Price by Volume

415 views

RC posted about this a few weeks ago, but I figured that since this will be a key component in my analysis and strategy in 2013, it would be a good time to recycle this video.

Take some time (38 minutes) to edumacate yourselfs:

@tradingaddicts is responsible for this very informative work:

Interim-Interim Blogger

415 views

Good thoughts and massive amounts of positive energy are currently being directed toward MAXIMUS and his family.

In his absence, I have been asked by the good folks here at iBC to serve as his replacement.  As is my custom, I plan to do so with honor and will give it my best to do an admirable job.

Without a doubt, 2012 was my shittiest year as a trader/investor (since I started in 2002).  Unfortunately, this stark reality has led me to reevaluate my strategy.  Often, we need the taste horrendous defeat in order to learn more about our weaknesses and how to best combat them in the future.

As I have (painfully) discovered in 2012, my weakness lies in the options market.  I gained a false sense of confidence through making my 2011 by successfully trading options in August and September.

In 2012, I have repeatedly been gouged by taking on positions that I should have just let be (or traded the underlying).  Therefore, in 2013, the number one change to my strategy is simple (in practice): NO OPTIONS.  Ever.  While the allure of making 500% on a weekly options trade is strong, I WILL NOT get sucked into that vortex in 2013.

Going forward into 2013, I am going to use this forum to run a model $1million portfolio (which will mirror what I’m doing in my actual portfolio).  My performance goal will be simple (well, simply stated): a 2% monthly return.  I will delve much deeper into ‘what to expect’ in an upcoming post.

Follow along and enjoy the ride (or mock me, if that is your thing).

Comments always welcome.

My best to you all.

-EM

My Holdings and a Story About McAfee

377 views

I don’t usually talk very much about “my book”, so I’d like to take this opportunity to delve into what I am currently trading with a quick rundown of my portfolio and provide some thoughts afterward.  Positions are from largest to smallest:

Cash: 44%

Stock: NTAP 11%, BBT 8%, CHRW 8%, PSTI 5%, FSL 4%

Options: MNST Jan 52.5 Call 7%, VHC Jan (2014) 50 Call 5%, LCC Jan 12.5 Call 4%, SD Mar 6 Call 4%, SWHC Dec 11 Call 0%

I caught a bit of seemingly fortuitous news as I was sitting in traffic this afternoon when I read that the “homosexuals” over at SD were busy selling off their Permian Basin oil assets for a cool 2.6 Billion.  Afterhours trading saw the price of the underlying spike to well above 7 before settling at 7 even.

I bought the stock because I liked the chart…sometimes you get lucky.  Hopefully the euphoria carries over into ‘regular trading’.

That reminds me…in over a decade of trading, only once have I been lucky enough to own shares of stock in a company that gets acquired for a premium.

Fun fact: It was the summer of 2010, August to be exact.  I was long an egregious amount of MFE…yeah, that’s right, McAfee.  It was over 30% of my portfolio…it was beaten down and I thought it was way overdone.  I was starting to get fed up with the stock and decided to liquidate 1/2 of my position for a small loss.

I was living out west at the time, so I usually rolled out of bed right as the market was opening.  As I pull up my usual early morning menu of websites I notice that MFE was printing a really strange price…$48/share…what the fuck?  My cost basis was in the low 30’s.  I sold the entire lot almost immediately.

In retrospect, the order entry was more a thing of: “holy shit, the bid is suddenly $15/share over my cost basis, and this cannot be real so I’m going to enter a limit order at the bid and we’ll see what happens.”

Order filled.

Thank you John McAfee.

For a long time I pondered that other 15% I sold off.  Anyway, it’s always nice when unexpectedly good shit happens to stocks that you own right out of the blue.

Back to my portfolio, I have made a few purchases this week, namely NTAP, PSTI, FSL, MNST, and SD.  I took off 1/3 of my FSL position this morning to lock in a nice 2 day profit.  The rest of the lot are all being closely monitored.

I have owned a varying amount of the LCC Jan 12.5 calls since August 15th.  Building a position, selling off part, lowering cost basis, buying more, selling off some, lowering cost basis further…I have repeated this process 4 different times.  The result is a trade that is currently sitting with pure profit (even if the contracts I hold expire worthless).

Today I sold off a few contracts into the huge rally, but still have enough of a position where my overall P&L is still strongly affected by a day like today.  Free money.

