Notes From All Over, The Early Sunday Afternoon Edition -- May 17, 2020

Updates

RFG and crack spread: for help in understanding this, see comments below, including this:

RFG, reformulated gasoline. Lower vapor pressure for summer use by limiting the amount of butane in summer gasoline vs. winter gasoline. Plus special processing for low vapor gasoline with decent octane.

Crack spread. Start with a gallon of crude oil. For example you paid $1.00 a gallon. Refine it: gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, bunker fuel, jet fuel, etc. You sell all of the products, and you get $1.20 a gallon after selling all of the products. That gives you a crack spread of $0.20 a gallon with a blend of all of the products. Assuming that jet fuel and diesel are break even, making $$$ on gasoline.

Every time I see RFG, I think BFD, and every time I see "crack spread," I'm thinking some illicit drug. LOL. Seriously, the reader's explanation of "crack spread" was a huge help. Thank you.

Original Post

Perspective: it's all about one's perspective, isn't it? For example, much of the private land in North Dakota was handed down to current owners from original settlers three generations ago. Maybe four generations. Let's see: my grandfather -- my father -- me -- Sophia -- that's four generations. Sophia's counterpart in North Dakota who will inherit mineral rights isn't affected by current events at all except in the "derivative" sense. If Sophia's counterpart in North Dakota retains her mineral rights, she may be very, very happy that oil companies are taking this bruising now.

• in Europe before the 19th century, wars were measured in terms of centuries (the Four Hundred Years' War, for example)
• US Revolutionary War: 1775 - 1783
• US Civil War: 1861 - 1865
• WWI: 1914 - 1918
• WWII: 1939 - 1945
• The Korean War: 1950 - 1953, armistice, but no peace agreement -- so, 1950- 2020 ("frozen conflict")
• Second Indochina War: 1955 - 1975
• Afghanistan War: began in 2001; in 2014, the 13-year war had become the longest war fought by the US
• Corona virus: may have been released in China as early as September, 2019; the US did not declare "war" until January 31, 2020 when international flights from China were banned: it's now been less than four months, and, there is already talk of an "armistice" (a gradual re-opening of the US; a peace treaty with the virus is likely never to be signed)

Winners and losers:

• very, very difficult to make up for "lost time"
• very difficult to make up for lost income
• watching the evening news is thirty minutes one will never get back

Daily grocery store visit: I try to visit our neighborhood store once every day. During the "toilet paper crisis" I visited the store twice a day, not to buy anything, but to see how things were going. Sort of like a journalist might do. LOL. Whatever.

Now I go to the store once a day for three reasons:

• to buy a fresh loaf of French bread which the oldest granddaughter likes for grilled cheese sandwiches and baguettes which the middle granddaughter and her dad like for snacking;
• to buy three or four apples (two of the three granddaughters love them); Koru are their current favorites, but Fuji are an adequate substitute; never, never, never red delicious;
• look for steak that has gone on sale (finding some incredible bargains)

At the same time, I am also going once a day to simply see how things are going. Right now, there are NO shortages of anything except French onion potato chip dip; three stores in our local area have been out of this item for five days now.

Observations today:

• that perceived egg shortage reported by the WSJ a few weeks ago? Not here; coffins are overflowing with eggs, and a dozen large Grade A eggs are selling for $0.99;
• paper goods aisle -- bathroom tissue and paper towels fill the shelves
• a half gallon of premium ice cream selling for $7.99 last week is now back to $6.99/half gallon

About half of the customers are wearing face masks; few are actually following directions on the floor telling folks which way to walk down the aisles. It appears that masks great affect one's ability to see clearly and read the direction of 2-foot arrows painted on the floors. All employees are wearing masks and the shopping carts are spotless, and wiped down with disinfectant within seconds after being returned to the store.

In the local area, it almost appears that more people are wearing their masks outdoors even if no other human being is in sight, whereas in the very busy grocery store, about half are not wearing masks. And walking the wrong way down the aisles.

My favorite: drivers in POVs, driving with no passengers, wearing their masks.

Gasoline: most surprising -- how fast gasoline went from $1.09 to $1.55/gallon in our local area, when there is now an unprecedented 42-day supply of crude oil in this country. Why isn't the governor looking into this?

Koru apples: 

• Koru apples are a modern New Zealand variety of Malus domestica. They are an accidental cross between Fuji (Japanese) and Braeburn (Motueka, New Zealand), with characteristics of each. Koru is a brand name for the apple cultivar Plumac.

Word for the day: bawn.

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Water Over The Bridge

After almost steady rain for the past 24 hours, we had water over the bridge at Parr Park, Grapevine, TX.

Parr Park