I have had some comments and emails about how to tell MarketDelta that you are signing up for a trial because you read the electroniclocal blog and/or you are interested in a webinar.
There are several ways:
1. email to trevor@marketdelta.com or to support@marketdelta.com
2. telephone them on their number which can be found at www.marketdelta.com
3. Skype by voice or message to trevor.harnett
Always mention the electroniclocal in whatever method of contact to Trevor/MarketDelta you use. Just filling in the free trial form will not tell Trevor you are an electroniclocal reader and therefore you won't be counted in the numbers needed for the free webinar.
One of the reasons I switched to MarketDelta as I said in a comment on yesterday's blog was to see what I could do with the Footprint as well as programmatically harnessing some of the power in the Volume analysis of MarketDelta.
I tried the Footprint a few years ago but it didn't speak to me. I know someone who is using it for specific setups so I will explore that as well.
As you saw from all my posts, the trades I am showing are what I call "initiated from the inside going out". I also have setups that trade from "the outside in". These are a slightly lower probability than the ones I post and more complex to explain. I plan to explore MD for simpler setups for these types of trades. Kiki is not trading these yet and probably won't for the next 3-6 months.
Kamis, 03 Desember 2009
Rabu, 02 Desember 2009
Tiger, Jaycee Dugard ,Me ,darwin, and motivation.
(Stick with this it will really end up almost on topic)
Tiger
The current fascination people have with the Tiger Woods is interesting because the image he projects is perfect, he is a gifted athlete, smart, well spoken, respected, rich, married to a super model, his life is perfect in every way. Yet we learn that at some level he is not satisfied with what he has.
Jaycee
Jaycee Dugard is captured as a little girl raped and held captive for 18 years, yet we read that she had adjusted to her life and even felt some attachment to the monster that did this to her.
Un-happiness in the perfect life and happiness in the horrible life, whats going on?
Me
I think its human nature to adjust your expectations to your situation. Last year my business had the best year ever, I had the time and budget to pursue the LLC dream and work on a really interesting project, I was truly fortunate to have that. It was a great year. In the Month after the contest I've not yet come to grips with the fact that the economy is in the pits and I really can't afford to work on the rockets for awhile. I've got to go work really hard to maintain the business in this climate rather than seeing it grow. (We're down 36% year to date yet we have not laid anyone off) My personal setpoint had adjusted to the thrill and success and its really depressing to try and adjust it back. The vast majority of humanity would be ecstatic to trade places with me, yet I'm depressed about it. 5 years ago I'd be ecstatic, I think we really only react to the changes, not the absolute level of things in our life.
Darwin
When I stop and ponder this I come it an interesting question. What is the natural state of humans? From an evolutionary standpoint I can see that sit in the corner depressed is not effective and would be selected out of the gene pool. However I can also see that a slight unease or paranoia could have benefits. If one group of humans is satisfied and happy and settles in for the winter, they would be at a disadvantage to another group the was just a little bit uneasy and focused that energy at being more productive and gathering a few more nuts and animal skins for the winter. So what is the natural state of the most productive humans?
Motivation
What drives productive motivation? Is motivation bordering on obsession good or bad for production? Should I just rest and relax for awhile, or shoudl I try and get fired up to work on the things I can actually do, like clean the workshop, develop a simulator, do a peper design for a nanosat vehicle? What purpose does recharge and satisfaction setpoint "reset" have in the process? My wife has studyied a lot of Buddhist philosophy, IE live in the now and be happy with what you have. Any really productive Buddhist scientists and engineers? Is society better served by the hedonist pursuing things in the free market where he is driven to create value so he can have pleasure? I've always though Maslow's hierarchy of needs was a better gage that pure hedonism. The happiest times in my life have been associated with creating something , or bringing an idea to realization. I've posed a lot of hard questions all much less clear than the rocket equation, yet more important when trying to accomplish things in the world.
Tiger
The current fascination people have with the Tiger Woods is interesting because the image he projects is perfect, he is a gifted athlete, smart, well spoken, respected, rich, married to a super model, his life is perfect in every way. Yet we learn that at some level he is not satisfied with what he has.
Jaycee
Jaycee Dugard is captured as a little girl raped and held captive for 18 years, yet we read that she had adjusted to her life and even felt some attachment to the monster that did this to her.
