The Daily Valet. - 10/20/20, Tuesday

✔️ Is Now the Time to Travel?

October 20, 2020

Tuesday, October 20th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Be prepared for awkward Zoom calls today ...

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Should We Travel?

Some say it's a great time to get out of town. Others warn against it.

Despite a significant rise in COVID-19 cases in many parts of the country, it appears that more people are flying on commercial jetliners than at any time over the last seven months, reports NPR.

The TSA's daily throughput figure has topped 900,000 eight times already this month, and the TSA reports that the 6.1 million people passing through U.S. airport checkpoints between Oct. 12 and Oct. 18 was the greatest weekly traveler volume measured since the start of the pandemic.

There's no doubt both a pandemic fatigue and a pent-up demand for travel these days. But should we flying and driving to other states (or even countries) right now?

Travel + Leisure spoke with numerous travel experts who say that going on a vacation right now is not only possible but essential to both local communities and the global travel industry.

But the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to advise Americans against travel: “Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.” The CDC maintains a list of destinations it considers high risk for the spread of COVID-19; in early October, 198 countries and territories were on it.

And it was announced on Monday that the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will stay closed to nonessential travel for at least another month. As much as I'm eager to leave home, I think I'll be staying put for a while.

↦ Dig Deeper: Forbes reports U.S. travel restrictions evolve state by state as COVID-19 rates spike.

Thursday’s Debate Mics Will Be Muted

The move is meant to prevent a repeat of the inaugural presidential debate three weeks ago

It’s hard to imagine anyone is still on the fence when it comes to next month’s presidential election. But if you're still curious about where the candidates stand on the issues, the Commission of Presidential Debates is here to help.

According to the Associated Press, the commission is officially wheeling out one of those rumored “tools to maintain order” we’ve been hearing about: a mute function.

You might recall that during September's chaotic first debate, President Trump interrupted Joe Biden 71 times, while Biden interrupted Trump 22 times.

Deadline reports that both will have their mics cut off while the other delivers “their opening two-minute answer to each of the debate topics.” Then, after each candidate’s initial response, there’ll be an “open discussion portion” during which their mics will not be muted—but any interruptions either make during those segments will still count toward their time.

↦ FYI: The final debate will be held at Nashville’s Belmont University this Thursday at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST, and will be viewable on C-SPAN, YouTube and most major networks.

The Zoom D*ck Incident People Are Talking About

The New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin apologized for the “embarrassingly stupid mistake”

Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long to get a high-profile Zoom mistake. But I wasn't expecting ... this.

Vice's Motherboard reports that Jeffrey Toobin has been suspended from The New Yorker, where he covers law, after he exposed himself on camera during a video call between the magazine and WNYC radio last week.

“I made an embarrassingly stupid mistake, believing I was off camera,” Toobin said in a statement. “I believed I was not visible on Zoom.” According to what people saw, he was apparently taking things into his own hands (so to speak) while on a second video call. The news ricocheted around social media and soon his book events and CNN appearances were placed on hold as well.

It doesn't appear that he intended to expose himself. So really it's just an unfortunate reminder that multitasking never gets you the results you hope for.

↦ FYI: The Wall Street Journal has compiled seven rules for professional Zoom etiquette from the pros.

A Tradition, Delayed

The 2020 edition of The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror will air after Halloween

The Simpsons' upcoming 'Treehouse Of Horror XXXI' episode has been delayed until November 1st due to the MLB playoffs, reports Newsweek.

The legendary spooky special began in 1990, when the show was on its second season. Which means that this year marks the 30th anniversary. But hey, it's 2020 and that means things get messed up, right?

On the bright side, Disney+ has announced that the 'Treehouse of Horror' collection is now live in their streaming library. The collection features every Halloween episode from over the years—from spoofs of famous films by icons like Hitchcock and Kubrick to classic alien and zombie encounters.

And if you plan on watching them over the next two weeks, Inside Hook has ranked the 30 best segments over the years. And I have to say, they got the top five exactly right.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Classy WFH footwear

These wild nature photos

The Kaufmann Desert House

Porsche Launches New Panamera Models

The Turbo S E-Hybrid is the second most powerful car Porsche makes

Porsche's Panamera has always been two things: Fast and a little funny-looking. Both of those labels still apply to the 2021 model, but now we can add "efficient" to that list thanks to the introduction of updated versions of the already very competent plug-in hybrids.

According to Road Show, the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid may be the entry-level plug-in for the Panamera line, but it offers a ton of performance. How much performance? Try 455 horsepower and a 0-60 sprint in just 4.2 seconds.

The computers are doing such a good job that sometimes this massive machine can briefly act like a 911, reports Car and Driver.

The 2021 Panamera plug-in hybrids are slated to hit dealers in the spring of 2021, with order books opening earlier in the year. Pricing hasn't been made available yet but you can expect it around the $100,000 mark.

↦ Dig Deeper: Get a closet look at the car with this gallery from Car and Driver.

Sales We’re Eyeing

Tom Ford, $345 / $159.97

A good pair of sunglasses come in handy and look great no matter the season. But now that summer's winding down, Nordstrom Rack has a wide range of designer shades marked way, way down. Like 85% off. We've pulled a few of our favorites, but there are plenty to choose from—move fast because they won't last long at these prices.