Happy Halloween!

The best party holiday by far. Now young ladies everywhere, go dress up like skanks and don't be judged for it.

On My Own

The family left early this morning. Very early. It was a fun visit though and I am more excited to go home in about 5 weeks. For now though I'm all on my own.

Time to get down to business.

Family Time

My parents and sister came to visit me a few days ago. We've spent the lat few days getting them acquainted with B'lava. They are here for another week so my internet presence will diminish considerably as I spend my time doing tourist like things, for once. I'm sure there will be plenty of fun updates to tell you about once they leave and I have a little time.

For now, suffice it say it's awesome having the fam around.

Autumn Blogging

Before we get started: There's a car driving around my neighbourhood with a megaphone on top of it. This guy is speaking adamantly about something. I wish I knew what it was about. Instead I just close my window, hope it's not important and forget about it.

Down to business: I know I've been neglectful. I'm sorry. The truth is, while I have been incredibly busy as of late, my time is expensed on rather dull activities. I'd rather not muse on the mundane. I think that's the best course of action for everyone involved in this blogging experience.

I'm still not really doing anything particularly BLOGWORTHY. And yet, here I am, tapping key upon key after we just agreed I'd stop writing about doing nothing. But wait, you're forgetting how selfless I am. This blog post isn't even about me. One of the best dudes I know, my main man @Senortardez has just himself embarked on a worthy journey. He's off to Japan to teach English and generally strengthen his international pimp hand. I'm sure he'll be a part of this blogging game soon enough, able to recount his story for you with his own poignant prose.

After seeing a tweet this morning announcing his arrival in Tokyo, it wasn't long until I was thinking about my own arrival here. The mix of uncertainty, anxiety and excitement was intoxicating. Traveling alone is an unreal experience. I'm excited to hear about his adventure and the opportunities it has provided me to reflect on my own.

As I predicted earlier, October was bound by the laws of nature to be a bountifully productive month. Indeed it has been, the Jworthy Almanac of Productivity logs another victory. I have put my head down and I'm starting to hit my stride. I like the idea of being in school, or a similar routine. Being productive feels awesome. The weather here is more familiar to me than it's ever been: As overcast rolls in permanently and the temperature plummets. The time to conquer the world is now.

I also have some visitors coming in a few days, which I'm pretty excited about.

Shark Tank

I'm watching this hilarious ABC version of a BBC show called Dragon's Den. It's great.

Without getting into the nature of the show, the American version has much more outlandish characters and way more production value. I don't know if it's as good or not.

I like to think about how that reflects on our societies.

Genius

Just stopping by really quick. Nothing to see here.

On the ESPN website I just saw something that confirmed Steve Jobs will indeed rule the world. Their was an aesthetically pleasing, gigantic, half-screen banner that was advertising the iPod Touch as a gaming device. The ad showed 4 or 5 awesome looking sports games.

I don't know why I thought this was clever. Maybe because I feverishly believe in the awesomeness of the iPod Touch. Thoughts?

Dr.'s Orders

I have a Moleskine notebook that I use to write in. I just use it to jot down ideas that I have that are not fully developed but that I think are intelligent. I also write down quotes that at the time I think are relevant to my life.

I was leafing through it today, this one made me smile today:

"If you want to catch beasts you don't see everyday,
You have to go places quite out of the way.
You have to go paces no other can get to
You have to get cold and you have to get wet too."

Dr. Seuss, obviously.

Ok, one more:

"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished...
That will be the beginning."

-Louis L'Amour.

A Quick Round-Up

Things hvae been hectic as of late. I know I've been saying that alot.

Just a quick run down of my open stock positions. I'll legit blog when my head stops hurting so much.


XPH 36.10 +47.83%
UEC 3.84 +131.60%
FTK 2.18 +18.73%
ENTR 2.90 +12.63%
SLW 14.50 +46.87%
TGB 2.77 +11.58%
CAEI 1.67 +2.39%
GLW 15.84+3.82%
SQM 38.21 +1.17%
AAPL191.17 +2.26
TEVA 50.67 -0.50%
ANAD 4.65 +0.72%
ONXX 26.72 -4.47%
EJ 22.56+1.14%
SIM 8.53 0.00%

30% CASH

Earlier today I sold out of PKX and XXIA for 6 and 11% wins respectively.

Enter: Autumn

I can't sleep, surely a sign I am getting healthy. I thought I'd blog. Half-hoping it would put me to sleep. Hopefully not you though.

The last few weeks, despite it being October, the temperature has managed to maintain a spot somewhere in the high 20's (approx 80F). In short, it's been awesome. The wet June aside, the weather has been fantastic the last 5-6 months. Until Friday, when the temperature plummeted closer to the fall climate to which I am more accustomed. Cloud, fog and rain rolled in over the mountains, obscuring the TV tower on the hilltop.

