Cheap Chinese Cigarettes -- Baisha

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Remember the rules, under US$1 and must be a hard pack. Baisha is a "common place name" according to the dictionary. Literally it means white sand. These are manufactured in Hunan province, apparently.  Just like Hongmei, the website listed on the pack doesn't work for me ... hngytobacco dot com.

Front of box, a pair of cranes which symbolize something, would have to google it. OK, "ultimate depiction of longevity." The text on the gate says 白沙古井, "white sand ancient well"

Name in pinyin on back.

Plain foil pull.

Butt design

Dragonvale -- Aurora Dragon

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Got it with Sakura + Kite, which was just a lark.  Apparently there are 719 combinations that will work, but all low probability events, so I just got lucky.  Only a few more days to get an Ovalith ... fingers crossed, but it probably ain't gonna happen.

Charts of Note, Wed. Jan. 14, 2015

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Trying a new daily blog post ... charts that catch my eye on the daily review ... I will keep it up until I get bored and stop them suddenly. ALTR, BBRY, PSX, ZIOP. (Click the chart to scroll through them)

Cheap Chinese Cigarettes -- Hongmei

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I'm going to feature the boxes of all the cheap Chinese cigarettes I come across.  The rules are a pack can't cost more than one US dollar (6.20 RMB currently) and must be a hard box.

These are Hongmei ("Red Plum") from the Hongta Tobacco Group.  Might be some kind of subliminal sexy woman in the potted plant picture? Bonsai red plum tree, I mean. Not sure where they're from, Yunnan maybe? Package doesn't say. Website listed on pack, hongta dot com, doesn't work for me.

Front of box.

Back of box. Name in pinyin. Different bonsai tree.

Fancy pull foil

Butt design

ETF Trading Portfolio Update -- January 12, 2015

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Realized there was a calculation error for all the short positions going back I don't know how long, weeks and months probably.  Surprised none of my sharp-eyed dozen readers saw how wrong the figures were.  Anyway the price paid and last price were always accurate, it was just the gain / loss column that was totally wrong for all short positions. Minor detail, ha! I should go back and re-state all the old posts, but no, that would be work.

No changes this week... 

Gilead Sciences Short Entries

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Gilead Sciences was my trading idea for Monday.  Got quite a few replies on StockTwits from GILD bulls on this one ... guys, it's just a trade, I don't care about the company ... they could make dog food, it's just a ticker symbol to me, capisce? 

You had to wait till lunchtime for an "obvious" entry point. Day traders can manage risk off the intraday chart which is something the dentist traders can't do. It's possible to be at breakeven already with this one, though you may want to give it a little more space since the target is way down there. 

Click to enlarge.

Gilead Sciences Back to $86

Added on by C. Maoxian.

This stock got hit before Christmas on some news about a deal with Express Scripts ... after going sideways since last August.  Recent up move may be a nice spot to put on a short if it breaks below $101.75.  Keep an eye on it.

Movies Watched -- 12 O'Clock Boys

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I'm watching the top 100 movies of 2014 (according to Rotten Tomatoes) so you don't have to.  

First up was 12 O'Clock Boys, a documentary about ghetto kids in Baltimore who ride dirt bikes on the city's streets every Sunday in a pack.  The movie was only 75 minutes long, which was good.  I'd be totally unaware of ghetto life in Baltimore if it weren't for the Wire -- I've seen every episode, and recommend you do the same.

This movie confirms how hopeless and awful things are for these poor, black people. I kept thinking about the rule that when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging; these people don't, for the most part. The dirt bike riding serves as a release for them, but it's dangerous and innocent bystanders occasionally get hurt and killed. Anyway, I didn't fast forward it so it earns a yellow rating (green = go, yellow = consider, red = stop).