From Charlie Sheen's #winning tweets, to the debt ceiling crisis, and global protests ... it seems the whole world went nuts in 2011. Let's reminisce about the most notorious moments of the year!
Here is the video.
Oh well ... crazy how fast time flies. Best wishes for a great day and an even better year in 2012.
Inspiring and Fun! Seems appropriate for the start of the Holiday Season.
Beware, these three short videos may encourage you to travel, learn something new, move your body, or create something.
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food.
Click to Watch.
MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
I went to see the newest Harry Potter movie this weekend. Apparently a bunch of other people went too, because it conjured up box office records.
The movie was great. But what left me in wonder was thinking about how it came to be. The scope and scale of the series is literally amazing.
Even just for this movie, the number of people listed on the credits was astounding.
Yet, think about how many people were involved in producing the movies, books, and merchandising. And that's not including the theme parks, promotion, and the eco-system that forms to support a project of this magnitude.
When did it become real ?
It is arguable that it became real when she started thinking about it.
On some level, Rowling probably agrees. Here is a quote she wrote from Dumbledore, in response to Harry asking whether something was real or happening in his head.
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry; but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"
The real magic of creation happens in the mind.
In a very real sense, there is "infinite possibility" ... because in every moment there are an infinite number of possibilities. To a great extent, though, our automatic habits preclude seeing them. This may seem to make it is easier to focus on the path taken; but it unconsciously limits the future.
What would have happened if, back in the early 1990s, J.K. Rowling had the idea for Harry Potter ... but thought she couldn't write a book (or even if she did, who would read it?). Her "new world" didn't exist yet, while her "old world" didn't have a path from there-to-here.
Einstein spoke to this. He said:
“You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.”
There's magic in choosing a path that energizes you. Reality is what you bring to it, and what you hold in awareness.
If you are interested in this, pick up a copy of "Do You QuantumThink? New Thinking That Will Rock Your World" by Dianne Collins. I've been reading it and have found a bunch of interesting concepts and useful tools.
"If you think you can do a thing ... or think you can't do a thing; you're right."
I love football season, and I'm a sucker for plot devices like this.
Here is a clip from the movie "Facing the Giants".
There are times in life when it is hard to imagine finding a path to victory.
So often the answer is as simple as committing to the outcome desired, showing-up, playing full-out, and giving your best until there is absolutely nothing left.
Sometimes new technology seems like science fiction. Other times, science fiction introduces us to new technology.
I remember watching Minority Report and having a sense that I was watching a future closer than it seemed. There's a scene where Tom Cruise is walking through a shopping area and each time he passes a store there is a personalized ad; and in other scenes there is a "Terminator-Like" text that overlays the physically real world. That is called "Augmented Reality".
Well, your phone may not be as cool as that, yet; however it's getting there pretty quickly.
The next picture doesn't look like much; but it's using the iPhone's built-in camera and GPS unit to recognize highly rated restaurants in real time. The application doing this is Yelp. This feature is currently hidden by default; but you can turn it on by shaking your phone vigorously, until the "Monocle" feature activates.
Soon, I imagine this will be enhanced further with a discount coupons and the ability to place orders before you walk in the door. Nonetheless, it's an example of what's coming.
Where Else Will This Be Useful?
Imagine what this could do to the real-estate industry (as price per square foot, tax rates, etc. overlay the properties as you drive by). Or, imagine traders looking at a chart displaying the most relevant indicators, patterns, setups, and triggers for the company or market they are analyzing. It gives a whole new meaning to real-time business intelligence.
People often ask me which trading books I'd recommend. I've read a lot of books about trading; and though some of them are good, only a handful stand out.
Michael Covel wrote a couple of the trading books I consider worth
reading. The first is called "Trend Following", and the second is
called "The Complete TurtleTrader".
Many books are little more than marketing for their author or an attempt to sell a "magic bullet" to less experienced traders. In contrast, both of Covel's books are simple enough that a novice would gain valuable information from them; yet there's enough content and nuance that experienced traders also will benefit from the books.
