Friday, March 30, 2007

Lucky Escape today

Had a "lucky" escape today.

I bought into FerroChina on Monday at 1.63. And despite the crappy week we've been having so far, its held up.

There's a big buyer out there for FerroChina - and he's been buying big chunks into it.

I was staring at the Ferro chart the last week- and it looked really good. I bought in at $1.63 on Monday, and started bouncing around due to the market turbulence.

Anyhow, I'm just glad that Ferro didn't bottom out at $1.55. My stop loss was at $1.60.

I toyed with the idea of holding onto it for another day, possibly Monday. Or liquidating some of my other shares to make payment. It held up very well overall this week. But....

But I've really pushed my luck quite far with this. And there is no guarantee that the Dow will open strong later or that the Iranians or Americans won't escalate the tension in the Middle East- or some mishap will occur leading to a diplomatic and political disaster.

So I took the money and ran. Ran like a happy schoolboy whose got out of truant class. Its a good profit, and I'm very happy with it. I missed out on previous profits on Ferro when I gloated too much.

Anyhow, this is the chart I drew up for Ferro. Looks good. Question is whether the buyers will continue to push up the price. Or will more profit takers knock it down. Its held up very strong this week and didn't even touch the $1.50ish marks which i thought it might.

I also like MediaRing and Aztec, esp. Aztec.




Lucky Escape today

Had a "lucky" escape today.

I bought into FerroChina on Monday at 1.63. And despite the crappy week we've been having so far, its held up.

There's a big buyer out there for FerroChina - and he's been buying big chunks into it.

I was staring at the Ferro chart the last two weeks- and it looks really good.

Anyhow, I'm just glad that Ferro didn't bottom out at $1.55. My stop loss was at $1.60.

I toyed with the idea of holding onto it for another day, possibly Monday. Or liquidating some of my other shares to make payment. It held up very well overall this week. But....

But I've really pushed my luck quite far with this. And there is no guarantee that the Dow will open strong later or that the Iranians or Americans won't escalate the tension in the Middle East- or some mishap will occur leading to a diplomatic and political disaster.

So I took the money and ran. Ran like a happy schoolboy whose got out of truant class. Its a good profit, and I'm very happy with it. I missed out on previous profits on Ferro when I gloated too much.

Anyhow, this is the chart I drew up for Ferro. Looks good. Question is whether the buyers will continue to push up the price. Or will more profit takers knock it down. Its held up very strong this week and didn't even touch the $1.50ish marks which i thought it might.

I also like MediaRing and Aztec, esp. Aztec.




Dow

The Dow went down to another (almost) 100 point fall this morning (Singapore time 3am). It seems quite disheartening but yet its not that bad.

The Chairman, unlike Greenspan, did say that the mortgage crisis in America wasn't spreading to other parts of the economy.

But he did insinuate that inflation was still a cause for concern - dosing hopes for a rate cut.

The market closed at 97 points although it did manage a good rise earlier.

I'd say it went down just plainly due to unhappy feelings by some investors. The economic situation is still the same.

Nonetheless I hope that the US will do something about its fuel energy consumption. I find it bloody ridiculous that people like Al Gore and his host of celebrities can talk about global warming - but yet drive SUVs, live in massive mansions that consume a lot of energy.

The answer is simple. They need to lower their dependence on fossil fuel. The oil and gas isn't going to last forever, so in the meantime we better try and find a sustainable solution for our energy needs.

Anyhow I digress. The market should close stronger tomorrow. The situation is still the same. The US economy will grow moderately (God knows why). Rates will not rise esp. due to the depressed housing market.

Next week, on the other hand, is any one's guess. The situation with Iran is tense. And I doubt they will comply and play reasonably any time soon. It is quite unlikely that they will hand over the British sailors because it will make the leadership look weak in the eyes of their supporters. Britain will try other avenues to get back their sailors without looking cheap. Hopefully, a peaceful compromise will be resolved- nonetheless it will take time, months probably.

So in the meantime, prepare for a bumpy ride.

Dow

The Dow went down to another (almost) 100 point fall this morning (Singapore time 3am). It seems quite disheartening but yet its not that bad.

The Chairman, unlike Greenspan, did say that the mortgage crisis in America wasn't spreading to other parts of the economy.

But he did insinuate that inflation was still a cause for concern - dosing hopes for a rate cut.

The market closed at 97 points although it did manage a good rise earlier.

I'd say it went down just plainly due to unhappy feelings by some investors. The economic situation is still the same.

Nonetheless I hope that the US will do something about its fuel energy consumption. I find it bloody ridiculous that people like Al Gore and his host of celebrities can talk about global warming - but yet drive SUVs, live in massive mansions that consume a lot of energy.

The answer is simple. They need to lower their dependence on fossil fuel. The oil and gas isn't going to last forever, so in the meantime we better try and find a sustainable solution for our energy needs.

Anyhow I digress. The market should close stronger tomorrow. The situation is still the same. The US economy will grow moderately (God knows why). Rates will not rise esp. due to the depressed housing market.

Next week, on the other hand, is any one's guess. The situation with Iran is tense. And I doubt they will comply and play reasonably any time soon. It is quite unlikely that they will hand over the British sailors because it will make the leadership look weak in the eyes of their supporters. Britain will try other avenues to get back their sailors without looking cheap. Hopefully, a peaceful compromise will be resolved- nonetheless it will take time, months probably.

So in the meantime, prepare for a bumpy ride.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Lucky Escape today

Had a "lucky" escape today.

I bought into FerroChina on Monday at 1.63. And despite the crappy week we've been having so far, its held up.

There's a big buyer out there for FerroChina - and he's been buying big chunks into it.

I was staring at the Ferro chart the last week- and it looked really good. I bought in at $1.63 on Monday, and started bouncing around due to the market turbulence.

Anyhow, I'm just glad that Ferro didn't bottom out at $1.55. My stop loss was at $1.60.

I toyed with the idea of holding onto it for another day, possibly Monday. Or liquidating some of my other shares to make payment. It held up very well overall this week. But....

But I've really pushed my luck quite far with this. And there is no guarantee that the Dow will open strong later or that the Iranians or Americans won't escalate the tension in the Middle East- or some mishap will occur leading to a diplomatic and political disaster.

So I took the money and ran. Ran like a happy schoolboy whose got out of truant class. Its a good profit, and I'm very happy with it. I missed out on previous profits on Ferro when I gloated too much.

Anyhow, this is the chart I drew up for Ferro. Looks good. Question is whether the buyers will continue to push up the price. Or will more profit takers knock it down. Its held up very strong this week and didn't even touch the $1.50ish marks which i thought it might.

I also like MediaRing and Aztec, esp. Aztec.




Dow

The Dow went down to another (almost) 100 point fall this morning (Singapore time 3am). It seems quite disheartening but yet its not that bad.

The Chairman, unlike Greenspan, did say that the mortgage crisis in America wasn't spreading to other parts of the economy.