The last two days have been cold, dreary and reminiscent of Newfoundland. I've had to wear sweaters. Or, would that be jumper? Sorry. I'm still adjusting to the intricacies of dialect, I suppose.

But the cold air feels good to inhale. I realize I have a lot more garb for this kind of weather than summer. It's obvious, everywhere I've ever lived has been wet, cold and windy for many months of the year. Kingston should be of notable distinction in this regard. This is now exactly the same as that. It's like I'm at home in a terrible way. Still comforting.

Wet leaves stick to my shoes, which now squeak on tile floors. My pocket is stuffed with Kleenex, obviously I have a cold. I'm tearing through my stores of tea with voracity, idly watching, as the sun darts faster and faster for it's home behind the hills. But I feel a renewed sense of vigor. In a depressing way, this is what I'm used to. Over the last four years these have been the days where I hit Stauffer library with the most tenacity and ambition.

Headaches and Such

Ok, now I'm complaining. I could mask it as astonished goes for tea with negative but I don't think it's necessary to beat around the bush any longer.

I've seriously never gotten headaches before. I woke up this morning and it felt like I shot 40oz of Jack Daniel's and then passed out immediately, without water or bread. Beside a jackhammer and under an elephant.

A steady infusion of the usual OTC options pushed the pulsing pain back to the shadows where it lingered all day.

I thought I had this thing routed two days ago. Now my body temperature oscillates between goose bumps and sweat like a sine wave halfway through a two-week amphetamine bender. More tea and then bed.

As I write about it, it gets worse. So I'm going to wrap this up. Thanks for bearing with me. Cures? Anybody?

Maybe it's all the pooches in town.

UPDATE: My "nasal discharge" as This NYT article describes it, has varied but is now back to the clear. Gross. So either I am mad short T-cells, or I'm chillin' and on my way to recovery. The final flush, if you will! TMI? Sorry.

A Moment?

It's not like I'm pining to whine. I just had a headache today that was wildly painful. I never get headaches so it was interesting, I guess. I haven't felt 100% the last few days. Even with the uber lame and tame weekend I had.

That was more remark than complaint, really.

Here's another bitter remark disguised by an observation. My Facebook newsfeed has been inundated with all of this Farmville and Mafia Wars noise. I don't care about how many cyber-hits you have or what kind of internet-corn you can plant. I'm an equal opportunity hater when it comes to this shit. Anyways, it's not that I value the integrity of my newsfeed -you should see the rubbish that pours through that thing- but it's the principle I'm getting at here.

**"Ah, another principle argument, those are always fun." The audience sarcastically laments**

A particular incident irked one of my more sensitive nerves, just a moment ago. "Kendra," the obnoxious, poly-coloured announcement would have it, had helped out 5 neighbouring farms by lending them lentils or some other agro-dodgery ploy. The point is, if it were real life would this Kendra character be out helping her neighbours? No. She'd be procrastinating on dumb shit like social-farm-working, whatever that is.

It's like when I briefly explored "The Sims." My Sim never played computer games. Instead, he worked out, read books, took cooking classes and got with the hoes in his neighbourhood. I had to invest a lot of my time at the computer. The equivalent to the one my awesome Sim never touched.

When I started to feel that real-life me, was paling in comparison to the geniality of my virtual pet project, I decided to reduce my screen time.

UPDATE: Kendra just hit the big time by upgrading to a Big Family Farm in FarmVille!

HA

"The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less."

From an article that came out of the freakonomics blog.

October?

Initially, it was hard for me to accept the distinct signs that the fall equinox had come and gone. I clung to warm forecasts on my computer screen, rather than pay attention to the thick layer of deciduous leaves layering the ground outside. I ignored the fresh but crisp sting, that cool air makes when it's inhaled.

I think of BBQ season wrapping up. I think of pumpkins. I think of school and I think of change. This isn't something I've reflected on until now, but more changes than the colour of leaves when the tenth month of the year ambles along.

I'm an idea man. I like thinking about absurd and outrageous things that might or might not be feasible. That's usually what summer is for. Traditionally, during the last handful of years I've been exceedingly busy from the months of October to April. The warm months have allowed me free time to ponder my goals and debate my next sequence of moves in the carefully orchestrated chess match, that is my life. I try my best to be confident.

September has rolled by easier than I expected. Facebook status updates and Twitter announcements pulled at strings of nostalgia within me; but, the effect was minimal. I'm too involved with my own reality. I'm caught up in the rat race.

Not really though.

