KCScott

If HS Text Books Told the truth

2010-08-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

Obama was on the View today - what were they thinking?

2010-07-29T13:18:00.000-05:00

2010-07-05T19:31:00.002-05:00

A Cracked contest entry they didn't publish:

While You're Away - Army Recruiting Poster

2009-09-01T13:57:00.003-05:00

Found some old WWII Propoganda posters.

This one was just too good to pass up.

My Cracked.com Photoshop entries...

2009-06-20T21:55:00.004-05:00

Here are some various entries I thought were worth preserving in cyberspace:

This contest was "If everyday life were directed by Michael Bay"

If Valentine's Day Cards Were really Honest

2009-02-05T20:26:00.010-06:00

They're having a contest at cracked.com with "Honest" Valentine's Day cards as the theme:

http://www.cracked.com/forums/topic/43538/photoshop-contest-ending-2.10.09-if-valentines-day-cards-were-honest

Since this plays well to my meager photoshop skills as well as my warped sense of humor, I thought I would post them up here for posterity sake - or in case Hallmark calls me with a job offer:

Another excellent Teaparty Chart

2008-02-14T17:13:00.004-06:00

Teaparty charts the S&P 100 (OEX)possibilities.

The first chart is a longer term view of the S&P 100 (OEX) with support lines from July 2005

The second is the 30 day chart and also highlights NAVs analysis (previous post)

Very smart dudes from Traderstalk.com

2008-02-14T17:01:00.003-06:00

NAV is another phenomenal chartist from TT:

He is calling for a retest of the January lows - I strongly agree.

One scenario shows the bullish divergence in the MCO and that would confirm a bottom.
The Bearish MCO divergence shows the possible crash scenario......

He also notes how these divergences marked worked over the past past 4 years on his Blog:

http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=11&

Investors Business Daily called this a follow thru day....

2008-02-13T20:06:00.002-06:00

Nasdaq Follows Through On New Rally On Headline-Filled Day For The Market
BY JONAH KERI
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Posted 2/13/2008
The Nasdaq followed through Wednesday, banking big gains on a headline-filled day.
The tech-laden index jumped 2.3%, closing at its intraday high.
The Dow industrials and S&P 500 both rose 1.4%. The NYSE composite gained 1.2%.
Volume rose by less than 1% on the Nasdaq compared with Tuesday's level. NYSE volume eased 7%.

The Nasdaq's action met IBD's standards for a follow-through rally confirmation. A few rallies have started with only slightly higher volume on a follow-through. The August follow-through showed marginally higher trade. It triggered a lucrative rally, one that delivered big gains for many leading stocks.

Every bull market has started with a follow-through — a major price gain in higher volume than the prior session, on Day 4 or later of a rally try. However, not every follow-through yields a bull market.

What does that mean for you? Don't rush back into the market waving cash around recklessly. Only a few top-rated stocks have broken out of bases. You'll want to see more positive action from leaders to bolster the fledgling rally.

Don't pile into stocks that are bouncing off their bottoms. The last thing you want to do is buy a load of bottom fish on full margin in a few days. That kind of impulsive trading behavior leaves you vulnerable to a market pullback, and some painful losses.

If and when breakouts occur, trade wisely. Start by taking a half position in a stock. You can fill out the rest of your purchase if the stock proves its mettle. Say you have $10,000 to invest in a high-quality stock that's breaking out of a base. Buy $5,000 worth of shares as the stock crosses its optimal buy point in heavy volume. If it rises 2% from there, buy another $3,000 worth of shares. If it rises a bit more, you can round out your position with the remaining $2,000.
With such a disciplined approach, you'll only increase your exposure if the market is indeed working.

To be sure, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious. For one, the correction lasted just over three months, which is not a lot of time to reset the broad market for a sizable uptrend. We also haven't seen major rotations among industry groups. Steel and fertilizer stocks are right back on top.

If you didn't use the market's correction as an opportunity to build a watch list of buy candidates, it's not too late. Use IBD and Investors.com to troll for top stocks setting up in sound price bases. If you find a stock that's a new name, rather than some old leader trying to make a comeback, even better. By doing the research ahead of time, you'll be prepared when a breakout occurs.