But he did insinuate that inflation was still a cause for concern - dosing hopes for a rate cut.

The market closed at 97 points although it did manage a good rise earlier.

I'd say it went down just plainly due to unhappy feelings by some investors. The economic situation is still the same.

Nonetheless I hope that the US will do something about its fuel energy consumption. I find it bloody ridiculous that people like Al Gore and his host of celebrities can talk about global warming - but yet drive SUVs, live in massive mansions that consume a lot of energy.

The answer is simple. They need to lower their dependence on fossil fuel. The oil and gas isn't going to last forever, so in the meantime we better try and find a sustainable solution for our energy needs.

Anyhow I digress. The market should close stronger tomorrow. The situation is still the same. The US economy will grow moderately (God knows why). Rates will not rise esp. due to the depressed housing market.

Next week, on the other hand, is any one's guess. The situation with Iran is tense. And I doubt they will comply and play reasonably any time soon. It is quite unlikely that they will hand over the British sailors because it will make the leadership look weak in the eyes of their supporters. Britain will try other avenues to get back their sailors without looking cheap. Hopefully, a peaceful compromise will be resolved- nonetheless it will take time, months probably.

So in the meantime, prepare for a bumpy ride.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Its 2 AM

Yep, its 2 am in the morning. I can hear the sound of a frog croaking in the distance... and now I feel the urge to write something.

Its been a good week - I think I made about $6000 share trading this week. Could have made more if only I had followed my rules - ie set realistic trading targets.

But when the market turns to my favor, I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl in Spring. Emotion rushes in like floodwater and bang goes my brain.

The funny thing was that I actually fell asleep when the Market roared upwards on Thursday. I don't know why but I just felt so comfortable and secure - my trading plan had worked- the stocks were climbing - and then all of a sudden I felt asleep.

I need Coffee Man.

On other notes, I picked up a Noritake Smithfield today from an eBay seller. See photos below.

Its more younger than the Arlene set that I usually collect, which dates to the 1950s, and it has a pumpkin style design which was favored in the 80s.

Nonetheless, its pretty and the color is still good. Best of all, it has NEVER been used, and came in the original boxes!!! I would have kept them, but the boxes stank and were badly eaten by bugs.

There was some brown stain on several of the pieces- most likely inflicted by damp conditions. Washing Liquid failed to get them off. However a good dose of "the old faithful" sodium bicarb helped to remove all of the brown stains. Never resort to chemicals or metal and abrasive cleaners!!

Finally, I can have my tea in a civilized manner! LOL.

Its 2 AM

Yep, its 2 am in the morning. I can hear the sound of a frog croaking in the distance... and now I feel the urge to write something.

Its been a good week - I think I made about $6000 share trading this week. Could have made more if only I had followed my rules - ie set realistic trading targets.

But when the market turns to my favor, I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl in Spring. Emotion rushes in like floodwater and bang goes my brain.

The funny thing was that I actually fell asleep when the Market roared upwards on Thursday. I don't know why but I just felt so comfortable and secure - my trading plan had worked- the stocks were climbing - and then all of a sudden I felt asleep.

I need Coffee Man.

On other notes, I picked up a Noritake Smithfield today from an eBay seller. See photos below.

Its more younger than the Arlene set that I usually collect, which dates to the 1950s, and it has a pumpkin style design which was favored in the 80s.

Nonetheless, its pretty and the color is still good. Best of all, it has NEVER been used, and came in the original boxes!!! I would have kept them, but the boxes stank and were badly eaten by bugs.

There was some brown stain on several of the pieces- most likely inflicted by damp conditions. Washing Liquid failed to get them off. However a good dose of "the old faithful" sodium bicarb helped to remove all of the brown stains. Never resort to chemicals or metal and abrasive cleaners!!

Finally, I can have my tea in a civilized manner! LOL.

Its 2 AM

Yep, its 2 am in the morning. I can hear the sound of a frog croaking in the distance... and now I feel the urge to write something.

Its been a good week - I think I made about $6000 share trading this week. Could have made more if only I had followed my rules - ie set realistic trading targets.

But when the market turns to my favor, I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl in Spring. Emotion rushes in like floodwater and bang goes my brain.

The funny thing was that I actually fell asleep when the Market roared upwards on Thursday. I don't know why but I just felt so comfortable and secure - my trading plan had worked- the stocks were climbing - and then all of a sudden I felt asleep.

I need Coffee Man.

On other notes, I picked up a Noritake Smithfield today from an eBay seller. See photos below.

Its more younger than the Arlene set that I usually collect, which dates to the 1950s, and it has a pumpkin style design which was favored in the 80s.

Nonetheless, its pretty and the color is still good. Best of all, it has NEVER been used, and came in the original boxes!!! I would have kept them, but the boxes stank and were badly eaten by bugs.

There was some brown stain on several of the pieces- most likely inflicted by damp conditions. Washing Liquid failed to get them off. However a good dose of "the old faithful" sodium bicarb helped to remove all of the brown stains. Never resort to chemicals or metal and abrasive cleaners!!

Finally, I can have my tea in a civilized manner! LOL.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Carolyn













Sky Blue
Forest Green
Bring my Love Back to me...

Carolyn











Sky Blue
Forest Green
Bring my Love Back to me...

Carolyn













Sky Blue
Forest Green
Bring my Love Back to me...

Monday, March 19, 2007

Stranger than Fiction


Just watched Stranger than Fiction the story of a man, Wil Ferrell, who starts hearing a woman's voice narrate his life - in real time. Initially he thinks he's crazy. Then upon investigating, he finds out more about the "story" or rather "his story".

It makes for interesting viewing. Go watch it if you have the time.

On a more theological note- it makes you wonder how Jesus must have felt- there He is God. He knows the beginning and the end. As far as He is concerned, we are like characters in a book and He's read our story many times.

Then He, the author of Life, enters into our world. The eternal becoming mortal. The endless now has an end.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Eating alone

I've been having the same food for dinner every night. Well, today, I didn't eat anything serious (biscuits and coffee dun count) until this evening.

I always seem to come back to the same old hawker food shop and eat the same old food.

Is it comfort food? ... Yes... I guess. But another reason is cos I eat alone. For some reason, its doesn't feel so bad if I eat the same old food the 3rd time around. Its feels eternal, like its the same day- not Sunday, Saturday, Friday... etc... just Oneday.

So somehow its not as if I've been eating alone for the last 3 or 5 days... but just one day. lol.

Anyhow its been a one sock day the whole week really. I didn't manage to buy anything or sell anything on the share market. It didn't go down far enough and I saw no compelling reason to chase after share prices as they went up.

For the most part, I was fast asleep in my chair. It was that boring.

I'll be singing in the celebration chorus tomorrow. We're singing Negro Spirituals. Some of the songs are a bit perverse. One of the stanzas goes:

"put your finger in the water and come and cool my tongue (x2)... for I'm tormented in the flame".

