The Daily Valet. - 3/25/21, Thursday

✔️ A Coffee Shortage

Thursday, March 25th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Please don’t take my coffee.

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

A Coffee Shortage

Supply is dwindling and costs are rising ...

We’ve been through a lot over the past year. And I’d say we’ve gotten used to shortages: during the start of the pandemic, it was toilet paper and sanitizing wipes, last month it was feta cheese thanks to TikTok.

But now it might be our coffee. It could be harder to find, and more expensive when you do. Why? A combination of problems really.

A drought in Brazil has decreased crop production just as congested shipping ports have caused U.S. coffee stockpiles to hit the lowest they’ve been in six years, reports Bloomberg. So far, roasters have been relying on their inventories instead of hiking prices, but that will only last so long and wholesale prices have climbed.

Potential losses from the drought could affect half of Brazil’s coffee crops next year, commodities expert Judith Ganes told Reuters in December. She said it was hard to determine how badly Brazil’s Arabica beans were hit, but “there will be major failure,” she said.

Logistics are playing a role too. Shipping ports have become unusually congested as a surge of imports are met by a reduced port workforce. There’s also been a huge increase in personal protective and medical equipment being shipped. So there are just not enough shipping containers to go around.

According to the Wall Street Journal, shipping backlogs pushed coffee prices to their highest in more than a year. And that cost will likely get passed along to the rest of us. But as long as they are beans to grind, I’ll pay whatever you ask.

↦ FYI: Is drinking coffee good for us? Machine learning is helping scientists figure that out.

Mystery Drones Swarm Navy Ships

Miles from the mainland, they were able to stay aloft more than 90 minutes

This is a bizarre story: Several drones repeatedly hovered around Navy destroyers off the California coast in July 2019, and it remains unclear who was behind the brazen nighttime flights, reports The Drive.

During the evening encounters, as many as six aircraft were reported swarming around the ships at once. The drones were described as flying for prolonged periods in low-visibility conditions, and performing brazen maneuvers over the Navy warships near a sensitive military training range less than 100 miles off the coast of Los Angeles.

The drones were able to stay aloft for 90 minutes or more, surpassing the capability of commercially available drones, and covered at least 100 nautical miles in one case. The mysterious swarms prompted immediate inquiries from investigators and intelligence officers in the Navy and the FBI, including a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Military authorities explored whether the Navy could have launched the drones without the knowledge of the destroyers' crews. It was unclear whether that was the case, according to the emails cited by NBC News.

↦ Watch: This friendlier drone video shot in a Minneapolis bowling alley has gone viral and won high praise from Hollywood directors.

Partner

Spring comes with a lot of promises. Warmer weather, longer days and a fresh start. Keep things loose and easy as the weather turns.

Dyson Debuts a Laser Vaccum

It’s a clean freak’s dream come true

Dyson announced a new flagship vacuum on Wednesday: The $700 V15 Detect, which adds a laser dust detection system that's designed to illuminate the dust on your floors so you can be sure not to miss a single speck of dirt.

According to The Verge, it has situated the laser at the precise angle that allows you to see otherwise hidden grime and dust with the naked eye. Once you run the vacuum over a particular area, the laser can help you confirm whether you've left anything behind.

Inspired by how airborne dust particles are made visible in a beam of sunlight, the green laser was chosen because it was found to create the maximum amount of contrast between illuminated particles and the shadows they cast.

The machine uses a piezoelectric sensor that helps it log the amount and size of the dirt it picks up as well. An LCD on the back of the dust bin displays a breakdown by particle size—though I'm not sure what that really tells you. I do know if your dog is already afraid of the vacuum cleaner (like mine is), then one shooting lasers will likely only make it worse.

↦ Dig Deeper: Dyson is known as the Apple of appliances (and it is just as secretive).

2020 Was a Deadly Gun Violence Year

Shootings never really stopped during the pandemic

Until two lethal rampages this month, mass shootings had largely been absent from headlines during the coronavirus pandemic. But people were still dying—at a record rate, it turns out.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, gun violence killed nearly 20,000 Americans last year—more than any other year in at least two decades. An additional 24,000 people died by suicide with a gun.

Mass shootings declined in 2020 but shooting homicides rose precipitously. According to the Los Angeles Times, homicides were up 30% in America's 34 largest cities, while robberies and drug arrests dropped.

To be sure, there are quite a few countries where gun violence is a substantially larger problem than in the United States—particularly in Central America and the Caribbean. The U.S. has the 32nd-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world: 4 deaths per 100,000 people in 2019, according to NPR. That's more than eight times as high as the rate in Canada, and nearly 100 times higher than in the United Kingdom, which had 0.04 deaths per 100,000.

↦ FYI: The gun implicated in Boulder uses the same ammunition as an AR-15. It’s legally a pistol.

In Other News

↦ Rachel Levine Makes History As 1st Openly Trans Federal Official Confirmed by Senate

↦ Torch Relay for Tokyo Olympics Kicks Off Its 121-Day Journey

↦ DoorDash Can Now Deliver COVID-19 Test Kits to Your House

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Building a dream workspace

This life-changing pan

The happiest country in the world

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We’re Wearing: Light Layers

Keep things loose and easy as the weather turns

Spring comes with a lot of promises. Warmer weather, longer days and a fresh start. Of course, it doesn't always live up to its promises but we're always glad it arrived. This outfit plays upon those feelings—a little sweet, a little salty, but it sure feels good. Pair Amiri's flowing silk snake-print shirt with some washed and worn Japanese denim from OrSlow. Top it off with an easygoing hoodie and finish the look with a pair of handsome shades and some cartoon-emblazoned sneakers.

Clockwise from top left:Miansai Test of Time gold-plated necklace, $165; AMIRI rattlesnake printed camp-collar shirt, $790; Mr P. suede belt, $115; Kingsman + Cutler and Gross square-frame tortoiseshell sunglasses, $550; Gucci + Disney New Ace printed Huey, Dewey and Louie sneakers, $830; Stone Island garment-dyed cotton-jersey tee, $145; NN07 flannel baseball cap, $90; Derek Rose Devon brushed loopback zip-up hoodie, $325; Filson nylon dry sling backpack, $225; OrSlow 107 slim-fit jeans, $420