I wanted to pass along a great experience that I and my wife and daughter had when we were recently in Manhattan. My wife and I were chatting about our trip to western Massachuesetts and our visit to the Norman Rockwell museum. Very cool place to go by the way. It's in Stockbridge MA, just across the border from New York. A gentleman in the bar overheard our remarks and joined our conversation. He was dressed in a tuxedo and ready to go out for his evening. He asked us where we were going to eat and when we told him he frowned. He then asked me where we were from and when I said "California" he was a bit incredulous. "You buy Paul Stuart shirts in California?" Why yes I do I said. "Let me see if I can get you into Bar Americain, Bobby Flays restaurant just up the street." Mind you this was at 8:30 pm on a Saturday night. It turns out Jim eats there several times a week. He phoned the restaurant and spoke to the manager and got us a reservation within the hour. When we arrived the restaurant was packed but we were led immediately to an open table. What an experience! And all due to the kindness of a complete stranger. The dinner was terrific (the chips with warm blue cheese dressing, yum) and the restaurant beautiful and elegant. An evening we won't forget. Thanks again Mr. Lehrer!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Movies
Do not go see The American. No, really. Don't do it. Even if the thought of looking at George Clooney for an hour and a half makes your loins wet, it's not worth it. Trust me. Actually, trust the guy next to me at the end who stood up while everyone else was still seated in stunned silence, and yelled "fuck you" at the screen. Seriously.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Back in the Saddle
The title reminded me of Blazing Saddles which was a film that brought me to my knees. If you have not seen it, and you are male, you must rent it immediately. Hilarious.
I'm back from a vacation that was not great. My mother in law is just an absolute abomination. Despicable woman. Cannot stand her. Everyone lets her get away with egregious behavior because "she won't ever change." Nobody disputes her faults, just modify YOUR behavior because she won't change. What horseshit. People change if they are motivated to do so. She has no motivation because her husband gave up his balls either on his wedding night or during the first week. And his real crime was not protecting his daughters from the emotional warfare waged by his lunatic wife. Guh. Well I'm done. She attempted to correct me on something and I unloaded on her. I hope to talk to her again very soon and will unload again and then, with any luck, that will be the last time I ever see or speak to her again.
Can't give enough mad props to Mark Roberts and his short call on Strayer Education. From $240 to $140 in the month of August. Just an outstanding short call.
I have been making hay with the CBOE weeklies. Primarily AAPL and GOOG. I had a very good week this past week on expiration. Pinning continues to take place and is to be taken advantage of. For whatever reason, CBOE decreased the number of stocks that they write weeklies on to 12 this past week. The current week, issued today, is back up to 13 with the newest member being NFLX. I think that they are alternating names to gauge volume from the customer. AAPL and GOOG and AMZN etc have been offered consistently and I think they are just trying to find a few more names where the volume will justify continued writing. Oh and the ETF and index contracts continue to remain fairly consistent from week to week.
I read three books while on vacation which is nice. The new Annie Lamont, Imperfect Birds, The new Carl Hiaasen and a mystery. All good but nothing outstanding. Read The Atlantic, multiple New Yorkers, Mother Jones and Barrons cover to cover. I never have time to do that much reading while at home and that was pure joy.
I am short AAPL 250 calls and puts, double position on puts single on calls, short GOOG 460 puts, double position and short 470 calls double position. I closed my GOOG 460 put short earlier today to take the gain and then have reentered. I will likely close the 470 call short as it is plus $1300 right now and look to short the 460 calls for tomorrow on the pin.
I'm back from a vacation that was not great. My mother in law is just an absolute abomination. Despicable woman. Cannot stand her. Everyone lets her get away with egregious behavior because "she won't ever change." Nobody disputes her faults, just modify YOUR behavior because she won't change. What horseshit. People change if they are motivated to do so. She has no motivation because her husband gave up his balls either on his wedding night or during the first week. And his real crime was not protecting his daughters from the emotional warfare waged by his lunatic wife. Guh. Well I'm done. She attempted to correct me on something and I unloaded on her. I hope to talk to her again very soon and will unload again and then, with any luck, that will be the last time I ever see or speak to her again.
Can't give enough mad props to Mark Roberts and his short call on Strayer Education. From $240 to $140 in the month of August. Just an outstanding short call.