And its like... wait a minute... we're singing - in a cheerful manner - the lines of some poor bastard whose in hell.

Anyhow... singing the negro spirituals makes me even more depressed. Christianity is all about people being 100% for God. On Sunday, the main thing on my mind is on when the sermon is gonna end. Some of the sermons in my church are so dry - that you could build a sand castle with them. Hardly the sort of thing that makes you want to shout "hallelujah" in the morning... more like "goodbye cruel world".

Stranger than Fiction


Just watched Stranger than Fiction the story of a man, Wil Ferrell, who starts hearing a woman's voice narrate his life - in real time. Initially he thinks he's crazy. Then upon investigating, he finds out more about the "story" or rather "his story".

It makes for interesting viewing. Go watch it if you have the time.

On a more theological note- it makes you wonder how Jesus must have felt- there He is God. He knows the beginning and the end. As far as He is concerned, we are like characters in a book and He's read our story many times.

Then He, the author of Life, enters into our world. The eternal becoming mortal. The endless now has an end.

Eating alone

I've been having the same food for dinner every night. Well, today, I didn't eat anything serious (biscuits and coffee dun count) until this evening.

I always seem to come back to the same old hawker food shop and eat the same old food.

Is it comfort food? ... Yes... I guess. But another reason is cos I eat alone. For some reason, its doesn't feel so bad if I eat the same old food the 3rd time around. Its feels eternal, like its the same day- not Sunday, Saturday, Friday... etc... just Oneday.

So somehow its not as if I've been eating alone for the last 3 or 5 days... but just one day. lol.

Anyhow its been a one sock day the whole week really. I didn't manage to buy anything or sell anything on the share market. It didn't go down far enough and I saw no compelling reason to chase after share prices as they went up.

For the most part, I was fast asleep in my chair. It was that boring.

I'll be singing in the celebration chorus tomorrow. We're singing Negro Spirituals. Some of the songs are a bit perverse. One of the stanzas goes:

"put your finger in the water and come and cool my tongue (x2)... for I'm tormented in the flame".

And its like... wait a minute... we're singing - in a cheerful manner - the lines of some poor bastard whose in hell.

Anyhow... singing the negro spirituals makes me even more depressed. Christianity is all about people being 100% for God. On Sunday, the main thing on my mind is on when the sermon is gonna end. Some of the sermons in my church are so dry - that you could build a sand castle with them. Hardly the sort of thing that makes you want to shout "hallelujah" in the morning... more like "goodbye cruel world".

Stranger than Fiction


Just watched Stranger than Fiction the story of a man, Wil Ferrell, who starts hearing a woman's voice narrate his life - in real time. Initially he thinks he's crazy. Then upon investigating, he finds out more about the "story" or rather "his story".

It makes for interesting viewing. Go watch it if you have the time.

On a more theological note- it makes you wonder how Jesus must have felt- there He is God. He knows the beginning and the end. As far as He is concerned, we are like characters in a book and He's read our story many times.

Then He, the author of Life, enters into our world. The eternal becoming mortal. The endless now has an end.

Eating alone

I've been having the same food for dinner every night. Well, today, I didn't eat anything serious (biscuits and coffee dun count) until this evening.

I always seem to come back to the same old hawker food shop and eat the same old food.

Is it comfort food? ... Yes... I guess. But another reason is cos I eat alone. For some reason, its doesn't feel so bad if I eat the same old food the 3rd time around. Its feels eternal, like its the same day- not Sunday, Saturday, Friday... etc... just Oneday.

So somehow its not as if I've been eating alone for the last 3 or 5 days... but just one day. lol.

Anyhow its been a one sock day the whole week really. I didn't manage to buy anything or sell anything on the share market. It didn't go down far enough and I saw no compelling reason to chase after share prices as they went up.

For the most part, I was fast asleep in my chair. It was that boring.

I'll be singing in the celebration chorus tomorrow. We're singing Negro Spirituals. Some of the songs are a bit perverse. One of the stanzas goes:

"put your finger in the water and come and cool my tongue (x2)... for I'm tormented in the flame".

And its like... wait a minute... we're singing - in a cheerful manner - the lines of some poor bastard whose in hell.

Anyhow... singing the negro spirituals makes me even more depressed. Christianity is all about people being 100% for God. On Sunday, the main thing on my mind is on when the sermon is gonna end. Some of the sermons in my church are so dry - that you could build a sand castle with them. Hardly the sort of thing that makes you want to shout "hallelujah" in the morning... more like "goodbye cruel world".

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Whatta day

The Dow fell 240 points. Hmmm... I was a bit surprised that it was gonna go down so hard. Yesterday it shrugged off the same news. But now today, it wakes up to it.

Oh well.

Thankfully, I didn't go crazy and overload on shares yesterday like a number of people. Frankly I couldn't see any compelling reason to buy. So I didn't.

I did buy China Sun - a chemical company thats fallen quite hard for awhile. Thankfully, it only dipped about 2% today. Sitting on a $1000 paper loss now. Won't be averaging down tho. I'd be in serious trouble if the share falls further tomorrow. And for what? Wager more good money just to make an extra grand? Its not worth it.

Share trading is all about managing risk. If you don't know how to do that - you're gonna lose all your money fast.

Whatta day

The Dow fell 240 points. Hmmm... I was a bit surprised that it was gonna go down so hard. Yesterday it shrugged off the same news. But now today, it wakes up to it.

Oh well.

Thankfully, I didn't go crazy and overload on shares yesterday like a number of people. Frankly I couldn't see any compelling reason to buy. So I didn't.

I did buy China Sun - a chemical company thats fallen quite hard for awhile. Thankfully, it only dipped about 2% today. Sitting on a $1000 paper loss now. Won't be averaging down tho. I'd be in serious trouble if the share falls further tomorrow. And for what? Wager more good money just to make an extra grand? Its not worth it.

Share trading is all about managing risk. If you don't know how to do that - you're gonna lose all your money fast.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Whatta day

The Dow fell 240 points. Hmmm... I was a bit surprised that it was gonna go down so hard. Yesterday it shrugged off the same news. But now today, it wakes up to it.

Oh well.

Thankfully, I didn't go crazy and overload on shares yesterday like a number of people. Frankly I couldn't see any compelling reason to buy. So I didn't.

I did buy China Sun - a chemical company thats fallen quite hard for awhile. Thankfully, it only dipped about 2% today. Sitting on a $1000 paper loss now. Won't be averaging down tho. I'd be in serious trouble if the share falls further tomorrow. And for what? Wager more good money just to make an extra grand? Its not worth it.

Share trading is all about managing risk. If you don't know how to do that - you're gonna lose all your money fast.

Monday, March 12, 2007

If by Kipling

Went to church today- the sermon today was quite good- but very dry. And I left feeling discouraged and uninspired. The sermon had no life.

Later I remember reading Kipling's "IF" - I remember reading it ages ago- but the writer attributed it to another poet.

