The Daily Valet. - 3/8/22, Tuesday

✔️ Pay at the Pump

Tuesday, March 8th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Did you see my text message? (This will make sense in a bit.)

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Pay at the Pump

The national average cost for gas may reach an all-time high this week (and it won’t get better anytime soon)

According to AAA’s gas price tracker, the average price for a gallon of regular octane gasoline is $4.07. That’s up nearly six cents from Sunday and just about 50 cents from last week. Even more distressing? Gas prices have risen about $1.30 from just a year ago.

USA Today reports that this is the first time a gallon of gas was over $4 in more than a decade, and there is still no end in sight. The rise in cost has sent drivers into a frenzy; Gasbuddy, the popular fuel-savings app, crashed temporarily on Monday due to record-breaking traffic as people look for the cheapest place to fill up their tank.

Prices at the pump were rising long before Russia invaded Ukraine and have spiraled faster since the start of the war. The current price is expected to eclipse the record (set back in 2008) at some point this week, experts predict, and costs are expected to continue to rise throughout the year. Of course, like most things, where you live makes all the difference. (You don’t even want to know what it costs here in Los Angeles.)

The International Energy Agency announced last week that the U.S. and other member countries would release 60 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserves. This included 30 million from the U.S.—less than what was released in late 2021 to combat gas price increases.

According to the Associated Press, the United States is the world’s largest oil producer—ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia—but we’re also the biggest oil consumer. And we can’t meet that staggering demand with domestic crude alone, thanks in part to similar supply-and-demand factors that have boosted prices as COVID restrictions keep loosening.

We imported 245 million barrels of oil from Russia last year (about 8% of all U.S. oil imports). President Biden has been reluctant to ban Russian oil, fearing it’d further fuel inflation, especially heading into the midterm elections. But Politico reports that momentum to shut off imports is building on the Hill and within the administration.

↦ Dig Deeper: There’s been a lot of talk about the “good ol’ days” when gas prices were under $2 a gallon. But, according to NACS, those weren’t good times.

The Humanitarian Crisis Worsens

Russia dangles prospect of safe corridors; but Ukraine remains skeptical

The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is deepening as Russian forces intensify their shelling and food, water, heat and medicine grow increasingly scarce, in what the country condemned as a medieval-style siege by Moscow to batter it into submission.

Civilians who are battening down and those trying to leave now need to be braced for a predicted blast of Arctic freezing air, sweeping south over Russia and Ukraine from midweek, according to forecasters.

In the capital, Kyiv, soldiers and volunteers have built hundreds of checkpoints to protect the city of nearly 4 million, often using sandbags, stacked tires and spiked cables. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a video Monday night that he was not in hiding and promised to stay in the capital until the war was won.

A third round of peace talks ended yesterday without any real breakthroughs. Ukraine dismissed a Kremlin proposal to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people not to the West, but to Russia and its ally Belarus. They said it was a cynical attempt to distract from its failure to stop shelling “evacuation corridors” where civilians are attempting to flee. Negotiations on a potential ceasefire and broader political solution will continue this week.

Partner

What do you get when you cross an American whiskey with an Irish whiskey? This new spirit that's got everyone talking.

Your Brain, at the Moment of Death

Scientists now believe life really does flash before your eyes just before you die

Not sure if this is considered good news or not, but it's certainly interesting. New data from a scientific “accident” has suggested that life may actually flash before our eyes just before we die.

A team of scientists set out to measure the brainwaves of an 87-year-old patient who had developed epilepsy. But during the neurological recording, he suffered a fatal heart attack—offering an unexpected recording of a dying brain.

Doctors discovered rhythmic brain wave patterns around the time of death that are similar to those occurring during dreaming, memory recall and meditation. Now, a study published to Frontiers brings fresh insight into a possible organizational role of the brain during death.

One of the neuroscientists involved said “your brain may remain active and coordinated during and even after the transition to death, and be programmed to orchestrate the whole ordeal.” The findings also suggests an explanation for vivid life recall in near-death experiences.

↦ Good News: One of the doctors and co-authors of the study told the BBC that he believes that if the brain did a flashback, it would probably like to remind you of good things, rather than the bad things.