September has always been a party. In undergraduate life, it was not until the post-homecoming haze wore off, that you realized halloween was a long ways off and midterms loomed. October has always been the time to get serious. The fake deadlines you set for yourself, -and failed to meet- have come and gone. The feeling is amplified: The sun shines bright but it's intensity perpetually wanes off. It sprints for the horizon, in stark contrast to the careless amble that marks the summer months. My urge to make the most of daylight grows stronger. A sense of urgency fills me. I want to make the the most of it. For soon enough, I will be hibernating; hunkering down and grinding.

As winter continues it's eminent march towards us, I feel compelled to act now, more than ever. As the seasons change, so does my mindset.

A new cycle is upon us, filled with "Octobertunity." You've had time to think, you've had a month to get acclimatized. Now class is in session.

The Haircut

I'll get straight to the point here. Friday afternoon: I needed a haircut in a bad way. My jewfro was beginning to more and more resemble steel wool. Patrick, a colleague, suggested we go get our mops cleaned up.

The work day ran out and we were on our way. It was en route, when he told me that no English was spoken at this place. He had a note in Slovak describing the haircut he wanted. After briefly entertaining the ridiculous notion of having the exact same haircut as Patrick I decided, albeit quite hesitantly, to freestyle it.

She looked 17. Her own hair, hung in a simple long ponytail, did not inspire much in the way of confidence. I forced a smile and took a seat. The butterflies flew in quasi-formation. She talked, I smiled and shrugged, apologized. The 4 female teams of hairdressers and customers all tried to suppress laughter. I think they talked about me for the next 30 minutes. Not in that flattering kind of way. My stylist, clad in black, picked up the electric things and I managed to convey I was a scissors only kind of guy. My fears of resembling the hairless 30% of the male population, resided.

I tried to maintain my optimism. Her first few snips were swift and significant. The audacity. She continued unabated. It was as if she saw my hair as an overgrown shrub, and she was the chainsaw yielding gardner just back from a month long vacation. I was excited. I felt triumphant.

I got distracted. I caught sight of her work in the mirror. The butterflies were vomited on one another. I faked some smiles and analyzed the job closely.

She evened things out and it began coming together.

In the end it turned out solid. It was like my emotions were riding a sine wave though.

Disclosure Revisited

Once again, here are all my positions and how they've changed during the week. I know this isn't that interesting to read but it's been helpful for me I think. After all, 9 times out of 10 I care more about making money than you reading my blog, no offense.

I promise if it starts to get out of control I will find a way to post it somewhere else. It's just that I'm feeling more analytical than creative, at present.

More real content to come soon.



XPH from 24.42 now @ 34.64 - Putting in a stop @32 to protect gains.
UEC from 1.66 now @ 2.73 - Sold 20% of original already at 3.11, holding for a while.
FTK from 1.83 now @ 2.14 - Bough 20% @1.85
4/5 ENTR from 2.57 now @ 2.24 - Cancelled stop @ 2.56, Bought 20% @2.41, bought 20% @2.32
TGB from 2.46 now @ 2.47 - Hold, sell on a channel break with volume.
1/3 MOS from 47.43 now @ 46 Bought 20% @ 48.07, Bought 40% at 45.51
CAEI from 1.63 now @ 1.56 - Hold. Doubled down at 1.51
GLW from 15.26 now @14.84 - Added 25% @ 14.56, 25%@ 14.54 watching volume at current resistance.
GOOG from 496.08 now @ 484.58 -long term
SQM from 37.77 now @ 36.96- accumulating. Doubled down at 36.40
IBM from 119.20 now @119.02 Holding until 1st quarter 2010.


20% CASH

When I'm talking about fraction or percentage points I'm talking about how much of the original position or the amount of capital I am willing to allocate relative to the position I'm maintaining. I know that is about as clear as mud. Basically it is just feeble position sizing practice.

The best example this week is MOS. I know it's dangerous to chase a stock. I maintain that I am not. I have a plan and rather than try and pick the exact lowest price it makes sense to average in. In this instance I think the stock can go mucho higher. Had I not sold while the stock was running last week (around 53). I would have dropped the whole position. However, I sold and had cash sitting on the sidelines. When the stock dipped I grabbed. Instead of a cost basis of 51, I have a price of 47.5. It's still a loser and I have 20% more of the position I'm willing to throw at it. Same goes for SQM.

The Neglect Story

I've been what you might call, "busy as hell" lately. To the neglect of this blog, amongst other things.

I had the initial inkling that I was lacking in the posting department earlier in the week. Thanks to DJ Ra for remixing that shit back into my brain today. Awareness is the first step, right?

In sync with this powerful theme, and for the same reasons as originally stated, I'm going to cut this short. This guy has stuff to do.

I need to read some Slovak and shower, amongst other things. I'll catch you up on the happenings in my hysterical attempt at a life, over the weekend.

Peace.