Trading Notes -- 20190111 Friday
Had to leave office at 10AM for endodontist appt… miraculously got borrow on SAEX but jammed EOD, out with disciplined loss, coulda added 100x but wasn’t prepared and woulda stopped out of course so just money saved… FTK plenty borrow but no joy … NEO came to target, I was on bid in absentia, no fill annoying, maybe too much size and they sniffed me by partialing that level, phuckers, will be patient.
FTK: Yes borrow … got 50x entry and minc chase (half size) … no collapse though, will add if necessary
09:25 5.53K, 10:00 21.9K, 16:00 58.6K
AMRN: Yes borrow, strong 10AM TC, FIDO #27, at endodontist so wasn’t watching, but woulda been
09:25 203, 10:00 10.2K, 16:00 45.1K
APHA: Yes borrow, didn’t watch it, not DD pre-open, FIDO #24
09:25 2.89K, 10:00 10.2K, 16:00 34.3K
SAEX: Tiny borrow pre-open, none during day, wicked short squeeze after 3:30PM
09:25 117, 10:00 2.09K, 16:00 15.2K
CRBP: Small borrow (40K pre-open), too thin (look at 10 / 16 TC)
09:25 253, 10:00 3.48K, 16:00 11.4K
TBLT: No borrow, DD PO, good spots OR but no borrow means no joy
09:25 69, 10:00 7.65K, 16:00 11.3K
Why Jewish Men Make Good Spouses For Chinese Women
In addition to the obvious cultural similarities (importance of family and filial piety, love of learning and respect for education, being money-oriented, etc.), Jewish men are used to having had their balls busted by their Jewish mothers throughout childhood, so it only follows that they can handle having their balls busted by their Chinese wives throughout adulthood.
Trading Notes -- 20190110 Thursday
Looked like it was going to be a down day, but no, things ended up … finally pulled the plug on IQ, huge loss after pulling stop days ago … ATOS beautiful move to typwav3 but I checked yday notes and had no borrow, that’s why I didn’t play it (woulda been perfect play, argh … well, from chase entry only, couldn’t have gotten any size).
BBBY: Yes borrow, FIDO #15 … no spot
09:25 4.77K, 10:00 40.4K, 16:00 186K
AMRN: Yes borrow, latecomer, FIDO #19, not even 10AM qualifying TC, back from dead
09:25 54, 10:00 5.95K, 16:00 87.7K
INPX: No borrow, good TC into 10AM not so much EOD, woulda been sweet though semi-scary two leg play but no borrow
09:25 888, 10:00 13.4K, 16:00 33.1K
UXIN: Yes borrow, got a good trade despite chase entry at typwavc (half size)
09:25 1.33K, 10:00 6.29K, 16:00 27.5K
NEO: Yes borrow, noticed midday, had borrow so sold some incl chase typwavc, maybe unwise
09:25 3, 10:00 1.14K, 16:00 20.4K
DCIX: No borrow, buyback news yday AH, went super dead, no real spot plus too thin for my size
09:25 1.06K, 10:00 6.71K, 16:00 16.8K
SAEX: No borrow, very tricky won’t die, glad I didn’t have borrow, this thing crushing people
09:25 564, 10:00 4.05K, 16:00 19.5K
Movies Watched -- It Comes At Night (2017)
91 minutes so the perfect length, but this movie was so bad that I regretted not watching it at 1.5x ffwd. Probably made by some Millennial trust fund kid (“writer-director”), it’s yet another dumb post-apocalypse movie. Pretty boy Charlie from Girls, now bearded, was in it … some other guy with a beard and a half-black wife and his all-black son, what was up with that? Did that make a bit of sense? Was the kid adopted?
Is there some kind of pathogen in the air that’s killing people, but they’re safe in the house? No news, no idea what happened to cause the chaos? Popping on and off their amazing protective masks (acquired where?) at random? I don’t even want to write about this mess any more, it was just terrible. Red rating, avoid.
Mick LaSalle correctly writes that it’s almost as bad as being there.
Trading Notes -- 20190109 Wednesday
Yet another up day … Fed Day … frustrated by some lack of borrows … finally pulled plug on GME, painful but beats staying in pain after breaking rules … took final leg off TOPS
ATOS: No borrow, FIDO #29 … good spots though scary with near pickoff from PO levels
09:25 1.76K, 10:00 14.8K, 16:00 34.5K
SAEX: No borrow, Latecomer not even 10:00TC, was FIDO but crowded out EOD, coulda covered 25x good one
09:25 n/a, 10:00 n/a, 16:00 36.7K
GOGO: Yes borrow
09:25 254, 10:00 11.7K, 16:00 24.0K
CEI: Yes borrow, later disappeared though I was able to get position on in time
09:25 1.05K, 10:00 3.57K, 16:00 11.3K
How To Stick To Your Trading Plan
If you find yourself changing your plan in the middle of a trade, you’re probably trading too large, i.e., the dollar risk that you’ve chosen to trade is not a comfortable amount to lose. You have to figure out, through trial and error, how much you’re happy to lose. This is the secret to sticking to your trading plan.
