Apple surpasses Microsoft, now 2nd most valuable company in the US.

Microsoft's market cap (the value of all shares of stock combined) was $219.2 Billion as of market close this afternoon.  Apple, whose stock has been climbing rapidly, hit a market cap of $222.1 Billion.   This makes Apple the second most valuable company in America, behind Exxon Mobile (with a market cap of $278.6 Billion).

Personally, I don't think Apple is really worth that much.  Their Price/Earnings ratio is 20.8 to 1, compared to 13.5 to 1 for Microsoft and 13.6 to 1 for Exxon.  That means Apple stock costs about half again as much for each dollar of income as Microsoft or Exxon.  Apple's net income was $8.2 billion in 2009, compared to 14.6 billion for Microsoft and 19.3 billion for Exxon.

While all the stock analysts are claiming Apple stock is only going to go higher, I don't see this happening.  The numbers just aren't there.  Going by income and P/E, Apple should be worth about $125-150 billion, about on par with Google.

But never underestimate Steve Jobs and the hype surrounding him.  When he dies, Apple's stock is going to absolutely tank.

Free lube!

The WD-40 Company is giving out free samples of their Blue Works industrial lubricants.  I got a free can of Dry Lube PTFE Formula; it's a Teflon lube that is completely dry so it doesn't pick up dirt like oil or grease does.  It was a rather large can, 10 ounces, about the size of a standard WD-40 can.  They also have several other varieties of lubricants, cleaners and penetrants that you can try, but you can only request one sample.

Go to http://www.blueworksbrand.com/sample/
Select the product you want to request
Enter the offer code MLB
Enter your name, e-mail, address and phone number
Enter that you heard about the offer from "Machinery Lubrication Magazine"
Fill out the rest of the form and hit Send

Technically this is for "industrial professionals".  One sample request per person, available while supplies last.  Offer only available in the continental US.