy, women were beginning to enter the workplace. We had some of the brightest members of the community looking for work just when we needed help the most.
To start something new, unless it is philanthropic in nature, you will need money. Obtaining start-up funds will measure how good a salesperson you are. You will have to communicate your idea and your passion to those from whom you are asking for funds.
We sold shares in a closed corporation to gather our initial underwriting.
Whom should you approach?
The answer to that depends on finding people who might share your passion for what you are starting or who love you enough to support your getting it off the ground. Unless you have tangible assets to offer as collateral, don’t bother going to most banks.
Since we were proposing starting a community newspaper, we went to members of the community and asked for their participation. At the time, the type of corporation we used limited us to 10 stockholders. I believe that is no longer the case.
How much to ask?
We had no idea how much it would cost to get started, so we picked a number that we thought would not seriously affect any investor if it were lost. We also tried to estimate how much the market of investors would be willing to spend.
The result: We were woefully undercapitalized and have always run from behind. That’s exciting but not smart business strategy. Ask others in your field who might be sympathetic to your efforts to estimate one year’s expenses, at the very least, and set that as your minimum goal.
When we ran out of money at a key moment, we were able to include one extra stockholder who brought us fresh cash. This was not necessarily appreciated by the other shareholders because it diluted their equity a bit. But we persevered.
It is vital that you know yourself. Being the founder is not for everyone. Most people would rather work for a company and receive a predictable paycheck rather than take chances every week with not meeting the payroll or being able to pay the bills. The boss has to deal with problems routinely that may seem far removed from the original goal of the company. Personnel matters are an example.
Don’t try to learn everything there is to know about your prospective business before you start, first because you can’t really know what lies ahead and also because you will learn more as you go forward. I believe we fell into every unimaginable briar patch that we could, including a move on us to become unionized, despite the fact that no community newspaper in the state had a union, and a lengthy audit for proper classification of our staff.
That can happen to you. We learned from every thorny experience.
Also, we were protected by our ignorance and just plowed ahead. Not considering failure kept it from entering our thinking.
Surround yourself with good workers. You may not be able to afford experienced people in your field, but more importantly, find bright helpers who totally share your dream. They, and you, will learn as you go. And attribute the successes to them because none of us can go it alone. It is the staff of our newspapers and media company that earned us 11 prizes in this past week’s annual Better Newspaper Contest for New York State publishers. Yay for each one and for the whole team together.
We have been lucky in being accepted and patronized by our customers: readers and advertisers. I believe that if you offer your best work and respond to their needs, all while maintaining a brand known for integrity, your customers will make you a success.
Go for it. And best of luck!
MEET CHEVY!
This week’s shelter pet is Chevy, a one and a half year-old male pit mix up for adoption at the Smithtown Animal Shelter.
Chevy has had a very difficult start to his young life. He was found by law enforcement lying on the side of the road on New Year’s Eve. He was emaciated, completely blind, and very scared and injured. X-rays showed that he had broken and fractured bones all over. It became clear that these injuries were the result of either abuse or negligence.
Chevy had surgery to repair a dislocated elbow, and spent some time in a foster home so his recovery could be closely monitored. Chevy’s condition began to improve, as he started to perk up and play, and showed signs of vision returning in one of his eyes. He still gave a happy greeting to everyone who walked by and would nudge people for affection. His body may have been damaged, but his attitude and spirit would never be broken.
While his vision was improving in one eye, his other eye still had a detached retina, swelling, and light bleeding. The difficult decision was made to remove this eye. Now that he has fully recovered from this surgery, his doctors believe he will live a pain-free life. Chevy is finally getting to experience the happy puppy life that he never had before. He has gained back weight, is strong and mobile despite still having a slight limp, and loves to snuggle and kiss. Even though he was mistreated by humans before, he is still very trusting and friendly to all new people. Chevy is the perfect example of the ultimate comeback story, and he won’t let anything get him down.
Chevy will only be allowed to be into the best of homes who will provide him with the love and care he was missing in his past life. Chevy has experience living with dogs and gets along well with them, but he does need some time to get used to other canine companions and introduce himself. Due to his limited vision, he should only be with older kids that will respect his sight trouble. He also has a well-managed food allergy. Chevy can’t wait to find his perfect furrever home, and we know that home is out there somewhere for him.
If you are interested in meeting Chevy, please fill out an application to schedule time to properly interact with him in a domestic setting, which includes a Meet and Greet Room, the dog runs, and a dog walk trail.
Download the Foster Application at:
https://www.smithtownny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4325/Foster-Application
The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Visitor hours are currently Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Sundays and Wednesday evenings by appointment only). For more information, call 631-360-7575 or visit www.townofsmithtownanimalshelter.com.
