The Daily Valet. - 6/15/22, Wednesday
✔️ You Need Less, Not More
Wednesday, June 15th Edition
If you’re reading this newsletter, I consider you one of my friends.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s edition is presented by
Today’s Big Story
The Case for Fewer Friends
Like so many things, quality is better than quantity
After two years of pandemic life, you could find yourself at a fork in the friendship road, choosing between a whittled-down social circle and becoming overextended trying to make up for lost time with everyone on the outer reaches of your network.
I know that I’m guilty of letting some connections fade or get stuck in an endless volley of “when are you free?” and “let’s definitely get together soon.” Are we simply out of practice? Work used to be a primary place to make friends and develop relationships—but this may be changing in this landscape of WFH or hybrid days in/out of the workplace.
According to data reported by Forbes, people lack friends, and they are missing the opportunity to build relationships. It’s having an effect on everything from our happiness and wellbeing to retention at work. They call it a “connection crisis,” and say most of us are craving friends.
This is actually something we talked about in the newsletter last month, when renowned evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, along with several studies that came to the same conclusion: a person needs five close friends for healthier, happier living.
We also know that maintaining friendships leads to positive life satisfaction, actually minimizes stress, and even contributes to better physical health in your day to day life. But you don’t need a roster dozens deep to enjoy the fruits of friendship.
“The biggest return we get in friendship is going from zero to one friend in terms of its impact on our mental health and well-being,” psychologist and author Marisa Franco tells Vox. “If you can get that deep with one person, it’s going to be powerful and it’s going to be impactful, and you don’t need to have a ton of friends.” Instead of stretching yourself thin trying to keep in contact or feeling pressured to make new friends, her advice is to focus on the value of a few close confidants.
↦ Dig Deeper: After interviewing 100 sets of friends, The Atlantic compiled the six forces that fuel a good friendship.
The Automated Workforce
Several industries have turned to robots to deal with labor shortages
We were all worried about the eventual rise of our robot overloads, but it seems like, for now, they might be our robot underlings?
As the U.S. continues to face a problematic labor shortage, more and more robots are rolling in to fill those empty positions. Some hotels now have robotic butlers (think R2-D2 in a bow tie) to do tasks like deliver towels or vacuum. Restaurants have bus-bots serving lunch specials, while in the kitchen AI-empowered machines are flipping burgers and frying tortilla chips.
The other day, I followed one of those Coco delivery bots to my building (my neighbor was delighted, but said it took took longer than she'd hoped). Robot dogs are being employed in ways that would make any Labrador retriever proud—as pets, tennis ball caddies (good boy!), watchdogs and facilities inspectors.
Universities are even substituting TAs with robo-powered facilities that can do a years worth of lab research in a week. Maybe these computerized helpers won't replace employees, but instead give them more opportunities for human activities like face time with customers. But while that argument sounds nice, analysts say it could lead to a decrease in hiring down the line since there will be less work to go around.
Partner
Headed to the beach? These kicks look great, feel comfortable and are also doing their part to clean up the ocean.
Bad News for Cable
In first for major sports league, MLS to stream all games on Apple
Sports was the last vestige of cable's hold on the American household. It was only a matter of time until some streamer did it.
Other leagues have dipped a toe, such as MLB's Friday night odds-fest interrupted by occasional baseball on Apple. Deadspin points to the NHL's exclusive game on ESPN+ and Hulu this season. And there's the NFL putting Troy Aikman's weary gape on Thursday nights on Amazon.
But no one's gone whole hog until Tuesday, when Apple announced a massive, decade-long global deal to stream every Major League Soccer match—continuing the shift of sports from linear to digital and giving hopes to millions who would cut the cord if they could.
The Apple-MLS deal means that even in-market fans in local markets will find their team on Apple instead of on TV. And that's very bad for cable. A selection of MLS games will be available through a basic Apple TV subscription; all games will be available through a supplementary subscription purchased through Apple TV. Pricing for that service was not announced.
Try This TikTok Stress Hack
In a viral video, a doc bills the tip as an “instant tool to calm down”
How are your stress levels lately? Silly question, I know. There's a seemingly never-ending pandemic, economic worries and plenty of other daily stressors. And a recent Gallup poll found that U.S. workers are among the most stressed in the world.
Sure, you can combat your stress by hitting the gym. Or drown your sorrows with a cocktail. But the timing has to be just right. What about when work stress hits in the middle of the day? In a viral TikTok, Dr. Karan Raj offers up a tip that he says is an “instant tool to calm down.”
As InsideHook further explains, it all comes down to our primal fight or flight instinct. While we rarely need it anymore, the chemicals still shoot through out bodies. But if you can trigger the other end of your nervous system, it has an opposite, complementary impact on the body—encouraging a variety of processes that help the body relax
So how do you do it? Dr. Raj says you need to activate the vagus nerve by gargling, humming or singing. “When you do any of these you're activating the muscles on the back of the throat and the vocal cords which are connected to the vagus nerve,” he explained.
↦ Meanhile: Those videos about a foot fetish site going viral on TikTok? A lot of them are sponcon.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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These Shoes Feel Good in Multiple Ways
SeaVees made their most comfortable shoes do some good for the planet
SeaChange slip on in golden, $88
Style and sustainability don't have to be mutually exclusive. Case in point: the new SeaVees SeaChange collection. Every style in this collection is made entirely with recycled material-from lace to sole. But you'd never know it looking at them. They just look cool.
Legend SeaChangesneaker in ocean,$88
The uppers are made with either pineapple yarn (a biodegradable cellulose fiber that has a beautiful natural texture), corn leather (a vegan alternative to cowhide that's durable, smooth and has a traditional leather feel), or recycled cotton canvas. The laces are made with post-consumer recycled plastic and the sneakers feature metal-free stitched eyelets, liners made with recycled cotton and outsoles made with natural and recycled rubber.
What's more, for every pair of shoes purchased, the company will give back $1 to SeaTrees, a non-profit that works to restore coastal ecosystems and ocean health globally. Why not be sustainable while looking classically stylish? These are sneakers that look as good with board shorts as they do a relaxed summer wedding suit.
SeaChange LTT sneaker in white, $92
SeaChange slide in magnet, $60
Legend SeaChange sneaker in natural, $88
SeaChange LTT sneaker in deep ocean, $88
↦ Check Out: Explore the whole SeaChange collection
What We’re Buying
The AirPods Pro are on sale for an unheard of 30% off ... As someone who upgraded to the Pro last year, I can attest that they're worth every penny. They have excellent active noise cancellation with a handy “transparency mode” for optimal awareness, an IPIX 4 water/sweat resistance rating, a wireless charging case and even quicker pairing and Siri functionality. If you've been waiting to upgrade, now is the time.
↦ Get It: $249 / $174.99 by Apple
Today’s Deals
Expires 6/15
Expires 6/15
Ongoing Sale
↦ Want More? See all 44 sales
Morning Motto
Team work makes the dream work.
↦ Follow: @rickrubin
That’s all for today...
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