Lastly, I’m sitting on those VHC calls come hell or high water.  They will either blow through the roof or expire worthless.  It’s a small enough position that I’m willing to take the gamble…and it’s already up 25% from my basis with the underlying still well below $50…I’m content in waiting it out.

My best to you all.

-EM

Need Energy? Have a MNST (Not Really)

403 views

You have to love the energy drink craze here in good ol’ ‘Murica (aka “The United Steaks”).  Granted, I’m not really sure what everyone needs so much supplemental energy for.  Is that desk job just too overwhelming?  Do people need extra “energy” to play a video game?  From my observation, it’s more likely to be a sketchy tweaker guzzling down a Monster than someone who is performing actual manual labor.

I have tried a bunch of them: Rock Star, Red Bull, Monster, 5 Hour Energy.  Did I feel more “energetic”?  I guess…but it also could have been placebo.

To deviate here for a moment, do you want to know what has basically cured my mid-afternoon “crash”?  I know this may come as a surprise, but the answer is not “have an energy drink”.  Once I eliminated carbohydrates (and specifically ANYTHING containing wheat) from my pre-dinner diet, I have found that I do not get tired in the middle of the day (no matter how much I slept the previous evening).

Believe it or not, but you can maintain a state of heightened awareness without the “help” of energy drinks.  Sure I have a couple cups of coffee, but I have always had a couple cups of coffee, and prior to my dietary change, would typically use coffee as a “pick-me-up” in the afternoon (which, after 14 years of daily intake…it doesn’t really work).

Another bonus is that I can eat my breakfast (2 jumbo egg whites+1 whole jumbo egg) at any time in the morning, and not “feel” hungry even at 1PM when I typically eat lunch.

After the New Year, my wife and I are going to go completely “wheat free” for (at least) a month to see how that dietary change will affect our physical and mental well-being.  I will try to document my findings here.

Back to my original point: energy drinks…specifically Monster: MNST.  (Yeah, I am aware that the company umbrella covers more than just the energy drinks…but they are probably the most recognizable product, and the company is named after said product, so that’s were I’m going).  As of the close yesterday, MNST is completing one of my absolute FAVORITE reversal patterns.

Let’s take a gander at the daily chart:

Oh my.

There was the “coil” following the huge run-up on 11/27.  Next there was the “breakout”.  Then the breakout “failed”, which has led to a sublime looking buying opportunity here.

Clearly, there is support in the 51 area, but I believe that the stock is just about done pulling back and is about to take off.  I wanted to wait until the close yesterday to start building a position, but this chart was just screaming “BUY ME NOW DUMBASS”, and I couldn’t resist.

The MNST options market is fairly liquid, so I decided to use the January 52.5 calls as my vehicle of choice here.  I bought a starter before lunch at 3.10 and then added some right before the close at 3.30.

I’m looking for a rally though the breakout highs with an eye on the 200 day SMA currently a touch over 61.  With that in mind, and without fail, I get really antsy whenever an option position shows a profit, so there is a very strong possibility that I sell too soon.

My exit points are simple: if price drops below yesterday’s (12/18) low, I’ll sell a portion of my position.  The rest I will hold until it looks like there will be a definitive close below 51.

This is a 2-10 day trade for me.  If it blasts higher, I may keep a contract or two around for shits and giggles, but I’m only looking for a quick pop.  These kind of patterns either work, or they don’t…I’ll know, likely by this afternoon (12/19), whether or not this trade is going to work.

With that, allow me just reemphasize my initial point: I LOVE this pattern.  I have witnessed it many many times and it usually works.  If it doesn’t…well, that will be pretty obvious.

Trade ’em well.

My best to you all.

-EM

Gun Control, a Math Equation and a Rant on Irresponsible Parenting

588 views

I have had a few days to sort through my emotions and have come up with a few thoughts in the aftermath of Sandy Hook:

In regard to gun availability, the “toothpaste is out of the tube” already.  Just like abortion, we aren’t going back, no matter how many people think otherwise.

Having said that, do I think an ordinary citizen should be able to buy a weapon in which the ONLY use for that weapon is for killing a multitude of their fellow humans at once (even in the name of self defense)?

No, I do not.

Granted, I am ignorant in regard to the specific characteristics of these weapons, but I do know that you probably don’t need to fire 45 rounds of armor piercing ammunition per minute into an animal that you are trying to hunt for food or game.  These weapons were designed to kill other humans.

Period.