A strong retail sales report got the market off to a fast start. Retail sales rose 0.3%, topping forecasts for a 0.3% decline. Sales excluding autos climbed 0.3%, beating forecasts for a 0.2% gain. President Bush signed the $168 billion economic stimulus package, which the White House hopes will help stave off a recession. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also said the government would use "aggressive action" to help homeowners hurt by the subprime mortgage crisis. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on banking and housing Thursday.

Late in the day, word that News Corp. (NWS) was considering an alliance with Yahoo (YHOO) helped stoke a finishing kick for the market. The prospective deal would reportedly spin off Fox Interactive Media, which includes popular social networking site MySpace and other assets, into Yahoo in exchange for a stake in Yahoo. The deal would be worth about $15 billion. Yahoo recently rejected a $44.6 billion buyout bid from Microsoft. (MSFT) The software giant is reportedly mulling a sweetened offer.

Meanwhile, several individual stocks also lifted the broad market. Chip equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT) reported a surge in orders for machines that make flat-screens. The company also got a boost from rising demand for solar-power-related components. That sent its stock up 1.84, or 10%, to 19.91 in nearly triple its normal trade. Led by Applied Materials, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 3%. First Solar (FSLR) topped Q4 earnings estimates by 24 cents a share. That sent its stock rocketing to a 30% gain in massive volume.

So is this the start of the next bull rally? Hard to say.
I asked the question on a previous post if January 23 was a climax bottom?

A 20% decline usually results in at least 1 test of that low.... But we didn't get it.
Not even close - Hmmm

Bull trap?

Continental Oil.... Black Gold.... Texas Tea...

2008-02-09T13:04:00.000-06:00

Weakness in Oil has me looking.

I'm watching Continental Resources Inc. (CLR). They announce earnings Feb. 26, and appears to be some optimism.

I may buy close to 22 on the trendline with a pullback or if I see the RSI break above 50

CLR gave this presentation
at Merrill Lynch Global Energy Conference
November 7, 2007

http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/19/197/197380/items/269218/ML11_07_07presentationfinal2.pdf

Robots, Shirts that don't Stain and other Cool Stuff

2008-02-08T16:05:00.000-06:00

In five years or so your personal robot will be the must-have gadget, among other tech toys

By JOEL GARREAU
The Washington Post

The gift gizmos that brightened the holidays this year — the telephone that is mostly screen, the tiny music player — were unimaginable not long ago.
So, as the future approaches, we wonder what our objects of desire will be in a year or five.
For answers, we turn to Paul Saffo, a veteran Silicon Valley forecaster who explores long-term technological change and its practical impact on business and society.
Saffo and his interlocutor know each other as members of the scenario-planning organization Global Business Network. In scenarios, a 20-year horizon is common. Five years is almost painfully short-range thinking.
So Saffo does not focus on astonishments likely to emerge from the research pipeline, like prescription memory drugs. Instead he concentrates on things that exist commercially today but have yet to explode into our consciousness. He looks for things that await the magic moment when mere technology is transformed into objects of raving desire.

Q. What do we not know we want yet, that we’re going to find out we do want in the next five years?

A. It’s robots. Very simple, very clear. In the ’80s we created our computers. In the ’90s we connected them together. In this decade we’ve been hanging sensors on them — eyes, ears. All they need are wheels, and they become robots. It is increasingly affordable.

Q. So “The Jetsons” was right?

A. You mean Rosie the Robot? Not quite. We have the technology. The thing missing is the big idea. We want to confer life and intelligence on everything. We want to see fairies under trees. We want to believe that rocks can talk. And that’s why we are just delighted when our electronics act in a lifelike form. For teenage boys, I guarantee you within five years the thing everybody is going to want is going to be a telerobotic UAV (unmanned air vehicle).
Today’s radio-controlled fliers are hard to use because you have to learn how to fly them. But when your helicopter is a robot, it flies itself and you just tell it where to go — no learning curve, just instant gratification. Imagine a flying bot that costs $200 or less, is the size of a paperback book, and teenage boys can …

Q. Terrorize their sisters?

A. Terrorize their sisters or look at the sunbathers in the pool next door.

Q. Can you see our cars becoming robots?

A. You can push a button now and they park themselves. We’re going to keep piling more smarts into automotive telematics. The robots increasingly will advise you. Then there will be a tipping point — the insurance company is going to require the robot drives.

