7:50 A.M. And I'm Done For The Day -- October 14, 2019

First things first. I didn't watch the NFL yesterday. In fact, I didn't even care about the Dallas Cowboys game. Forgot all about it. I assumed it was going to be a blowout -- the Dallas Cowboys slamming the NY Jets. This morning, in a conversation I almost missed, I hear that the Cowboys lost to one of the worst teams in the NFL. Are you kidding? Wow, I'm glad I didn't watch that game. Isn't the highest paid player in the NFL on the Dallas Cowboys team? Time for Jason Garett to go.  A 10-year Dallas Morning News sports writer had great things to say about the highest paid player on the team. Close reading of the game suggests Zeke Elliott is all hat, no cattle. Actually, perhaps not quite that bad, but certainly not what one might expect. Again, I'm probably in the minority on this.

NASCAR: didn't watch. Today I see the results: 57 laps of the planned 188 laps. Rain? One more reason I no longer watch NASCAR.

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Wow, it's going to be a slow news day. I've pretty much posted everything I had planned to post.

Beautiful day for biking. Very, very overcast; it looks like rain, but the maps show the "weather" is to the south of us and will miss us. The forecast also shows no rain in the local area until later this afternoon.

Lots and lots of articles on Apple, Inc, all of a sudden. The new iPhone is apparently attracting a lot of attention. Several weeks ago (or was it just last week) I pointed out two things about the much improved iPhone, the iPhone 11:

• price point is less than previous iteration
• price point well less than $1,000
• pent-up demand after the relative unimpressive demand for the iPhone X

Apple needs to come out with a new phone every year, but it certainly appears, that based on the iPhone X / iPhone 11 we might see great years in the odd years (2019, 2021, 2023) and less impressive even years (2020, 2022, 2024). It all has to do with two-year contracts, or 18-month leases.

Along that line, from Bloomberg earlier this morning: Apple's lower prices, users' aging handsets drive iPhone demand.

And interesting, the graphic notes that 2015 (an odd year) was a "record year for iPhone sales." Those devices are now 4+ years old.

I'm not big into "upgrades," but my Apple SE which I absolutely love, is only 18 months old and it seems I have had it for ages. If Apple came out with a new phone, similarly sized, I would upgrade.

Interestingly, the price point seems to be less of a concern than I realized (I assume that's because of the ... well, let me get back to that....):

The $999 version of the iPhone 11 Pro with a 5.8-inch screen has also been one of the most popular new models, the people added. A recent search on Apple’s website showed many stores in the U.S, Greater China, the U.A.E, and Australia were sold out of most of the Pro models, while the base iPhone 11 was abundant. Many models ordered online now won’t arrive until early November.

I was saying: the price point seems to be less of a concern than I realized. There are two reasons:

• the carriers (Sprint, ATT, Verizon) are offering incredible monthly financing; and, 
• over time folks get used to their monthly data plan, and are not bothered by "cost creep"

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, career, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

Futures were pretty much negative overnight. The market opened "red." One would not expect much on this "bank holiday." And now this: the market turns green. And AAPL, opening flat, is now up a $1.37, trading, I assume, at another all-time high.

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MJ Hegar

One thing led to another and another, and eventually I ended up here. Wow, what a story.

In December 1999, Hegar was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force through ROTC at the University of Texas.

From April 2000 to March 2004, she served on active duty as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer. She was initially stationed at Misawa Air Force Base in Misawa, Japan.

She was also stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, where she worked on the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the B-2 Stealth Bomber. Her maintenance career culminated in responsibility for 75% of all B-2 maintenance as a Captain and selection as the Company Grade Officer of the Year for 2003.

In 2004, Hegar was selected for pilot training by the Air National Guard.

Upon completion of her training at the top of her class, she served two deployments to Afghanistan, flying Combat Search and Rescue on over 100 missions as well as Medevac missions as a helicopter pilot.

On July 29, 2009, on her third tour to Afghanistan, Hegar was shot down on a Medevac mission near Kandahar and sustained wounds during a conflict with the Taliban.

Taliban ground forces shot at the helicopter, which disabled her helicopter, and wounded her with shrapnel in her arm and leg. Although injured, Hegar and her pilot were able to rescue the soldiers but under further heavy fire, the helicopter was forced to conduct an emergency landing. 

Another U.S. Army helicopter were able to rescue her, her team, and the other soldiers, but because the rescue helicopter was full, she and others had to fly out on holding on to the wheel of the Blackhawk. 

On the way up out of the area, she saw insurgents and returned fire towards the area where she saw muzzle flashes.
Hegar was awarded the Purple Heart in December 2009.

Her actions on this mission earned her the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device in 2011.

She was one of the few women to receive this medal after Amelia Earhart.

Making America great.