Idle Rambling, Nothing About The Bakken -- May 20, 2020

With regard to Wuhan flu, there almost seems to be a civil war going in the US, but this time it's not between the north and the south, but rather:

• between the states that are re-opening, and the states that are not;
• between Big Box retail (Walmart, Target, Sams, Costco) where it seems safe to shop, and small mom-and-pop retail (where they might see an average of ten people/day) where it is deemed unsafe to shop;
• between the elite who have access to barbers, hair salons, spas, nail care vs the rest of us; 

It will be fascinating to watch how this plays out. My hunch there's a lot more happening just below the surface which no one is reporting.

Niche retail: will survive. Anecdote: "Bricks and Minifigs." Legos. Great source for retired sets. This set is retired, still available through Amazon at $89 +$4.99 shipping. Not eligible for Prime free shipping. On the other hand, same set is available for $22 at local "Bricks and Minifigs" store. I picked up one set earlier this week and had forgotten about it when Sophia "discovered" it in my "pile of stuff' in the bedroom. She loved it, playing with it for more than an hour after dinner last night.

Well, it turns out that our local "Bricks and Minifigs" had two of these sets. I bought the one, as noted, and will go back later today to pick up the second set if it is still available. We will give the second set to her closest friend and the two of them can each have their own set.

Yahoo!Finance: now I remember why I quit following the business news. These are the headline stories over at Yahoo!Finance today.

Story #1. Well, duh. That's not news. That's a "dog bites man" story. In fact, if you need this story to help you with investing at this point in the Wuhan flu pandemic, you are in deep trouble. In fact, whoever wrote that story is a good candidate to be a nominee for the Geico Rock Award.

Story #2. Does anyone care? Certainly no one in US Congress -- who wants to be re-elected -- cares, and state governors seem to be still asking for still more help from the federal government.