Q. What about our clothes?

A. The double-knit-suit thing of the next five years is nano finishes on fabrics. (Nanotechnology involves the manipulation of objects as small as molecules.)

Q. You think they’re actually going to take off?

A. Clothes that don’t stain, that you can spill a glass of red wine on and laugh at — I think that’s going to catch on a lot more. We have nano fabrics today, but nobody’s done anything really fun with them yet.

Q. Wait a minute. If they don’t get stained, does this mean that geeks are going to wear them for like four months straight without washing them?

A. This is what’s terrifying. You know the fabrics with the embedded nano silver? A couple of athletic gear companies have these fabrics — the embedded silver kills the bacteria that makes them smell.

Q. So these shirts will never be washed.

A. Every new thing comes with a hidden curse. It was Heraclitus who told us that. Another place where nano stuff comes in is new kinds of fabrics with wildly new finishes. Things that look like chatoyant rainbows. You know the kind of rock called tiger’s-eye, how it kind of shimmers when you look at it? That is the quality of chatoyant. Having really interesting surfaces. Having fabrics that the artwork changes on them.

Q. Robots, nano fabrics. OK, what else we got?

A. Phones are fashion.

Q. Is that going to produce a want?

A. The want has already happened, and people just don’t realize it. You no longer replace your old phone with your new phone because the old phone is broken. You replace it because you’re bored with the finish.

Q. What’s so complicated about enamel?

A. It’s not enamel. It’s the highest of high tech. What we’re going toward is phones that have chameleon finishes, that have active surfaces that change shape and color. You know, mood phones.

Q. And we are going to want chameleon phones?

A. We’re just going to want something new. Whether it’s a chameleon phone that changes its colors based on the conversation going around it, or the music that’s playing on it, or it becomes all screen, it’s not the specific thing we want. What we just want is something new. So phones become hyper-fashion. Electronics are fashion. The same thing with finishes on cars. Electrochromic stuff where you can actually change the color of the car. Very popular with thieves.

Q. What about our social lives and connecting up to people? Social networking? Are there going to be any big new wants?

A. The big thing that will be in fashion is being disconnected. Seriously. When being connected is hard or takes a fancy device, being connected is hip. When pagers first came out, if you had a pager it meant you were a cardiac surgeon or an arms control negotiator. Now it means you’re a maid at the Hyatt. So when connectivity becomes as easy as it is, the hip thing is to be unconnected. It will cost money. We will depend on sort of an electronic concierge that’s vigilantly watching our phone calls and e-mail, mediating between you and the rest of the world.

ATVI - Earings tonight

2008-02-07T13:18:00.000-06:00

Check out ATVI CC at 4:30 EDT.

I'm hearing they will announce the new "go to market" stratgey with Vivendi.
If your familiar with Salesforce.com (CRM), it's the same model - download/rent the game, pay a monthly fee for however long, then stop when you're done. CRM went from selling software to subscription based use for standard apps and programs and their stock exploded.

Why pay $60 for a game when you can "rent" it for $10 per month, then drop it when your done/bored. It's freeking brilliant. It will change gaming and you'll see more revenue coming as more games are tried.

This may also be the begining of the end for the folks at Gamestop (GME).
Anyone remember Blockbuster?

Gamers typically get 10-15% trade credit at GME, and the gamers feel ripped off, everytime they trade in.

Disclosure: Long ATVI (no duh!)

Short Blog to Read.......

2008-02-05T21:53:00.001-06:00

Tim Knight may be a perma-bear, but he has been spot on with his calls (puts?):

http://www.slopeofhope.com/

Trader-Talk says tomorrow (Wed) will Gap up - then dump based on a huge amount of Puts being bought by retail. Hmmm.........

My thoughts are we will test the lows and bottoms are a process, not an event (quote via Brian Shannon) - No reason to think long here, at least for the short term.

Was Jan. 23 a Global Climax Bottom?

2008-02-04T15:33:00.001-06:00

IOO is an ETF representing the S&P Global 100 - the 100 largest corporations in the world.

