The Daily Valet. - 11/16/20, Monday

✔️ A Million a Week?

Monday, November 16th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Looks like I’ll be needing a few more masks.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

A Million Cases a Week?

We knew winter would be rough. But the surge is breaking records nationwide.

Look at this map. To borrow some election rhetoric: we’re not red states and blue states ... we’re just a lot of states in serious trouble. I don’t want to seem alarmist, but 47 states are now experiencing an uncontrolled spread of COVID-19, according to data from covidexitstrategy.org, meaning that the virus is proliferating with “little in the way of stopping it.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, many public-health authorities are warning the coronavirus is now so widespread that it will take pervasive new measures to contain it. New daily infections surpassed 177,224 on Friday, setting a record that eclipsed the highest daily case counts ever.

In earlier surges, infections were concentrated in cities like New York and Chicago, or populous states like Florida and Texas. But now it’s seemingly everywhere, due to people letting their guard down, dining out and getting together with friends without proper social distancing.

“This is clearly a nationwide event,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, who is a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board for the transition. “We have many mini-epidemics.”

According to NPR, hospitalizations continue to climb. More than 69,000 people were hospitalized as of Sunday, more than ever before. Though hospital stays are shorter and fewer people are dying than in the spring, likely due to better medical knowledge and treatment, the nation is experiencing more than 1,000 deaths a day now.

But there’s light at the end of this tunnel. The nation’s top infectious disease doctor is urging Americans to stay the course just a little longer and double down on precautions through the holidays. Dr. Anthony Fauci told Vice that vaccines will start being distributed next month. “And as we get into January, February, March ... more and more people, including the general population after several months, will be able to be vaccinated.”

↦ FYI: Unfortunately, that pre-Thanksgiving COVID test won't really keep you safe.

Pro-Trump Supporters March in Washington

Violence led to arrests and injuries in the wake of weekend demonstrations

President Trump's refusal to concede the election has entered a more dangerous phase as he stokes resistance and unrest among his supporters, reports the New York Times. This weekend, they marched to the Supreme Court in support of overturning the election results.

How many came to Washington, D.C. for the Million MAGA March? More than a million, as the White House says? Hundreds of thousands, as the president asserts? Maybe 10,000 or so, as local authorities estimate? It doesn't really matter.

It was a clear reminder of the nation's political tribalism. Protesters attacked everything from vote counting to Biden to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the public health expert whom the president has repeatedly targeted. Early in the march, Trump drove by and gave his supporters a thumbs up on the way to play golf.

And while it was mostly peaceful, the supporters—including QAnon conspiracy theorists, far-right Proud Boys and militia members—angrily faced off with a smaller contingent of counter-protesters, reports Vice. The simmering anger erupted several times, leading to 21 people being arrested and one person getting stabbed, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

↦ Dig Deeper: America's largest militia says it will refuse to recognize Biden as president and "resist" his administration.

There’s a Meteor Shower This Week

Here’s how to see fireballs shooting across the sky

Want some simple pleasure this week? Or maybe a dash of good luck? Then look up at the night sky tonight and catch one of the most famous meteor showers in recent astronomical history.

The annual Leonids came to fame back in the 1800s due to impressive outbursts of shooting stars, reports CNN. The meteor shower gets its name from the constellation Leo the Lion, as the meteors will be coming from the stars that make up the lion's mane. The shower is expected to peak on Monday night and in the pre-dawn hours on Tuesday.

According to AccuWeather, this year will be a good year for viewing the Leonids as it peaks on a moonless night. Because of that, onlookers will be able to see the fainter shooting stars that would normally be washed out by the light of a glowing moon

Typically, there are between 10 and 15 meteors per hour. You can check the Interactive Meteor Shower Sky Map to see when it will be visible in your part of the world.

↦ Meanwhile: NASA astronauts lifted off safely Sunday night aboard a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station.

New Device Beams Music Into Your Head

And you thought the new AirPods Pro were good

A new audio device could solve that pesky first world problem of losing your earbuds by beaming music straight into your head.

The futuristic audio technology was just introduced by Israeli company Noveto Systems. The desktop device promises to let you move around in your own personal sound bubble—no need for headphones.

How does it work? According to Highsnobiety, a sensing module locates and tracks ear positioning, and sends sound through a beam of ultrasonic waves, allowing listeners to hear music inside their ears. By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when they move their head.

The Associated Press got to try it before it launched and said "the listening sensation is straight out of a sci-fi movie. The 3-D sound is so close it feels like it's inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them."

↦ On the other Hand: Anyone else think this could be used for subliminal brainwashing messages? Like in the Kingsman movie? No ... just me? Okay.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Our current obsessions

Substack’s take on Google Reader

The Lacoste x National Geographic collaboration

Volvo’s Most Extreme Crash Test

It actually involves a 100-foot drop from a crane

Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice for the greater good. Take Volvo, which has started dropping brand-new cars from the height equivalent of a 10-story building to take the brand's reputation for safety to new heights (pardon the pun).

According to Car and Driver, the tests were done in partnership with first responders in Sweden to learn better how to extract people from a totally damaged vehicle in the shortest possible time. Volvo said dropping the vehicles allowed the engineers to re-create the "most extreme crashes, beyond what can be simulated with ordinary crash testing."

Moreover it helps the rescue services figure out how best to extract people from modern cars. The vehicles they usually practice on come from junkyards and can be up to 20 years old, and thus much easier to rip into than the tough stuff of today's automotive industry.

The results from Volvo's tests will be published in a report and made available to any and all interested rescue teams. Like I said, it's destruction for the greater good.

↦ FYI: Approximately 6 million Americans get into car accidents every year, according to Driver Knowledge.

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