Well, read it - its very romantic- ie purely idealistic. I think some parts are a bit silly. I wonder whether Kipling thought the same way after WW1.

[IF]


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:


If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

If by Kipling

Went to church today- the sermon today was quite good- but very dry. And I left feeling discouraged and uninspired. The sermon had no life.

Later I remember reading Kipling's "IF" - I remember reading it ages ago- but the writer attributed it to another poet.

Well, read it - its very romantic- ie purely idealistic. I think some parts are a bit silly. I wonder whether Kipling thought the same way after WW1.

[IF]


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:


If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

If by Kipling

Went to church today- the sermon today was quite good- but very dry. And I left feeling discouraged and uninspired. The sermon had no life.

Later I remember reading Kipling's "IF" - I remember reading it ages ago- but the writer attributed it to another poet.

Well, read it - its very romantic- ie purely idealistic. I think some parts are a bit silly. I wonder whether Kipling thought the same way after WW1.

[IF]


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:


If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Battlestar Galactica Starbuck's fate

Ok... turn away now!!! if you want to avoid spoilers to Season 3 main event- involving Kara Thrace aka Starbuck...






























....

Right is she dead or not?

Well, first off. If that was the cylon Leoben that was talking with her- or projecting images into her mind - why would he entice Starbuck to kill herself? He's been trying to form a relationship with her all this while, and got killed many times over trying to do it (on New Caprica).

Second, Starbuck realized that - that was NOT cylon Leoben, and the person confirmed it by saying that, "I never said I was". Well, make of it what you will. But it could be another entity.

Third, there was indeed a Cylon raider out there. If you replay the scene, you can clearly see it when Apollo sights Starbuck for the last time.

Question - what was it doing there??? And notice that Starbuck's hand was on the ejection seat.

Its quite likely that she ejected and was later picked up by the Cylon Raider.

However, we will probably not see Starbuck for the rest of Season 3 and most of Season 4. Meanwhile, her name is removed from the credits to increase the suspense.

So stay tuned.

Battlestar Galactica Starbuck's fate

Ok... turn away now!!! if you want to avoid spoilers to Season 3 main event- involving Kara Thrace aka Starbuck...






























....

Right is she dead or not?

Well, first off. If that was the cylon Leoben that was talking with her- or projecting images into her mind - why would he entice Starbuck to kill herself? He's been trying to form a relationship with her all this while, and got killed many times over trying to do it (on New Caprica).

Second, Starbuck realized that - that was NOT cylon Leoben, and the person confirmed it by saying that, "I never said I was". Well, make of it what you will. But it could be another entity.

Third, there was indeed a Cylon raider out there. If you replay the scene, you can clearly see it when Apollo sights Starbuck for the last time.

Question - what was it doing there??? And notice that Starbuck's hand was on the ejection seat.

Its quite likely that she ejected and was later picked up by the Cylon Raider.

However, we will probably not see Starbuck for the rest of Season 3 and most of Season 4. Meanwhile, her name is removed from the credits to increase the suspense.

So stay tuned.

We Belong

Just watched the comedy Tallageda Nights. Its a satire on Americans and the Nascar racing sport.

Most of the jokes were dry and was more black humor. And half of them elicted a half-smile...

However, it had its moments. The two that stick out was Adam Richter's appearance as Sasha Baron Cohen's partner. He deserves an oscar for that dead-pan performance.

The other was the end... the race to the finish, literally. And although this was a satirical movie, that run with the inspirational music of Pat Benatar's "We Belong" made me want to stand to my feet and applaud.

++++

On other matters I was suppose to be at an important choir practice this afternoon. But after I got back from the surgeon's I wasn't feeling well. Still, I got ready to go, took a shower, put on my clothes, then I sat in my bed and just fell asleep.

This week has been quite tiring and mentally exhausting. I took big positions on Thursday anticipating a big rise on Wall Street and a flow on effect in Singapore. But despite the 100 - 60 point rise- our markets here just took a yawn. And worse, it started coming down when the Nikkei and Hang Seng fell later in the afternoon. I had to close several positions, thankfully at breakeven, just to play safe. Its a horrible feeling when you find yourself your capital 10% down and looking down the barrel. So I try not to get myself in such awkward positions and stick to my stop losses. One main tenet of share trading is - reducing risk. At each stage the stock advances- it will encounter more risk- and more trouble. Generally, you should plan for such setbacks and be prepared to take profits or stop losses.

At the end of the day I got back into Ferro China at $1.46. (1 cent above my original purchase price). The Nikkei and HS were powering ahead and the market looked stronger.

I took a conservative stance and sold FC at $1.48. I was holding 50 lots. So I made about a grand. There were plenty of sellers at $1.49 and $1.50, and being a Friday, i doubted that anyone would buy aggressively, despite the charts. However, the buyer still came and one person out there - took out the sellers in one big buy- totalling over one million dollars. Amazing. The stock powered thru to $1.51 before the bears came back in and brought it back to $1.47.

Hmm... seems to be a bit see-saw at the mo... I wouldn't be surprised if Ferro comes back to the low $1.40s. Anyhow I'll be waiting there with my buy order.

Wall Street closed weak on Friday. So our bulls will be shy on Monday.

We Belong

Just watched the comedy Tallageda Nights. Its a satire on Americans and the Nascar racing sport.

Most of the jokes were dry and was more black humor. And half of them elicted a half-smile...

However, it had its moments. The two that stick out was Adam Richter's appearance as Sasha Baron Cohen's partner. He deserves an oscar for that dead-pan performance.

The other was the end... the race to the finish, literally. And although this was a satirical movie, that run with the inspirational music of Pat Benatar's "We Belong" made me want to stand to my feet and applaud.

++++

On other matters I was suppose to be at an important choir practice this afternoon. But after I got back from the surgeon's I wasn't feeling well. Still, I got ready to go, took a shower, put on my clothes, then I sat in my bed and just fell asleep.

This week has been quite tiring and mentally exhausting. I took big positions on Thursday anticipating a big rise on Wall Street and a flow on effect in Singapore. But despite the 100 - 60 point rise- our markets here just took a yawn. And worse, it started coming down when the Nikkei and Hang Seng fell later in the afternoon. I had to close several positions, thankfully at breakeven, just to play safe. Its a horrible feeling when you find yourself your capital 10% down and looking down the barrel. So I try not to get myself in such awkward positions and stick to my stop losses. One main tenet of share trading is - reducing risk. At each stage the stock advances- it will encounter more risk- and more trouble. Generally, you should plan for such setbacks and be prepared to take profits or stop losses.

At the end of the day I got back into Ferro China at $1.46. (1 cent above my original purchase price). The Nikkei and HS were powering ahead and the market looked stronger.

