Soybeans closed up very nicely, while corn was down a couple of cents. I bought some May Minneapolis wheat, but ended up pitching it after making a nice scalp. My heart wasn’t into keeping a long position in Minneapolis over the weekend, especially if Cargill lets the market have all the wheat it wants next week. Although I’m extremely bullish in the wheat, I don’t want to put on a large position at this time and price. Sugar retreated a bit after a strong run all week, and I’m very happy with my position. Gold went down today, yet made me a lot of money this week. I was able to do very little trading for the week, yet my positions kept me firmly in the black. I think that I’m evolving into a sort of minimalist as far as trading is coincerned.
Since it’s Friday, my lovely wife has decided that she wants Chinese for dinner, therefore I’ll make a run to our local Chinese place and whatever she wants. This weekend, I’ve got surfing on the agenda. I plan on doing at least an hour a day of surfing on Saturday and Sunday. Surfing always clears out the cobwebs in the brain and is good for the soul.
Our new Renoir is scheduled to be delivered on Monday between 12:00 and 4:30 PM….We can’t wait. My wife is already checking out some other auctions that will go on next month, and that’s a good thing. I’ve been trying to get her to look to the future, any future, and look at things rationally. I’m trying, with little success, to instill some hope in her. As it goes, she has good days and bad days, and I’m helping her deal with that as best as I can.
Hope is good.
In the early 90’s, the VP of my company at the time whom I had known over the years, a lady in her late 40’s, early 50’s maybe at the time contracted lymphoma. It didn’t look good. She did chemo and all that, but it was the period in my life when I was most productive in my meditation, and I decided to try healing meditations (healing visualizations and prayer while in the meditative state) for her. I don’t remember exactly how long I did it for, but it seemed something like 2-3 months.
She pulled through cancer-free and is still around today. Did I have anything to do with it? I’ll never know, but I believe there was something more at play than just drugs.
For about a year, after my father had an ear operation, he kept getting infections and all sorts of associated problems and it looked like he wasn’t going to be able to turn the corner. I did the same thing, and after a little while it just magically cleared up on its own.
I believe the meditations made a difference, but it could have been just luck. Either way, there’s two people who survived the odds. That means hope.
So tell Denise to quit fighting me (and the doctors).
Who knows? It’s not over till its over.
Cheers,
George
Comment by allocator — February 23, 2008 @ 2:53 am
On your “minimalist” position trading, I think that has huge potential for you. Especially the way you do it. Go long or short futures, and protect the position with options.
It costs more, but if you’re swinging for the fences, you want to get out of the starting gate well. If your options start making money right away - or if you’re still not ahead when they expire, you know the odds of your position-trade working out have gone down a lot and you can unwind.
If the trade works, the profits will overwhelm the cost of the options.
Great stuff, Jeff. The way you’re tracking you’re going to be a greater trader than Livermore, simply because he was not able to hang on to his fortune and died penniless - while you’re hanging onto your winnings and buying Renoirs.
Cheers,
George
Comment by allocator — February 23, 2008 @ 4:24 pm
George:
As I have discussed before, Livermore was the reason I chose my career. That being said, I can say with 100% confidence that I’ll never be in his league, as I lack his balls. Despite the fact that he died peniless, he was the greatest speculator of his time. His reversal in fortune had to do with his love of exotic women, high living, taking his eye off the ball, and other vices. His loss of control was directly proportional to his increase in hubris. Since my hubris is in check, hopefully I won’t blow up like he did….and if I did…so what
Thanks for the kind thoughts sent Denise’s way……
Jeff
Comment by masteroftheuniverse — February 24, 2008 @ 2:28 am