By Fr. Francis Pizzarelli
Every newspaper, every news channel, no matter what their politics are talking about the serious concerns around the mental health of the young people in our country.
The mental health of our youth is on the verge of becoming, if it has not already, a national health epidemic!
Social media is out of control. The pandemic has not helped this national crisis. Candidly, it has intensified it. So, what do we do? First, we need to destigmatize any kind of mental health and substance use disorders. We have to have the courage to act bravely to provide competent, cost-effective treatment services for mental health and addictive health.
Telehealth is a great resource but is already overbooked and is geared more to working with the middle/upper class. They have waiting lists that are endless. Private practice is overloaded as well. The clinics of yesteryear who are capable of reaching out to the underserved need to be resurrected and properly staffed.
Our local hospitals need additional funds to build on the excellent services that already exist but do not meet the epidemic need. Mental health must become a priority; too many young people are toying with suicide. Most don’t want to die they just want the pain and anguish to stop.
Too often that pain is intensified due to our social media platforms, which can be unbearable triggers for those who are already struggling with self-esteem and self-worth. We need to challenge our schools to be more effective in teaching better coping skills and also creating more safe places where students can go and talk without fear of judgment, shame, and guilt.
Most school districts should consider increasing their social work staff. If they don’t have any social workers on their staff, they should consider hiring competent social workers with plans to better serve our children who are at risk. We need more of a collaborative effort between mental health staff faculty, administrators and support staff. This kind of collaboration really does make a difference.
TJ was 16; he was shy to begin with. The pandemic made him even more self-conscious and shy. His only outlet was social media. When given the freedom to go out, he stayed in and spent his life on social media. He was a good student, a good young man at home. No one really knew how addicted he had become to social media. He had joined a growing number of invisible young people who are in so much pain and are so closed that they are falling between the cracks.
We need to stop talking and need to think outside the box. We need to demand funding that will allow us to create life-giving opportunities for all of our young people to build their self-worth, their self-confidence and their self-value so that they will know they really matter and can make a difference that counts!
Father Francis Pizzarelli, SMM, LCSW-R, ACSW, DCSW, is the director of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson.
By David Dunaief, M.D.
If you suffer from osteoarthritis, you know it can affect your quality of life and make it difficult to perform daily activities. Osteoarthritis (OA) most often affects the knees, hips and hands and can affect your mood, mobility, and sleep quality.
Common first-line medications that treat arthritis pain are acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen or naproxen. Unfortunately, these medications have side effects, especially with long-term use. Also, while they might relieve your immediate symptoms of pain and inflammation, they don’t slow osteoarthritis’ progression.
Fortunately, there are approaches you can use to ease your pain without reaching for medications. Some can even help slow the progression of your OA or even reverse your symptoms.
What role does weight play?
Weight management is a crucial component of any OA pain management strategy. In a study involving 112 obese patients, those who lost weight reported easing of knee symptoms (1). Even more exciting, the study authors observed disease modification, with a reduction in the loss of cartilage volume around the medial tibia. Those who gained weight saw the opposite effect.
The relationship was almost one-to-one; for every one percent of weight lost, there was a 1.2 mm3 preservation of medial tibial cartilage volume, while the opposite occurred when participants gained weight. A reduction of tibial cartilage is often associated with the need for a knee replacement.
Does vitamin D help?
In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), vitamin D provided no OA symptom relief, nor any disease-modifying effects (2). This two-year study of almost 150 men and women raised blood levels of vitamin D on average to 36 ng/ml, which is considered respectable. Researchers used MRI and X-rays to track their results.
In another study of 769 participants, ages 50-80, researchers found that low vitamin D levels – below 25 nmol/l led to increased OA knee pain over the five-year study period and hip pain over 2.4 years (3). The researchers postulate that supplementing vitamin D might reduce pain in those who are deficient, but that it will likely have no effect on others.
How does dairy factor into OA?
With dairy, specifically milk, there is conflicting information. Some studies show benefits, while others show that it may contribute to the inflammation that makes osteoarthritis pain feel worse.
In the Osteoarthritis Initiative study, researchers looked specifically at joint space narrowing that occurs in those with affected knee joints (4). Results showed that low-fat (1 percent) and nonfat milk may slow the progression of osteoarthritis in women. Compared to those who did not drink milk, patients who did saw significantly less narrowing of knee joint space over a 48-month period.
The result curve was interesting, however. For those who drank from fewer than three glasses a week up to 10 glasses a week, the progression of joint space narrowing was slowed. However, for those who drank more than 10 glasses per week, there was less beneficial effect. There was no benefit seen in men or with the consumption of higher fat products, such as cheese or yogurt.