As I was playing around with different views I found a new 3 yr. trendline created with the Jan. 23 drop that also coincides with 61.8% fibb level.

Given that it's a recent low, it "bears" watching, though.

Also of note is IOO is a thinly traded proxy.

Still.... sometimes optimism pays

Yikes - Surviving a Bear Attack

2008-01-22T17:20:00.000-06:00

This is what happens when I don't have time to post ....

Anyone wanting to make money in a bear market, without wanting to open a margin account (needed to short sell), can purchase a variety of Bearish ETFs.

The following are the highest volume Bear ETFs:

DXD - UltraShort Dow30 ProShares
SDS - UltraShort S&P500 ProShares
QID - UltraShort QQQ (Nasdaq 100) ProShares
TWN - UltraShort Russell2000 ProShares

Other investment vehicles for playing short:

FXP - UltraShort FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Proshares
EFU - Ultrashort MSCI EAFE Proshares
EWV -UltraShort MSCI Japan Proshares
REW - UltraShort Technology ProShares
SDP - UltraShort Utilities ProShares
RXD - UltraShort Health Care ProShares
DUG - UltraShort Oil & Gas ProShares
EEV - UltraShort MSCI Emerging Mrkts
SFK - UltraShort Russell1000 Growth ProShares
SSG - UltraShort Semiconductor ProShares
SRS - UltraShort Real Estate ProShares
SCC - UltraShort Consumer Services ProShares
EWV - UltraShort MSCI Japan Proshares

Any of these can be purchased via your online broker -
bought and sold with market, call or stop orders.
They give some flexibility if you think the world is about to end.

Bottom? maybe not yet........

2008-01-09T23:15:00.001-06:00

Nice turn today - I kinda thought OpEx would sucker in a lot of the retail shorts and it did. Now this could be a sucker rally - if you see it go straight up from here that would be a bad thing. What I'd expect from a bottom is to see it retest the morning lows within the next 2 days. then settle in a range. Once we see the trap door isn't falling out - it's time to buy

I Gotta get Me One of Those........

2008-01-08T15:32:00.001-06:00

So Like I was saying.. I'm a Guitar Hero Nerd. Luckily a few other million are too.
Having no musical ability whatsoever has never bothered me much, though one of my best friends in HS played Bass in a metal band and got incredibly hot chicks due to this talent. Well it finally looks like the talentless among us may get over as well:
Guitar Tragedy: Life Imitates Games Companies:Activision, Inc. Sony Corporation
It was truly odd. At Bill Gates' keynote speech, the show ended with what was supposed to be a cutting contest between Gates and the president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, Robbie Bach. But when Bach was to start the competition, Kelly Law-Yone, a guitar-Hero "champion,” strode on stage and faked her way through “Welcome to the Jungle,” raising her fist to the sky in true rocker fashion. Peavey's Kiss designed RiffMaster guitar controller is made from a genuine Peavey guitar.

Then it was Gates' turn. His “ringer” was none other than Slash, the guy who actually played on Guns N' Roses' “Welcome to the Jungle." I know games such as Activision's "Guitar Hero" are off the charts, but they have led to an odd phenomenon: Not only are real guitar players competing against fake guitar players. Real guitar companies are now making fake guitars Yes, true “guitar heroes,” including Peavey and Gibson are now making fake guitars for gamers. And yesterday, I stood in the Peavey Booth, listening to a rocker-looking guy noodle his way through “Slow Ride,” a few bars of Cream and finally, the ultimate Guitar Hero anthem, “Welcome to the Jungle.” Geesh.

Peavey's RiffMaster guitar controllers are made from real maple with a rosewood fretboard, and come with 11 exclusive artwork designs, including Kiss, Skynyrd and the ever-popular Megadeath. Oddly enough, the Peavey representative told me these games had actually increased interest in real guitars among youngsters. At $500, it ought to increase interest in something. Gibson makes its own Les Paul guitar controller for Guitar Hero. But oddly enough, the only real nod to it in the Gibson tent was a Guitar Hero setup pushed way over to the side. The guitar wasn't even there and the representative told me point blank that if I wanted information, I'd have to go to gibson.com. Clearly, the real guitar players were the star of this show.

