The Daily Valet. - 10/7/21, Thursday

✔️ I'm a Meme, Duh

October 07, 2021

Thursday, October 7th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I’m not sure if I’ll dress up for Halloween this year. But I will eat candy.

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Halloween to Honor Viral Moments

Turning the year’s most popular memes into IRL costumes

Look, it’s been a rough couple of years. Last year, Halloween was all but canceled due to COVID. But even this *gestures wildly at everything around us* wasn’t enough to stop people from dressing up.

“Last year was a huge Halloween and caught all of us by surprise,” one of America’s top costume-makers told The Guardian. “Clearly, everyone was looking for a mental escape from the overwhelming circumstances of the year.”

It sounds like this year could be even bigger as more and more people want to get out and celebrate. And the internet has provided plenty of inspiration for dressing up in 2021. As Vice puts it: “Bless the meme lords, the TikTok sound remixers, and anyone else whose cleverness has saved our last two brain cells from rolling off a cliff this year.”

Ticking off the list is like reliving all the viral moments we laughed at over and over. Bernie at the inauguration? Kim at the Met Gala? Those will be big. That cat filter lawyer from Zoom? Yep, he’s here too. So are Anakin and Padme from the meadow scene you know and love from Twitter.

Other pop culture reference include streaming sensations like Bridgerton and, of course, Squid Game. Staying referential is a smart tactic—especially if you, too, are an aging millennial looking for an easy way to remind the kids that you’re #hip and #online without how do you do-ing (which, come to think of it, isn’t a bad costume idea).

Of course, there are some you should steer clear of ... Gizmodo has pulled together the worst costumes for 2021. “You shouldn’t be caught dead in these,” they say. “You shouldn’t be found alive in them, either.”

↦ FYI: Every fall, around 1,400 Spirit Halloween locations pop up in the United States and Canada.

Senate Appears to Stave Off Debt Crisis

The short-term agreement could prevent a financial calamity (for now)

Senate Democrats and Republicans negotiated well past midnight on a deal that could temporarily stave off a default on the government's debts—exploring a short-term reprieve to a high-stakes battle that has threatened to plunge the United States into a new economic recession.

With the threat of a default as little as 12 days away, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, made a tactical retreat and announced that Republicans would allow Democrats to vote on a short-term extension.

McConnell's decision was in large part driven by Democrats' fresh calls to go nuclear and modify the filibuster—which requires 60 votes to move on major legislation—as they sought to break the debt-limit impasse.

But in true Washington fashion, the still-fragile and unfinalized agreement simply proposes to do all this again in two months, reports Intelligencer. The site said it's a temporary solution to a pretend crisis and called it, for lack of a better term, a political “pissing match.”

↦ By the Numbers: Axios looks back at the history of the debt ceiling, which was first enacted in 1917.

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Twitch Confirms Major Data Breach

The data breach apparently includes source code, gamer payouts and more

Wednesday was a very bad day for Twitch, the streaming platform many of the best video game players call home. Earlier in the day, the company experienced its biggest data breach ever, and a lot of sensitive company information was shared with the public.

They confirmed the attack after an anonymous individual released more than 120 gigabytes of Twitch data on the online forum 4chan, including what they claim was the platform's source code and data on how much top streamers on the service get paid.

“Anytime source code gets leaked it's not good and potentially disastrous,” a security expert told WIRED. “It opens a gigantic door for evildoers to find cracks in the system, lace malware and potentially steal sensitive information.”

The leak does not appear to contain streamers' or users' personal information, but the damage appears extensive. According to The Verge, Twitch has been struggling to contain ongoing hate and harassment recently. After weeks of hate raids, some Twitch streamers took a day off in August to protest against the company's lack of action.

↦ FYI: The anonymous poster labeled the leak “Part One,” suggesting that more data had been acquired.

Gatorade Runs Low

Supply shortages could lead to higher prices

Shoppers have been no strangers to shortages over the last year and a half. From people hoarding products to a lack of workers, there have been a number of factors contributing to limited stock and empty shelves during the pandemic.

The latest victim? Gatorade. Across the country, stores are struggling to keep Gatorade in stock. Walmart, one of the largest online sellers of the sports drink, lists several Gatorade products as out-of-stock—including a standard 12-pack of the most popular flavor, Fruit Punch.

According to ABC News, parent company PepsiCo is set to raise its prices on several products to offset the costs of supply chain issues, which include shortages of plastic bottles for Gatorade.

The food and beverage giant has dealt with higher transportation and commodity costs amid the pandemic and says it will likely integrate a price hike in the first few months of 2022.

↦ Dig Deeper: Michael Jordan was the first celebrity athlete to endorse Gatorade.

In Other News

↦ Judge Orders Texas to Suspend New Law Banning Most Abortions

↦ Florida Man Filed 745 Tax Returns in 4 Years, Collecting $235K in Bogus Refunds

↦ How NBA Players Are Helping Drive Diversity in the Wine Industry

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Updating your AirPods

The most dangerous hike

Smelling

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