StockPunk

Ten years ago, my wife and I lived in Timisoara, Romania. In Eastern Europe, something crazy happens every day. I wish I would have been able to blog like this so the entire world would be able to log on and experience the insanity. Instead I spent hours writing e-mails to different people, which was therapeutic enough.

This is my beautiful wife (how'd she ever get hooked up with me?) and me in front of Ceaucescu's "palace" in Bucharest. It is a reminder of what pure greed and arrogance leads to (he's dead and the palace--which is bigger than the Pentagon-- sits empty). I was humbled by the happiness and joy of the Romanian people despite their lack of wealth. It is good to remember how good we have it here and to make sure we share some of what we have with others near us and around the world.

--Not much going on today. I'm going to try and get some things done today. I have a more than full time job so my trading style suits me very well. It's not a big deal if I can't monitor things all day and, as I've said before, it usually works out better for me when I don't.

10:42 am CST--Well, HDNG is down 14% right now and I'm personally doing OK. No panic attacks or heavy sweating. Last year my portfolio would have been pretty devastated, but I've learned some better ways to manage portfolio risk since then. My overall portfolio is down 1.60% which sucks, but it doesn't freak me out. Last year my portfolio lost 9% in ONE DAY and I thought I was having a heart attack. I've had MANY more days where a stock went up more than 14% in one day (In 2005, I owned FORD which went up 45% in ONE DAY) so I need to keep things in perspective.

I believe my use of bold and color shows my passion.

3:58 pm CST -- My hopes that things would return to normal were dashed at the market close. I was down 1.74% thanks to HDNG--dang it. This is why despite some pretty decent returns, most folks choose not to trade this way. It's not easy to watch a stock drop like that. This is where a trading diary can make a difference. I can go back and remind myself that the rough days (not that this was really rough--more like disappointing) are just a blip.