I get it, in war, that’s what needs to happen; however, I believe that they have no place in a (relatively) peaceful society.

Next, I consider myself a man of math and science.  Numbers make sense to me.

What I’m having a tough time understanding is this: if we are trying to reduce the amount of something, I don’t get how we get to that solution by ADDING more of one variable to one side of that equation.  Yes, I am aware that this is without taking human behavior into consideration (which is obviously a very large and essentially unmeasurable variable).

Pardon me, but I’m not sure I want Mrs. Randall, the Home Ec. teacher, who has never fired a gun at a living thing before, to be packing heat because her husband thinks that will help “protect her”.  Again, I’m just speculating here, but I’m really unsure how composed the common citizen would be in the event an armored lunatic is coming at them spraying bullets from a semi-automatic weapon.  Likely outcome: she gets mowed down and the madman has an additional weapon.

Lastly, the real issue here is how we, as a country, handle mental health problems (THE BIGGEST problem here) which are often exacerbated by events outside of the control of those involved.  Anecdotal accounts are suggesting that this kids life went from ‘troubled’ to ‘really fucking bad’ once his parents got a divorce.

Begin rant:

So many parents are selfish fucking assholes and get married/have kids without weighing the consequences of bringing new souls into this world.  Thankfully, I am not a child of a broken home, but my wife is, and it horribly damaged her childhood.

Here’s where I get nuts: parents need to stop being so fucking selfish and think about how their fucking horseshit “irreconcilable differences” are going to affect the people who care about them the most: namely, their fucking kids.  If someone is abusive or a horrible influence on their children, obviously that is a different story…but just wanting to stick your dick in other women (or vice versa) or “not getting along” is a really fucking shitty deal for those who you are leaving behind.

SUCK IT UP, AND BE A FUCKING MAN.  Take care of and BE THERE FOR your kids.  No matter how damaged they are, you leaving is only going to make things worse.

/rant

One final thing, I had a twinge of agony the other night when my main man MAXIMUS posted a picture on Twitter of his local PICU.  You and your family are in my thoughts (I don’t pray, so it would be disingenuous for me to say that).  With me having 2 little ones, I get kind of loony when they merely have a fever (I know, pace myself), I cannot conceive what it would be like for my children to really be sick.  Stay strong, I really hope everything gets better for you guys soon.

My best to you all.

-EM

Thanks

406 views

Thanks to “The Fly” and the iBC staff for giving me a platform to share my work.

Congratulations to Rhino and Raul, I have no doubt that you guys will be a great addition to iBC.

Thanks to those who have continued to read my material, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to entertain my thoughts.

Hope everyone has a great holiday.

-EM

“ElizaMae”‘s iBC Tabbed Blogger Official Endorsement

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Carrie Underwood, Miller High Life, in bed shitting with diarrhea?

The real question I pose to iBC is: What CAN’T this guy MAXIMUS do?

At this point it makes no sense for me to vacate this race, but I am on the verge of throwing my full support behind this great man MAXIMUS (just let that name sink in for a moment, it’s tough to be better than MAXIUM anything)…he is clearly head-and-shoulders above the competition.

Just harken back to his timeless posts on his one-of-a-kind trading strategy.

Wait one moment.

Ah, I’m now receiving word that those posts don’t exist, and, in fact, he has posted absolutely nothing of substance whatsoever.  No bother, much like the 2012 Presidential election, this election is about “hope” and “promise of a better future”.

Who better to lead us and our money through these tumultuous times than someone who has absolutely no credibility whatsoever?!

Good readers of iBC, this momentum is palpable…instead of being swept away into the gutter of the 2012 iBC Tabbed Blogger Election, I want to be a part of something historic, something truly “awesome and amazing”.

MAXIMUS, I look forward to your ridiculously stupid fucking posts that have absolutely nothing to do with the stock market.  Clearly, with your undeniable momentum into the final pre-election hours, the people yearn for a new iBC…one in which content and relevancy are eschewed for ridiculousness and idiocy.

BRAVO good sir, MAXIMUS, may you celebrate your landslide victory with a bucket of $2.00 Miller High Lives.  Turn the volume on the Carrie Underwood CD blaring on those PC speakers plugged into your discman to 10…and for God’s sake, don’t shit yourself.

My best to MAXIMUS!

-EM

While Cleaning Out Campaign HQ…

426 views

Well…after bearing witness to the results of the pre-poll taken yesterday amongst the readers of iBankCoin, as “they” say: “the writing is on the wall”.

