The Daily Valet. - 3/30/21, Tuesday

✔️ Shot Small Talk

March 30, 2021

Tuesday, March 30th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Where’s the first place you’re headed with your vaxx pass?

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Shot Small Talk

The vaccine seems to have given America something to chat about again

On Monday, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will add tens of thousands of vaccination sites—including 12 federally-run mass vaccination sites—in an effort to get a vaccine site within five miles of 90% of all Americans in the coming weeks.

It’s now certain: over the coming months, many Americans will be returning to offices or schools, traveling to see family and friends, eating cheeseburgers inside sports bars. But the vaccines’ arrival has also provided a more immediate relief: giving people something to talk about.

That’s why your friend is Instagramming their vaccine cards and broadcasting tips on where they got appointments or found short lines. “Inject this into my veins” has never been so appropriate.

Speaking of which, some people are even comparing the vaccines as if they’re cameras or cars. Reflexively, people ask if you got the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. “Which did you get?” you might inquire. (All three are very good, by the way.)

There are also conversations right now about whether or not we need a “vaxx pass,” or vaccine passport—printed credentials that could be displayed on an app to provide proof of vaccination before letting people attend concerts or travel. Whether you agree or not, at least 17 groups are already working on their own versions, reports The Verge.

But it’s not all so serious, either. My mother called to inform me just how much free stuff I could get once I’m vaccinated. And she’s right: Businesses across the U.S. and beyond are offering free perks (everything from movie popcorn and alcohol to doughnuts and even marijuana) to those stepping up to get the shot.

↦ Meanwhile: After a steady rise in new cases in the U.S., the CDC director said she had a feeling of “impending doom,” saying “right now, I’m scared.”

Where are the Roadies?

Concerts are coming back, but any stage hands and technicians have taken other jobs

Artists can't wait to get back on tour and vaccinated fans can't wait attend. But after more than a year on pause for the Covid-19 pandemic, the live events business is facing a potential worker crisis: not enough roadies.

According to the Wall Street Journal, concerts operate in a world of contracts, with workers moving from gig to gig, tour to tour. Without live events, though, many stage hands, lighting and sound technicians, ticket takers and ushers assumed other jobs.

The industry has lost workers to Amazon warehouses or to jobs delivering packages for UPS. Carpenters and electricians have taken up work with Home Depot or started their own companies.

“We’re going to be in a world of hurt as far as qualified, educated roadies,” said Chris Gratton, a 30-year veteran of the business. “There may be a lot of people in line to jump into this career, but they won’t have the experience.”

↦ FYI: Roadie Relief will host an auction featuring merch and gear from dozen of bands to help jobless roadies.

The Supermoon Helped Free the Container Ship

A stronger tidal effect made it easier to partially float the Ever Given

You probably heard that the massive container ship Ever Given was dislodged from the Suez Canal. To get it unstuck, engineers needed the stars to align. Actually, they needed a full moon.

After several days trying to dislodge the cargo ship that captured everyone's attention, the salvage team pinned their hopes on this week’s full moon. That's when water levels were set to rise a foot-and-a-half higher than normal high tides—making it easier to pull the ship from the side of the canal.

Tides are higher whenever there is a full moon, which occurs when it's in direct alignment with the sun (with either the Earth or moon in the middle of the three). This causes a greater gravitational pull on the Earth. As a result, high tides are higher, and low tides are lower, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Suez Canal Authority said it took 14 tugboats conducting pulling maneuvers from three directions to free the ship, after shifting some 27,000 metric tons of sand. It was such a weird, non-political, non-pandemic related news story. I think I'll miss it.

Going Dark for Migrating Birds

The new program aims at reducing deadly collisions with buildings

Every spring and fall, millions of migrating birds pass through American cities, with the majority of these flights taking place at night. But as these avian odysseys weave through the city's twinkling lights, the skyline's sparkle can cause a significant number of birds to become disoriented, leading them to smash into windows and, ultimately, litter sidewalks with their feathered corpses.

The issue came to a head on a cloudy night last October. An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 birds died in a roughly three-block radius located in downtown Philadelphia on a single night, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Nationally, between 360 million and 988 million birds are killed when they collide with buildings, according to studies by Cornell.

Starting Thursday, Philadelphia and several Texas cities will join the Lights Out initiative, a voluntary program in which as many external and internal lights in buildings are turned off or dimmed at night during the migratory season.

They join more than 30 other cities, such as New York, Boston, Atlanta and Washington D.C., that already have Lights Out programs of their own, according to a statement from the National Audubon Society, which established the first program in Chicago back in '99.

↦ FYI: As some migratory birds prepare for cross-country flights, their intestines and digestive organs actually shrink while their heart, lung and leg muscles double in size.

In Other News

↦ Emotional First Day at Derek Chauvin Trial Includes Blunt Witness Testimony, New Video Footage

↦ Boston Dynamic’s New Robot Doesn’t Dance. It Has a Warehouse Job.

↦ America’s Obsession With Wipes Is Tearing Up Sewer Systems

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Chicken nuggets

Toweling robes

This Malibu house

A Spring Grooming Essential

How to find the right moisturizer for the season, your skin type and personal tastes

When it comes to keeping your skin healthy, few things are as important as a good daily moisturizer. And you definitely don't want to skip applying a quality facial lotion with added SPF.

As any dermatologist will tell you, hydrating your skin not only keeps it smooth and strong, but the added sunscreen reduces the UV-induced photo-damage that leads to skin cancer and premature aging.

Thankfully, there's a wide variety out there for men to choose from, so we tried a bunch and here are our top picks—all with an SPF of 30 or higher.

↦ Read: The best daily moisturizers with SPF.

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