Very glad that January is over. Cold, depressing and cold. I'm emptying hair spray bottles outside every day trying to encourage global warming but the near-term results have been disappointing. Thanks Al. Nobel Peace Prize candidate? Gimme a break. Isn't this guy part of the team that did nothing while various regimes built up their nuclear weapon capabilities? Right.
I set more specific quantitative goals for my trading this year. So far it seems to be working. Up 10.1% in the first month versus 2% on the Nasdaq. It was a challenging month in many respects so I am happy with the end result. February is starting just as challenging.
One of the things I like about trading is the immediate feedback. You generally know right away if you are right or wrong and that is the way I like it. The other good thing is that results are directly correlated over time with the amount of work you put in. You might not experience the correlation right away but sweat equity is real.
New Office episode tonight. Good times.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The Pursuit of Happyness
Just got back from seeing this movie...one that I've wanted to see since it hit theaters. I'm not really an opening weekend kinda guy though so this seemed like good timing.
It was good as I expected it to be. True stories of people overcoming incredible obstacles to grab hold of their dream are always worth learning. Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a man who has found himself at financial insolvency with a 5-year old son to care for. Toward the beginning of the movie his son is dribbling a basketball and taking the occasional shot and Chris tells him not to get his hopes up too high because he was never really any good at basketball and he probably passed down his average sports genes to his son. This promptly causes an angry and frustrated response in which the boy begins packing up his basketball. The father recognizes his mistake and tells his son, "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something...not even me. If you have a dream...protect it. People that can't do something themselves are the ones who will tell you that you can't do it either."
OK, I'm paraphrasing toward the end there but you get the point. The human spirit was not meant to be limited or diminished for the very simple reason that it comes from God. This film comes at that from a natural, not spiritual, viewpoint but the conclusion is the same. In the words of the late Jim Valvano, "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Why? Because they have given up on their dreams. They have tried and failed and decided that was enough. Maybe life handed them some bad circumstances and they can't even see a path that will let them try again. Or maybe the biggest tragedy of all...they never tried in the first place.
The Constitution says that all Americans should have the right to pursue happiness. The film made the point that Jefferson wasn't saying that happiness is a right, just the pursuit of it. I never really thought about that before. There are heroes in this world...men and women who continue to pursue excellence when the world has long given up on them and told them they have no chance. As incredible as those individuals and their respective stories are it was the opposite thought that has clung to me since the end of the movie. How awful it is for someone to be given every opportunity in the world and still fail...either naturally or spiritually...or perhaps both. Not because of bad breaks but because they did it to themselves through bad decisions, laziness or a sense of entitlement. That thought has been with me for a long time and I hope one day it won't be anymore.
It was good as I expected it to be. True stories of people overcoming incredible obstacles to grab hold of their dream are always worth learning. Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a man who has found himself at financial insolvency with a 5-year old son to care for. Toward the beginning of the movie his son is dribbling a basketball and taking the occasional shot and Chris tells him not to get his hopes up too high because he was never really any good at basketball and he probably passed down his average sports genes to his son. This promptly causes an angry and frustrated response in which the boy begins packing up his basketball. The father recognizes his mistake and tells his son, "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something...not even me. If you have a dream...protect it. People that can't do something themselves are the ones who will tell you that you can't do it either."
OK, I'm paraphrasing toward the end there but you get the point. The human spirit was not meant to be limited or diminished for the very simple reason that it comes from God. This film comes at that from a natural, not spiritual, viewpoint but the conclusion is the same. In the words of the late Jim Valvano, "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Why? Because they have given up on their dreams. They have tried and failed and decided that was enough. Maybe life handed them some bad circumstances and they can't even see a path that will let them try again. Or maybe the biggest tragedy of all...they never tried in the first place.
The Constitution says that all Americans should have the right to pursue happiness. The film made the point that Jefferson wasn't saying that happiness is a right, just the pursuit of it. I never really thought about that before. There are heroes in this world...men and women who continue to pursue excellence when the world has long given up on them and told them they have no chance. As incredible as those individuals and their respective stories are it was the opposite thought that has clung to me since the end of the movie. How awful it is for someone to be given every opportunity in the world and still fail...either naturally or spiritually...or perhaps both. Not because of bad breaks but because they did it to themselves through bad decisions, laziness or a sense of entitlement. That thought has been with me for a long time and I hope one day it won't be anymore.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Monday Monday
The title is in memory of The Mamas and The Papas who lost another member last week. I have always liked their music.
The markets picked up where they left off last week...with another beating. After being down fairly significantly early I staged a comeback and was almost even today. That is a win. But a tiring one at that. When the market gets ugly like this it becomes more of a mental weardown. 4 days to go though so I better suck it up. Texas Instruments is trading up after hours on their mid-quarter guidance report so perhaps there will be more green on my screen, particularly in tech land, when the markets open up tomorrow.
In other news...
Hillary Clinton announces she is running for president. Shocking. I haven't been that surprised at an announcement since Elton John told the world he was gay.
I can't believe we are starting this process already. Why can't we just wait until July of next year?
