Notes From All Over --- Early Morning Edition -- Part 2 -- August 14, 2020

First things first: a shout out to apartment complex management. 

I can't believe how incredibly responsive and efficient our maintenance folks are when it comes to taking care of their property. 

I had a plumbing problem -- not an emergency, but fairly urgent -- which I noted upon return from my two-week cross-country trip.

I submitted the work order on-line and then sort of forgot about it. I have been in/near the apartment since submitting the work order. This morning I received an e-mail telling me that the problem had been resolved. I was never even aware that maintenance was even in the apartment. I immediately jumped out of bed, walked briskly to the area under question, and wow, incredibly, a note from the maintenance folks that the plumbing problem was resolved.

I had no idea they were even in the apartment. They must have come in during the middle of the night when I was sleeping. LOL

John Kemp: a reader alerted me to this link here. US petroleum inventories show gradual rebalancing. A big "thank you" to the reader. 

U.S. petroleum inventories show clear signs of trending lower as consumption slowly recovers from the epidemic and lockdowns, while Saudi Arabia restricts production and directs volumes away from North America. 

Business sentiment: 72.8 vs 71 forecast. Highest since June, 2020 (?) when it was 78.1 (?).

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: a reader noted we have had no recent photo updates of the jurist. RBG will be a headline story on November 4, 2020, regardless of whether anyone covers it or when they cover it.  

ICYMI: NBA has re-branded itself as a BLM platform. 

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

Market opening: a blah day.

That's what she said: bigger is better. LOL I never thought I would say this. 

Some years ago I finally broke down and replaced my beloved Sprint clam-shell dumb-phone with an Apple iPhone SE. It was the smallest iPhone available but I still thought it was too big compared to the clam-shell phone. 

Today, while doing some "work"on the iPhone, I realized how small it really is. I need a bigger iPhone. The height of decadence? Two smart phones, both personal, neither business? One to carry around with me when I'm biking, on the move, etc. But a second larger one when I'm flat in bed dong some work? For me, the Apple iPad and the iPhone are merging in functionality. I never thought I would think about getting a larger iPhone. 

Schwab: I assume everyone has their favorite broker. Mine is Schwab. I can't say enough about this company.