Back To 30 Active Rigs -- March 31, 2016

Back to 30 active rigs in North Dakota, the post-boom low. I track this data here. 

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The Apple Page

The new Apple iPhone SE was available for pre-order on March 24th -- last week. Today, the phone is available to be seen and touched in Apple retail stores. I don't know if it's yet available for sale in all retail stores.

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Dash Buttons

My son-in-law alerted me to these things. Quite incredible. The story here:

After last year rolling out the WiFi-connected plastic tabs that can be mounted to the fridge, washing machine or kitchen cupboard, the online retailing giant is increasing the number of brands that can be re-ordered by pushing a button to more than 100.

Simply brilliant. Beats shopping lists for the well-to-do. 

I have visions of our two-year-old granddaughter pushing these buttons non-stop. She loves anything with buttons.

When I was in the service, the most junior enlisted person in the office was responsible for keeping the break room well stocked with coffee, soft drinks, munchies. It was a huge chore lugging in cases of soft drinks every few days, nothing to say of the pain of going to the commissary (with the long lines) to pick up supplies. Secretaries, office managers, and those responsible for stocking break rooms are going to love these. Can you imagine being on the 20th floor of any skyscraper in New York City and constantly having to re-stock the break room? Problem solved. Dash buttons.

The bosses will also love these things. The cost more than makes up for losing a highly paid IT employee while he/she is gone for a couple of hours shopping for diet Coke and Kit Kat bars. By the way, that's why smart employers put break rooms in their own facilities: employee-provided break rooms ensure employees stick around instead of getting lost in some urban jungle. 

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Spin Cycle

From The Boston Globe:

Overall, roughly one of every three workers in the Bay State clocks less than 35 hours a week, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. While this may seem like a dubious distinction, it’s actually a sign of rare flexibility in the state job market.

For the most part, Massachusetts’ part-time workers aren’t stuck in undesirable gigs, unable to find steady, 40-hour slots. Most of them are content to work less than 35 hours a week, whether to make room for family obligations, deal with a pressing medical issue, or just open more space for the nonwork parts of life.

President Obama understood that -- that folks only wanted to work 35 hours a week. That's why ObamaCare kicks in after 35 hours. LOL. I can't make this stuff up.

I'm going to go look at the new iPhone SE. See you all later.