Good to see Peyton make his first Super Bowl. Should be interesting. Sorry to see the Saints lose but it has been a great season and story for the city of New Orleans, which desperately needed something positive to rally around. They will be back and even better next year.
Snow on the ground and clouds in the sky. Definitely feels like January now. And I can't wait for it to stop feeling that way.
The markets picked up where they left off last week...with another beating. After being down fairly significantly early I staged a comeback and was almost even today. That is a win. But a tiring one at that. When the market gets ugly like this it becomes more of a mental weardown. 4 days to go though so I better suck it up. Texas Instruments is trading up after hours on their mid-quarter guidance report so perhaps there will be more green on my screen, particularly in tech land, when the markets open up tomorrow.
In other news...
Hillary Clinton announces she is running for president. Shocking. I haven't been that surprised at an announcement since Elton John told the world he was gay.
I can't believe we are starting this process already. Why can't we just wait until July of next year?
Good to see Peyton make his first Super Bowl. Should be interesting. Sorry to see the Saints lose but it has been a great season and story for the city of New Orleans, which desperately needed something positive to rally around. They will be back and even better next year.
Snow on the ground and clouds in the sky. Definitely feels like January now. And I can't wait for it to stop feeling that way.
Friday, January 19, 2007
The Life of a Trader
Whew...what a week. The weekend is definitely a welcome reprieve. Technology stocks got hammered this week thanks to a number of companies missing their earnings estimates or providing weak guidance. Even companies with blowout quarters such as Apple saw their stocks get slammed. I'm sure that makes no sense to people unfamiliar with the market...and quite frankly, it often makes little sense to those of us in the trenches every single day. Basically, people had priced in perfection in some of these stocks and you got the "buy the rumor, sell the news" reaction that is often prevalent on Wall Street. The Nasdaq lost 50 points this week and that is a pretty good beating after how it well it has been performing.
I survived the initial selloff on Wednesday and was sitting pretty for the week after a good Tuesday. Then Thursday came along and I apparently couldn't walk between the raindrops anymore and gave the last two day's gains back in a matter of 6 and a half hours. That is frustrating. I don't care how long you have been trading...losing money isn't fun...particularly when you financially need to have a good week. No pressure there. It's an interesting thing when you can work as hard as possible and do everything you know how to do and still lose big. But it's just part of the equation.
The good news is that Friday was much better and I recovered all that was lost. After doing this for several years I know to approach every day with a positive attitude and a belief that I will make money. I may carry a bad day with me for awhile after the market closes but that feeling is gone when I wake up the next day. I know by now that I can and will beat the market...maybe not every day, week or month...but in due time. So, I press on and that persistence, as in so many other areas of life, has a way of paying off.
I survived the initial selloff on Wednesday and was sitting pretty for the week after a good Tuesday. Then Thursday came along and I apparently couldn't walk between the raindrops anymore and gave the last two day's gains back in a matter of 6 and a half hours. That is frustrating. I don't care how long you have been trading...losing money isn't fun...particularly when you financially need to have a good week. No pressure there. It's an interesting thing when you can work as hard as possible and do everything you know how to do and still lose big. But it's just part of the equation.
The good news is that Friday was much better and I recovered all that was lost. After doing this for several years I know to approach every day with a positive attitude and a belief that I will make money. I may carry a bad day with me for awhile after the market closes but that feeling is gone when I wake up the next day. I know by now that I can and will beat the market...maybe not every day, week or month...but in due time. So, I press on and that persistence, as in so many other areas of life, has a way of paying off.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
United 93
I had ben thinking about seeing this movie for a long time now...ever since it hit theaters I suppose. I had heard it was very well done. It's been on pay-per-view for some time and I keep passing over it when looking for a movie to entertain me. I think a part of me just didn't want to relive that day. I will never forget being in the office and watching on my little TV as the events of that morning unfolded. The utter chaos as horrific reports filtered in across the news wires...some true, some not true...but all terrifying. I had been very blessed to have not known a time of war in my life. Vietnam was winding down as I was born and the Cold War, while quite scary on some level, never really amounted to more than tension and a general feeling of ill will. I knew the world wasn't a utopia but the Midwestern US was pretty darn close as bloodshed was concerned. I don't know that I was permanently changed that day or not. I have always been aware of my own mortality and am generally cognizant that any given day could be my last on this Earth (and yet I still waste time...maybe I don't REALLY get it). But 9/11 certainly did change me for awhile. I remember being glued to the TV for days, weeks even, after it happened. I recall slipping into a depression as my worldview changed. Things weren't as safe as I had once assumed, not even in the tranquil US. Wars weren't always going to be fought on some far off land only found on a globe. They could actually happen on our shores. And the prospect that there will be more is almost a certainty.