I took a conservative stance and sold FC at $1.48. I was holding 50 lots. So I made about a grand. There were plenty of sellers at $1.49 and $1.50, and being a Friday, i doubted that anyone would buy aggressively, despite the charts. However, the buyer still came and one person out there - took out the sellers in one big buy- totalling over one million dollars. Amazing. The stock powered thru to $1.51 before the bears came back in and brought it back to $1.47.

Hmm... seems to be a bit see-saw at the mo... I wouldn't be surprised if Ferro comes back to the low $1.40s. Anyhow I'll be waiting there with my buy order.

Wall Street closed weak on Friday. So our bulls will be shy on Monday.

Battlestar Galactica Starbuck's fate

Ok... turn away now!!! if you want to avoid spoilers to Season 3 main event- involving Kara Thrace aka Starbuck...






























....

Right is she dead or not?

Well, first off. If that was the cylon Leoben that was talking with her- or projecting images into her mind - why would he entice Starbuck to kill herself? He's been trying to form a relationship with her all this while, and got killed many times over trying to do it (on New Caprica).

Second, Starbuck realized that - that was NOT cylon Leoben, and the person confirmed it by saying that, "I never said I was". Well, make of it what you will. But it could be another entity.

Third, there was indeed a Cylon raider out there. If you replay the scene, you can clearly see it when Apollo sights Starbuck for the last time.

Question - what was it doing there??? And notice that Starbuck's hand was on the ejection seat.

Its quite likely that she ejected and was later picked up by the Cylon Raider.

However, we will probably not see Starbuck for the rest of Season 3 and most of Season 4. Meanwhile, her name is removed from the credits to increase the suspense.

So stay tuned.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

We Belong

Just watched the comedy Tallageda Nights. Its a satire on Americans and the Nascar racing sport.

Most of the jokes were dry and was more black humor. And half of them elicted a half-smile...

However, it had its moments. The two that stick out was Adam Richter's appearance as Sasha Baron Cohen's partner. He deserves an oscar for that dead-pan performance.

The other was the end... the race to the finish, literally. And although this was a satirical movie, that run with the inspirational music of Pat Benatar's "We Belong" made me want to stand to my feet and applaud.

++++

On other matters I was suppose to be at an important choir practice this afternoon. But after I got back from the surgeon's I wasn't feeling well. Still, I got ready to go, took a shower, put on my clothes, then I sat in my bed and just fell asleep.

This week has been quite tiring and mentally exhausting. I took big positions on Thursday anticipating a big rise on Wall Street and a flow on effect in Singapore. But despite the 100 - 60 point rise- our markets here just took a yawn. And worse, it started coming down when the Nikkei and Hang Seng fell later in the afternoon. I had to close several positions, thankfully at breakeven, just to play safe. Its a horrible feeling when you find yourself your capital 10% down and looking down the barrel. So I try not to get myself in such awkward positions and stick to my stop losses. One main tenet of share trading is - reducing risk. At each stage the stock advances- it will encounter more risk- and more trouble. Generally, you should plan for such setbacks and be prepared to take profits or stop losses.

At the end of the day I got back into Ferro China at $1.46. (1 cent above my original purchase price). The Nikkei and HS were powering ahead and the market looked stronger.

I took a conservative stance and sold FC at $1.48. I was holding 50 lots. So I made about a grand. There were plenty of sellers at $1.49 and $1.50, and being a Friday, i doubted that anyone would buy aggressively, despite the charts. However, the buyer still came and one person out there - took out the sellers in one big buy- totalling over one million dollars. Amazing. The stock powered thru to $1.51 before the bears came back in and brought it back to $1.47.

Hmm... seems to be a bit see-saw at the mo... I wouldn't be surprised if Ferro comes back to the low $1.40s. Anyhow I'll be waiting there with my buy order.

Wall Street closed weak on Friday. So our bulls will be shy on Monday.

Police Brutality

Watch how the police bash the poor peace protester!!!

Or not... lol.

Recently, the Victorian govt awarded several thousand dollars in compensation to protesters. It makes me wonder how the idiots who run the govt there expect law and order to be maintained.

The next time there is a riot in the city, I wouldn't be surprised if the police just walk away from the job - citing unsafe work practices.... oooohhh err... "there's a syringe on the ground!!"

And frankly, I wouldn't blame the poor buggers.

Police Brutality

Watch how the police bash the poor peace protester!!!

Or not... lol.

Recently, the Victorian govt awarded several thousand dollars in compensation to protesters. It makes me wonder how the idiots who run the govt there expect law and order to be maintained.

The next time there is a riot in the city, I wouldn't be surprised if the police just walk away from the job - citing unsafe work practices.... oooohhh err... "there's a syringe on the ground!!"

And frankly, I wouldn't blame the poor buggers.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Police Brutality

Watch how the police bash the poor peace protester!!!

Or not... lol.

Recently, the Victorian govt awarded several thousand dollars in compensation to protesters. It makes me wonder how the idiots who run the govt there expect law and order to be maintained.

The next time there is a riot in the city, I wouldn't be surprised if the police just walk away from the job - citing unsafe work practices.... oooohhh err... "there's a syringe on the ground!!"

And frankly, I wouldn't blame the poor buggers.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Pressure

The whole markets in the region took a real pounding today. Frankly, I think its overdone.

The fundamentals are still the same. Nothing much has changed. China will increase tax on foreigners up 10%. But its also going to reduce tax on its national companies. No doubt some clever accountant will find a way around this. But anyway the tax regime for corporations in China for foreigner and local is going to be set at 25% - which comparatively speaking- is ok.

I was a bit impatient today; I bought two stocks- Ausgroup and SunVic at around 4pm. I should have waited til the end of the day.



The charts shows that it could have gone lower. And after I bought it at 61 cents, it did go lower- down to 57.5.

But strangely, it didn't worry me a lot. I was too surprised that it could go lower. But I felt that at 61, it was a comfortable level to get in.

But like I said, too impatient. I've been waiting all that for the stock to get to the low 60s. But I also had some trouble.

I had to evacuate my place today. One of my neighbors decided to do some renovation on his home, and started hammering at 10am. I wish the silly dodo had given me some ample warning- a letter stating the time and duration of the work would be helpful.

It was simply maddening trying to concentrate when the construction was going on. I felt like plunging the jackhammer in the owner's place that light don't shine.

I took off to a nearby hotel- but when I got there- there was doing fumigating work- so I had to backtrack and head off down to TCC cafe. Thankfully, the staff there were very friendly and helpful and got me a seat which had a power point for my notebook.

I might have to there again if the neighbor continues with his damn reno.

Pressure

The whole markets in the region took a real pounding today. Frankly, I think its overdone.

The fundamentals are still the same. Nothing much has changed. China will increase tax on foreigners up 10%. But its also going to reduce tax on its national companies. No doubt some clever accountant will find a way around this. But anyway the tax regime for corporations in China for foreigner and local is going to be set at 25% - which comparatively speaking- is ok.

I was a bit impatient today; I bought two stocks- Ausgroup and SunVic at around 4pm. I should have waited til the end of the day.