Say you start out risking $1,000 a trade (the distance between your entry and your stop) and you find yourself pulling or moving the stop, or adding to the position so you can adjust the stop to lose the originally planned amount (a.k.a., averaging a loser), then you know you’re risking too much, trading too large, and you’re not able to stick to the plan. Try risking $750 the next time and see if the same thing happens. If the problem persists, keep cutting your dollar risk until you get to the level where you stick to your planned loss.
Maybe you discover that it’s $100 where you’re finally comfortable with the risk. There’s no shame in trading small. In fact, it’s trading smart because you finally know the amount of dollar risk where you’ll stick to your plan, and you’ll see the gains begin to accumulate over time. As you gain confidence, you can increase your dollar risk little by little, until you find you’re uncomfortable again (by not sticking to the plan), then bring it back down to the last dollar amount where you never monkeyed with the stop or were tempted to add to a loser.
Trading Notes -- 20190108 Tuesday
Chance to scratch IQ, got greedy said nah … did scratch some GME according to plan but still fighting it with bulk … impossible to fill PRAN, just insanely thin, tops was 15K in 15 min bar, finally took offer in disgust … sorting scanner by poz neg not TC, must train myself to look at it this way
AXSM: Some borrow pre-open but none all day RH, FIDO #12, sold more PO per plan, hard stop in (after IQ and GME lessons)
09:25 2.58K, 10:00 25.7K, 16:00 75.9K
RHE: No borrow, maddening since it gave good spots, was FIDO during day but crowded out EOD, viz dead TC
09:25 59, 10:00 6.04K, 16:00 15.7K
TOPS: Yes borrow, PO active, sold it, took two legs off per plan, B/E on rest
9:25 1.08K, 10:00 3.88K, 16:00 8.12K
Movies Watched -- I, Daniel Blake (2017)
100 minutes so the perfect length, but I had to watch it at 1.5x fast forward because it was so depressing… a Ken Loach movie, after all. I enjoyed it though, a real tearjerker … once again about the welfare state in England, an old guy caught up in the same old maddening bureaucracy, though now “digital by default.”
Green rating, recommended, but be prepared, it will put you through the ringer.
(Tony Lane wasn’t thrilled with “the emotional wallop [that] grows more zealous with almost every sequence,“ and I see his point, but there aren’t enough political movies like this one, as far as I’m concerned. I still recommend it.)
Waiting for a call from the Decision Maker
My recommended movies from 2017, so far:
Trading Notes -- 20190107 Monday
LLY buys LOXO … DXC buys LXFT … I was out this AM … added tone chart to daily notes
AXSM: Yes borrow, though all 800K disappeared by shortly after 13:00, FIDO #8
09:25 8.83K, 10:00 25.7K, 16:00 156K
QEP: Yes borrow, “Elliott Management offers to buy QEP Resources for $2.07 bln“
09:25 2.2K, 10:00 22.9K, 16:00 107K
MYND: Tiny borrow pre-open, intermittent during day
9:25 509 10:00 3.88K, 16:00 6.85K
Olympic Athlete Meals and Snacks
Condensed from this blog post.
