I’m in Steamboat Springs with my family, enjoying a hot air balloon “rodeo” that has attracted scores of enthusiasts from all over the country. Nearly 50 balloons rose from the floor of the Yampa River Valley this morning at 7 a.m., stayed aloft for an hour or so, then drifted down into the neighborhoods in search of kids (and adults) looking for free rides to…wherever. The first ride’s free, one balloonist warned me, but the next would cost, oh, $40,000. For that kind of money you could outfit a whole family with Harleys and full leathers. Awheel rather than aloft, you’d also know precisely where you were going once you got out on the open road. Still, who could pass up a chance to soar above the Yampa Valley, one of Colorado’s most scenic vistas? That is of course why the balloonists come here in the first place.

It’s cool and drizzly at the moment, and my kids have gone to the local movie house to take take in Nacho Libre. Having seen it already, I’d call it a good film to avoid, even if you’ve enjoyed Jack Black’s other movies as I have. We’d planned to go inner tubing on the Yampa, but a few lightning strikes have cleared all of the traffic from the river. Ditto for a swimming pool nearby that’s fed by hot springs. There’s also a traditional rodeo here on Friday and Saturday nights, but if the downpour that began an hour ago doesn’t let up, it’s going to be a muddy evening for cowboys and fans.

TradeStation Blues

I had hoped to put out some actionable touts for Monday, but being a TradeStation user can make that a real challenge sometimes, like trying to paddle upstream in a leaky canoe. It took me about five hours worth of tech support to get the platform up and running when I tried to publish from Florida a few months ago. The problem supposedly had something to do with blockage of certain ports on the wi-fi network I was using. Not sure what the problem is here in Steamboat, since I am able to connect and browse anything but TradeStation.

It’s probably for the best that TradeStation tech support is unreachable on weekends, since I had my fill of tech support last week with Dell. You would think that downloading some drivers for the new LED monitors I’d just bought from them would not be too difficult. But you’d be wrong, Even at the level of escalated support, I spent two hours without success trying to get my monitors to work right.

Anyway, I’m told the market took a hit on Friday, so I’m eager to see what the damage looks like on the charts. My guess is that it will be more noise signifying nothing in particular. A month ago here, I predicted a breathtakingly boring summer with gratuitous swings in the Dow between 10600 and 11200. So far, I’ve seen nothing that would change my outlook – other, perhaps, than the always-imminent prospect of a bird-flu pandemic.  

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San Francisco Seminar

The Hidden Pivot Seminar in San Francisco is a “go,” with only a firm date remaining to be set. As of now, it looks like it will be held in early February, so please let me know via-email  if you’re interested in attending.

The two-day class is geared to teaching traders of all skill levels the rudiments of my proprietary Hidden Pivot System. Post-grad mentoring in a chat-room is included so that students can master the techniques learned in the classroom in a real-time setting.  

A Student’s Experience

Here is what one of my grads, Hunter Reynolds, had to say recently about the chat room:

"We have all come a long way. I think everyone here is making a little $$, or we would be doing something else by now. I can honestly say I am up about ten percent, maybe a little more, since your class.  I am pretty conservative.  I just trade from the long side, but I'm getting really good at picking the hidden-pivot reversal points for the uptrend!"

Dates are not yet firm for a fourth seminar to be held in Sydney, Australia, but it looks like it will take place either in November 2006 or February 2007. The class is filling up, so do let me know soon if you’d like to attend.