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To: Ian@SI who wrote (2137)	11/7/1999 3:53:00 PM
From: lrrp	Respond to of 3661

I have not read much of the teaching of Lucretius Taurus; but it looks like he is a bear; therefore his last name provides an amusing irony, as the astrological symbol for Taurus is the BULL! anyway; if he does change his moniker, it should be "Lucretius Ursa"; just kidding; he is allowed to call himself whatever he wants! I prefer ursa minor, it has a better look to it( in the sky of course) Lucretius was a famous Latin poet; sometime in BC; he was as I remember, a fan of the Epicurean School, who believed that pleasure is what life is about; what most mortals dont remember from philosophy 101, was that this pleasure was of the mind and not of the body. So he has an amazing combo of names and ideas; I have not seen him here before! Differing opinion is what makes the world go around; and sometimes, the fur will fly( I guess its not mink); but if you cant stand the heat--------but dont flip out over it, because with HMOS and medicare in this country; they only pay shrinks @ 39 dollars and hour; so one would would have to use alternative medicine for a cure---say, ginkobaloba or liquid plumber! Steve

To: Ian@SI who wrote (2137)	11/8/1999 7:12:00 AM
From: Philip W. Dunton, Jr	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3661

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. Top Read our conflicts and disclosure policy. Enter symbol or name: How to Read Gary B. Smith: A Primer COMMENTARY ARCHIVE Read past stories. LATEST FILINGS James J. 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