My staff and I finished our nightly meal of canned beans ’round the flaming barrel of trash, at which point I thanked them for their effort and energy then made the executive decision to wrap up proceedings and send my loyal, yet dejected compatriots home. Knowing that I gave it my best, yet am likely to come up short, I needed some time, alone, to soak in this experience.

While sweeping up the discarded cigarette butts and empty cans of “Natural Light” (campaign HQ is in the heart of coal country, I had to take any help I could get), I came across a jewel case with a single CD inside, marked only with: “2012”.

Curious, I popped the disc into my Compaq’s CD-ROM.

Quite honestly, I have no fucking clue what they were going for here, but since it turned up, I figured I would share it with you, good people of the internet.  Ultimately, I suppose that we can file this under “nostalgia from the 2012 iBC Tabbed Blogger Election”.

BEHOLD:

Short but Sweet

966 views

In a post last week, I highlighed 5 stocks that I thought were good candidates for potential momentum buys.  The desire to deviate from my ‘typical’ strategy (dip buyer) to find stocks with this type of characteristic was based on an observation by “The Fly” in The PPT.   There he stated that, for no good reason whatsoever, certain stocks were catching a bid and levitating higher.  I developed this list from observations I have made in the past with both upward and downward momentum, and wanted to see what would come of trying to isolate a few names.

Here is a visual update to that list:

$CLS

$LUFK

$MT

$SWY

$WM

I have been been keeping an eye as these progress and definitely spent a portion of my weekend trying to figure out how I could trade this.  After developing the basic framework for a strategy that is simple to implement and manage I decided to go long the following three stocks late in Monday’s session:

$CSL

$EGN

$OLN

Again, the idea and implementation is very simple and currently utilizes a small position size/wide stops.  Details will be forthcoming in the AM.

Until then, my best to you all.

-EM

$SWHC GOES HIGHER

532 views

That much is certain…when, now that is the question.

I have a hard time believing that a company that reported such fantastic results could be destined for lower prices in the coming quarter.  Granted, I am far from a reliable source of analysis when it comes to understanding company financials, but I am smart enough to know that what $SWHC brought to the table historically leads an increase in shareholder equity.

With that said, let’s focus on an area in which I have a much higher degree of confidence: chart chomping.  First, the $SWHC daily and weekly:

 

Let’s take a look at the longer term perspective first.  On both the daily and weekly, 11 has served as an area of resistance since the break higher in early September.  Note that on the initial push to 11, there was a tremendous gap which eventually filled in early November.  Therefore we can, for the most part, eliminate the need for price to come back and find that area again.

That’s good.

The reversal on Friday was the third time in a month that shareholders of $SWHC  failed to get through 11 with any sort of confidence…as most of you are well aware, price was once again rejected…this time with extreme prejudice.

Even in a stock known for some chaotic moves, Friday’s ‘quaint’ action was pretty fucking crazy.  Watching things unfold defied logic.

I purchased some December 11 calls right before the close on Thursday for a pure earnings gamble.  Having followed the tales of $SWHC here on iBC, I was fairly confident in their ability to beat…so this wasn’t a purely degenerate play (see $MRVL earlier in the year).  Nevertheless, I was incredulous as price started to crater early in the day…so I did what any sane person would do: immediately double my position at half the cost from the previous day.

In hindsight, I probably should have thought that one out a little bit more…I succumb to emotion at times.

Now that there has been such a violent reversal at 11, it would appear on both timeframes that price still has some room to come in.  If that is the case, in the the short term, I’d like to see the panic abate in the area between 9.75 and 9.25.

My opinion of the “worst case” scenario for people who are currently long and nervous?  The selling continues and price craters into the mid to low 8’s.  I use quotes, because if price retreats to this level, this will present a buying opportunity that we will eventually tell our children’s children about.

I may go “full retard” margin on $SWHC if it retreats to 8.50.  Look, I believe that is a fucking home run waiting to happen.

If you are one of the nervous longs, I would prepare myself for a little more selling in the coming days.  This kind of shit typically doesn’t resolve in a -8.5% +9.5% +5% kind of manner, you know?

Be patient, the time will come to unload your coffers in order to fill your gun safe(s) with coin, or whatever the fuck you want to put in there.

I’ll continue to broadcast my thoughts on this matter as the situation develops.

My best to you all.