However, the study was observational and had significant flaws. First, the 2100 patients were only asked about their milk intake at the study’s start. Second, patients were asked to recall their weekly milk consumption for the previous 12 months before the study began — a challenging task.
On the flip side, a study of almost 39,000 participants from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study found that increases in dairy consumption were associated with increased risk of total hip replacements for men with osteoarthritis (5).
Getting more specific, a published analysis of the Framingham Offspring Study found that those who consumed yogurt had statistically significant lower levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a marker for inflammation, than those who didn’t eat yogurt, but that this was not true with milk or cheese consumption (6).
Would I recommend consuming low-fat or nonfat milk or yogurt? Not necessarily, but I might not dissuade osteoarthritis patients from yogurt.
Does exercise help with OA pain?
Diet and exercise trumped the effects of diet or exercise alone in a well-designed study (7). In an 18-month study, patients with osteoarthritis of the knee who lost at least 10 percent of their body weight experienced significant improvements in function and a 50 percent reduction in pain, as well as reduction in inflammation. This was compared to those who lost a lower percent of their body weight.
Researchers used biomarker IL6 to measure inflammation. The diet and exercise group and the diet-only group lost significantly more weight than the exercise-only group, 23.3 pounds and 19.6 pounds versus 4 pounds. The diet portion consisted of a meal replacement shake for breakfast and lunch and then a vegetable-rich, low-fat dinner. Low-calorie meals replaced the shakes after six months. The exercise regimen included one hour of a combination of weight training and walking “with alacrity” three times a week.
To reduce pain and possibly improve your OA, focus on lifestyle modifications. The best effects shown are with weight loss and with a vegetable-rich diet. In terms of low-fat or nonfat milk, the results are controversial, at best. For yogurt, the results suggest it may be beneficial for osteoarthritis, but stay on the low end of consumption, since dairy can increase inflammation.
References:
(1) Ann Rheum Dis. 2015 Jun;74(6):1024-9. (2) JAMA. 2013;309:155-162. (3) Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2014;73:697–703. (4) Arthritis Care Res online. 2014 April 6. (5) J Rheumatol. 2017 Jul;44(7):1066-1070. (6) Nutrients. 2021 Feb 4;13(2):506. (7) JAMA. 2013;310:1263-1273.
Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.
By Heidi Sutton
The Jewish celebration of Passover (April 5 to 13) is one of the religion’s most sacred and widely observed holidays and commemorates the Biblical story of the Israelites’ escape from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. The holiday also includes all kinds of ceremonial foods but if there is one ingredient Passover celebrants may find challenging to work with during the holiday, it could be unleavened bread.
Typically matzoh/matzah is substituted for other yeasted breads this time of year. One place matzoh really shines is in matzoh balls for use in soups or side dishes. A dumpling of sorts, matzoh balls are tasty and filling, and ideal for meals throughout Passover. Try this recipe for “Perfect Matzah Balls (Kneidlach)” courtesy of Chabad.org’s Kosher Cooking.
Potato latkes, on the other hand, are delicious at any time of the year, but for Passover they are made with with matzo meal, the flour of a crisp unleavened bread that’s allowed during the holiday. The matzo meal provides a nice substitute for the flour and serves as the binding, along with the eggs, for the latkes in this recipe from AllRecipes.com.
Perfect Matzah Balls (Kneidlach)
YIELD: Makes 8 matzah balls (Meat, Pareve)
INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons oil or chicken fat
2 tablespoons soup stock or water
1⁄2 cup matzah meal
1 teaspoon salt
1 quart of salted water for cooking
DIRECTIONS:
Beat eggs slightly with fork. Add other ingredients, except matzah meal, and mix. Add matzah meal gradually until thick. Stir. Refrigerate for 20 minutes in covered bowl.
Wet hands and form into balls. Drop into bubbling chicken soup or into a large wide pot into which 1 quart of water seasoned with 1 tablespoon salt has been added and has come to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes.
Passover Potato Latkes
YIELD:Makes 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
6 medium Russet potatoes (peeled and shredded)
2 medium onions (shredded)
2 tablespoons matzo meal (or more as necessary)
2 large eggs
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
Place the potatoes and onion into a bowl, and stir in matzo, eggs, salt and pepper as needed to make the mixture hold together. Add more matzo meal if the mixture is too runny. With wet hands, scoop up about 1/3 cup of the mixture per patty, and form into flat round or oval shapes.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, and gently place the patties into the hot oil. Fry until the bottoms are golden brown and crisp, 5 to 8 minutes, then flip with a spatula and fry the other side until golden.
Drain on paper towels and serve hot with apple sauce.
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