The charts shows that it could have gone lower. And after I bought it at 61 cents, it did go lower- down to 57.5.

But strangely, it didn't worry me a lot. I was too surprised that it could go lower. But I felt that at 61, it was a comfortable level to get in.

But like I said, too impatient. I've been waiting all that for the stock to get to the low 60s. But I also had some trouble.

I had to evacuate my place today. One of my neighbors decided to do some renovation on his home, and started hammering at 10am. I wish the silly dodo had given me some ample warning- a letter stating the time and duration of the work would be helpful.

It was simply maddening trying to concentrate when the construction was going on. I felt like plunging the jackhammer in the owner's place that light don't shine.

I took off to a nearby hotel- but when I got there- there was doing fumigating work- so I had to backtrack and head off down to TCC cafe. Thankfully, the staff there were very friendly and helpful and got me a seat which had a power point for my notebook.

I might have to there again if the neighbor continues with his damn reno.

Pressure

The whole markets in the region took a real pounding today. Frankly, I think its overdone.

The fundamentals are still the same. Nothing much has changed. China will increase tax on foreigners up 10%. But its also going to reduce tax on its national companies. No doubt some clever accountant will find a way around this. But anyway the tax regime for corporations in China for foreigner and local is going to be set at 25% - which comparatively speaking- is ok.

I was a bit impatient today; I bought two stocks- Ausgroup and SunVic at around 4pm. I should have waited til the end of the day.



The charts shows that it could have gone lower. And after I bought it at 61 cents, it did go lower- down to 57.5.

But strangely, it didn't worry me a lot. I was too surprised that it could go lower. But I felt that at 61, it was a comfortable level to get in.

But like I said, too impatient. I've been waiting all that for the stock to get to the low 60s. But I also had some trouble.

I had to evacuate my place today. One of my neighbors decided to do some renovation on his home, and started hammering at 10am. I wish the silly dodo had given me some ample warning- a letter stating the time and duration of the work would be helpful.

It was simply maddening trying to concentrate when the construction was going on. I felt like plunging the jackhammer in the owner's place that light don't shine.

I took off to a nearby hotel- but when I got there- there was doing fumigating work- so I had to backtrack and head off down to TCC cafe. Thankfully, the staff there were very friendly and helpful and got me a seat which had a power point for my notebook.

I might have to there again if the neighbor continues with his damn reno.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Charting

I use charts a lot in my trading. Usually they provide a reasonable guide to whats going to happen. Sometimes, they are just plain scary.

Check this out. I drew up this chart of Mediaring on 23rd Feb, Friday.








The crash took two working days later, Tuesday, 28 Feb. And it just walked that trend line down.










I wish I could say I got out at 44 but I got out at 42 and took a small loss; I bought at 43. When it just didn't break thru pass 44, I got cautious and took the hit, sold it at 42.

Anyhow better than holding the sucker at 38 now.

Charting

I use charts a lot in my trading. Usually they provide a reasonable guide to whats going to happen. Sometimes, they are just plain scary.

Check this out. I drew up this chart of Mediaring on 23rd Feb, Friday.








The crash took two working days later, Tuesday, 28 Feb. And it just walked that trend line down.










I wish I could say I got out at 44 but I got out at 42 and took a small loss; I bought at 43. When it just didn't break thru pass 44, I got cautious and took the hit, sold it at 42.

Anyhow better than holding the sucker at 38 now.

Letters from Iwo Jima


A good movie. A few touching scenes. Seems a bit slow and over processed or sentimentalized at some parts- esp. the end, with the slow motion shot of the letters fluttering to the ground.

I liked the part about the "hero" being conscripted into the war. And the sense of utter hopelessness and resignation conveyed by the actors. Yet, I thought it was strange that he hadn't been conscripted already.

Its worth watching as a back to back show of Flags of Our Fathers.

Letters made a direct offer to show a more sympathetic portrayal of the Japanese soldiers who committed great atrocities during WW2. Flags of Our Fathers on the other hand was a direct attempt to paint a gloomy or cynical look at the nationalism behind the American war effort.

Letters from Iwo Jima


A good movie. A few touching scenes. Seems a bit slow and over processed or sentimentalized at some parts- esp. the end, with the slow motion shot of the letters fluttering to the ground.

I liked the part about the "hero" being conscripted into the war. And the sense of utter hopelessness and resignation conveyed by the actors. Yet, I thought it was strange that he hadn't been conscripted already.

Its worth watching as a back to back show of Flags of Our Fathers.

Letters made a direct offer to show a more sympathetic portrayal of the Japanese soldiers who committed great atrocities during WW2. Flags of Our Fathers on the other hand was a direct attempt to paint a gloomy or cynical look at the nationalism behind the American war effort.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Charting

I use charts a lot in my trading. Usually they provide a reasonable guide to whats going to happen. Sometimes, they are just plain scary.

Check this out. I drew up this chart of Mediaring on 23rd Feb, Friday.








The crash took two working days later, Tuesday, 28 Feb. And it just walked that trend line down.










I wish I could say I got out at 44 but I got out at 42 and took a small loss; I bought at 43. When it just didn't break thru pass 44, I got cautious and took the hit, sold it at 42.

Anyhow better than holding the sucker at 38 now.

Letters from Iwo Jima


A good movie. A few touching scenes. Seems a bit slow and over processed or sentimentalized at some parts- esp. the end, with the slow motion shot of the letters fluttering to the ground.

I liked the part about the "hero" being conscripted into the war. And the sense of utter hopelessness and resignation conveyed by the actors. Yet, I thought it was strange that he hadn't been conscripted already.

Its worth watching as a back to back show of Flags of Our Fathers.

Letters made a direct offer to show a more sympathetic portrayal of the Japanese soldiers who committed great atrocities during WW2. Flags of Our Fathers on the other hand was a direct attempt to paint a gloomy or cynical look at the nationalism behind the American war effort.

Market Report



That photo really says it all, huh? :)

Market is taking a real hard hit this week. That 400 point drop was the bomb in the room that was going to explode sooner or later. The Dow has been having a real good run by the past 40 months without any real drop. Its a bit like a glutton pigging out for two weeks without taking a big dump. Hee hee sorry.

The only question now is whether this big 400 point drop - followed by that 100+ point drop on Friday is going to carry on to next week and then next month and so on.

A big question on people's mind is whether China's growth is going to slow down and how will it impact upon the rest of the world's economy. Um... if you look at the rise of other great industrialized nation like Britain, Germany, America, and Japan is that they all went thru various stages of evolution.

None of them made a straight trip to the top. America went thru the Roaring 20s before hitting the Great Depression and later powering to Pax America in the 1950s.

Fundamentally, China is poised to make that same journey. Its got what it takes to turn the 2000 - 2100 into its Century in the same way that America made 1900-1999 its own. The Same way Britain made 1800 - 1900 its century.