OK - $500 is a bit much for a contoller, but if this market crashes, I figure I'll scoop one up on ebay for 50% off.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm long ATVI - It was actually one of those Warren Buffet type deals; I bought Guitar Hero for one of my son's birthday's. He hated it. He'd rather blast aliens in Halo than rock out to songs his dad listened to throughout his misspent youth. So the wife and thought 'what the hell" and started playing one night after the kids were in bed. Long story short; we became addicted to this game. When I say addicted, I'm talking every night we're jamming till 1:00 waking up next day all bleary eyed and stuff. The last time I played any video game with fervor was a few years ago on a release of Tiger Woods Golf by Electronic Arts. So naturally, I checked up on Activision and found a pretty decent company that was pulling back from a recent high. In Novemeber I bought at $19.50. A couple weeks later ATVI announced a merge with the Vivendi folks wh make World of Warcraft (WOW). The tender was set at $27.50 so the stock jumped nicely. This WOW is a pretty good business model as they have millions of people paying around $20 per month to play Dungeons and Dragons on their PC. Not my idea of a rockin' weekend, but who am I to judge. The stock recently made an all time high at $29.50 - I'm thinking those buyers above $27.50 were thinking there won't be enough shares at $27.50 and Vivendi would raise the tender. Maybe. Maybe not. The stock is back down to $27.50 and if the market keeps heading south it may fill the gap at $24. But I doubt it.

Disclosure: Long ATVI (no duh!)

One day till Options Expiration.......

2008-01-08T14:34:00.000-06:00

Wild Wooly Wednesday is tomorrow. And I'll be on a plane to Denver while the dust is settling. OpEx is really something to watch.... usually from the sidelines, unless you really, really know how to day trade it.

Seems like every time in 06/07 the bears got really pumped, OpEx lured 'em in and scorched 'em good. Will it happen again? My guess is yes. Although all the folks that say the trend is in will swear we're headed way south. I'm not a bottom picker - I only think I see what the chart is telling me. In this case, I think I see the bottom. But just in case my boat starts taking on too much water, I'll start bailing at: $SPX 1369

Just another Interesting Chart......

2008-01-07T21:12:00.000-06:00

Another great chart from Rogerdodger over at Traders-Talk.com

Amazing how those BB touches signaled IT buys - huh?

And now the view from the Bear Camp....

2008-01-07T20:41:00.000-06:00

From Marketocracy:

The short term momentum oscillators remain negative, confirming the bearish stance of the AlphaKing Trading indicator. The accumulation/distribution profile remains in sell-mode, with a slew of higher volume distribution days over the past couple of weeks and zero accumulation days. The leadership profile remains very bearish, with Friday's close yielding 84 stocks making new 52 week highs versus 1035 stocks making new 52 week lows.
The 4% rule has turned negative, while Federal Reserve policy remains positive. The VXO volatility indicator closed the week at 26.8, continuing the bull market spike for investor fear. The primary Elliott wave count suggests wave 3 of a new bear market decline is fast underway, which should lead to major new lows in the weeks and months to come. Wave 3s run two, three, and sometimes many times more the points dropped in wave 1, so we're talking NASDAQ 1860-1540, SPX 1050-875, and Dow Industrial 9600-8000 before the wave 3 low would be expected to be complete.
Seasonal trends have us looking for a rally into the first quarter of 2008, while the Presidential cycle also remains bullish, suggesting a continuation of buy the dips working throughout the first half of 2008. The Benner-Fibonacci cycle will remain bullish until 2010, though this prolonged time period may include one or more cyclical bear phases
Summary:
The battle between the bulls and bears that has raged on and off throughout last year ended with a massive bear victory this week, and the great bear market of 2008 has begun. Bear markets come with three to six month vicious drops, followed by a rebound of sorts. Most often those rebounds post capitulation go on to develop into new cyclical bull markets, though occasionally the selling returns and the bear runs for two to three years before hitting bottom. Since most stock indexes closed below their prior low today, and have taken out key necklines of head and shoulders tops, a rapid crash over the next week or so has very real potential. The fundamental news continues to highlight an economy falling off a cliff into recession. The stocks indexes fall on average 45% going into a recession - with most stocks falling much more than the indexes - and we can get there quick, or we can get there slower. Either way bear markets do not end until we see a capitulation and panic selling by the bulls. While today was bad for the bulls, it no where near reached the height of capitulation selling. Indeed, the bears should remain in control of the trend until we see capitulation selling of the leaders, and not just the lagging indexes and sectors. That means a crash of commodity related stocks and the Apples and Rimms of the world is needed before we hit bottom. Maybe we are being too bearish, and maybe the bulls will be able to pull yet another savior rabbit out of the investment hat, though then again all the investment ducks lining up in the same direction just might be telling it exactly how it is.