Breakfast:
Eggs with hash browns, cup of fruit and coffee
Two pieces of toast with Nutella, apple with peanut butter, glass of milk, juice and a cup of tea
Oatmeal, yogurt, banana and nuts
Smoothie, egg wrap, yogurt and corn flakes
Greek yogurt with granola and fruit or a smoothie, plus water and milk or orange juice
Cereal with milk
Yogurt with granola, bread roll with jam, soft-boiled egg and fresh fruit, plus coffee and juice
Two pieces of toast with seeds and grains (like Dave's Killer Bread) with organic butter, two eggs over easy, half an avocado and coffee
Oatmeal with fruit
Breakfast sandwich with eggs and avocado and a bowl of plain yogurt with honey, chia seeds and hemp seeds
Ezekiel bread with almond butter and jelly and a shake with spinach, blueberries, mango, coconut milk, orange juice and chia seeds
Flaxseed oatmeal with chia seeds and raisins
Oatmeal and orange juice
Lunch:
Club sandwich and soup
Large salad, a heaping plate of rice, chicken and roasted veggies
Pasta with meat and a vegetable
Meat-based sandwich, yogurt, fruit
Salads with baby spinach, chicken, veggies like peppers, broccoli, carrots and cucumber, and balsamic vinaigrette
Pasta dish with vegetables
Salad with a carb, like pasta or potatoes, with meat and bread
Sweet or savory oatmeal
Salmon and veggies
Sandwich with a side salad, dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Leftovers from the night before, such as three-bean chili with pita chips
Avocado toast with an egg
Supper:
Steak or pasta with a vegetable
Salmon, pasta and sautéed asparagus, sometimes with a glass of wine
Carbs and meat and vegetables
Carbs like rice, pasta or bread with a protein such as fish, red meat or chicken, plus a vegetable and, occasionally, some soup
Stir fry with quinoa or another grain instead of rice, with protein like chicken or shrimp and sauce
Chicken with rice
Salad with sides of pasta and meat, soup and bread, then dessert
Salad, heavy on vegetables with a 4- to 6-oz. portion of meat, such as steak, fish or chicken
Salad
Some type of protein, starch and vegetable
Tacos
Snacks:
Granola bar and protein shake
Cereal with milk before bed
Smoothie with almond milk, yogurt, banana, cocoa, cinnamon and coconut
Power Bar and sports drink while working out, then chocolate milk after
Protein shake
Chocolate
Yogurt, fruit, Special K bars
Nuts or fruit in between meals, with water, sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade, and coffee
Yogurt and cereal, chocolate, cookies, or cheese and crackers
Greek yogurt, homemade banana muffins
Almonds, dried fruit or applesauce
Smoothie with spinach, pineapple, protein powder, orange-mango juice, rolled oats and chia seeds
Trading Notes -- 20190104 Friday
Super quiet Friday … note 10AM TCs.
IQ: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a, 12BB market cap but scanner alerted mid-morning? anyway, went with it
09:25 97, 10:00 7.63K, 16:00 42.8K
GME: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a, PE buyout rumor, all day up, bad stubborn boy adding, but under control
09:25 867, 10:00 7.42K, 16:00 41.5K
NVAX: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a — ran up big AH, PO levels made no sense to me, avoided
09:25 638, 10:00 6.23K, 16:00 23.9K
DBVT: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a — active PO then died, gave good spots, see chart below
09:25 548, 10:00 2.18K, 16:00 6.00K
KTOV: No borrow, FIDO n/a — Hero to Day Two Zero
09:25 211, 10:00 747, 16:00 2.10K
VTVT: No borrow, FIDO n/a
09:25 46, 10:00 548, 16:00 3.95K
AKAO: Yes borrow (tiny amount), FIDO n/a — Latecomer, only Top 50 EOD, never saw it intraday
09:25 n/a, 10:00 n/a, 16:00 20.9K
Chairman Recommended: Digital Kitchen Scale
Been awhile since I’ve done a Chairman Recommended post … this is the kitchen scale (“Ozeri Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale, White“) that I use. It has a nice big surface and a tare button and shows ounces, grams, milliliters, etc. It shuts itself off. Can’t go wrong for $13. No, that isn’t an “affiliate” link … I don’t need pennies from my dozen loyal followers … I send these recos from the heart (or stomach).
Trading Notes -- 20190103 Thursday
KTOV: Few shares avail pre-open, instantly pre-borrowed, nothing all day, FIDO n/a
09:25 1.95K, 10:00 10.2K, 16:00 25.8K
SESN: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a — drug fail, Squashed Toad. TC went dead fast, fell of radar as it went back sub $1
09:25 1.69K, 10:00 4.94K, 16:00 14.6K
VTVT: No borrow, FIDO n/a — back from dead only to get smashed again, note rank change from PO to 10AM
09:25 76, 10:00 4.55K, 16:00 11.2K
ALQA: No borrow, FIDO n/a — went super thin, good to avoid
09:25 496, 10:00 4.40K, 16:00 7.23K
DBVT: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a — weak from get-go but avoided 25x entry, went very thin, note 10AM TC
09:25 311, 10:00 1.65K, 16:00 6.94K
ADIL: No borrow, FIDO n/a — Latecomer, note 10AM TC, avoided given thinness
09:25 17 (not Top 50), 10:00 2.97K, 16:00 5.80K
Trading Notes -- 20190102 Wednesday
CCCL: No borrow, FIDO #19 — Day Two, good spots, no borrow alas
09:25 668, 10:00 18.1K, 16:00 40.8K
ENTG: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a — no news, mystery mover, shorted two legs (50x, 75x)
09:25 n/a, 10:00 7.99K, 16:00 27.1K
PRAN: Pre-borrow possible, none during regular hours, FIDO n/a, dumb PO PR, shorted one leg (25x rushed? bad.)