The only thing that could trip China up is how it handles its foreign relations. All the major powers faltered due to disasters in foreign relations. France and Germany screwed it up by trying to create a military run European Empire. Britain allowed itself to be dragged into a major European war - losing the cream of its youth in pointless battles in WW1. America lost its war in the Vietnam conflict and now its war in Iraq. Some wars just can't be won and shouldn't be fought.

Anyhow, the main concern on investor's minds now is- will the Chinese Govt impose capital gain taxes on share investor's? If they do - then well- things may take a hard turn for the next 3 - 5 months.

Silly me. I got out all of shares and made a small nice tidy profit before the crash. But I got suckered back into the game like a fool. That's the thing you see- once you made your cash- its best to just walk out of the casino. And don't look back. You've had your turn. Now take the money and run.

I have positions on Aztec (43c), Sunvic ($1), and KS Energy ($3). The first two were simply daft. I didn't impose any stop losses and took a silly pollyannish view. WTF was I thinking. Boy I can do stupid things.

I had a position on Wilmar on Monday and was sitting sweetly on a nice cute profit - but when the trend turned against me- I decided against taking a profit. My only saving grace was that I sold when it hit my cost price (excluding brokerage). Cos the next day, the crash came, it fell like a rock. I tried to pick some up on the crash day- but even that turned to crap.

Rule 1 : Taking profits, even small ones- in times of volatility is no shame.

Anyhow I did something right... I got back into SUNVIC at 73 cents on Wednesday. The next day, I sold at 77 cents. I planned to get back in at 75 and put the order back on. But I had a surgery appointment to attend at 12. And the Nikkei was already down 188+ points. So I played safe and cancelled it. It touched 75 then bounced to 80 before closing the day at 74.

See the 240 minute chart. Most people are used to seeing daily charts- but when the charts are short- a smaller time frame sometimes helps.



The 3 minute chart of the last 3 days gives a better picture of the action.



Anyhow, its not breaking out of the trend line- so it may go much lower next week. Maybe pass 60 cents. However if China powers up, SunVic, which is a China Chemical company will have a big rally., maybe coming back up to the high 90c mark. If the news from China is positive, I'd be buying at 75 and going long for the week.

Market Report



That photo really says it all, huh? :)

Market is taking a real hard hit this week. That 400 point drop was the bomb in the room that was going to explode sooner or later. The Dow has been having a real good run by the past 40 months without any real drop. Its a bit like a glutton pigging out for two weeks without taking a big dump. Hee hee sorry.

The only question now is whether this big 400 point drop - followed by that 100+ point drop on Friday is going to carry on to next week and then next month and so on.

A big question on people's mind is whether China's growth is going to slow down and how will it impact upon the rest of the world's economy. Um... if you look at the rise of other great industrialized nation like Britain, Germany, America, and Japan is that they all went thru various stages of evolution.

None of them made a straight trip to the top. America went thru the Roaring 20s before hitting the Great Depression and later powering to Pax America in the 1950s.

Fundamentally, China is poised to make that same journey. Its got what it takes to turn the 2000 - 2100 into its Century in the same way that America made 1900-1999 its own. The Same way Britain made 1800 - 1900 its century.

The only thing that could trip China up is how it handles its foreign relations. All the major powers faltered due to disasters in foreign relations. France and Germany screwed it up by trying to create a military run European Empire. Britain allowed itself to be dragged into a major European war - losing the cream of its youth in pointless battles in WW1. America lost its war in the Vietnam conflict and now its war in Iraq. Some wars just can't be won and shouldn't be fought.

Anyhow, the main concern on investor's minds now is- will the Chinese Govt impose capital gain taxes on share investor's? If they do - then well- things may take a hard turn for the next 3 - 5 months.

Silly me. I got out all of shares and made a small nice tidy profit before the crash. But I got suckered back into the game like a fool. That's the thing you see- once you made your cash- its best to just walk out of the casino. And don't look back. You've had your turn. Now take the money and run.

I have positions on Aztec (43c), Sunvic ($1), and KS Energy ($3). The first two were simply daft. I didn't impose any stop losses and took a silly pollyannish view. WTF was I thinking. Boy I can do stupid things.

I had a position on Wilmar on Monday and was sitting sweetly on a nice cute profit - but when the trend turned against me- I decided against taking a profit. My only saving grace was that I sold when it hit my cost price (excluding brokerage). Cos the next day, the crash came, it fell like a rock. I tried to pick some up on the crash day- but even that turned to crap.

Rule 1 : Taking profits, even small ones- in times of volatility is no shame.

Anyhow I did something right... I got back into SUNVIC at 73 cents on Wednesday. The next day, I sold at 77 cents. I planned to get back in at 75 and put the order back on. But I had a surgery appointment to attend at 12. And the Nikkei was already down 188+ points. So I played safe and cancelled it. It touched 75 then bounced to 80 before closing the day at 74.

See the 240 minute chart. Most people are used to seeing daily charts- but when the charts are short- a smaller time frame sometimes helps.



The 3 minute chart of the last 3 days gives a better picture of the action.



Anyhow, its not breaking out of the trend line- so it may go much lower next week. Maybe pass 60 cents. However if China powers up, SunVic, which is a China Chemical company will have a big rally., maybe coming back up to the high 90c mark. If the news from China is positive, I'd be buying at 75 and going long for the week.

Fools for Communism

I think communism or socialism - passing the control of society into the hands of the state - has been one of the worse things that has happened to humanity.

All the left-wing revolutions resulted in abject destruction, and the murder, torture of millions of people - producing the exact opposite of what most of its defenders had hoped for.

Example: the French Revolution. The French overthrew their King, killed off most of the nobility- to create a better society. But what happened. The Revolutionaries initiated the Terror - which slaughtered god knows how many French people. And in the end, they voted for Napoleon Bonaparte - a small corsican officer - to be become their Emperor who dragged the nation into a bloody European war and fanned the flames of nationalism and mass conscription- which eventually resulted in WW1 and WW2. Talk about getting out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Need I say anything more about the revolutions in Mao's China, Stalin's Russia, Pol Pot, Cuba etc.. All unmitigated horror stories for millions of innocent people.

It seems the ONLY people still defending these despots are the academics- people who sit in ivory towers, safe in their tax-payed tenures - who bombast the evils of capitalism and the glories of communism.

I read this article- Fools for Communism by Glenn Gavin. Check it out.

Annoying Dell notebook beep sound

My notebook makes an annoying loud beep sound esp when I am changing the volume. Its get bloody irritating.

I googled the problem and found out a solution.

This might help u too - if u have the same problem- but you better be careful to follow the instructions carefully.

In other words,

CLICK ON START - YES, that button on the bottom left hand side.

Next Click RUN

type regedit

then you;ll see this:




Be careful, cause if u delete the wrong thing - your computer might not work.

Click on HKEY_CLASS_CURRENT_USER

Then the button listed as CONTROL PANEL.





