a99kitten's Musings

Q3 has drawn to a close and I must say that I am pretty happy with how it went. And glad I did not sell in May and go away. Well…actually…I could have gone away at the end of May and then come back in July. June trading was awful. But that was soooo last quarter.

To be honest, I checked my numbers 3 times to make sure they were right. And they were. For Q3 I was +17.7%. Not so bad at all. In looking at most successful trades, a lot of them were calls. This is actually bad since I have been trying to limit my options trades and this won’t encourage that attempt at a new behavior ;)

I made some excellent trades in (and out and back in again) pure momo names. TSLA? Check. NFLX? Check. YELP? Check. Plus a few more of the usual suspects. Although — my biggest and best trade was in a former momo — AAPL (calls…doh!) I happened to own some calls *before* Carl Icahn’s tweet (aka pure luck.) I owe him a fruit basket of apples :)

My most absolute worst trade was in another momo – SODA. Ugh. Should have known better on that one though. 2nd worst trade? UVXY. I don’t think I need to say anything more about that one. Those ETFs are garbage. But oh well. I made a note next to it in my spreadsheet “Never, ever trade this again stupid” and highlighted it.

I also started taking more ideas from inside the 12631 trading room. I have typically followed chessNwine in all of his longs. I don’t short much at all though. And this past quarter I followed a few more of RaginCajun’s quick strikes and ideas from other members.

I also was able to take advantage of a few stocks that got beaten down on a single news event and make money on the quick pop up. BA, LL, WMT. This is actually why I keep CNBC on during the day as I wouldn’t notice the news fast enough otherwise.

I’ve also been trying to take more profits quicker. I promised myself that I was going to do that in my trading account. Stocks/companies that I believe in and want to keep – buy them for my 401k. But my trading account is for trading. I just don’t trust this market. So I’d rather take some profits and maybe miss out on another move up than lose them and be in a losing trade on a quick retrace. And you can always join back in if you’ve got a runner. I’ve done that a few times in the Chinese solars lately. In and out and back in (and out) again! (mmmmm….now I want a double double with cheese.)

Although what’s funny about that strategy is that I’ve not sold when a stock turns on me and then had it come right back in a day or 2 (or sometimes later that same day.) My semi-blind trust in the exuberant market working in my favor. It can hurt me too (SODA) but has frankly worked more than not so…

Of course as I say all of this, Washington is doing its darn best to wreck the 4Q. But we’ll see. I think by finding selective stocks and trading quickly, money can still be made. At least for now.

“Work smarter, not harder” ~~ Scrooge McDuck

Yesterday at lunch there was a guy showing everyone his Samsung Galaxy #*whichever number is the newest one*. Literally every other person sitting there had an iPhone so he wanted to show us what he could do that we could not. He was trying that ‘talk to the phone to get it to do things’ like in the commercials. But he had to yell at it several times to get it to make a call. If I saw some guy walking on the street yelling at his phone, I’d assume he was crazy :) But maybe he was doing it wrong?

He showed us the new Superman trailer. Definitely looked very cool on his screen. Cannot deny the screen is its best selling feature. After we all watched the trailer (and the girls ogled at Henry Cavill!) he assured us that we would all switch over if we tried it out. No. No I won’t. Again, the screen was nifty – both in clarity and size, no denying that. But the size was also the problem. There was no way that giant thing felt right in my hand. It was considerably bigger – not just the screen but the whole phone was a LOT bigger. There is no way I could do 1 handed thumb typing on it like I always do when hiking. I’m sure it works well for guys. Or the lady with man hands from Seinfeld. But I really, really hope Apple figures out a way to give us a slightly bigger/better screen without making the entire handset bigger.

And there was no way it would fit in ANY of my pants, skirts or shorts pockets. Girl pockets are very small. I’d like bigger pockets since I’m always carrying my phone, dog cookies and poo bags in pretty much all outfits, but fashion seems to disagree with that and has since the dawn of time unless you rock the mom jeans look like Obama (Never. Ever. Ever.) And it wouldn’t fit into half my small handbags. Or if it did, nothing else would.

I already almost drop my phone out of my pocket or jacket on a regular basis. Or it will just slip out of my pockets when sitting in the car, etc. which then gets it drop-kicked across the parking lot. Sonofa… Anything bigger, forget it. I’d need a backpack!

Funny thing is remember back in the 90s when phones were getting smaller and smaller. The teeny-tiniest ones were the best and we were all convinced it would just become a node in your ear (or implant in your head!) Obviously that won’t work with a smartphone (yet…) but no way I want a “phablet”. Plus since I have a Mac and iPad, Apple TV and iTunes – I have no intention in messing with my eco-system.

So here is hoping Apple designers already know the above. And don’t just bow to the cries of fanboys who seem to have to watch videos everywhere so demand a bigger everything.