Un-happiness in the perfect life and happiness in the horrible life, whats going on?
Me
I think its human nature to adjust your expectations to your situation. Last year my business had the best year ever, I had the time and budget to pursue the LLC dream and work on a really interesting project, I was truly fortunate to have that. It was a great year. In the Month after the contest I've not yet come to grips with the fact that the economy is in the pits and I really can't afford to work on the rockets for awhile. I've got to go work really hard to maintain the business in this climate rather than seeing it grow. (We're down 36% year to date yet we have not laid anyone off) My personal setpoint had adjusted to the thrill and success and its really depressing to try and adjust it back. The vast majority of humanity would be ecstatic to trade places with me, yet I'm depressed about it. 5 years ago I'd be ecstatic, I think we really only react to the changes, not the absolute level of things in our life.
Darwin
When I stop and ponder this I come it an interesting question. What is the natural state of humans? From an evolutionary standpoint I can see that sit in the corner depressed is not effective and would be selected out of the gene pool. However I can also see that a slight unease or paranoia could have benefits. If one group of humans is satisfied and happy and settles in for the winter, they would be at a disadvantage to another group the was just a little bit uneasy and focused that energy at being more productive and gathering a few more nuts and animal skins for the winter. So what is the natural state of the most productive humans?
Motivation
What drives productive motivation? Is motivation bordering on obsession good or bad for production? Should I just rest and relax for awhile, or shoudl I try and get fired up to work on the things I can actually do, like clean the workshop, develop a simulator, do a peper design for a nanosat vehicle? What purpose does recharge and satisfaction setpoint "reset" have in the process? My wife has studyied a lot of Buddhist philosophy, IE live in the now and be happy with what you have. Any really productive Buddhist scientists and engineers? Is society better served by the hedonist pursuing things in the free market where he is driven to create value so he can have pleasure? I've always though Maslow's hierarchy of needs was a better gage that pure hedonism. The happiest times in my life have been associated with creating something , or bringing an idea to realization. I've posed a lot of hard questions all much less clear than the rocket equation, yet more important when trying to accomplish things in the world.
Let's kick it up a notch
Two things today. First, thank you for all the comments from both sides of the fence. I do read each one, and that's what prompted my post yesterday. I receive several posts and PM's each week with stories of life devastating losses from day traders. These emails are from people who have lost all their money, their wives, families and homes. There are others who are contemplating suicide because they've lost everything. I personally have known traders who have committed suicide because they just couldn't be profitable. Please don't think of yesterdays' post as criticism, but as a necessary wake up and smell the coffee moment for those who might need one.
Now for the good news. As you know from the blog, I trade and am teaching Kiki to trade order flow. I use indicators, which I have programmed on my charts that measure volume and strength of order flow. I'm always reading, studying and talking with other traders about how to improve things in general and improve my trading. There is a program called MarketDelta which you have probably heard of. MD specialises in volume based analysis as well as the usual technical analysis. They have a great Market Profile too. Over the week-end I will switch to Market Delta and try and replicate my existing setup in MD. I will happily share the template for my settings as soon as I work out how to do that. I am also going to use their programming language to create other volume based indicators to track order flow.
I started talking to Trevor about a week ago and have looked at Market Delta well before that, as I was looking for something where I could have a single charting platform. The interesting thing also with MD is that they are initiating Chart Trading so you can just click on a chart to trade and the trades appear on the chart. That's something I referred to in a post a couple of weeks ago.
Now for the extra bit of information, Trevor, who owns Market Delta, has offered to host a webinar for Electroniclocal readers on how to use Market Delta with my methodology. If you want to try this program out before the webinar, mention Electroniclocal and get a month's free trial with no strings attached. Mentioning Electroniclocal will tell Trevor whether there is enough interest in producing the special webinar. MD can be found here. I have posted a sample chart of what it will look like. Its not yet properly configured but will be by Sunday, I hope.
I started talking to Trevor about a week ago and have looked at Market Delta well before that, as I was looking for something where I could have a single charting platform. The interesting thing also with MD is that they are initiating Chart Trading so you can just click on a chart to trade and the trades appear on the chart. That's something I referred to in a post a couple of weeks ago.