-EM.

Price by Volume

415 views

RC posted about this a few weeks ago, but I figured that since this will be a key component in my analysis and strategy in 2013, it would be a good time to recycle this video.

Take some time (38 minutes) to edumacate yourselfs:

@tradingaddicts is responsible for this very informative work:

Interim-Interim Blogger

415 views

Good thoughts and massive amounts of positive energy are currently being directed toward MAXIMUS and his family.

In his absence, I have been asked by the good folks here at iBC to serve as his replacement.  As is my custom, I plan to do so with honor and will give it my best to do an admirable job.

Without a doubt, 2012 was my shittiest year as a trader/investor (since I started in 2002).  Unfortunately, this stark reality has led me to reevaluate my strategy.  Often, we need the taste horrendous defeat in order to learn more about our weaknesses and how to best combat them in the future.

As I have (painfully) discovered in 2012, my weakness lies in the options market.  I gained a false sense of confidence through making my 2011 by successfully trading options in August and September.

In 2012, I have repeatedly been gouged by taking on positions that I should have just let be (or traded the underlying).  Therefore, in 2013, the number one change to my strategy is simple (in practice): NO OPTIONS.  Ever.  While the allure of making 500% on a weekly options trade is strong, I WILL NOT get sucked into that vortex in 2013.

Going forward into 2013, I am going to use this forum to run a model $1million portfolio (which will mirror what I’m doing in my actual portfolio).  My performance goal will be simple (well, simply stated): a 2% monthly return.  I will delve much deeper into ‘what to expect’ in an upcoming post.

Follow along and enjoy the ride (or mock me, if that is your thing).

Comments always welcome.

My best to you all.

-EM

My Holdings and a Story About McAfee

377 views

I don’t usually talk very much about “my book”, so I’d like to take this opportunity to delve into what I am currently trading with a quick rundown of my portfolio and provide some thoughts afterward.  Positions are from largest to smallest:

Cash: 44%

Stock: NTAP 11%, BBT 8%, CHRW 8%, PSTI 5%, FSL 4%

Options: MNST Jan 52.5 Call 7%, VHC Jan (2014) 50 Call 5%, LCC Jan 12.5 Call 4%, SD Mar 6 Call 4%, SWHC Dec 11 Call 0%

I caught a bit of seemingly fortuitous news as I was sitting in traffic this afternoon when I read that the “homosexuals” over at SD were busy selling off their Permian Basin oil assets for a cool 2.6 Billion.  Afterhours trading saw the price of the underlying spike to well above 7 before settling at 7 even.

I bought the stock because I liked the chart…sometimes you get lucky.  Hopefully the euphoria carries over into ‘regular trading’.

That reminds me…in over a decade of trading, only once have I been lucky enough to own shares of stock in a company that gets acquired for a premium.

Fun fact: It was the summer of 2010, August to be exact.  I was long an egregious amount of MFE…yeah, that’s right, McAfee.  It was over 30% of my portfolio…it was beaten down and I thought it was way overdone.  I was starting to get fed up with the stock and decided to liquidate 1/2 of my position for a small loss.

I was living out west at the time, so I usually rolled out of bed right as the market was opening.  As I pull up my usual early morning menu of websites I notice that MFE was printing a really strange price…$48/share…what the fuck?  My cost basis was in the low 30’s.  I sold the entire lot almost immediately.

In retrospect, the order entry was more a thing of: “holy shit, the bid is suddenly $15/share over my cost basis, and this cannot be real so I’m going to enter a limit order at the bid and we’ll see what happens.”

Order filled.

Thank you John McAfee.

For a long time I pondered that other 15% I sold off.  Anyway, it’s always nice when unexpectedly good shit happens to stocks that you own right out of the blue.

Back to my portfolio, I have made a few purchases this week, namely NTAP, PSTI, FSL, MNST, and SD.  I took off 1/3 of my FSL position this morning to lock in a nice 2 day profit.  The rest of the lot are all being closely monitored.

I have owned a varying amount of the LCC Jan 12.5 calls since August 15th.  Building a position, selling off part, lowering cost basis, buying more, selling off some, lowering cost basis further…I have repeated this process 4 different times.  The result is a trade that is currently sitting with pure profit (even if the contracts I hold expire worthless).

Today I sold off a few contracts into the huge rally, but still have enough of a position where my overall P&L is still strongly affected by a day like today.  Free money.