Then click on the SOUND button






Click on the "BEEP" and change "Yes" to "NO"



Just a word of caution. I don't know whether this affects the safety beeping function - the one you get when you get a system failure warning message - like when your CPU overheats.

Fools for Communism

I think communism or socialism - passing the control of society into the hands of the state - has been one of the worse things that has happened to humanity.

All the left-wing revolutions resulted in abject destruction, and the murder, torture of millions of people - producing the exact opposite of what most of its defenders had hoped for.

Example: the French Revolution. The French overthrew their King, killed off most of the nobility- to create a better society. But what happened. The Revolutionaries initiated the Terror - which slaughtered god knows how many French people. And in the end, they voted for Napoleon Bonaparte - a small corsican officer - to be become their Emperor who dragged the nation into a bloody European war and fanned the flames of nationalism and mass conscription- which eventually resulted in WW1 and WW2. Talk about getting out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Need I say anything more about the revolutions in Mao's China, Stalin's Russia, Pol Pot, Cuba etc.. All unmitigated horror stories for millions of innocent people.

It seems the ONLY people still defending these despots are the academics- people who sit in ivory towers, safe in their tax-payed tenures - who bombast the evils of capitalism and the glories of communism.

I read this article- Fools for Communism by Glenn Gavin. Check it out.

Annoying Dell notebook beep sound

My notebook makes an annoying loud beep sound esp when I am changing the volume. Its get bloody irritating.

I googled the problem and found out a solution.

This might help u too - if u have the same problem- but you better be careful to follow the instructions carefully.

In other words,

CLICK ON START - YES, that button on the bottom left hand side.

Next Click RUN

type regedit

then you;ll see this:




Be careful, cause if u delete the wrong thing - your computer might not work.

Click on HKEY_CLASS_CURRENT_USER

Then the button listed as CONTROL PANEL.





Then click on the SOUND button






Click on the "BEEP" and change "Yes" to "NO"



Just a word of caution. I don't know whether this affects the safety beeping function - the one you get when you get a system failure warning message - like when your CPU overheats.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Market Report



That photo really says it all, huh? :)

Market is taking a real hard hit this week. That 400 point drop was the bomb in the room that was going to explode sooner or later. The Dow has been having a real good run by the past 40 months without any real drop. Its a bit like a glutton pigging out for two weeks without taking a big dump. Hee hee sorry.

The only question now is whether this big 400 point drop - followed by that 100+ point drop on Friday is going to carry on to next week and then next month and so on.

A big question on people's mind is whether China's growth is going to slow down and how will it impact upon the rest of the world's economy. Um... if you look at the rise of other great industrialized nation like Britain, Germany, America, and Japan is that they all went thru various stages of evolution.

None of them made a straight trip to the top. America went thru the Roaring 20s before hitting the Great Depression and later powering to Pax America in the 1950s.

Fundamentally, China is poised to make that same journey. Its got what it takes to turn the 2000 - 2100 into its Century in the same way that America made 1900-1999 its own. The Same way Britain made 1800 - 1900 its century.

The only thing that could trip China up is how it handles its foreign relations. All the major powers faltered due to disasters in foreign relations. France and Germany screwed it up by trying to create a military run European Empire. Britain allowed itself to be dragged into a major European war - losing the cream of its youth in pointless battles in WW1. America lost its war in the Vietnam conflict and now its war in Iraq. Some wars just can't be won and shouldn't be fought.

Anyhow, the main concern on investor's minds now is- will the Chinese Govt impose capital gain taxes on share investor's? If they do - then well- things may take a hard turn for the next 3 - 5 months.

Silly me. I got out all of shares and made a small nice tidy profit before the crash. But I got suckered back into the game like a fool. That's the thing you see- once you made your cash- its best to just walk out of the casino. And don't look back. You've had your turn. Now take the money and run.

I have positions on Aztec (43c), Sunvic ($1), and KS Energy ($3). The first two were simply daft. I didn't impose any stop losses and took a silly pollyannish view. WTF was I thinking. Boy I can do stupid things.

I had a position on Wilmar on Monday and was sitting sweetly on a nice cute profit - but when the trend turned against me- I decided against taking a profit. My only saving grace was that I sold when it hit my cost price (excluding brokerage). Cos the next day, the crash came, it fell like a rock. I tried to pick some up on the crash day- but even that turned to crap.

Rule 1 : Taking profits, even small ones- in times of volatility is no shame.

Anyhow I did something right... I got back into SUNVIC at 73 cents on Wednesday. The next day, I sold at 77 cents. I planned to get back in at 75 and put the order back on. But I had a surgery appointment to attend at 12. And the Nikkei was already down 188+ points. So I played safe and cancelled it. It touched 75 then bounced to 80 before closing the day at 74.

See the 240 minute chart. Most people are used to seeing daily charts- but when the charts are short- a smaller time frame sometimes helps.



The 3 minute chart of the last 3 days gives a better picture of the action.



Anyhow, its not breaking out of the trend line- so it may go much lower next week. Maybe pass 60 cents. However if China powers up, SunVic, which is a China Chemical company will have a big rally., maybe coming back up to the high 90c mark. If the news from China is positive, I'd be buying at 75 and going long for the week.

Fools for Communism

I think communism or socialism - passing the control of society into the hands of the state - has been one of the worse things that has happened to humanity.

All the left-wing revolutions resulted in abject destruction, and the murder, torture of millions of people - producing the exact opposite of what most of its defenders had hoped for.

Example: the French Revolution. The French overthrew their King, killed off most of the nobility- to create a better society. But what happened. The Revolutionaries initiated the Terror - which slaughtered god knows how many French people. And in the end, they voted for Napoleon Bonaparte - a small corsican officer - to be become their Emperor who dragged the nation into a bloody European war and fanned the flames of nationalism and mass conscription- which eventually resulted in WW1 and WW2. Talk about getting out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Need I say anything more about the revolutions in Mao's China, Stalin's Russia, Pol Pot, Cuba etc.. All unmitigated horror stories for millions of innocent people.

It seems the ONLY people still defending these despots are the academics- people who sit in ivory towers, safe in their tax-payed tenures - who bombast the evils of capitalism and the glories of communism.

I read this article- Fools for Communism by Glenn Gavin. Check it out.

Annoying Dell notebook beep sound

My notebook makes an annoying loud beep sound esp when I am changing the volume. Its get bloody irritating.

I googled the problem and found out a solution.

This might help u too - if u have the same problem- but you better be careful to follow the instructions carefully.

In other words,

CLICK ON START - YES, that button on the bottom left hand side.

Next Click RUN

type regedit

then you;ll see this:




Be careful, cause if u delete the wrong thing - your computer might not work.

Click on HKEY_CLASS_CURRENT_USER

Then the button listed as CONTROL PANEL.





Then click on the SOUND button






Click on the "BEEP" and change "Yes" to "NO"



Just a word of caution. I don't know whether this affects the safety beeping function - the one you get when you get a system failure warning message - like when your CPU overheats.