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Ian, Check para #5
Getting a Few Things off
My Chest
By Gary B. Smith
Special to TheStreet.com
11/8/99 12:25 AM ET
Here's a fact: Since I started
writing for TheStreet.com way
back in September of '97, I've
never missed a column. Nope,
not a one.
Cramer? Yep, he's been on vacation. Herb-o? Who
knows where he goes sometimes. Padinha? Seems to
work in streaks. Whaddya expect from a guy who
chooses to live in Jackson Hole?
No, only yours truly has been the Cal Ripken of writers.
But once a year, even I need a breather. A chance to
step back and write about any damn topic I choose to.
Call it a perk that goes along with being the second
most senior contributing editor (only JJC outranks me,
darn it).
So last year -- right around this time, ironically -- I wrote
about ... writing. Pretty darn good column, too. And it
refreshed me.
But this year, I don't know --
I've been really cranky lately.
Call it getting older. Call it
getting crotchety. Call it lack
of sunlight. Call it male
menopause, for all I care. The fact is things are starting
to tick me off. And if I don't get them out of my system,
well, I'm just going to burst!
Herewith then are a dozen things that are really, truly
bugging me.
1.After-hours trading: Who the heck thought this
one up? First off, I've talked to no one who
actually wants this. Therefore, everyone's running
around trying to address the concerns of maybe
three people in the entire world. In addition, it's
bound to have some sort of negative impact on
my trading. I don't know what it is yet, but I know
it won't be good. Finally, whenever I try to do a
trade after hours, at what I think is a reasonable
limit price, I can never get it filled!
2.Losing days: Yeah, I know all about drawdowns. I
wrote about drawdowns. I understand that every
single day cannot be a winner. But you know
what? I hate losing even one penny in any
24-hour period! No, strike that -- I despise it! It's
totally unfair, and I should make money every
single livelong day!
3.Adam being right on the TV show; me being
wrong: In a just world, I would always be right. He
would always look foolish! But he's been on some
unbelievable hot streak lately, and he's really
starting to tick me off. That lucky @$$%#$@!
4.The Three Musketeers of Bullishness: You know
-- Abby Cohen, Joe Battipaglia and Jeffrey
Applegate. Oh, I could care less if they've been
right. In fact, they've been annoyingly right
because every dip has been a buying
opportunity. But c'mon guys. Show a hint of
concern. A little self-doubt. A crack in your
armor. Lose that Stepford Wife persona, and
show us you're as worried as the rest of us poor
souls!
5.The anti-Musketeers: Bill Fleckenstein, Jim
Stack and Bob Prechter. Jeez, these
doomsdayers must be great fun to have at a
party. All doom and gloom -- all day, every day.
Probably the only people in America who hope
there really is something behind all this Y2K
nonsense.
6.Fed watch: Fed-up watch is what I say. I'm so
sick of Alan Greenspan and his musings that
I'm ready to gag. What is he, on a world tour?
This guy has more live appearances than the
Backstreet Boys. Enough already. I'm sick of
hanging on his every syllable. You got something
to say, Alan? Put it in a memo. And then put that
memo in a time capsule, which we'll open when
we darn well feel like it!
7.Alan Abelson: He deserves an entry all to
himself. Always quoting from some unnamed
"smart fellow" who predicts the Earth will end in
about 10 days. Could find fault with a newborn
baby. Count on it -- this guy won't be happy until
the Dow is in single digits.
8.The Red Hots and their ilk: I mean, stocks like
Akamai Technologies (AKAM:Nasdaq),
Foundry Networks (FDRY:Nasdaq), Red Hat
(RHAT:Nasdaq). Oh, please -- give me a break.
Look, when it comes to trading, I could care less
what these nutty things do. But still, under this
Darth Vadar helmet is Luke Skywalker's
father, and I do care -- even if I don't admit it --
about fundamentals. And these stocks have zero
rhyme or reason. Hey, I'm a big fan of
technology, and I love Akamai's CEO George
Conrades ever since he spoke at my sales
school graduation at IBM (IBM:NYSE). But this
freakin' company has only $1.3 million in revenue
this year and no profits, but it's trading at 190 a
share! Get outta here! I mean, is anyone thinking
out there, or is the market just some sort of
high-tech Asteroids game? Frankly, these stocks
make me totally, 100%, justifiably nauseous.
9.The market gapping down at the open, then
finishing up strong: Invariably, I'm sitting there
with a boatload of longs primed for a rally. And
invariably, we get one of these "whoops" days
where everyone panics, my stops are hit at the
open and then everyone decides, The heck with
it, let's buy! And the market takes off like a
rocket with me just sitting there with nothing!
Makes me want to tear out what little hair I have
left.
10.People who need to be "right": The most
annoying emails I get? The folks who track my
every chart and send me something like, "Ha,
you said XYX was going to go down, and I said it
was going to go up, and you were wrong! I told
you so!" My only solace? Knowing that these
kinds of people always make lousy traders.
11.Nasty message boards: What is it with these
people? Is it a lack of self-confidence? An urge to
scream and shout? Some unresolved childhood
trauma? Forget about keeping my kids off the
lewd Web sites, it's some of these message
boards they need to stay away from!
12.People who have the temerity to send me an
email after this column and tell me to "stop
wasting their time and get back to the charts": To
which I say, I will get back to the charts when I
am refreshed and damn well good and ready!
Which I am now. Feel like a new man. Sorry for the
detour. I'll be back with my usual cheery self and a few
nifty charts on Wednesday!
Gary B. Smith is a freelance writer who trades for his
own account from his Maryland home using technical
analysis. At time of publication, he held no positions in
any securities mentioned in this column, although
holdings can change at any time. Under no
circumstances does the information in this column
represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks.
Smith writes five technical analysis columns for
TheStreet.com each week, including Technician's Take,
Charted Territory and TSC Technical Forum. While he
cannot provide investment advice or recommendations,
he welcomes your feedback at gbsmith@attglobal.net.
Send letters to the editor to
letters@thestreet.com.
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