Out of the over 30,000 posts I’ve written on Slope, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned my mother was a witch. I don’t mean she was mean, in the “what a witch!” sense. I’m talking magical, supernatural powers witch. At least she had me convinced of it, as well as most of our neighbors.
Her specialty, evidently, was weather. In Louisiana, the weather is quite unpredictable, and people plan events such as birthday parties and barbeques having no idea, ultimately, what the weather will be like.
I’m not sure precisely how it started, but at some point, a neighbor asked my mother for good weather for her event. When the event arrived, the weather was perfect. So with a sample size of n=1 my mother’s reputation as a weather wizard was well on its way.
This went on for years. I was a child during all of this, and I truly have no idea how serious the neighbors were in asking her, or how serious she was in accepting (and, evidently, executing) their requests, but if you had asked Young Tim to name three interesting things about his mom, her being a witch would definitely have made the cut. The phone rang frequently with good weather requests. I’m serious.
Regrettably, I sometimes get the impression that other traders consider me to have similar powers, at least when it comes to bear markets. They’ll actually get upset with me if I say anything not-very-bearish, because, perhaps, my words will magically spoil something.
I assure you, if I had this kind of power, I was exploit it mercilessly, but I do not. If I did, my Virtual Trading Equity Chart would not be displayed a $300 billion loss (!!!!!!!!) over the past week. Take THAT, Bernie Madoff!
I am, sadly, a mere mortal, and even that is probably a generous assessment. And I’m afraid my mom is no aid here, since hailstorms, clear skies, or hurricanes have little to do with the financial markets.
I will say, anecdotally, and the past week (Tuesday to Tuesday, inclusive) has been pretty dreadful, but as I updating my watch lists, I am finding out that my Bear Pen is growing larger than ever (take note, Gold and Platinum folks!) The opportunities are, freakishly, better than ever. The trick is to not get wiped out while waiting for good prices again! Hence, my fat 30% cash position.
Having said that, the only sensible way to end this post is a video of Charlize Theron speaking Afrikaans.