Let’s Talk Texts

Is choosing not to respond rude? Or is it sometimes necessary?

Emails, DMs, Discord and Slack chatter. Have you ever gotten so overwhelmed by our over-connected world that you just … stopped responding?

In an op-ed for the New York Times, Erica Dhawan explores the demands of nonstop digital communication: “Ignoring messages is frowned upon in these always-on times.” But in recently published research, nearly a quarter of all of participants admitted to ghosting a romantic partner, and one in three participants in another study said they had ghosted a friend.

The current expectation of 24/7 digital availability has become crippling, reports the BBC. But it's also understandable: data from one 2021 survey showed that over 30% of Americans say they are “almost constantly online,” especially in the pandemic era. Which is why many people ride an emotional roller coaster when a message isn't immediately answered.

But you've got to put your own wellbeing first. Even a noted etiquette expert told Dhawan that you should be civil, “but you don't have to give your time and attention to everyone who asks for it.” Perhaps we just need to jazz up our text messages to get people's attention. That's what this new app is promising to do for you. Of course, I don't think the issue here is that texts are drab, but hey ... whatever helps ease the anxiety of waiting for a reply, right?

↦ FYI: Mobile users in the United States sent 2.2 trillion text messages during 2020, up from 1.5 trillion messages in 2017.

In Other News

↦ Senate Sends Anti-Lynching Bill to Biden’s Desk in Historic First

↦ You Can Order Free COVID Tests From the Government Again

↦ Why Is Every New TV Show About Scammers?

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Calvin Ridley

Tom Hanks’ Fiat (for sale)

That pineapple myth

Partner

A Hybrid Whiskey?

The first to bring together the best of Irish and American distilling traditions

Last year, the whiskey world was rocked when Brian Nation, the former master distiller for some of Ireland's most famous whiskeys—from bestsellers like Jameson to rarified releases like Midleton—left his job (and his hometown of Cork) to come to America. He came onboard with a craft operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota to create Keeper's Heart Whiskey.

“To be involved in a team that is creating a new whiskey, a new taste profile, a blending of American and Irish whiskey ... that really excites me,” says Nation. He's collaborating with David Perkins, founder of High West Distillery and a titan in the field of American whiskey. By marrying the best of both countries' distilling traditions, they have created a new and unique style of whiskey that has people clamoring to get a taste.

For the uninitiated, the main difference between the two amber spirits is the primary ingredients. The Irish use barley as their primary ingredient while the Americans constitute corn, wheat or rye. The Irish love their whiskey more flavored and smooth—which is why they age their whiskeys longer. We Americans are less patient and often used charred oak barrels for aging—the end result is a smokey taste with a touch of sweetness. Another difference is that any great Irish style whiskey is triple distilled in copper pot stills; a process that gives the spirit its unique flavor and defining Irish characteristics.

For Keeper's Heart, they combined the unique qualities of Irish grain and pot still whiskeys with American Rye whiskey for a particularly easy drinking libation. Irish whiskey notes of baking spices blend beautifully with American whiskey's sweetness and oak to create a whiskey with notes of candied ginger, lemon zest, sweet biscuits and rich, stewed fruit. It's creamy and smooth yet bold and spicy in just the right way. To put it simply, it's a go-to for any occasion—equally excellent neat, on the rocks or within a cocktail.

↦ Buy: $39, available for deliveryin 20+ states by Reserve Bar

Outfitting Your Coffee Table

Whether you're relaxing with your favorite shows or having guests over, you always want your living room to feel warm and inviting. While the comfiness of your couch, size of your TV or art hanging on the walls might steal the show, the main living room attraction should be the coffee table. It's a natural focal point, the place where people set down their drinks and kick up their feet—so everything on it will get noticed. To help get you started, we've pulled together some foolproof staples (along with our current favorite tables to set them on).

The Table Coffee tables should be a subtle statement piece. Look for one that is substantial and well-made with neutral colors, ensuring the stuff you put on top will add a pop of color.

Bella coffee table, $395 / 335.75 by HAY

Coffee Table Books While these may be decorative, think about them as “conversation starters”, so aim to include books that encourage guests to inquire about what's inside.

“Morning Noon Night”, $43.49 by Soho House