Now for the extra bit of information, Trevor, who owns Market Delta, has offered to host a webinar for Electroniclocal readers on how to use Market Delta with my methodology. If you want to try this program out before the webinar, mention Electroniclocal and get a month's free trial with no strings attached. Mentioning Electroniclocal will tell Trevor whether there is enough interest in producing the special webinar. MD can be found here. I have posted a sample chart of what it will look like. Its not yet properly configured but will be by Sunday, I hope.
... Just to let you know, I am not charging for and will not receive any money from Trevor for this webinar. If you find the webinar useful and want to give something back, please make a donation to my favourite charity, the Macmillan Cancer nurses here and then to donate, here. Or Kiki's favourite, the micro credit charity Kiva. here.
Click a chart to enlarge
Selasa, 01 Desember 2009
Is Your Edge Sharp?
There was a question yesterday about my charts, indicators and settings. I have quite strong views about this.
To trade successfully, you MUST believe. We all have belief systems from things we learned as children. When we were told not to touch something hot, we touched it and quickly learned not to. A WET PAINT sign is an invitation for the young to touch it. And so to is trading. I believe that you have to prove that your methodology has the edge to give you consistent profitability in the time frame and "style" that you evolve.
Well, how do you do that. There are two ways that I know of (unless you are one of the lucky "naturals"). The first is what I did: trial and error - lots of error plus a few years. The second is to find a teacher who mentors you to find a methodology that fits you and your aspirations. This is what Kiki and I did and it saves a few years and untold thousands of dollars. Before anyone makes a comment about this, Kiki is the first one to acknowledge how thankful she is to be mentored. Learning to trade is like going to a top university with only a 10% pass rate. You wouldn't be fair to yourself, if you didn't acknowledge the difficulty of the task ahead and the degree of dedication and perspiration it will require to "graduate" and become consistently profitable.
I'm glad we trade from Europe and don't have to get up in the middle of the night to catch the local morning time trades.
Click to enlarge
Better, not bitter
“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.” ~Gabrielle "Coco" ChanelBy Amanda Gillooly
BLB Guest Blogger
These days, I like to consider myself an opener of doors. Five months ago I considered myself a journalist.
I’ve been busy these past few months applying for newspaper jobs and freelance gigs, and I won’t lie to you: There is a tremendous sense of loss when you get laid off. And it isn’t the paycheck or the embarrassment I’ve come to realize is routine for nearly all of us -- it’s the loss of self.
No capes have ever been required for me to think I could save the day. All I ever needed was a couple ball-point pens and a legal notebook to feel invincible. I proudly extended my hand and introduced myself as a reporter for whatever paper I was scribing for at the time. And I do mean proudly. I have identified myself as a reporter/writer/journalist since I irked the Moon Area School directors by circulating a survey about homophobia way back in high school.
When some people talk about their first loves, names like Dan or John or Matt are whimsically recalled. Mine wasn’t a man, but a publication. And I’ve fallen head over heels with almost every newsroom in which I’ve valiantly battled the deadline. When I signed the separation papers with the Observer-Reporter in June, it felt like the most important -- most identifying -- part of who I am was signed away, too.
Since then, I have spent more time than I’d like to admit mulling over the layoffs, and all it ever does is fill me with a bile and bitterness. I wonder if it ever occurs to the guys doing the pink slipping that they aren’t just eliminating a person’s job. They are eliminating that part of the poor bastard sitting across the desk.
As the weeks tick by with no job offers in sight (and few legitimate jobs to go around in a tremendously competitive market) I’m trying a different plan. Yes, the applications will still be sent. Yes, I will continue to freelance. But I’m going to start using this time to develop the parts of myself I neglected when I was too busy classifying myself as a writer. This month I started a novel, finished part of a professional project and lost 10 pounds. I’ve learned to make a stellar casserole and have become domesticated enough that I am mulling aprons and once again allowed to bake in my home unsupervised.
While the job market rebounds and the newspaper industry learns how to compete in the world of free online content, I’ll be working to make myself more of a Renaissance woman.
I want to work on being better. Not bitter.
And I hope you all do, too.
