PipStop

I consider myself pretty technically savvy. So the past 12 hours or so has been pretty, pathetically frustrating.

Most of my outbound emails are being identified as some sort of spam. Oh well, patience is a virtue I'll need to exercise until it's remedied.

(As I type this the USD is getting clobbered. With a big metal pipe I think).

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Since my Trading Post foray into Facebook, it's been a pretty interesting experience. I've connected with upwards of 700 traders there and have exchanged emails with a number of them. In the past hour or so I've probably responded to about 20, and the questions and comments are varying.

There are a few who I'd want to explore Trading Post working with as I see a similar philosophical vein - that is that Trading is serious business and not everybody should be doing it. Then there are those who are new and looking for direction.

One day, I will write a book - a compilation of my thoughts as I've heard trader experiences - and one of the chapters will be entitled "Misguided Guidance." Folks figure they can rely on a "friend" who says he's doing really "well" in trading and think wow, if "So-and-so" can do this, why can't I?.

Then because their "friend" is suddenly reluctant to share their phantom strategy, a trader wades into the vast unknown of the "Internet." Suddenly they realize the abundance of websites, systems, forums, news sites, guarantees, flashy flash stuff all over the place. And they attempt to follow. One thing, after another thing, after another thing. The chase is on, and they will run themselves ragged looking for the way that will make them money.

What they don't realize is what will help them to be successful is between their ears, and they have to condition it. The often overlooked, unsexy, standing in  the corner of the dance floor - trading psychology.

With that I'll share an Facebook mail that I received today and share part of my answer.

Hi ,
That's great
I will love it if you canstart from the basics as to the things I must know, technical names and what they mean (eg. PIP) and how to monitor to buy and sell?
Do I need a broker?
How hard or easy it is without a broker
thank you
looking forward to hearing from you

... Buying and selling is a learning process. You will come across many people who will tell you that they can sell you a service of when to get in and when to get out. Ultimately for long-term success it's something you need to commit yourself to learning on your own ...

Trading signals are a means to an end, it ought never to be an end.

I also got an invite to a new forum, and I gave a long winded answer of there are too many forums, it's cluttering the landscape, and there are too many forums for anyone to bother paying attention to. I gave my honest feedback, and hopefully I'm not viewed as a total blowhard.

There's just TOO much out there. And I don't intend on being the INTERPOL of the trading world, but it is getting pretty ridonkulous.

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Later today I'll talk about trading and working out.

No I don't have a man crush on Rob Booker. And no he doesn't pay me to mention Rob Booker here. It's just that he's had some relevant (relevant to me) things to say recently.

Earlier today he interviewed Trading Post's Senior Trading Coach Pierre Charlebois on his traderradio.net show.

Fantastic job Pierre.

Philosophically we're on the same page when we say trading ISN'T for everyone, and if you think it is for you, you better buckle your belt and put your helmet on.

As a side note ... having been a former resident of Utah (in my formative university years) Pioneer Day is a pretty significant holiday down there.

(By the way Rob, I'm pickle playing the episode above because on the permalink page above the play button doesn't show)

Today we've unveiled a new way that anyone with a computer and Internet access can contact Trading Post. So now we're more accessible than ever.

In addition to calling us at 604.909.3750 or emailing us at admin(at)tradingpostfinancial.com, now you can chat with us live during business hours (8:30 - 5 p.m. Pacific Time).

Of course, ever the curious soul I am, I'm sure that I'll turn live support for the website on at odd hours when I'm working or trading away.

Enjoy this new feature, and if you're like me where often a quick question and a quick reply back from a company is all that is required, this will become an indispensable tool!

Does anyone see the irony in the following? This is above the fold news on the International Business Times website.

There are five headlines, four of which are dark and dreary, and the fifth - well I'm sure that Mastercard and American Express would echo what Visa states.

I've said it over and over and over.

I like feedback. Give it to me straight, give it to me honestly. The best feedback isn't just cutting but also includes some insight into how something can be improved.

We got an email from Rob on Monday night - which was actually BEFORE Trading Post Tuesday. No matter, though, as he obviously feels the value of being there isn't great enough.

