The Daily Valet. - 11/18/22, Friday
✔️ You Ready to Get Out of Here?
Friday, November 18th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
If you need me, I’ll be over on Instagram or trying to guess my Facebook password.
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Today’s Big Story
The Best and Worst Airports
The ranking feels a little like an East Coast / west coast battle
Holiday travel is never easy. And with flight prices trending higher than normal, along with the recent rash of flight delays and cancellations thanks to shortages of labor and planes, it stands to reason that this year in particular could be a real doozy.AAA expects winter travel to be very near pre-pandemic levels. This year is also projected to be the third-busiest Thanksgiving travel season since AAA started tracking it in 2000, with more than 54.6 million people traveling during the long weekend.It's no surprise that 70% of passengers who plan to travel this year are more stressed than ever about flying over the holidays. But it may all depend on where you're flying to (and from). Some airports are beloved for their layovers and fast, free Wi-Fi. Others get slapped with a warning from weather analysts as home to the most problems from December through February.On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal released its anticipated “Best and Worst Airports of 2022” list—and some of the rankings might surprise you. The annual report card ranked the nation's busiest airports on prices, on-time performance, TSA wait times and general customer satisfaction.San Francisco International topped this year's list—despite having chronic flight delays (thanks to the city's regular fog). Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta landed in the second spot, followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul International. The worst performers were Newark and LaGuardia Airport (but the Journal points out that both have big plans for fixes).
FYI:
From free Clear memberships to cheap lounge access, Condé Nast Traveler offers up some tips on how to make flying smoother during the year-end crunch.
Nancy Pelosi to Stand Down
She's stepping down from House leadership, but will stay in Congress
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she will not seek a leadership position in the new Congress, ending a historic run as the first woman with the gavel and making way for a new generation to steer the party after Democrats lost control of the House to Republicans in the midterm elections. “For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect.”At 82, she's the most powerful Democrat in Congress and will serve as speaker until January when a new Congress takes over. She'll then remain in the seat she first took up in 1987, representing her California district until January 2025. Pelosi has a “store of institutional knowledge on how to govern a sometimes unruly caucus,” reports Axios. Democrats will look to her to “guide the next generation of leaders while exploiting the GOP's deep divisions and paper-thin majority.”Her successor will likely make history as well. New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries is widely expected to take up the top Democratic post, which would make him the first Black congressional leader ever. And while he and Pelosi have different styles, he declined to publicly discuss his future on Thursday, repeatedly directing attention back to Pelosi, whom he called “a leader for the ages.”
meanwhile:
The closest House race in the nation is one of the few midterm races that remains undecided. It’s likely headed to an automatic recount.
Partner
There's no chance it doesn't get bigger and bigger, so you might want to get in on it while you can.
#RIPTwitter
staffers have called Elon Musk's 'hardcore' bluff, sparking potential mass exodus
Hundreds of Twitter's remaining employees resigned on Thursday, ahead of Elon Musk's “extremely hardcore” cultural reset of the company, according to internal Slack messages seen by The Verge, along with a slew of employee tweets.According to Mashable, roughly 75% of Twitter's anemic remaining workforce have reportedly not agreed to Musk's new vision for “Twitter 2.0”—opting instead to take the money and run. In response, Twitter temporarily closed its offices Thursday night, suspended all ID badge access to buildings, and is currently trying to figure out what the heck it's going to do now. Frankly, it's exhausting to keep up with this mess. But it sounds like the platform could be in real trouble. Multiple “critical” teams inside Twitter have now either completely or near-completely resigned. And Musk is firing anyone who criticizes him (even those who speak up in private). So you might've noticed people tweeting their goodbyes to Twitter and reminiscing about all the fun we had on the app. Of course, Musk says everything's fine. In a tweet late Thursday evening, he quipped: “The best people are staying, so I’m not super worried.”
oops:
People with jokey Twitter names are currently stuck with them, due to Musk’s tweaks to the verification system.
A Porsche 911 Off-Roader?
It's Finally Here to Let You Live Out Your Rally Racing Dreams
If you follow enough automotive-themed social feeds, there's a good chance you've come across a 911 Safari. They are delightfully incongruous verging on the oxymoronic: one of the world's most elegant sports cars jacked up, fitted with off-road tires, extra driving lights and a large roof rack probably holding a tire. Believe me, it's a whole thing and it goes back decades with a rich rally history.And now it's an official factory offering. Porsche just unveiled the 2023 911 Dakar at the LA Auto Show. Yes, this is a real car that Porsche will produce 2,500 units globally of starting next spring. Interested? It'll cost you $222,000.Jalopnik says it's everything you could want in an off-road coupe. The Dakar features the engine from the Carrera GTS, albeit with a few modifications for off-road driving. They say the automaker really went to work on the car's electronics package—since the kind of launch and traction control you want on a street car is very different from what you'd want in dirt or gravel. Others were impressed that Porsche enlisted Pirelli to design the first ever official off-road tire fitted to a Porsche 911 from the factory.
Dig Deeper:
See every detail of the factory Safari 911 with Road & Track's comprehensive image gallery.
In Other News
And a few other flaws ...
Have you heard about ...
A Weekend Pairing
‘Spirited’ + Charles Dickens’s Punch
Is it too early for a holiday movie? Nah. Besides, there have been countless adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol over the years, but none have starred Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell. Think the same heartwarming tale of a grumpy miser visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve, but funnier and with huge musical numbers. Already out in some theaters, it's streaming on Apple TV+ today.We know these two will make it funny, but apparently the songs are pretty amazing as well—not that surprising considering the musical features original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (the duo behind La La Land and Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen). Reynolds stars as Clint Briggs, a younger and funnier version of the old and crotchety Ebenezer Scrooge. Clint still lacks the Christmas spirit, which is something the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ferrell) hopes to fix. But in a twist on the familiar story, it's Clint that ends up forcing the ghost to examine his own life choices.
Pair It With
What better to sip on when watching a rollicking take on A Christmas Carol than a Dickensian bowl of punch? Dickens wove spirits into his writing repeatedly and even conceived of his own punch, whose recipe includes a cheek-warming mix of cognac, rum, citrus and sugar, which is then set on fire.
Also Worth a Watch:
‘The People We Hate at the Wedding’ on Amazon Prime Video, ‘The Wonder’ on Netflix, ‘The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony’ on HBO Max and ‘The Menu’, in theaters
Partner
The Global Shift Towards Fast Food Robotics
Get in with Miso Robotics as they revolutionize the foodservice industry
Named one of the most innovative companies in North America by Fast Company, Miso Robotics robotic kitchen assistants are frying foods for major fast food brands across the U.S. They've partnered with 10 of the top 25 brands, including Jack in the Box. Even Buffalo Wild Wings' parent company is working with Miso to produce Flippy Wings and White Castle's pilot with Flippy was so successful that they're installing Flippy 2 at 100 additional locations. But Miso is just getting started.More restaurants are looking to automate as labor costs rise and workers are in short supply. An employee shortfall of 3.7 million is expected over the next 10 years, hurting restaurants (and consumer prices) if solutions aren't implemented. Miso Robotics is solving that problem by filling in the gaps with their robotic cooks, powered by artificial intelligence. Now they're looking to build upon their U.S. traction and take on the global market–a 17x bigger opportunity than before.Miso's already garnered the attention of a major international partner that will help them establish a foothold in the $675+ billion global quick-service food industry. For a limited time, you can get in on Miso's rapid expansion by investing during their Series E+ raise. But time's running out. The opportunity to invest closes tonight at midnight!
Get in:
Learn more about investing in Miso Robotics before the opportunity ends on November 18th.
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