The Daily Valet. - 10/3/22, Monday

✔️ The Gang Is Back

October 03, 2022

Monday, October 3rd Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

The new Bond films are great, but the older ones have the humor that I really appreciate.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

The Supreme Court Is Back

The justices return to the bench today to start a term that will include major cases

Today, the nine justices of the Supreme Court will take their seats at the start of a new judicial year, even as the shock waves of the panel’s previous seismic term continue to reverberate across America.

“Previously ... on the Supreme Court,” the six-to-three conservative supermajority eliminated the right to abortion, established a right to carry guns outside the home and limited efforts to address climate change. And according to the New York Times, there are few signs that the court’s race to the right is slowing.

The new term will feature major disputes on affirmative action, voting, religion, free speech and gay rights. And the court’s conservatives seem poised to dominate. “On things that matter most,” said Irv Gornstein, the executive director of the Supreme Court Institute at Georgetown Law, “get ready for a lot of 6-3s.”

One welcome change: The court announced last week that members of the public will be able to attend oral arguments again—the first time since the COVID-induced shutdown in March 2020. And the metal barricades erected to ward off protestors on the plaza have been removed.

And there will likely be some protests. The fallout of the spate of hard-leaning conservative rulings has shaken public confidence in the neutrality of the court. A new Gallup poll just found that fewer than half of U.S. adults trust it—a drop of more than 20 points in just two years and the lowest rating since Gallup began recording the trend in 1972.

Meanwhile, the addition of the court’s newest member, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, will cause the court to invoke one of its closely held traditions—the rearrangement of where the justices are seated on the bench when a new justice joins its ranks. In the courtroom, justices are seated by seniority, with the chief justice in the middle. This means that Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas will occupy the same seat this term that they did last term. But the remaining justices will be shuffled around.

↦ FYI: Here’s how upcoming Supreme Court cases could have big implications for businesses.

The Military Faces a Recruiting Crisis

The Army fell short of its recruitment goal this year, while other branches squeak by

The Army fell about 15,000 soldiers (about 25%) short of its recruitment goal this year, officials confirmed Friday. This is despite a frantic effort to make up the widely expected gap in a year when all the military services struggled in a tight jobs market to find young people willing to enlist.

According to U.S. News & World Report, while the Army was the only service that didn't meet its target, all of the others had to dig deep into their pools of delayed entry applicants, which will put them behind as they begin the next recruiting year.

The problem is stirring a debate about whether America's fighting force should be restructured or reduced in size if the services can't recruit enough. It could also put added pressure on the National Guard and Reserve to help meet mission requirements.

CNBC reports that legislators are getting concerned and speaking out. “The Army has to recognize that there’s been an evolution in that young population,” said Rep. Jackie Speie of California, chair of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel. But Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona thinks it might be because the military has become too woke. But as former soldier Jason Kander points out, it might have more to do with the fact that we only recently took a break from twenty uninterrupted years of war.

↦ FYI: There are currently more than 1.29 million men and women in active service in the U.S. military, which is less than 0.5% of the U.S. population.

Optimus, the Tesla Bot, Is Finally Here

Well, sort of. It’s got people talking, but it’s also definitely a work in progress.

Tesla has been promising to unveil a “humanoid” robot—a bipedal machine that can move, act and behave like a person—since the summer of 2021. On Friday, the company finally revealed the long-awaited robot, ushering it onto a stage at company headquarters in Palo Alto during its annual AI Day.

The robot, dubbed Optimus, walked stiffly on stage and slowly waved at the crowd, gesturing with its hands for about a minute. CEO Elon Musk said that the robot was operating without a tether for the first time. CNN says that Optimus' abilities appear to significantly trail what the dancing, flipping robots from competitors like Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics are capable of.

But unlike the wildly expensive Boston Dynamic bots, Tesla says that Optimus will eventually be able to be mass produced to help out everyday Americans with their household chores and will be an affordable product that most people can buy.

Maybe people expect too much from Musk these days. Because a lot people seem to be pretty underwhelmed. (Gizmodo called it “ridiculous.”) Then again, while the robot isn't exactly a disappointment, there's very little to suggest that it disrupts robotics the way that SpaceX did for rockets or Tesla did for electric cars. But maybe it's just too early to say.

Every Bond Film to Stream on Prime

Video, Amazon Prime Video ...

After closing a massive $8.45 billion deal last year to buy MGM—the longtime home of the James Bond franchise—Amazon has announced that all 25 Bond films are heading to Prime Video in the U.S., United Kingdom and a few other territories this week.

Starting on Oct. 5, everything from Dr. No and From Russia With Love to Goldeneye and No Time to Die will be available to stream on Prime Video. It's apparently tied in with the franchise's 60th-anniversary celebration.

The service will also premiere The Sound of 007, a new documentary about the music of the films. It features music and film clips from the various movies, plus historical video and new interviews with those who've been involved with the music of Bond. Billie Eilish and Paul McCartney are among those interviewed in the new film.

According to Variety, the Bond franchise will only be available “for a limited time,” though it didn't specify the period. And they pointed out that just because they now own MGM, that doesn't necessarily mean that upcoming 007 adventures will skip theaters and land directly on streaming. But, for the time being, let's just enjoy all the films available to stream in one place.

↦ Watch List: Not sure where to start? CNET's Jon Skillings has a whole rundown on the Bond flicks and which ones to check out first.

In Other News

↦ Feds Vow Major Aid for Hurricane Ian Victims Amid Rescues

↦ How Netflix Lost Its Edge Over the Competition

↦ ‘Saturday Night Live’ Returns and Shows That a Lot of Rebuilding Is Underway

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Fall’s finest texture

This steel G-Shock

Riding in an autonomous vehicle

Live Longer

Scientifically-proven ways to extend your life

Life is good, right? You like living and want to do more of it, yeah? Well here's some good news then. You don't need to be a billionaire with access to the most expensive gyms, expensive all-organic supplements or extreme medical procedures to prolong your life.

There are fairly simple things you can do to make sure you don't die prematurely. We spoke with a few experts and pulled together ten scientifically-proven ways to live longer.

And there's even some wisdom from the world's oldest man, who assures us that you don't have live like a monk to extend your life. You simply make good choices. And, ideally, adopt a pet.

↦ Read: 10 easy ways to live longer.

What We’re Eyeing

This timepiece's simple good looks belies a lot happening under the surface. Inspired by Detroit's sign painters, the Mechanic watch ($1,450) features a domed dial, box crystal, curved hands and a toothy crown for easy winding. And speaking of which, this is the brand's first foray into hand-wound watches. The intricate movements inside have raised the price, but like the hand-painted signs it's influenced by, it's a worthy cost for old world craftsmanship that will last a lifetime.

↦ Want more? 5 stylish items to buy this week