Notes From All Over, The Evening Edition -- April 9, 2020

I've hit a wall.

I couldn't possibly be in a better mood but I'm worn out -- mentally. But I will easily recover by tomorrow morning.

If there is one video that defined the previous administration -- and actually the whole mindset of his party in every way, shape, and form --

Doofus-in-Chief

Some people are pessimists; some are optimists.

Jimmy Carter? Cardigan sweaters. 

Hand sanitizer? A month ago, one couldn't find any. Today, everyone is making hand sanitizer; there is such a glut that it's being sold at half price, and it's available by the gross (a dozen dozen or 144 items) if you need that much. Wuhan flu masks? It turns out women at home are making cloth masks that meet CDC recommendations. Who knew? Cost? A couple of pennies. FDA-approved, one-time use masks? $15 or more.  And apparently the cloth masks are just as effective. Ventilators? There's a surplus. Military hospitals? Washington state just dismantled the one that was just completed earlier this week.

Does anyone really think public schools will open next fall on schedule? The reason I ask: no one has been able to articulate "the strategy." "Sheltering-in-place" and wearing homemade masks are tactics to "flatten the curve" but it's not a strategy. I really don't know if the CDC has articulated a strategy.

From an unsourced internet source:

Strategy generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions. A strategy describes how the ends (goals) will be achieved by the means (resources). ... It involves activities such as strategic planning and strategic thinking.

Back to oil.

A reader just sent me a link to a most interesting Reuters article. It answers the question (at least it answers the question for me): why did OPEC+ come to an agreement so quickly?

When I get my energy back (no pun intended), I'll post the link, and commentary. But that's an important question: why did OPEC+ come to an agreement so quickly? Remember: the EIA two days ago predicted that OPEC+  would not come to an agreement to make any cuts in production. What happened? What changed?

Signing off for the night. Time for reading; time for music; time for TCM. All mobile devices now being charged: one old iPad; one new iPad; one iPhone; one MacBook Air.