BAS swung around today, down more than 8%. I just adore 10% price swings up and down, like a buzz saw for the knees of the weak. It’s insanity, there is no reason for this sort of price action. Even when it’s making me rich, I kind of hate it.

The positions I had that were offsetting the losses softened into the close, with HCLP and CCJ coming in neutral. My biggest gainer today isn’t a full position, by a long shot, and is thus not much worth talking about. UEC was up 10% today, but it’s just a few percent – an ancillary position to CCJ.

The biggest real gain I had today was probably silver. You can understand why I’m not leaping around for joy.

The 9th floor welcomes you, friend. I hope I find you well on this cold, Fall morning.

The weekend was a nice respite for me; my family gathered in the North where we drank chilled German beer and ate sausage and sauerkraut. There is something tranquil to sitting around a fire, in ones nicest holiday sweaters and scarfs, enjoying the company of loved ones to quality food and drink.

My positions are splitting two directions here. The downdraft is being pulled by BAS, which has denied the breakout. Thankfully, I unloaded a good chunk of shares in the mid $16 range, and can claim a mild victory in the event, despite the losses.

On the other side, you have CCJ breaking out. I have watched CCJ for more than long enough to dare declare this a pivotal moment. The company is ranged bound with a $3-5 standard deviation, creating >20% displacements. Every other quarter is a crash or bull run, depending on if you’re disciplined enough to withstand the onslaught.

Beyond that, preparations are being made for the feast. The Thaler clan is being hailed from the four fingers of Michigan – we will gorge ourselves in the ancestral home of a distant cousin this year. Scotch will be plentiful and wine will flow freely.

AEC is the latest stock I own to go bananas on nothing. It’s up over 10%, shrugging off the indices.

BAS is the only notable correction I’m experiencing. NRP and silver are both down a bit, but nothing really leading a charge lower.

TSLA meanwhile is rolling over hard, as a multitude of technicians knife one another in an attempt to call the next bounce point. If I had to put my money on one of them, it would be our own ChessNWine.

If TSLA can dip below $100, there is a strong likelihood that I will sell my $100 puts (reserving final judgment for such time) and use the gains to zero out the cost of my other puts (expiring between 2014 and 2015 with strikes around $35-45). That would give me essentially free options to make huge gains out of nothing.

Like a modern day Rumpelstiltskin, I adore spinning gold out of straw more than almost anything else – unless it’s the blood of your firstborn.

For the moment, the TSLA position is still a money loser. But at just 3-4% of my account, how can you pretend that I care?

In summary, the Tesla fanatics are getting quiet, and many a junior in college is starting to sweat.

I had purchased additional shares of BAS in late July through early August, between $11.55 and $12.40. Those shares were up 30-40%, so I sold off half of them. The remainder is added to my permanent position.

I love the name, but having followed it for quite some time, it’s normal deviations are in the 20-30% range. I’m happy to see it breaking out to new highs, as that jives well with my own expectations. While buying the initial stake in BAS, I called for a price target of $18 at the time, and feel this company is well positioned to experience above average growth for the next 5-10 years.

However, back to the wild price swings, I don’t trust this stock at all. So taking a bit of money off the table makes sense. If I can’t buy back in lower, I still make a fat spread on a major position. But in all likelihood, the stock craters back to $14, and I load up all over again.

My current positions are CCJ, BAS, HCLP, AEC, MAA, NRP, RMCF, TSLA puts, and physical silver.

BAS is now up 12% on the day. I share my elation with each and every one of you.

This is what makes it all worth while. The 9th floor will be serving up fresh baked apple pie tonight with hand ground cinnamon, to celebrate (INVITATION ONLY).

I upped my MAA stake for $61.39. The company is selling off here, but I don’t quite understand why. It’s not even worth reflecting on the earnings – they were in line expectations (on the high end). The company’s books don’t even get interesting until the end of next quarter, when the CLP merger gets reflected.

My position was rolled over from CLP at a nice premium. But I’m sticking around – I like the new combined company and want to see where this goes.

In other news, BAS is up over 7% this morning, reversing from mid correction on nothing but the breeze. HCLP is doing well also, up 2%. It looks like the energy sector correction may be about over.