I have been making hay with the CBOE weeklies. Primarily AAPL and GOOG. I had a very good week this past week on expiration. Pinning continues to take place and is to be taken advantage of. For whatever reason, CBOE decreased the number of stocks that they write weeklies on to 12 this past week. The current week, issued today, is back up to 13 with the newest member being NFLX. I think that they are alternating names to gauge volume from the customer. AAPL and GOOG and AMZN etc have been offered consistently and I think they are just trying to find a few more names where the volume will justify continued writing. Oh and the ETF and index contracts continue to remain fairly consistent from week to week.
I read three books while on vacation which is nice. The new Annie Lamont, Imperfect Birds, The new Carl Hiaasen and a mystery. All good but nothing outstanding. Read The Atlantic, multiple New Yorkers, Mother Jones and Barrons cover to cover. I never have time to do that much reading while at home and that was pure joy.
I am short AAPL 250 calls and puts, double position on puts single on calls, short GOOG 460 puts, double position and short 470 calls double position. I closed my GOOG 460 put short earlier today to take the gain and then have reentered. I will likely close the 470 call short as it is plus $1300 right now and look to short the 460 calls for tomorrow on the pin.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Strayer Education, a name I mentioned a few posts ago, has plummeted. I did not short as I wanted to have time to do a little research. I'm also on vacation, which makes it difficult to watch things closely, especially a new name. Since the article in Barrons, the stock has dropped 60 points. Ouch. How I wish I had just gone ahead and purchased a few puts.
Not doing to much even though this is monthly expiration week. I have made a couple of quick trades in GOOG but not much else.
Visiting Boston and noticed an article in the Globe announcing the third baby by Kiki a Western Lowland Gorilla. Kiki is one of 7 of this type of Gorilla at the Franklin Zoo. The species is extremely endangered. Zoo officials used an over-the-counter home pregnancy test to verify her expectedness. The very same test used by people. Take that creationist 'tards. AND. While taking a Duk Tour, (which I highly recommend) I was seated next to a guy that, on his right arm, had a tattoo on the inside of his arm, the word Jesus and the figure of Jesus, and on the outside of his arm, in cursive, the words "waiting for you." Yeah, keep waiting bud. It's going to be a loooooong time.......
Not doing to much even though this is monthly expiration week. I have made a couple of quick trades in GOOG but not much else.
Visiting Boston and noticed an article in the Globe announcing the third baby by Kiki a Western Lowland Gorilla. Kiki is one of 7 of this type of Gorilla at the Franklin Zoo. The species is extremely endangered. Zoo officials used an over-the-counter home pregnancy test to verify her expectedness. The very same test used by people. Take that creationist 'tards. AND. While taking a Duk Tour, (which I highly recommend) I was seated next to a guy that, on his right arm, had a tattoo on the inside of his arm, the word Jesus and the figure of Jesus, and on the outside of his arm, in cursive, the words "waiting for you." Yeah, keep waiting bud. It's going to be a loooooong time.......
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Intra Day Sha la la la la
Short GOOG 500 calls for a mere pittance but it's $400 for ten so hard to pass that up. Short $490 puts for $7.30. These are both weekly. Which is just an absurd amount of premium me thinks. Short 20 AAPL 250 puts for an average basis of $1.65. This is a double position and I should have traded it today ie closed it and resold but I missed the boat a little bit. At this point I will leave it be, it's positive about a grand. My CME continues to implode. Must the stock go down EVERY day? I mean this is crazy. What a hideous chart. Why did I buy calls? Through the 20, through the 50. Gaped down yesterday on serious volume. How much more evidence do I need? This could be my worst trade of the year.
Holly won Hells Kitchen. Good for her. I thought she and Autumn had a chance with Autumn being a long shot but deep down I thought it was Jay's to lose. As long as Ben was sent packing, all was right with the world.