09:25 2.76K, 10:00 12.2K, 16:00 24.5K
VTVT: No borrow, FIDO n/a — Day Three, good spots, no borrow, big inside coil (see 12hr)
09:25 419, 10:00 5.06K, 16:00 17.4K
MRIN: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a — Latecomer, not even Top 50, shorted one leg b/c had borrow (50x)
09:25 n/a, 10:00 n/a, 16:00 8.79K
SFET: No borrow, FIDO n/a — semi-active PO but no borrow and just dead, #StuckAtaProfit
09:25 316, 10:00 801, 16:00 1.53K
Trading Notes -- 20181231 Monday
VTVT: No borrow, FIDO #11, Day Two
09:25 #2 1.33K, 10:00 #1 25.4K, 16:00 #1 77.9K
GOOS: Yes borrow, FIDO n/a
09:25 #4 163, 10:00 #3 6.26K, 16:00 #2 31.3K
CCCL: No borrow, FIDO #29, Latecomer, no news
09:25 N/A, 10:00 #5 2.13K, 16:00 #3 21.2K
APHA: Yes borrow, FIDO #30, Day Two
09:25 #3 773, 10:00 #4 4.76K, 16:00 #4 18.0K
SFET: No borrow, FIDO n/a
09:25 #1 1.58K, 10:00 #2 7.91K, 16:00 #5 11.2K
GOOS: Canada Goose's first China store draws eager crowds despite diplomatic headwinds (dumb “news”)
APHA: Aphria Responds To Green Growth Brands’ Hostile Takeover (Endless shadiness)
SFET: , Safe-T Receives an Order From the Largest Israeli Beverage Company for its SDA and SDE Solutions (Dumb PO PR)
Movies Watched -- George Washington (2000)
89 minute running time so the perfect length, but I still had to watch it at 2x fast forward because it was so depressing. It’s about a bunch of poor black (and some white) kids in some awful little town in the South … one of the kids is killed in an accident and the other kids cover up the death, but there’s not really a story here, it’s just recording misery and poverty and hopelessness. Some white guy’s low-budget Art House flick. Yuck.
I don't have much to look forward to
Movies Watched -- First Reformed (2018)
113 minute running time but felt much longer, at least 20 to 30 minutes too long. This movie was ridiculous, just an unfocused mess. The only thing it got right was the typical size of an upstate New York church congregation nowadays: six people. No idea why they used a church in Queens for an Albany county church, probably has to do with tax credits. And St. Barnabas hospital is in the Bronx so I don’t know why Ernst would go see the doctor there.
SPOILERS: Anyway, Ethan Hawke, he’s exactly my age and nearly as good looking as me… a minister in a dying church which is somehow affiliated with an evangelical megachurch inexplicably run by a black guy who makes toilet jokes. One of Ethan’s flock is a pretty bug-eyed girl whose husband is worried about environmental collapse … Ethan “counsels” him but doesn’t prevent his suicide. The husband had a suicide bomber vest that Ethan takes for himself.
The little church is being “re-consecrated” on its 250th anniversary, all underwritten by some BAD polluting company (like GE) so Ethan considers blowing it all up at the ceremony (including governor Cuomo), but pretty bug-eyed girl prevents this by showing up at the last minute and love conquers all I guess, especially when she’s 15 years your junior. Honey, why have you wrapped yourself in barbed wire?
God, this was a terrible movie. 93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which means the rating system there is absolutely worthless.
Read Armond White’s spot-on review:
Can I lie on top of you, Reverend?
This Life It Ain't Free
Love her sound and the song….
Movies Watched -- Lady Macbeth (2017)
89 minute running time so the perfect length. SPOILERS. I’m not sure why it’s titled Lady Macbeth, she doesn’t appear to be filled with guilt … a pretty girl in a loveless Victorian marriage … she has torrid sex with a gorgeous half-black, Derek-Jeter-like groomsman … scandalous of course … ends up poisoning her father-in-law … and then kills her husband … later she kills her husband’s half-black child (whom he had with another servant, some time before). Maybe you’re supposed to sympathize with her at first, but you don’t in the end, because she’s murderous after all. And she gets away with it: the groomsman and a black maid are taken away for the final crime.
This was made by a guy who looks like a trust fund kid. The lead actress is pretty, but there’s not much of a story here … the class and race and gender politics of it all seem confused.. Is she a seductress or a victim … or both? It’s a simple movie, all shot in one spot, could be a stage play. I didn’t hate it, but I’d never recommend it either. Yellow rating.
Claudia Puig correctly writes: “…it ultimately leaves the viewer unmoved, and possibly confounded … She starts out as an avenging angel and then devolves into almost campy serial-killer criminality … Birch and Oldroyd show little willingness to delve too deeply into the [race issues].“
Oliver Jones correctly writes: “Oldroyd appears to want to say something about race— Anna the maid is black and Sebastian and several other prominent characters appear to be of mixed race— but as with his thoughts on class, whatever his point is seems lost or a least clouded upon delivery … a film that feels emotionally vacant and somewhat pointless beyond its desire to disrupt the typical period piece.“
Tied up too long