After laundering my iPhone 4 last weekend (doh…also duh), I took it to a phone repair place recommended by a friend. They said they fix 9 out of 10 water damaged phones. I said it was submerged for a good 3-5 minutes. The woman said bring it in – it was worth trying. True, so I did. After 2 days of working on it, they did get it to turn on which is pretty amazing but said the damage was to the main board which is not replaceable so it was D.E.D. Damn.

The same friend suggested I take it to an Apple store and see if they offer me a deal on a replacement. Honestly, I didn’t want to spend anymore time on this and just wanted to find a phone replacement ASAP and not think about it anymore. I plan on getting the iPhone 5 when it comes out in 2 months so whatever. He said just try. OK, maybe I will I thought.

Decided to run over there today so that if they said “that will be $500 please”, I still had tomorrow to figure things out before the weekend, in case I decided to go up to Tahoe tomorrow night. As usual, the store was packed. I found the 1 rep not already helping someone and when he asked how he could help me, I told him about my drowned phone. He checked it out and agreed – yeah pretty obvious water damage. He said he could make an appointment with me for the The Genius Bar and maybe they could help me out with a replacement. I overheard the salesgirl behind me telling her customer that there were no appointments open until 5pm. I asked him if she had been talking about for the Genius Bar and he responded yes. He offered to make me an appointment for 4pm at a different location if that would help. I did my best dejected and pouty face. He said “Do you want me to see if they can get you in now?” YES – that would be so awesome of you! Off he went and I followed. He went to the back and came out and waved me over and handed me off to A Genius…at the Bar.

I explained that my phone was dead from water damage. The Genius asked if from ocean, pool, shower? I said washing machine. He responded “Wow – new one for me.” Yay I said – glad to help :) Then he took my info and started looking up my number in their system. Turns out I was still under warranty (YAY) but water damage is specifically excluded (BOO). But then he said he could help me out anyway with a replacement. WHAT??? No charge. HUH????

He took my phone, transferred the number and handed me my new phone. And asked if there was anything else he could do. Umm…no. You just made my day so we are all good here :)

I’m sure Apple knows they can lose customers at any time to Android phone buyers. So they treat customers well to keep them. Smart (Genius really…get it? Genius?) business move. And I’m sure they looked to see when I was due for my 2-year renewal with AT&T so how long would it be till I upgraded/bought a new phone from them, or if I spent hundreds of dollars now on a replacement phone what were the odds I’d do it again in 2 months for the iPhone 5. Plus we know they have $10gazillion in cash just sitting around burning a hole in their pocket ($10gazillion more than the US government does as the news stories pointed out last week) so keeping customers satisfied with some refurbished (I assume anyway) phones is a cheap way to keep existing customers happy so they spend more money with you!

So I have to say a BIG thank you to Apple and their staff for turning a pain in the butt yuck issue into an easy and very satisfying (and quick!) visit!

I will definitely buy my iPhone 5 when it comes out now! Oh – and will definitely add more AAPL stock to my portfolio! :)

Was reading some news on AAPL and AMZN this morning. AMZN because I’m a huge fan (and loyal customer and shareholder) of the company. AAPL because the AMZN stories kept referring to them.

Now, I don’t hate AAPL. Not at all. I like their products. Very nifty for sure.  My iPhone is quite fun. AT&T sucks, although I have been told that is due to the hardware interaction so who knows. So as a phone, it’s quite useless but I don’t like using the phone much anyway so now I have an excuse not to. But I HATE not being able to get my texts. Or 3G where ever WiFi is not.  NEVER, ever had that issue with VRZN. But oh well.

I have always been on the MSFT side of the MSFT/AAPL battle. And living in the valley – there are PCs and there are MACs. Seriously. No joke.  My neighbor works for AAPL. He’s a great guy. I love the look of their stuff, it’s very innovative, etc. But have simply just preferred using PCs. And I really like Bill Gates as a businessman.

But I totally get why everyone loves AAPL products and goes crazy when new ones are announced. They are fun toys for sure. The level of fanboyism that exists out here in Silicon Valley borders on ridiculous but who is this Star Wars, Comic-Con attending geek to talk about that :)

What bugs me is the insistence of the AAPL fanboys to announce that the iPad is the “Kindle Killer”. And how awesome the iPad is. And how every person in the whole entire universe will buy it and won’ t be able to live without it. And without it, you are a fool. A troglodyte. Of course, this is all said when they haven’t actually seen/used one in real life yet.

Of course, I am biased. I love my Kindle. I read a fair amount. And have a fairly long attention span that can allow for hours of reading if I want/can find the time (preferably in a bikini in the sun.)  I love the e-Ink technology. I’ve read some on my iPhone using the Kindle app and it hurts my eyes after awhile. The screen is not built for long bouts of reading. I can see how if you don’t have a long attention span, you would prefer the iPad since you can read OR check your email, play games, go online, tumble, tweet, uTube, facebook, etc. Very handy for sure if that’s what you want. I do not. And I think plenty of serious readers of books would agree. As also pointed out in a MarketWatch story today:

Amazon does have a major head start here, with the Kindle now on the market for over two years. And the die-hard Kindle fans may prefer it for longer-term reading, as opposed to the flashier iPad which seems to be aimed at shorter burst reading, viewing and Web surfing.

