The Daily Valet. - 5/10/22, Tuesday
✔️ What About Your Friends?
Tuesday, May 10th Edition
If you read this newsletter regularly, I count you as one of my friends.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s edition is presented by
Today’s Big Story
How Many Friends Do You Need?
We’re not talking about social media follower counts. Psychologists care more about close friendships.
How many friends do you have? How many would you want? Renowned evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar suggests five close friends—followed by circles of secondary and tertiary friends and acquaintances (a network, he says, that shouldn’t extend past 150 people).
According to the New York Times, the latest studies have reached the same conclusion: six or so close friends for healthier, happier living.
But friendship in America has actually been in decline. And the trend, not surprisingly, accelerated during the pandemic. Three decades ago, 3% of Americans told Gallup they had no close friends; in 2021, an online poll put it at 12%. Even before the pandemic arrived, therapists and researchers were weighing in on the male “friendship crisis.”
Making matters worse, many people have had friends move away or relocated to a new city themselves during the WFH transition. And a year into the pandemic, 13% of women and 8% of men age 30 to 49 said they’d lost touch with most of their friends.
And there are health implications to all of this. If sitting is the new smoking, then loneliness could be the new sitting. InsideHook reports that loneliness has been found to weaken the immune system, propagate inflammation in cells and build plaque in the arteries. “Both loneliness (a subjective state of stress) and social isolation (an objective physical situation) take years off our lives, while making the years we do have much more difficult.”
An expert in social and behavioral sciences, Dr. Jeffrey Hall told the Times that what matters most is having at least one important person in your life—whether that’s a partner, a parent or a friend. “Going from zero to one is where we get the most bang for your buck, so to speak,” Dr. Hall said. “But if you want to have the most meaningful life, where you feel connected to others, more friends are better.”
↦ Dig Deeper: No matter how outgoing you are, making friends as adults is a challenge. We looked into why and also found ways to make (and keep) new friends.
Competing Victory Day Speeches
Decidedly different messages from Ukraine and Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin gave competing “Victory Day” speeches on Monday. Zelenskyy released a video where he is shown walking alone in downtown Kyiv—he said he is confident that Ukraine will be victorious against Russia, and compared Putin to Hitler. Putin had little to brag about, but said that his actions were “the only correct decision.”
However, Russian TV and online platforms were hacked with antiwar messages throughout the day. Russians reported seeing a message that read: “The blood of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of murdered children is on your hands ... TV and the authorities are lying. No to war.”
But Putin stopped short of what Western analysts feared could be a declaration of war or an announcement of a national mobilization—and he offered no escalation in the war. And that's because he “has recognized he has no victory to celebrate,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN.
And as the war stretches into its third month, Russia has already expended many of its most accurate weapons, such as cruise missiles and both short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. They “have blown through” many of their precision-guided munitions, one senior U.S. official told the New York Times. “In fact, they continue to hit Mariupol with a lot of dumb bombs.”
Partner
You might be deficient in this essential element. If you're feeling rundown, you don't need more coffee, your body probably needs more electrolytes.
Stocks Slide
Markets appear to be in free fall as investors sell everything
A sell-off on Wall Street keeps getting worse. Traders are hitting the sell button on virtually every key asset class—including stocks, bonds and bitcoin—ratcheting up the fear factor on Wall Street and sending the S&P reeling to its weakest levels in a year.
According to Axios, the Federal Reserve is laser-focused on taming inflation, and that's making markets increasingly jittery as the U.S. economy sends mixed signals on growth.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen believes the U.S. financial system is in working order, but wouldn't be surprised to see market turbulence linger. “There is the potential for continued volatility and unevenness of global growth as countries continue to grapple with the pandemic,” she told CNBC.
On the bright side, few believe a recession is imminent. The labor market has continued to add jobs at a rapid clip. Wages are climbing, and the unemployment rate remains near a 50-year low. But economists say there is a growing probability of a slowdown in the coming year, with those surveyed by the Wall Street Journal estimating a 28% probability of a recession sometime in the next 12 months—up from 18% in January.
↦ Crypto Too: Gizmodo looks at how much money you have now if you bought $100 of various crypto currencies six months ago.