WHY IS TP TUESDAY SO LAME THESE DAYS?YOU USED TO HAVE GOOD STUFF(PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT TRADES AND STRATEGIES) BUT NOW IT SEEMS YOUR JUST TRYING TO GET MONEY OUT OF PEOPLE .

I don't disagree with his main point - although in the past it was more pitch (marketing) and less play (trade talk as applied to the real time market). We are moving in a better direction - maybe we do have off months, but on a whole we are doing better.

Yesterday we did have Pierre Charlebois kick things off with "3 Currency Pairs Due For Multi-Year Corrections." This is very much an evolutionary thing. The concept is dead on and I don't know of anyone else who is doing something like this. We'll get it better.

I disagree with Rob on trying to get money out of people - it's an accusatory thing of sorts that we're greedy. That's what I infer anyway.

I seems like so many who try to get ahead balk at investing into a tool or service that can help them trade more consistently. Trading Post's vision isn't to hawk ANYTHING that comes along, rather it's to judiciously look at what's out there and partner with the best of what's available.

No one is holding a gun to anyone's head forcing them to buy something. Heck we aren't even going to make you feel bad if you pass up one approach after another that we might partner with. At the end of the day YOU have to feel comfortable, and YOU choose what's best for YOU.

We provide paths, and YOU have the choice of which one to tread down. Remember we are no longer advocating ONE solution for ALL traders, because there is no such thing.

And that folks is a little long winded, but my honest thoughts. Rob, truly, thank you again for sharing your thoughts, which helps us to further define how we do things - and to keep us on our toes.

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Just as a matter of semantics. I might use "I" on here a lot as opposed to "We" and that is by design. I do have a significant voice at Trading Post but it isn't the only voice and I want to ensure that I am always solely responsible for what I say.

It's not often that you see anything like what I'm about to post. I've got to give a big shout out to our New Media Developer Raymond because he delivered the following links to our Trading Post Tuesday sessions from today on a platter!

If you missed TP Tuesday, shame on you, it's best live - and it's getting better. We bring together the best of what we and our partners have to offer. Thank you to all who participated.

So without further ado, take a few moments or half a day to go through the links from some of our sessions below. Enjoy!

(And please let me know what you think - this is for you so your comments are important)

++ "3 Currency Pairs Due For Multi-Year Corrections" with Pierre Charlebois (joined midway through)

++ "What is Left Brain Trading" with Lewis Evans

++ "Elliott Wave Applied - Trade FX using the Elliott Wave Principle" with Marius Alexe

++ "FX Solutions AccuCharts" with James Chen

++ "FX Solutions GTS Pro Platform" with Xinjia Lu

++ "A Trading Post Perspective" with Samuel Araki

Deep Debt.

It's what's befalling Americans, and I'm sure that you know somebody who has been affected.

In Canada, especially here in Vancouver there is still strong housing development, and although the real estate market has slowed, it still remains steady.

My brother flew into town for a friends wedding, while I was away at the lake house for the latter part of last week, and he's currently living in Hawaii.

It's interesting to get his take on the U.S. economy as an American, and as one who lives in one of the most expensive states.

We all try to get ahead in life, and for my brother he has a solid government job, but, there's always that "but."

It's a new week, and the weeks seem to go by so fast now. I'd like to know, though. What is your "but?" What keeps you from truly getting ahead?

Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy. There is so much information that I subject myself to that I have to close my eyes, lean back and take a deep breath.

Of course I guess I like to punish myself because I like to keep up-to-date with chatter that's out there.

There is always contradictory information out there and I just had to chuckle when Rob Booker flirts with the idea of buying USD/CAD, while today Dailyfx.com picks a short on USD/CAD. Everyone always wants to be an expert and have their opinion. What's yours? The likelihood that you'll come up with correct insight might be just as high.

I've been asked about correlations in the past and how currency prices can be tied to variables in other markets. Ray Barros shares his thoughts.

Then I noticed that Raghee Horner posted on her blog, then recycled the exact post to her FXstreet blog too. Not to rat someone out, but all the exclusive bloggers at FXstreet are asked to provide unique content (aka unpublished) to their FXstreet blogs. Not that I really care, though.

Below is an example of what I look at in my Google (RSS) Reader. The craziness that I talk of above is felt most when I'm scanning through the hundreds of news drops in my Google Reader a day. Somehow, I love it, though.