I've always loved Jack Schwager's "Market Wizard" book series. Covel's books are different than these because they deal with a narrower subject ... more deeply. Yet they are similar in terms of the value-added content they provide and how accessible they are; and that's high praise from me.Covel has an engaging writing style. He keeps things interesting by telling stories rather than simply providing a mechanical "how-to" textbook. You get enough narrative and detail about accomplished traders to give you a sense of their personality, thought process, and some of the key ideas and distinctions that help make them successful. In addition, he backs-up his research with lots of data, charts, and links to additional information. This makes it easy for you to continue on your own.
What is In the Trend Following Book?
The "Trend Following" book:
I like how Covel segments his books logically, and in bite-size chunks. That means I can pick it up and read something without feeling compelled to start at the beginning and read all of it at once.
For example, I just opened Trend Following (to page 253) and saw "Five Questions for a Trading System". In this section he lays-out things to consider when evaluating a system. Examples include how the system determines which market (and how much exposure) to trade, as well as what constitutes entry and exit triggers? Then, in addition to explaining the basics, there are examples and quotes from other traders about the topic. And he extends the discussion to include emotional issues like how much money you intend to make, the level of time and effort you intend to invest, and the strengths and weakness you bring into the equation. Bottom-line, he goes out of his way to give you a thorough understanding ... while getting his points across in an easy-to-understand, informative, and interesting ways.
I found myself referring to both of these books several times in the past several months. If you're looking for something to read (or for some new ideas about trading and money management) I recommend you check out these books.
Other Links:
What do you do when your wife and kids are out of town, and you find yourself alone?
Besides catching-up on projects that I somehow avoided until now, I like to watch movies.
TiVo now links to Netflix, and provides an instant viewing option. Upon opening that folder on the DVR, I saw a bunch of things I normally wouldn't choose to watch on my own. One of them was a movie called Saint Ralph. And I chose to watch it anyway.
My Dad had an "interesting" belief. He didn't watch scary or negative movies, because he felt that life was enough of a challenge on its own ... and it was better to find things that raised our spirits. Well, I inherited that from him.
Don't get me wrong, I still I love drama and thrillers. But in the absence of compelling circumstances, I tend to prefer positive stories.
So a plot about a down-on-his luck Catholic High School student whose father is dead and whose mother is in a coma, doesn't sound like my type of movie.
But Saint Ralph was my type of movie. It made me think and I enjoyed it. The movie was lighter, funnier, and better than I expected.
On one level, it's a coming-of-age story about perseverance and faith through uncertain times. On another level, it's a well-written comedy about a quirky 14-year-old boy who gets it in his head that the only way to save his mother is through a miracle (and the miracle he thinks will save her ... is for him to win the Boston Marathon).
It is a movie that asks, if you're going to dream for something, why not dream for miracles?
Hope you enjoy it.
Here's a link to the trailer for Saint Ralph.
Here's a link to find it at Netflix.
I highly recommend seeing the new Disney - Pixar movie, UP, in 3-D. It was terrific ... much better than I hoped or expected.
Frankly, when my son asked me to see it with him, I agreed reluctantly. As he later reminded me, Pixar movies usually are better than you'd guess.
The animation was as good as I expected. Yet, the 3-D effects were the best I've seen, because it seemed real and natural, rather than a gimmick.
On the surface, this adventure comedy is about an old-man trying to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Then soon after setting-out, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since a wilderness explorer -- 70 years his junior -- has somehow become a stowaway on the trip.
The story and underlying message were good and uplifting. And not just because the old-man choice of transportation was to tie thousands of balloons to his home.
It is worth the few extra dollars to see this in 3-D.
Here Are Some Links for Your Weekend Reading
Here's a bumper sticker slogan that rings true more often than you might want.
Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.
Lighter Links:
Trading Links:
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