(Preface by Tim: there are network issues going on right now with the data platform behind ProphetCharts, thus it's having big-time problems this morning. They're working on it.)

Observation #1 – The most disgusting and vile team in sports history since the 1986 University of Miami Football team is the Baltimore Ravens. They beat my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers in the final minute Sunday afternoon which was crushing, but that’s not why I’m so upset. The Baltimore Ravens have a history of being unclassy, and they once again proved themselves by being the only team in the NFL to not wear pink on breast cancer awareness Sunday. I’m not implying that they are pro-breast cancer, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me if the Ravens came out and made that statement.

Observation #2 – CNBC cameras often do not focus on certain female anchorwomen's faces. Usually the camera focus is set a little behind them to blur their face. It might be to hide wrinkles or blemishes; I'm not sure, it could also be contractual. However; I find most of those chicks pretty hot, and would rather see them up close in full hi-def. CNBC should be blurring Beaker’s face instead. (note the camera focus is on the CNBC logos on the left and right of her shoulders (also LOL at C = 20.52 in this photo))

Observation #3 – The market has really gone nowhere for an entire year.

As a swing trader, I’ve had to really sit down and have a hard talk with myself. I’ve been spinning my wheels at best for the past year and need to improve some of my strategies. For the past few weeks I’ve been working / studying shorter term trading strategies.

When working on new strategies, I test them on paper only and for months if needed before using any real capital. Leisa has mentioned before in a few posts about starting your own personal blog, and I have recently done that. (It is private and nobody will ever read it or see the intimate photos of myself I have posted)

I take a screenshot of the day's trading, and write detailed notes about why and when I made these virtual trades. At the end of the day I try to dissect each trade and what made it successful or not, then revisit my ruleset. What I’m trying to do is make a strict set of rules and conditions as to when I will take a trade and when I will pass. The shorter the time frame one is trading, the stricter and more accurate one needs to be.

I’ve also been using ThinkOrSwims great “OnDemand” feature. The “OnDemand” feature will allow you to select any trading day over the past few months and run it real time or 3X speed tick for tick , to place virtual trades. It's a great way to randomly select a day in the past and try out different strategies when the market is closed. I highly recommend it if you are testing a new strategy.

Well that's it for now, I'm off to cry in my terrible towel…

Your pal,

Nathaniel