The Daily Valet. - 7/19/22, Tuesday

✔️ That Familiar Creep

Tuesday, July 19th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I’m vain. But am I “have my own action figure” vain?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Creeping COVID

As the BA.5 subvariant drives a spike, many public health leaders aren’t cracking down

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said last week that the BA.5 subvariant is the “most contagious, certainly the most immune evasive variant we’ve seen” in an interview with NBC.

That’s because as the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads, it changes. And that evolution helped it get past our firewalls—from masking to the immunity created by vaccines or left behind after we recover from an infection.

Even as vaccine manufacturers race to update the first-generation shots in the hopes of patching up our protection for the fall, other scientists are taking a different approach. According to CNN, they’re making vaccines delivered via nasal sprays or tablets that would deploy more immune defenders to the body’s front lines: the lining of the mouth, nose and throat.

That would definitely be welcome, right? Especially because Americans, exhausted from repeated surge warnings, are less likely than ever to wear masks or avoid crowds. And while Los Angeles country (where I live) is is moving toward an indoor mask mandate, many public health officials aren’t cracking down or pushing for masking again.

According to the New York Times, home testing makes the current data murkier. “Not since the earliest months has so little been known about how many infections there are.” Death rates and a 20% increase in hospitalizations indicate a new surge, but hospitalizations and deaths are far fewer than in previous spikes, and most who are vaccinated are able to treat symptoms at home.

As for those who have eschewed previous vaccines, the new Novavax vaccine could clear its final hurdle in the U.S. this week. It uses traditional protein-based technology, unlike its mRNA counterparts. But experts say it still may not convince a large number of unwilling holdouts to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated.

↦ Dig Deeper: During the pandemic, the link between politics and health became glaringly obvious. Now, data that shows a growing mortality gap between Republican and Democrat areas may largely stem from policy choices.

Hack the Pump

Higher fuel prices lead to more gas theft

With gas prices at record highs across the U.S. in recent months, frustrated and cash-strapped Americans have started stealing it—most by trying to hack the gas pumps themselves.

Police have arrested dozens of people across the country for either digitally manipulating computers that manage gas pumps or installing homemade devices to discount their fuel, according to an NBC News review of police and local news reports.

The most common tactics aren't all that technologically sophisticated. Gas hackers take advantage of the fact that gas pump equipment in the U.S. is heavily standardized and often doesn't include strong security protections. Some were even selling the stolen gas at a discounted rate.

Unlike the fuel shortages that plagued motorists during the 1970s—where determined individuals were known to easily siphon a gallon or two from a parked car to keep their rides running—today's cars prevent that. That's good. So criminals have begun drilling directly into parked cars' gas tanks to drain the liquid gold. That's bad. And costly to repair.

↦ FYI: Gas prices are falling, but voters say they aren’t feeling the relief.

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FCC Wants Faster Broadband

The chair also said she wants to set a 1Gbps standard for the future

The FCC's 25Mbps broadband standard seemed fast in 2015, but that was seven years ago—and the agency's current leadership believes it's time to raise that baseline.

After all, with the world constantly plugged in and streaming, it makes sense. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed raising the minimum definition of broadband to 100Mbps for downloads and 20Mbps for uploads. The previous 25/3 benchmark is both outdated and hides just how many low-income and rural internet users are being “left behind and left offline,” she said.

Rosenworcel is also proposing “a separate national goal of 1Gbps/500Mbps for the future.” She also suggested more criteria for determining the "reasonable and timely" rollout of broadband, including adoption rates, affordability, availability and equitable access.

But it's unclear if the standards change will move forward. Ars Technica notes any proposed upgrade would require a vote, and the current commission is deadlocked with two Democrats and two Republicans. And she'll need majority to reverse the former chairman's broadband-industry deregulation and reclaim authority to treat internet service providers as common carriers.

↦ Meanwhile: Snapchat is now bringing features like snapping, chatting and video calling to the desktop.

Make Your Own Action Figure

Mine’s gonna come with a special laptop attachment and “typing action” arms

Is this cool? Is this creepy? Maybe a little of both ... but Hasbro—maker of all our childhood action figures—is going allow you to create classic action figures in your own likeness.

Thanks to an ingenious partnership between the legendary toymaker and 3D-printing specialists Formlabs, the Hasbro Selfie Series lets you scan your face with your phone and have a custom action figure delivered to your door.

Right now, customers have the option to select characters from Star Wars, Marvel, Ghostbusters, Power Rangers and G.I. Joe, ranging from Iron Man and Black Panther to Snake Eyes and X-Wing Pilot. And the 6" mini-mes will cost you about 60 bucks.

I feel it's important to note that Hasbro will not sell your face data, and deletes any data after 60 days. And while it's been announced, the Hasbro Selfie Series won't actually let you start scanning your head for a little while. In order to start, you'll need to download Hasbro Pulse, the company's dedicated mobile app, and get your face ready to be immortalized. Scans will open up closer to the expected ship date in the fall.

↦ FYI: Once left for dead, Toys ‘R’ Us is making a comeback and the brand will be nearly everywhere in time for the holidays.

In Other News

↦ Tour de France Pours Water on Roads to Keep Pavement From Melting in Unprecedented European Heat Wave

↦ Police Laud the Actions of a Man Who Killed a Shooter at an Indiana Mall

↦ Alumni From the World’s Best Restaurant Just Created a New Type of Booze

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

‘American Gigolo’ style

Eating the rich

Making meditation easier

Partner

A Smarter Way to Lose Weight

Noom’s proven plan is less about what you eat and more about how, when and why you eat

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↦ Get Started: Take Noom's free five-minute quiz to kickstart your health journey today

Pants That’ll Keep You Cool

Cotton-linen carpenter pant,$248 by Todd Snyder

Welcome to the dead of summer. Out of necessity, you have probably been wearing shorts more frequently, and who could blame you? But I still prefer pants. I'm not sure what it is, I just love how secure they feel. Plus, they also prevent sunburn.

You might think I'm crazy, but the key is knowing your fabrics. You need the right lightweight options. Linen or a breezy woven cotton will keep you cool, but you want the pants cut in a relaxed or wider silhouette to give them room to breathe so they don't stick to your legs whenever the temps get out of hand. And one upside to climate change is that plenty of brands are now making these pants.