Kevin Wilde, Chief Trading Strategist, AlphaKing.com

-----------------------------------------

Makes a good case from a purely TA standpoint - but I have yet to hear any bear case made from a fundamental point. The market is not overvalued as it was in 2001. The SPX is currently trading at PE 15 - and the global expansion doesn't appear to have slowed as evidenced by the continued growth of emerging markets. Having a weak dollar certainly doesn't hurt our exports either. I view the current market action as a correction. And by correction I mean a buying opportunity.

So what to buy? Same as always, growth, growth and some more growth.

Run your stock scans for 20/20 companies - 20% revenue and 20% earnings growth.

If they're selling for under PE 20 they might be a buy.

Unless of course they're a builder.

Unless it's Lego - If they ever go public........... It's a Mon Back, BOOYA Baby!

Man, I hope I didn't just say Mon Back, BOOYA Baby - That's some bad mojo baby.

I Love the Smell of Bear in the Morning....

2008-01-07T17:12:00.000-06:00

I think the sellers burned a lot of powder today. Watched them take the market down hard around 11:00 - BOT some ZINC at 14.40

A real smart guy said "pros buy the close". I agree as that last 10 minutes showed a lot of agressive buying. The commercial traders are getting ready to chow on the retail bears in a big way.

Lot's of work today. That sucks.... but not paying the bills would probably suck more.
My goal is to eventually become Howard Lindzon. While that may not come to fruition, I'm still pretty stoked he stopped by. That's a pretty distinguished guest for numero uno.

So I'm expecting guest # 2 any day now. At this rate, I may top 100 visitors in 2008.
I'm sure Google will be wanting me to start posting ads at any minute, and I'm hovering by the phone for Bodog and Amazon to call with offers.

Weekly Crossover on the SPX

2008-01-06T13:01:00.000-06:00

This is from RodgerDodger another great chartist over at Traders-Talk:

http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?showtopic=81947

Here's another view from Teaparty - Another outstanding chartist:

http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?showtopic=81926

So is this crossover a fakeout or confirmation of a downtrend?

My gut tells me the bears are pushings as hard as they can....

but I'm still in the bulls camp.

There is a lot of capital still setting on the sidelines

Sunday January 6, 2008 - Football

2008-01-06T10:58:00.000-06:00

Football - I'm thinking about football. I think about football a lot. I used to play as a kid, in HS and a little in college. One of the numerous bummers about getting older is there's nobody around that wants to play football. At least nobody my age. If I wanted to get my ass really beat up I could go play with a bunch of 20 somethings. I'll pass. I have to go see customers without looking like Quasimodo.

So instead of playing football, I watch football. This thrills my wife. No, it doesn't. She counts the days till the season ends. And then she wants to buy new couches since I've made huge dents in the exisiting couches from watching football.

Even though it's not blogged, I thought the Jags and Seahawks would win Saturday. They did. I'm also pretty sure the Buccaneers and Chargers will win today. I'll also go way out on a limb and predict the Patriots will win the Super Bowl. I need to rename this the "Captain Obvious Blogspot".

College Football is a mess. The Bowls are nothing but meaninless exhibition games. This year's BCS title game is a farce. How can every other division 1 championship and title be decided by tournament, but football can't? There are at least 6 teams with legitimate claims for # 1 this year, and that's before the winner of LSU vs. OSU monday night. BTW - LSU will put a beatdown on Ohio State.

Saturday January 5, 2008 - The Markets & Stuff

2008-01-05T17:10:00.000-06:00

This being my first blog entry, it should probably be really exciting, dynamic and cause readers to want to bookmark this page and make it a daily part of their everyday routine. Well.... errr.. uhh... Damn, this writing stuff is tougher than I thought.

