The Daily Valet. - 11/13/20, Friday

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November 13, 2020

Friday, November 13th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

A Friday the 13th? In 2020? Be careful out there.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Here Come the Lockdowns. Again.

Experts sound the alarm about swelling American coronavirus outbreak

Public health experts are sounding the alarm about the trajectory of the pandemic in the United States as the coronavirus spreads through the country largely unabated. Health officials announced 160,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the first day over 150,000 since the pandemic began.

Case numbers are trending upward in 46 states and holding relatively steady in four. And sadly, no state is seeing cases decline.

And it's giving local officials no choice to but impose strict measures. According to Reuters, Chicago and Detroit became the latest in a growing number of states and metropolitan areas—including New York, California and Iowa—moving this week to re-impose public health restrictions that had been eased in recent months.

Appearing on “Good Morning America,” Dr. Anthony Fauci reiterated that a nationwide lockdown was unlikely, saying there was “no appetite for locking down in the American public.” But he expressed confidence that virus cases could be reduced without such drastic measures—if Americans “double down” on basic preventive steps, like social distancing and masks.

If we don't, the ballooning numbers of infections nationwide mean more hospitals could soon look like those in El Paso, where health-care workers are bringing in mobile morgues and airlifting loads of patients to other cities with open beds.

On the bright side, “the cavalry is coming,” Fauci said. He hopes the vaccine will be available to all Americans in April, May and June. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports state and local officials are preparing for the biggest vaccination effort in American history.

↦ FYI: Here's what the people who test you for coronavirus want you to know.

Biden Officially Flips Another State

And the Homeland Security Department called the election “the most secure in American history”

Late Thursday, President-elect Joe Biden was projected by Edison Research to win Arizona—a call that comes more than a week after Election Day.

According to the Washington Post, Arizona had selected a Democrat for president only once since 1948, voting for Bill Clinton in 1996. Is it safe to say the guy's got this in the bag now? This win flips a fourth state Trump won in 2016 and adds to the sizable projected electoral college victory.

Meanwhile, Biden huddled with his team as the transition to the White House forges ahead. On Thursday, more Republicans said they believe Biden should get access to the daily presidential classified briefing, despite President Trump still challenging the vote count in various states.

But those lawsuits will likely lose even more steam since the election was just called the “most secure in American history” by the Department of Homeland Security. They said “there is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised,” according to a statement from its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

↦ FYI: Early this morning, China congratulated Biden on winning the election, ending days of speculation about when Beijing would formally acknowledge the victory.

NASA Prepares For Historic Launch

A SpaceX Crew Dragon will carry astronauts to the International Space Station

Despite the pandemic, a record hurricane season and having to swap out problematic rocket engines, NASA and SpaceX remain determined to get the historic Crew-1 mission off the ground from Florida on Saturday, reports CNET.

The flight, on a new Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a reusable Falcon 9 rocket, will be SpaceX’s first operational crew mission with NASA since the space agency ended its space shuttle program in 2011.

The mission is a huge step in bringing spaceflight back to U.S. soil. But, you might ask, what will they do once they get there?

The Crew-1 team is embarking on a six-month science mission to do more experiments in microgravity. They're also laying the groundwork for future NASA exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the agency’s Artemis program.

↦ Watch: Blastoff is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. EST on Saturday. NASA TV will begin broadcasting launch preparation at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Van Life Continues to Roll Along

Stir crazy travelers look for safe ways to work away from home and see a few new places

As the future of travel remains uncertain, the promise of the open road is as alluring as ever.

RV dealers across the country say that sales are still surging amid the ongoing pandemic, Fox 59 reports, as cooped-up adventurers invest in what Bloomberg has dubbed “COVID campers.”

This new breed is largely young. According to the Wall Street Journal, many of them are accustomed to working remotely anyway, don't have children to worry about and live in small city spaces—so hitting the road isn't that big of a step to take.

“Buyers are putting in desks, for sure, and Wi-Fi repeaters and boosters are standard practice, especially if you're required to be on video calls half the day, which I am,” says VanX founder Jason McNamara—who is not a full-time VanLifer. “For people like me, going into the wild forever isn't going to work, but working out of my self-sustaining van for a week or two is doable.”

↦ Upgrade: The annual Neiman Marcus fantasy gift book includes a $255,000 Bowlus Road Chief Bespoke travel trailer.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

This KGB spy gear auction

‘The Queen’s Gambit’

The new Nike DBreak-Type

Your Weekend Pairing

Mank + a Rosebud Cocktail

David Fincher’s new film Mank (out on Netflix today) covers the infamous feud at the center of making an iconic film, Citizen Kane. Most of us are familiar with the movie’s director, Orson Welles, but what about its screenwriter, Herman Mankiewicz? According to Vulture, Mank (as he was known) became an endearing burnout, a gambler and alcoholic who was as embittered as he was entertaining. So it’s clear that this film is much more than an ode to the “golden days of Hollywood.”

The film has been luxuriously shot by Erik Messerschmidt in shadowy black and white, with scattered, affectionate visual references to Citizen Kane itself: high ceilings; deep-focus compositions; significantly placed mirrors, reports The Ringer. But they also say it’s as dark and calculating as any Fincher film. As a “love letter to the movies,” Mank is as coded and cryptic as any of the Zodiac’s missives; as a study of media titans remaking the world in their image, it’s as quietly frightening as The Social Network.

↦ Your Pairing:This one seems like a no-brainer. The Rosebud cocktail from Cointreau is inspired, of course, by the legendary ending of Citizen Kane. It’s a refreshing cocktail that still has body and nuance, thanks to the addition of mint and Angostura bitters. They go down quickly, so I’ll probably have two. Maybe three.

Smart Tech Gifts

Gadgets and gear to make life a lot more fun.

↦ Browse smart tech ideas for everyone

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