Lastly, I’m sitting on those VHC calls come hell or high water.  They will either blow through the roof or expire worthless.  It’s a small enough position that I’m willing to take the gamble…and it’s already up 25% from my basis with the underlying still well below $50…I’m content in waiting it out.

My best to you all.

-EM

Need Energy? Have a MNST (Not Really)

403 views

You have to love the energy drink craze here in good ol’ ‘Murica (aka “The United Steaks”).  Granted, I’m not really sure what everyone needs so much supplemental energy for.  Is that desk job just too overwhelming?  Do people need extra “energy” to play a video game?  From my observation, it’s more likely to be a sketchy tweaker guzzling down a Monster than someone who is performing actual manual labor.

I have tried a bunch of them: Rock Star, Red Bull, Monster, 5 Hour Energy.  Did I feel more “energetic”?  I guess…but it also could have been placebo.

To deviate here for a moment, do you want to know what has basically cured my mid-afternoon “crash”?  I know this may come as a surprise, but the answer is not “have an energy drink”.  Once I eliminated carbohydrates (and specifically ANYTHING containing wheat) from my pre-dinner diet, I have found that I do not get tired in the middle of the day (no matter how much I slept the previous evening).

Believe it or not, but you can maintain a state of heightened awareness without the “help” of energy drinks.  Sure I have a couple cups of coffee, but I have always had a couple cups of coffee, and prior to my dietary change, would typically use coffee as a “pick-me-up” in the afternoon (which, after 14 years of daily intake…it doesn’t really work).

Another bonus is that I can eat my breakfast (2 jumbo egg whites+1 whole jumbo egg) at any time in the morning, and not “feel” hungry even at 1PM when I typically eat lunch.

After the New Year, my wife and I are going to go completely “wheat free” for (at least) a month to see how that dietary change will affect our physical and mental well-being.  I will try to document my findings here.

Back to my original point: energy drinks…specifically Monster: MNST.  (Yeah, I am aware that the company umbrella covers more than just the energy drinks…but they are probably the most recognizable product, and the company is named after said product, so that’s were I’m going).  As of the close yesterday, MNST is completing one of my absolute FAVORITE reversal patterns.

Let’s take a gander at the daily chart:

Oh my.

There was the “coil” following the huge run-up on 11/27.  Next there was the “breakout”.  Then the breakout “failed”, which has led to a sublime looking buying opportunity here.

Clearly, there is support in the 51 area, but I believe that the stock is just about done pulling back and is about to take off.  I wanted to wait until the close yesterday to start building a position, but this chart was just screaming “BUY ME NOW DUMBASS”, and I couldn’t resist.

The MNST options market is fairly liquid, so I decided to use the January 52.5 calls as my vehicle of choice here.  I bought a starter before lunch at 3.10 and then added some right before the close at 3.30.

I’m looking for a rally though the breakout highs with an eye on the 200 day SMA currently a touch over 61.  With that in mind, and without fail, I get really antsy whenever an option position shows a profit, so there is a very strong possibility that I sell too soon.

My exit points are simple: if price drops below yesterday’s (12/18) low, I’ll sell a portion of my position.  The rest I will hold until it looks like there will be a definitive close below 51.

This is a 2-10 day trade for me.  If it blasts higher, I may keep a contract or two around for shits and giggles, but I’m only looking for a quick pop.  These kind of patterns either work, or they don’t…I’ll know, likely by this afternoon (12/19), whether or not this trade is going to work.

With that, allow me just reemphasize my initial point: I LOVE this pattern.  I have witnessed it many many times and it usually works.  If it doesn’t…well, that will be pretty obvious.

Trade ’em well.

My best to you all.

-EM

Gun Control, a Math Equation and a Rant on Irresponsible Parenting

588 views

I have had a few days to sort through my emotions and have come up with a few thoughts in the aftermath of Sandy Hook:

In regard to gun availability, the “toothpaste is out of the tube” already.  Just like abortion, we aren’t going back, no matter how many people think otherwise.

Having said that, do I think an ordinary citizen should be able to buy a weapon in which the ONLY use for that weapon is for killing a multitude of their fellow humans at once (even in the name of self defense)?

No, I do not.

Granted, I am ignorant in regard to the specific characteristics of these weapons, but I do know that you probably don’t need to fire 45 rounds of armor piercing ammunition per minute into an animal that you are trying to hunt for food or game.  These weapons were designed to kill other humans.