I guess I'll just start with my view of the market and trading. Since I work full time and travel extensively, I'm not a daily trader. I'm more the type that wants to catch a trend, ride the wave and jump off when it goes south. Yea, me and everyone else. My School of hard knocks was the 2001 .com meltdown. I watched a portfolio that was up 400% go to down 40% in 2 years. The "it will come back" mantra was repeated every time I looked at the statements. Finally I figured out the whole "buy and hold" thingy just wasn't the way to go. Since then I've tried to learn and combo of TA mixed in with some Fundy analysis and have done OK. I emphasize OK. I'm not retiring on the winnings any time soon. I also have no problem saying I'm way more conservative than I should be.

So my current view of the market you ask? I think we're closing in on the bottom of a 3 yr. channel on the S&P and the Naz. I'm buying some selective growth stocks That I also think are at or near their channel bottoms. My Chart analysis is real basic. I draw a line. Sometimes I do a Fibb retracement. I'll look for simple patterns like cup 'n handles and head and Shoulders. I also try and read TA from folks I consider way smarter than me.

A lot of those guys are here: http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?showforum=2

Most of these dudes are professional traders, run hedge funds, or are financial managers of some sort or another. They have forgotten more about Technical analysis than I'll ever know. Sometimes I'm totally lost in the specifics, but I'm usually able to get the bottom line of their forecasts. Speaking of forecasts, check the link at the top of that fourm - The daily and weekly polls. This group seems to be spot on when there's a strong majority opinion.

Some of the posters that really seem to nail it:

airedale88 - Knows more about cycles than Harley Davidson. Has said we're at the bottom of 4.5 year and 20 week cycles and I'm believing him: http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?showtopic=81890

Hiker - Consistantly one of the best traders on there. Makes a lot of strong calls. Has a blog on the site as well: http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=26&

Teaparty - Draws some incredble charts, understands the Elliott wave (wish he'd explain it to me) his Blog: http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=30&

Jnavin - One of my favorite reads beacuse I understand what he's saying :) - here's his blog: http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=4&

Frac Man - Does this thing called fractals. I kinda get it...... sort of like I kinda got Trig in school. Seems to nail repetitve market patterns pretty well. His Blog: http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=20&

I also read some excellent Blogs -

For Daily updates and short term market direction, nobody is better than Brian Shannon: http://www.alphatrends.blogspot.com/
Brian puts it on video everyday in an easy to understand format. If your a short term, swing or day trader, this is must read stuff.

I also like Trading Goddess Blog: http://www.tradinggoddess.blogspot.com/
TG has great daily updates, a ton of solid contibutors and lots of eye candy.
The eye candy thing kinda makes me forget what I'm reading sometimes.

Some other great Blogs:

Howard Lindzon: http://www.howardlindzon.com/
Chris Perruna: http://www.howardlindzon.com/
Dinosaur Trader: http://dinosaurtrader.blogspot.com/

I read the Street.com - but mainly to see what Cramer will implode next. I've actually faded him on a few shorts. I think there are some blogs dedicated to it. If he ever learned to read a chart, he'd be really dangerous. Well, maybe not. His show is entertainment.

I also like Investor Business Daily. I dropped my subscription a year ago, beacuse it seemed too many people read it. That was dumb. I need to sign back up for it again. Thanks for reminding me.

So here's what I own now and what I'm looking to buy near term:

ATVI
ABB
LIFC
BUCY
BGC
GS
HOLX
ZINC
RIMM
DWSN

I' m also long ETFS: SPY, QQQQ, BKF

You'll notice there are no solar stocks in my list. My opinion is Solar is another .com bubble.
When it busts, it's going to be quick and brutal. And just like the .dot coms, there will be so much overhead supply in the institutuions, that even if solar does become an affordable alternative energy supply, the stocks will spin their wheels for years. I'm not shorting any of them, as the short interest is so high the squeeze is brutal every time they have another spurt up. Just my opinion, I could be totally wrong.

Well that's it for Post numero uno - time to watch some football.
Unfortunatly, not my beloved Chiefs - but I'll save that rant for another time