So with all that spinning around in my head I decided to finally watch the movie. I felt I owed it to those brave men and women on that flight who spared us further pain and death, both in a real physical sense and in a larger symbolic and psychological sense. Sure enough, I felt that lump in my throat when they showed the initial smoke coming out of the WTC. There were parts that were difficult to watch but I was really watching for the story of the people on United 93. As the movie unfolded, I wondered to myself if I would be that brave in that kind of situation. I suppose I would if I knew my life would be ending anyway. There isn't really anything to further risk at that point if death is imminent. The larger question of having bravery when there is everything to lose remains a murkier question. I also experienced my share of anger as the terrorists took over the plane and wanting to be there with the passengers as they attempted to regain control of the aircraft. I really just wanted to punch them in the head and return some of the pain they had inflicted on innocent civilians. It was a visceral reaction...primal perhaps...but very real. A Christian reaction? Given the circumstances of the plane being used to kill additional people besides those onboard? Sure, I don't think God would quarrel with that. Overall, it was a good movie that I felt did justice to those whose stories needed to be told. Surprisingly enough, I was able to sleep after watching it.
So that's where this Iraq situation started. Out of our grief and need for justice we decided to take it to the terrorists. Afghanistan was an easy target as the Taliban stood out with their training grounds and financing of the terrorists involved. Iraq was a more difficult sell. I'll save the WMD talk for another post but I think the initial idea was a good one...to meet the terrorists over there so we didn't have to do it here. So far that part has worked. You can't fight a war defensively or you will lose. Right France? There is no question things haven't gone well. But what war does? Not many that are worth fighting. Wars are ugly and dynamic and unpredictable. Battles may be lost but that does not mean the war follows the same outcome. I think our country has forgotten that. Too many would rather opt for the road of peace and diplomacy and sparing the lives of the brave souls in our military. We could do that. And that is the war we would lose.
So with all that spinning around in my head I decided to finally watch the movie. I felt I owed it to those brave men and women on that flight who spared us further pain and death, both in a real physical sense and in a larger symbolic and psychological sense. Sure enough, I felt that lump in my throat when they showed the initial smoke coming out of the WTC. There were parts that were difficult to watch but I was really watching for the story of the people on United 93. As the movie unfolded, I wondered to myself if I would be that brave in that kind of situation. I suppose I would if I knew my life would be ending anyway. There isn't really anything to further risk at that point if death is imminent. The larger question of having bravery when there is everything to lose remains a murkier question. I also experienced my share of anger as the terrorists took over the plane and wanting to be there with the passengers as they attempted to regain control of the aircraft. I really just wanted to punch them in the head and return some of the pain they had inflicted on innocent civilians. It was a visceral reaction...primal perhaps...but very real. A Christian reaction? Given the circumstances of the plane being used to kill additional people besides those onboard? Sure, I don't think God would quarrel with that. Overall, it was a good movie that I felt did justice to those whose stories needed to be told. Surprisingly enough, I was able to sleep after watching it.
So that's where this Iraq situation started. Out of our grief and need for justice we decided to take it to the terrorists. Afghanistan was an easy target as the Taliban stood out with their training grounds and financing of the terrorists involved. Iraq was a more difficult sell. I'll save the WMD talk for another post but I think the initial idea was a good one...to meet the terrorists over there so we didn't have to do it here. So far that part has worked. You can't fight a war defensively or you will lose. Right France? There is no question things haven't gone well. But what war does? Not many that are worth fighting. Wars are ugly and dynamic and unpredictable. Battles may be lost but that does not mean the war follows the same outcome. I think our country has forgotten that. Too many would rather opt for the road of peace and diplomacy and sparing the lives of the brave souls in our military. We could do that. And that is the war we would lose.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Random Musings
Rosie and Donald...great publicity move and the media ate it up with a spoon. May not be the most charming individuals but they know how to get free advertising and generate ratings. Yes, Trump's new show debuted last week. What a coincidence.
Bush calling for more troops in Iraq. Hard to know if it's a good idea or not. Can any number of troops really stop a looming civil war? If no tangible results are generated by summer than we need to go another direction. Oh, and by the way, the troop increase was something being called for by Harry Reid just this past December. My what a short memory he has as he quickly shakes that off and joins his parroting comrades.
Tough loss for Iowa on the road tonight at Illinois. Those games are usually lost by the kind of young team we have. Impressive enough that we were leading at the half and only lost by 4 seeing as we haven't won there since 1999.
Nice day for the markets. Commodity prices falling and Apple's new phone putting dollars in the pockets of shareholders. Semiconductors acting well and oil dropping below $55 a barrel. If we can get to new highs on the year this market could really start to frustrate the bears.
Bush calling for more troops in Iraq. Hard to know if it's a good idea or not. Can any number of troops really stop a looming civil war? If no tangible results are generated by summer than we need to go another direction. Oh, and by the way, the troop increase was something being called for by Harry Reid just this past December. My what a short memory he has as he quickly shakes that off and joins his parroting comrades.
Tough loss for Iowa on the road tonight at Illinois. Those games are usually lost by the kind of young team we have. Impressive enough that we were leading at the half and only lost by 4 seeing as we haven't won there since 1999.
Nice day for the markets. Commodity prices falling and Apple's new phone putting dollars in the pockets of shareholders. Semiconductors acting well and oil dropping below $55 a barrel. If we can get to new highs on the year this market could really start to frustrate the bears.
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