Period.

I get it, in war, that’s what needs to happen; however, I believe that they have no place in a (relatively) peaceful society.

Next, I consider myself a man of math and science.  Numbers make sense to me.

What I’m having a tough time understanding is this: if we are trying to reduce the amount of something, I don’t get how we get to that solution by ADDING more of one variable to one side of that equation.  Yes, I am aware that this is without taking human behavior into consideration (which is obviously a very large and essentially unmeasurable variable).

Pardon me, but I’m not sure I want Mrs. Randall, the Home Ec. teacher, who has never fired a gun at a living thing before, to be packing heat because her husband thinks that will help “protect her”.  Again, I’m just speculating here, but I’m really unsure how composed the common citizen would be in the event an armored lunatic is coming at them spraying bullets from a semi-automatic weapon.  Likely outcome: she gets mowed down and the madman has an additional weapon.

Lastly, the real issue here is how we, as a country, handle mental health problems (THE BIGGEST problem here) which are often exacerbated by events outside of the control of those involved.  Anecdotal accounts are suggesting that this kids life went from ‘troubled’ to ‘really fucking bad’ once his parents got a divorce.

Begin rant:

So many parents are selfish fucking assholes and get married/have kids without weighing the consequences of bringing new souls into this world.  Thankfully, I am not a child of a broken home, but my wife is, and it horribly damaged her childhood.

Here’s where I get nuts: parents need to stop being so fucking selfish and think about how their fucking horseshit “irreconcilable differences” are going to affect the people who care about them the most: namely, their fucking kids.  If someone is abusive or a horrible influence on their children, obviously that is a different story…but just wanting to stick your dick in other women (or vice versa) or “not getting along” is a really fucking shitty deal for those who you are leaving behind.

SUCK IT UP, AND BE A FUCKING MAN.  Take care of and BE THERE FOR your kids.  No matter how damaged they are, you leaving is only going to make things worse.

/rant

One final thing, I had a twinge of agony the other night when my main man MAXIMUS posted a picture on Twitter of his local PICU.  You and your family are in my thoughts (I don’t pray, so it would be disingenuous for me to say that).  With me having 2 little ones, I get kind of loony when they merely have a fever (I know, pace myself), I cannot conceive what it would be like for my children to really be sick.  Stay strong, I really hope everything gets better for you guys soon.

My best to you all.

-EM

Thanks

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Thanks to “The Fly” and the iBC staff for giving me a platform to share my work.

Congratulations to Rhino and Raul, I have no doubt that you guys will be a great addition to iBC.

Thanks to those who have continued to read my material, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to entertain my thoughts.

Hope everyone has a great holiday.

-EM

“ElizaMae”‘s iBC Tabbed Blogger Official Endorsement

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Carrie Underwood, Miller High Life, in bed shitting with diarrhea?

The real question I pose to iBC is: What CAN’T this guy MAXIMUS do?

At this point it makes no sense for me to vacate this race, but I am on the verge of throwing my full support behind this great man MAXIMUS (just let that name sink in for a moment, it’s tough to be better than MAXIUM anything)…he is clearly head-and-shoulders above the competition.

Just harken back to his timeless posts on his one-of-a-kind trading strategy.

Wait one moment.

Ah, I’m now receiving word that those posts don’t exist, and, in fact, he has posted absolutely nothing of substance whatsoever.  No bother, much like the 2012 Presidential election, this election is about “hope” and “promise of a better future”.

Who better to lead us and our money through these tumultuous times than someone who has absolutely no credibility whatsoever?!

Good readers of iBC, this momentum is palpable…instead of being swept away into the gutter of the 2012 iBC Tabbed Blogger Election, I want to be a part of something historic, something truly “awesome and amazing”.

MAXIMUS, I look forward to your ridiculously stupid fucking posts that have absolutely nothing to do with the stock market.  Clearly, with your undeniable momentum into the final pre-election hours, the people yearn for a new iBC…one in which content and relevancy are eschewed for ridiculousness and idiocy.

BRAVO good sir, MAXIMUS, may you celebrate your landslide victory with a bucket of $2.00 Miller High Lives.  Turn the volume on the Carrie Underwood CD blaring on those PC speakers plugged into your discman to 10…and for God’s sake, don’t shit yourself.

My best to MAXIMUS!

-EM

While Cleaning Out Campaign HQ…

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Well…after bearing witness to the results of the pre-poll taken yesterday amongst the readers of iBankCoin, as “they” say: “the writing is on the wall”.

