. . . . Off and on topic . . . . .
Sorry I was unable to answer your question on Friday, Altern8. . . . only able to trade half day. Next week will be much less.
To all. . .
OFF-TOPIC UPDATE:
Sending kids on vacation this week. . . which I guess amounts to a vacation of sorts for my wife and I. Unfortunately, youngest boy will be going with arm in cast from compound fracture. . . .what is it about skateboards? Looking at the bright side. . . as long as he is in a cast and unable to skate, we don't have to worry about him whacking his head. >g< Eldest girl graduated high school last week. . . remember that feeling of immortality and omniscience from when you were 18? >G<
ON-TOPIC:
Looking back at this past week . . . .the Nasdaq ended down 125 points on the week. . .and I think next week will see closer to a 200 point decline by week's end. Already, some stocks are BELOW their April 4th price.
The latter half of the week did not move as I bet it would. I stayed away from longs all week and instead held many shorts. . . as I said several times I would. But in doing so, I made the mistake of shorting a "dull market". . . .never a good idea.
For instance: Shorts on fuel cells like PLUG and other stocks like MCLD and VIP did not pan out. On the other hand, EMEX was absolutely beautiful and acted precisely as we thought it would.
AMZN turned out to be a better play than most others. . . . I know I didn't mention shorting internet stocks like AMZN here at HOME. . .I simply can't and won't post all my trades anywhere. . . nobody should. I post about 1 in 20 trades on average.
GURUS:
As I've said, I only post "key trades" which help to illustrate important changes in sentiment. . . . . . . . . In fact, it is probably not a good idea for thread leaders to post all trades online. There are just too many blind sheep out there wanting to copy all the trades of a board leader. . . creating the very GURU/FLOCK scenario we ALL dislike. As the HOME thread header clearly states: We ask that everyone learn to think for themselves. There are no gurus here.
In contrast, ProfitOften.com is being designed to walk a beginning investor step-by-step through the learning process. . . pointing out the pitfalls and scams along the way. . . and working to assure that inexperienced trader/investors are not in over their heads. . . .and are on the right track before they decide to join Insighters.com [when open].
NOTE:If you have never added your name to the mailing list, drop me a line at Rande@Home.com and place "Insighters" in the subject header. . . those on mailing list WILL be notified when all is ready to roll. . .meanwhile, you are all welcome to visit ProfitOften.com and catch a glimpse of some things that are yet to come.
ROLE CHANGE:
Forgive me for failing to answer letters or PMs which ask "is this the top for PLUG?" . . "should we short it now?" . . . or "have we hit the bottom on GENE?" . . .I simply cannot and will not give specific stock market "advice". . . from the start, that has never been what I do here.
In fact, my role is about to change again from leading a board to hosting a community. Remember, Insighters is made from a vast community of investor traders and many different talented leaders. . . . . . each with their own perspective, strategy and trading or investing style. . . .yet able to maintain the long-established cooperative respectful spirit here at HOME.
It is our hope that over time, the WHOLE of the collective contributions throughout the community will become infinitely greater than the sum of the parts.
That is my long-term goal for this project. As an organized group of Individual Investors, once we achieve that goal, we will have only begun our journey. Together, we can make a big difference.
Now before I lose everyone in the clouds of all this lofty babble, I would like to add this word. . .
THANKS!
In the 2 1/2 years we have been coming here. . .912 consecutive days of discussing the markets. . . . You guys have been incredible. You have treated me and my family like one of your own family members. . .writing incredible letters of assistance in the health field. . . business assistance. . . personal advice. . .prayers. . . support . . . on and on. And we greatly appreciate the love you have showed us over the years.
I am happy and honored to have met many of you in person. . . as you have welcomed my family to your cities over the years. It has been a joy and a pleasure to have served here with you.
And with regard to taking this community to the next level, I very much appreciate your patience.
HISTORY/FUTURE:
We nearly opened Insighters in October of 1999. . . but I was forced to suspend all plans when my wife took ill and was bed-ridden for more than a season. Then in the spring of 2000 we began to reorganize. . .but on a far grander scale . . scrapping all that was done beforehand and starting from scratch. . . but tweaking the plans. Today, we own all of our own powerful servers and have state-of-the-art networking equipment and communications bandwidth. . . etc, etc.
It is a FAR better technical system and a FAR better business plan to make it run. . . than had we opened last year. And due to cutting away all possible fat, we now only need a small fraction of our current mailing list to sign-up in order to reach profitability. . . .which all but guarantees our success. . . .thank God.
THE PLAN:
Now for any out there wondering what could possibly be motivating me to stick with this plan after such a long period of time has elapsed. . . [sometimes I know how you feel!]. . . once open, I will derive my "primary income" from helping lead the corporation which owns the Insighters.com community, ProfitOften.com and other coming related businesses. And considering that art design/music royalties have all but dried up over the past 3 years. . . a regular income will be a welcome relief to my family. [Currently, I don't withdraw from trading accounts] . . . . . . . . . so yes, part of my motivation of building all this is the money.
Well, do I sound submerged in capitalism or intoxicated in the entrepreneurial spirit? LOL . . . . .so be it. That is what America is all about. I am proud of all the elements of this project and the fact that it will be profitable quickly. I thank everyone who has lifted a finger or busted their backsides to help make it a reality. I have zero shame that I will personally profit from building a superior investment community.
Finally, I am pleased that the thousands of email letters I have received from you guys have been UNANIMOUS in showing your support. . . . most of which having come in the past year.
Money is not the end, but rather the means to a greater end. . .that being, the organization of the Individual Investor and the collective power, intelligence, strategy and voice that we hope comes with it. . . .IE: leading to. . .leveler playing field, voice in Washington, more reliable indicators/commentary, better awareness of pitfalls, better chance at winning overall
I don't expect everyone to understand all that comes with this . . .that's OK. Not everyone will participate in the "gRander plan." >g< Not everyone is expected. And again, to everyone . . . I say thanks for your understanding and for your patience. I look forward to some very exciting years of trading ahead with you.
Best wishes to all. . .
Rande Is |