Amanda Gillooly previously worked for the Observer-Reporter and now freelances for The Innocence Institute of Point Park University and PittsburghMom.com. She can be reached by e-mail at amandabgillooly@gmail.com
Senin, 30 November 2009
Making census of the test
McMURRAY, Pa. - There I was this morning, sitting with three elderly men in a bland corner room at the Peters Township Municipal Library, with a pencil in hand and 28 multi-choice questions at my disposal. The four of us arrived early to offer the proper identification and fill out the paperwork before taking the test. It was a bizarre scene that made me feel like I was in high school all over again -- albeit in an alternate universe.
Instead of the SATs or final exams, I was taking a test to gauge whether I had what it takes to knock on doors for the U.S. Census Bureau and count human beings like they were cattle. It might not be a glamorous job, but it offers a part-time schedule with supposedly decent pay. And, it's a good financial opportunity if the job market is still ice cold five months from now.
But back to the test. One man coughed and wheezed for a moment while filling out his paperwork. The elderly gentleman behind me forgot his ID, and needed to scrounge around his car to find a Social Security card and/or birth certificate (which I assume was printed in the 19th Century). A Census worker read instructions before the test, but the man next to me looked puzzled. He told the worker that he couldn't hear well enough, and asked for the instructions to be read again.
Splendid.
I rolled through the 28 questions, stopping on some for a few extra moments. I'm not really sure the point of the 30-minute exam, except maybe to sift through people born without brains.
I guess I have some semblance of a medulla oblongata (thank you Bobby Boucher) because I aced the test. So now I wait to learn if the Census Bureau will need my services next year. Maybe I'll even see my three geriatric test-taking pals on the beat.
Instead of the SATs or final exams, I was taking a test to gauge whether I had what it takes to knock on doors for the U.S. Census Bureau and count human beings like they were cattle. It might not be a glamorous job, but it offers a part-time schedule with supposedly decent pay. And, it's a good financial opportunity if the job market is still ice cold five months from now.
But back to the test. One man coughed and wheezed for a moment while filling out his paperwork. The elderly gentleman behind me forgot his ID, and needed to scrounge around his car to find a Social Security card and/or birth certificate (which I assume was printed in the 19th Century). A Census worker read instructions before the test, but the man next to me looked puzzled. He told the worker that he couldn't hear well enough, and asked for the instructions to be read again.
Splendid.
I rolled through the 28 questions, stopping on some for a few extra moments. I'm not really sure the point of the 30-minute exam, except maybe to sift through people born without brains.
I guess I have some semblance of a medulla oblongata (thank you Bobby Boucher) because I aced the test. So now I wait to learn if the Census Bureau will need my services next year. Maybe I'll even see my three geriatric test-taking pals on the beat.
Is this the Edge?
Christopher Columbus showed that the world was not flat and he didn't sail over the edge.
Well, I do have an edge. How do I know? Firstly, my trades are consistently profitable and secondly, what I do works in all liquid markets where I can get the information I need to see the order flow.
Today I am posting some extra charts of non index futures markets, the Euro FX and the Bund. By coincidence, at the present time both these markets work for me with 5 tick range bars.
Why should I care if I'm doing fine with the markets I am trading? Well, I was chatting with Kiki about trading from Australia or from Tokyo (she has a huge interest in everything Japanese). I did trade from Oz for a few months in 2003, when the Hang Seng future was the main tradable market. Now, there is the Euro FX, Kospi, Nifty and others. Kiki wants to travel and trade. So an edge is an edge is an edge.
Why should I care if I'm doing fine with the markets I am trading? Well, I was chatting with Kiki about trading from Australia or from Tokyo (she has a huge interest in everything Japanese). I did trade from Oz for a few months in 2003, when the Hang Seng future was the main tradable market. Now, there is the Euro FX, Kospi, Nifty and others. Kiki wants to travel and trade. So an edge is an edge is an edge.
Let me note here that if volatility changes substantially, the methodology will not change but I may change from the 5 ticks range and my stop loss and first scale out would then change too. I know the next question is: how do you know that you have the change? The short answer is: when you see the increased volatility has arrived. The longer answer is for another day.
Euro FX Future
Bund Future
Today's trading was uneventful. There was one more trade I could have taken but my wife wanted to go Christmas shopping so..............
Click to enlarge
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