My staff and I finished our nightly meal of canned beans ’round the flaming barrel of trash, at which point I thanked them for their effort and energy then made the executive decision to wrap up proceedings and send my loyal, yet dejected compatriots home. Knowing that I gave it my best, yet am likely to come up short, I needed some time, alone, to soak in this experience.

While sweeping up the discarded cigarette butts and empty cans of “Natural Light” (campaign HQ is in the heart of coal country, I had to take any help I could get), I came across a jewel case with a single CD inside, marked only with: “2012”.

Curious, I popped the disc into my Compaq’s CD-ROM.

Quite honestly, I have no fucking clue what they were going for here, but since it turned up, I figured I would share it with you, good people of the internet.  Ultimately, I suppose that we can file this under “nostalgia from the 2012 iBC Tabbed Blogger Election”.

BEHOLD:

Short but Sweet

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In a post last week, I highlighed 5 stocks that I thought were good candidates for potential momentum buys.  The desire to deviate from my ‘typical’ strategy (dip buyer) to find stocks with this type of characteristic was based on an observation by “The Fly” in The PPT.   There he stated that, for no good reason whatsoever, certain stocks were catching a bid and levitating higher.  I developed this list from observations I have made in the past with both upward and downward momentum, and wanted to see what would come of trying to isolate a few names.

Here is a visual update to that list:

$CLS

$LUFK

$MT

$SWY

$WM

I have been been keeping an eye as these progress and definitely spent a portion of my weekend trying to figure out how I could trade this.  After developing the basic framework for a strategy that is simple to implement and manage I decided to go long the following three stocks late in Monday’s session:

$CSL

$EGN

$OLN

Again, the idea and implementation is very simple and currently utilizes a small position size/wide stops.  Details will be forthcoming in the AM.

Until then, my best to you all.

-EM

$SWHC GOES HIGHER

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That much is certain…when, now that is the question.

I have a hard time believing that a company that reported such fantastic results could be destined for lower prices in the coming quarter.  Granted, I am far from a reliable source of analysis when it comes to understanding company financials, but I am smart enough to know that what $SWHC brought to the table historically leads an increase in shareholder equity.

With that said, let’s focus on an area in which I have a much higher degree of confidence: chart chomping.  First, the $SWHC daily and weekly:

 

Let’s take a look at the longer term perspective first.  On both the daily and weekly, 11 has served as an area of resistance since the break higher in early September.  Note that on the initial push to 11, there was a tremendous gap which eventually filled in early November.  Therefore we can, for the most part, eliminate the need for price to come back and find that area again.

That’s good.

The reversal on Friday was the third time in a month that shareholders of $SWHC  failed to get through 11 with any sort of confidence…as most of you are well aware, price was once again rejected…this time with extreme prejudice.

Even in a stock known for some chaotic moves, Friday’s ‘quaint’ action was pretty fucking crazy.  Watching things unfold defied logic.

I purchased some December 11 calls right before the close on Thursday for a pure earnings gamble.  Having followed the tales of $SWHC here on iBC, I was fairly confident in their ability to beat…so this wasn’t a purely degenerate play (see $MRVL earlier in the year).  Nevertheless, I was incredulous as price started to crater early in the day…so I did what any sane person would do: immediately double my position at half the cost from the previous day.

In hindsight, I probably should have thought that one out a little bit more…I succumb to emotion at times.

Now that there has been such a violent reversal at 11, it would appear on both timeframes that price still has some room to come in.  If that is the case, in the the short term, I’d like to see the panic abate in the area between 9.75 and 9.25.

My opinion of the “worst case” scenario for people who are currently long and nervous?  The selling continues and price craters into the mid to low 8’s.  I use quotes, because if price retreats to this level, this will present a buying opportunity that we will eventually tell our children’s children about.

I may go “full retard” margin on $SWHC if it retreats to 8.50.  Look, I believe that is a fucking home run waiting to happen.

If you are one of the nervous longs, I would prepare myself for a little more selling in the coming days.  This kind of shit typically doesn’t resolve in a -8.5% +9.5% +5% kind of manner, you know?

Be patient, the time will come to unload your coffers in order to fill your gun safe(s) with coin, or whatever the fuck you want to put in there.

I’ll continue to broadcast my thoughts on this matter as the situation develops.

My best to you all.

-EM.

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