I also find the price ridiculous for what it is offering me. But I don’t play online games or watch uTube videos for hours on end. I’m not going to watch a movie on it when I have huge TVs in my house. And when I travel, I read. Not watch movies on any device. I have an iPhone, a laptop and a Kindle so I see no need for an iPad. And would much rather spend those dollars on some killer shoes. Or a new Tiffany charm or 2 :)

But I’m not saying I won’t want to change from my current Kindle at some point when something else offers me features I want. And I’m also willing to admit that whoever comes up with the e-reader that allows me to download and read comic books will likely get my business.  But so far that is no one.

So all I ask is if I leave you alone about your short attention span and inability to do just 1 thing at a time, like say…read a book. You can stop being such a blowhard about how the iPad is going to revolutionize the world and everyone will stop using paper and pens and books – hospitals, schools, businesses, everyone will stop, put these ancient tools and buy iPads (I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve heard this from people.) One of these fanboys actually wrote ‘This is the end of books. Who needs books anyway. I never read.’ Well…you might have just summed up what is wrong with you actually.

I really hope these guys are all shareholders so at least I could understand their extreme excitement and devotion about the thing.  I’d be excited too about the projected numbers even if I didn’t want to own one. But somehow I think they are not. They are just fan boys.

So this is all I ask is this…ssshhhh. Or in other words STFU about it already.

OMG! Saw this announced today! I haven’t bought my new, remastered CD set yet and now look – it paid off!! (see my excited CD blog here: https://a99kitten.com/?p=1147 This is perfect for me!

Limited Edition USB Stick – Contains Entire Digitally Remastered Catalogue
(BEA48315)

Release Date 12/8/09

Limited Quantity Subject to Vendor Allotment. Due to the overwhelming success of the Beatles Apple USB drive, we are unable to guarantee your order will be filled. TheBeatles.com is working closely with EMI to secure additional supply. We will fill the orders on a first come, first serve basis. Note the order will not be charged until the time of delivery and you may cancel your order up until December 4th.

Following the 9.9.09 debut of the digitally re-mastered catalogue on CD, Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are pleased to announce the worldwide release of a limited edition of 30,000 Beatles Stereo USB apples on December 8th.

This unique, apple-shaped USB drive is loaded with the re-mastered audio for The Bealtes’ 14 stereo titles, as well as all of the re-mastered CDs’ visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK art, rare photos and expanded liner notes. A specially designed Flash interface has been installed, and the 16GB USB’s audio contents will be provided in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24 bit and MP3 320 Kbps formats, fully compatible with PC and Mac.

Albums:

-Please Please Me

-With The Beatles

-A Hard Day’s Night

-Beatles For Sale

-Help!

-Rubber Soul

-Revolver

-Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

-Magical Mystery Tour

-Yellow Submarine

-The White Album

-Abbey Road

-Let It Be

-Past Masters

The Beatles Apple :)

Of course I pre-ordered it today!! Now, I have no idea if my order will be fulfilled. 30,000 sounds like such a small number considering how many Beatles fans there are. But I’m hoping most of them bought the CD set as soon as it came out :)

I’d be so, so sad if not fulfilled :( But I am going to keep positive thoughts that this awesome apple will indeed be mine in December!

So Please, Please Me and HELP! me by keeping all of your fingers (and toes) crossed fo me! :)

Would you just drop the dang price already?!?! Or are you waiting for AAPL to officially announce their “iPad”? Sigh….

As I was reading “Breaking Dawn” in bed last night I realized I think I *really* do want a Kindle. I have big, heavy books (have you tried to read Atlas Shrugged using 1 hand to hold it up??) And if I want to keep as much of me snuggled warm under the covers, it’s hard to hold a big, heavy book with one hand and turn pages. I almost had to break out the Snuggie ;)

And since it seems like it will be a while before a color screen version of an e-reader comes out, that will display comics and graphics novels (unless the Apple iPad does?), I want to go ahead and get the less expensive Kindle 2 while waiting for a color screen with comic titles available (I assume it will be well over a year away for a Kindle version.)

And Apple will price their e-reader WAY too high. And the bits and pieces I’ve gleaned off the web describe it as a device needing a monthly subscription fee from a carrier – say wha? No thanks. But then, it is just speculation and gossip right now so who knows.

BUT…what if Apple does release the iPad and then Amazon doesn’t want to stay in the e-reader hardware business so it doesn’t keep working on a color version?? They already allow Apple to offer the Kindle iPhone app so what if they just phase out the Kindle hardware and allow Apple to take over the market? Hmmm…

I think I might be over-thinking this…

So I am impatiently waiting in hopes that Amazon will lower their Kindle 2 price a bit…and also why I chose for any revenue off my AMZN links to be paid to me in AMZN gift cards :)

Husband said maybe Santa will bring it to me. I am SO not waiting for Santa on this one…and really…Santa should be mining diamonds for my gifts :)