Holly won Hells Kitchen. Good for her. I thought she and Autumn had a chance with Autumn being a long shot but deep down I thought it was Jay's to lose. As long as Ben was sent packing, all was right with the world.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
CSCO
John Chambers used the words "unusual uncertainty" when describing the economy and combined with a slight miss on revenue (100 M on $1.9 B) the afterhours investors (speculators) ran for the hills taking CSCO down 10%. Really? CSCO's business is now worth 10% less than it was yesterday? To say I think this is overdone is an understatement. This will cause selling tomorrow morning in AAPL, AMZN, GOOG etc and if you are looking to add to positions, buy calls (long) short puts etc there should be good opportunities to trade manana. I have no position in CSCO. I am long AAPL, GOOG calls, SIVB and CME calls. The CME calls have absolutely imploded and I expect them to be a complete loss. I don't usually lose 100% on any one investment decision but I think I will on this one...
YouTube. I had no idea. I had no idea the amount of lunacy on YouTube. I watched a video the other day by a guy (who I will leave nameless for his sake) that has decided to sell his house and his cars because all debt is bad and he wants to live debt free. When challenged about having to pay rent for a home for his family he tried to argue that rent wasn't debt because you could always choose somewhere else to live. He actually stated that once you had paid first and last you were good to go. As if somehow rent wasn't debt because you didn't have a payment due right then and that you could choose at that point to go somewhere else. When notified that FASB and GAAP require that entities capitalize leases as both current liabilities and long term debt, he didn't respond. His lack of critical thinking ignored the fact that landlords can raise rent, rent never expires etc etc. Yet, to him, it wasn't "debt." Debt being, for him, nothing more than a tool of the "banks and the brokerages." Aye carumba.
YouTube. I had no idea. I had no idea the amount of lunacy on YouTube. I watched a video the other day by a guy (who I will leave nameless for his sake) that has decided to sell his house and his cars because all debt is bad and he wants to live debt free. When challenged about having to pay rent for a home for his family he tried to argue that rent wasn't debt because you could always choose somewhere else to live. He actually stated that once you had paid first and last you were good to go. As if somehow rent wasn't debt because you didn't have a payment due right then and that you could choose at that point to go somewhere else. When notified that FASB and GAAP require that entities capitalize leases as both current liabilities and long term debt, he didn't respond. His lack of critical thinking ignored the fact that landlords can raise rent, rent never expires etc etc. Yet, to him, it wasn't "debt." Debt being, for him, nothing more than a tool of the "banks and the brokerages." Aye carumba.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Good Friday
No, not the Catholic kind. I'm curious about something though. I was raised Catholic, went to catechism, got confirmed. Never really did understand the Holy Trilogy. Haven't been to Catholic church for eons. Why are you Catholic because your parents were Catholic? Is it something I can undo? Sort of a reverse baptism kind of thing? As Russell said, Que lastima.
Speaking of True Blood, and I will get to talking about trading in a minute, dreadful episode last night. Guh, this show is maddeningly inconsistent. Please stop forcing Sookie and Bill to do scenes together. It's torture. There is negative chemistry between these two. It's painful to watch. More lesbian scenes with Pam. There, I said it. Ya'll want that too, you just are afraid to say so....
Friday. First full week of trading the August week one contracts for GOOG and AAPL. I was short the 510 calls for GOOG the 500 puts and 500 calls and the AAPL 260 puts. It worked to perfection. I was getting a little concerned midday but the institutions came in for the afternoon and bought and drove both stocks to strike. GOOG closed at $500.22 and APPL at $260.09. I cannot state it enough that when this pinning takes place it is great to be short both sides of the strike. I would have been short the 260 calls on AAPL as well but I was out of margin.
Speaking of True Blood, and I will get to talking about trading in a minute, dreadful episode last night. Guh, this show is maddeningly inconsistent. Please stop forcing Sookie and Bill to do scenes together. It's torture. There is negative chemistry between these two. It's painful to watch. More lesbian scenes with Pam. There, I said it. Ya'll want that too, you just are afraid to say so....
Friday. First full week of trading the August week one contracts for GOOG and AAPL. I was short the 510 calls for GOOG the 500 puts and 500 calls and the AAPL 260 puts. It worked to perfection. I was getting a little concerned midday but the institutions came in for the afternoon and bought and drove both stocks to strike. GOOG closed at $500.22 and APPL at $260.09. I cannot state it enough that when this pinning takes place it is great to be short both sides of the strike. I would have been short the 260 calls on AAPL as well but I was out of margin.
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