The TV of the Future
Totem is a sleek rollable LG display that doubles as a soundbar
This is the innovation we want to see more of. LG's rollable OLED screens are still fairly new, but Paris and Tokyo-based Studio Booboon just made it even better by combining it with a sleek soundbar.
It's one of the finalists in Dezeen and LG Display's latest OLEDs Go! competition. The design makes use of the flexibility of OLED technology to create a highly customisable display that can be positioned horizontally, vertically, adjusted to varying heights and can be retracted to alter its size.
When retracted, the minimalist piece transforms into a handsome standalone soundbar, blending harmoniously with any interior environment. But no word on pricing or even if this will be produced for retail sales. But we can hope, because this is where we'd like to see more TV displays going in the near future.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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Partner
Time to Ditch the Sports Drinks
If you’re looking to replace your electrolytes, you want this instead
If you're an active and clean-eating person, you're probably used to cutting back on sugar. But what about upping your salt? Electrolytes are essential. We know that. But what do they do for us, really? Sodium, along with calcium, magnesium and potassium, are vital to a myriad of important bodily functions. How important? Well, they're responsible for regulating muscle contractions and keeping you hydrated, while also balancing your pH levels and controlling your nervous-system function.
Which is why we feel so cruddy when we're running low on them. Electrolyte deficiency or imbalances can cause headaches, cramps, fatigue and weakness. When you sweat, the primary electrolyte lost is sodium (and you can lose up to seven grams per day). When sodium isn't replaced, it's common to experience muscle cramps and fatigue. I know this from firsthand experience after my weekend bike rides (nearly 50 miles last Saturday, thank you very much). At first I worried it was age catching up on me when I experienced a woozy fatigue and couldn't get off the couch.
But now I realize I wasn't properly rehydrating to restore lost electrolytes. And the same can happen if you're following a low-carb, ketogenic diet as well (anyone hear of the “keto flu”?) LMNT is an easy and tasty way to get back vital electrolytes. The single-severing drink mix has everything you need and nothing you don't. That means a generous dose of salt, along with potassium and magnesium but absolutely no sugar.
Those sports drinks you find at the convenience store? Yeah the average bottle has a whopping 34 grams of sugar in them. And only 270 mg of sodium. LMNT, on the other hand, skips the sugar, artificial ingredients and colors. And they've got a science-backed electrolyte ratio of 1,000 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium and 60 mg magnesium. Plus, the fruit flavors are refreshing and sweetened only with natural, no-calorie stevia. Now I can see why it's used by everyone from pro athletes and Olympians to Navy Seals.
↦ Try It: Get 8 single serving packets free, just cover the cost of shipping ($5 for U.S. customers).
The Best Suits for Summer Weddings
Italian seersucker traveler suit, $756 by Todd Snyder
Two years have passed and while the pandemic is still going on, we're all ready to celebrate warm weather, weddings, and just a bit more normalcy of interacting with people again. You don't ever need an excuse to dress up, but since summer wedding season is approaching, you might have some—or even your own—on your calendar. Herewith, the best options for any budget to keep you suited all summer.
The Classic Two-Button Suit
A traditional two-button jacket and some flat-front pants will always be a go-to look. Pair this with a nice dress shirt and knit tie for a more buttoned-up affair or throw on a patterned camp collar shirt and some sandals for a more relaxed outdoor event.
Bedford tobacco Irish linen suit, $695 by Proper Cloth
The Double-Breasted Suit
Think James Bond for a formal night out or freak em' like Ralph with some worn-in denim jeans for a surprisingly casual look. Suits are meant to hug your shape and accentuate the best parts of your body and this does that, just on steroids.
Brown and hazelnut double-breasted suit, $2,045 by Lardini
The Unstructured (Travel-Ready) Suit
The unstructured suit is the perfect travel companion. Since they don't have any lining and there is no padding in the shoulder, this type of jacket is literally meant to be relaxed and moves naturally with your body's movement. Dress this down with a T-shirt underneath or up with a lightweight knit polo or sweater.
↦ Want more? 12 of the best summer suits
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Morning Motto
Do your best …
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That’s all for today...
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