Although the NQ tumbled shortly after the close, it seems that people have embraced AAPL's earnings after all. No matter. A gap up tomorrow would actually be welcome, since I think the NQ is very vulnerable. Between ES and NQ, I think NQ is a much better short.

Whether the market goes up or down, though, I'm positioned for either. Please check out my watch lists on the right column, and you can see the hodgepodge of positions I've got for either direction. Not to say that it's exactly 50/50; I tend to position by "big boys" (index puts) one way or the other, and right now it's bearish. The desire, of course, would be to see the failure of the symmetric triangle in a manner something like this:

One thing I find kind of fascinating is that, over the past seven trading sessions, as things have calmed down, the flight to quality has really dissipated. Look at the $IRX graph below. Wouldn't it sort of make sense for this to fall away from the blue horizontal line at some point very soon?

By the sake token, the $VIX seems relatively tame in the low 50s (who'd have ever thought the low 50s would be "calm"?)

I haven't been going crazy with index puts; I am using the more conservative ETF instruments such as SDS, DXD, and QID. I bought some DXD today based on the DIA bumping up against the overhead resistance at around 93:

I am a very "weak hand" with my DUG long and OIH puts. The dollar has come very far, very fast, and a plunging dollar would obviously make oil more expensive in a big hurry.

In the same light, I am watching the ags for a bullish bounce. As you can see from my long positions and my call positions, I am prepared for commodities to push higher; you may be surprised at this, but I'm following Wheat – of all things – very closely these days. I could see this retracing to just under 700.

My love affair with $UTIL is far from over. I love this pattern.

I therefore own a lot of SDP. If this were a "normal" stock, I think you'd agree it's very bullish-looking.

So my portfolio is very schizo right now; I'm trying to be positioned for a big fall (short term) and a big rise (weeks/months timeframe). Here are a few long positions which could easiily be stopped out, but are there just in case we have a meaningful, sustained push higher:

As for shorts, I am far more comfortable with these graphs. A very, very strong market could wreck these positions, but it would have to be a real sea-change to do so.

My old complaint remains – – I haven't read comments in days! – – but maybe I'll get a chance to glance at them tonight. Thanks, as always, for paying me a visit.