***Understanding the word Friend***

Watch the video on BKAs website before reading this article. Sorry its long but you must...

Tears are in my eyes as I see this video. A lot of people will use this as a moment to blame George Bush and so on...

The thing that separates Mike (a real hero) is that he understands the meaning of the word Loyalty.

As one of my war heroes said to his brother before giving up the NFL for the Military... "I feel that I must be tested in battle" He was only trying to prove to himself that he could become more that what he already was. No greater sacrifice can be made than one that is made for a friend. The LORD himself set down this pattern. Pat and Mike knew a job had to be done, and they didn't quibble while others died. They put it all on the alter and stayed side by side until the end.

I enjoy a life of liberty because of ALL WHO DEFEND MY WAY OF LIFE. That is the bottom line. It can be In Iraq or in Bastongne. I don't care. Money and the kind of power that creates false causes that lead to wars- are fleeting and finite.

We owe these men and women our prayers respect and loyalty. In the mean time I want to be like Mike.

Listed below- (My VFW War Heroes) I have many other heroes but that is for a different post

Pat Tillman-Army Afganastan KIA: friendly fire (see link below) http://www.pattillmanfoundation.org/pat_usarmy.php

Mike Monsoor-NAVY Iraq KIA: Jumped on grenade, Saving 2 of his Brothers.

Jack Chiaretta (my maternal grandfather)- Army WW-II Okinawa. Returned Safe but lost 80% of his Company including the highest ranking officer to die in combat for the Pacific; Gen Buckner- KIA artillery round .

John Chiaretta- (Maternal Uncle) ARMY Viet Nam. Alive today but suffered 2 direct hits while driving his APC

Larry Murdock- (maternal uncle husband of Luarie Chiaretta)USMC Viet Nam. Alive today but lost many comrades.

Bob Murdock-USMC Brother of Larry who Joined USMC to support Larry In Viet Nam. Lost both Legs, and passed away in recent years from unrelated illness.

Mervin Davis- (paternal uncle) Navy USS Long Beach Viet Nam. Alive and Well. The Greatest Baseball Dad that ever lived.

R.J. Davis- NAVY Gulf War I USS Stien,Marvin Shields and Flint. Alive and well. The Man who can fix anything, and will do it for fun with no thought of reward. He would fall on a grenade for me as would I for him.

Richard Westwood (paternal great uncle) ARMY WW-II Burma. Alive today in Circleville UT part of the VFW.

Benjamin Wallis (wifes big brother) ARMY Reserve Gulf War II. Now serving in the Airforce Reserve, but sacrificed 18 continuous months in Iraq while his small children grew and his wife toiled as a single mom.

Many others served in many ways and I give thanks to all.

May God Bless This Planet and all his children, and may he destroy those who stand in the way of Liberty and Freedom!

May we all be hero like in our actions wherever we stand.

Patience Pays Off

I have been with WAB for some time now. I got in at the old 52 week high in late April. I used a nice wide stop and had to ride a big dip, but that's what trend trading is like. So now I scale in.

Geode Fragment

No new trades lately so I'll just post some pics of recently collected specimens...

The picture is of a geode fragment. The crystals are Gypsum.

Hard Assets

Hungry? This cookie would break a few teeth...

I recently made a trip to an undisclosed rockhounding locality with my big brother R.J.

Dang that beats sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours. I filled a 5 gallon bucket with little chunks of "grape" Agate. Based on my initial research I probably gathered a days wages in stones like the one pictured here. I took the picture with my camera phone, so I apologize for the fuzzy image. We found a few geodes and other crystals, but most of what I picked up was red or yellow Agate.

Thanks R.J.! I owe you. And Thanks Joey for keeping R.J. in line and helping me fill my bucket.

"You aint no kinda man if you aint got land."

Wealth, Change and Defining What we are.

I am not a land owner of much consequence. Banks; dang it! foreclosing sons a guns. I have not lost any property to the bank, and plan not to, but I feel for those who have. Yes some folks bring it on themselves, but I'm not here to be the judge.

Delmar O'donnell (O Brother Where Art Thou?) said it best; as the title above states- ownership of tangible assets makes you feel more like you are empowered to take part in the process of producing and making a contribution. I came to the realization a while back that a man is defined by what he produces, and is not defined by what he consumes or wears or owns.

My formative years were spent in part being taught that by my parents and grand parents. True wealth is measured by the number of bed time stories you have heard or have told or the times you made your grandma laugh at something silly you said (like the time I called my Grandpa an "old stogy" I meant old man not cigar but she laughed like she was going to pee her pants) I'm sure you know what I mean. God has blessed me in my life to have an abundance of material wealth as well as relationships that far outweigh any thing that is measured in monetary terms. Have I been through some tough times or hurt those who love me most? Hell yes, and so have you. If you have not you are in a small minority.

My family and friends have all been contending with our own share of worry and care, but as I see the way we all treat each other when times get tough, it makes any dread I feel for what the future may hold, look less like an obstacle and more like a milestone.

If you have read (and are with me) this far- you know that I am no longer employed with Investools. ;) I want to thank EVERYONE that I have know as a result of my association with SWIM. I wish you all the VERY BEST and hope to see most of you again. Being with you over the past several years has been a great time for me, and like all other things in life it had its down side. Like we all chant to each other- "ride that trend til it ends" this was a good play and I would probably take it again if the set up was right for me, but like many stocks I trade, now that I am out of the position I wont be looking to force any kind of re entry.

Tail Lights...

Nobody in here except us Chickens...

If I was a Chicken and had the brain power to think about anything aside from eating and roosting I would be pissed about the word chicken being used as a word for being afraid. For an animal with a brain the size of Maria Bartiromo's they are fairly instinctive, which is more than I can say about the average trader.

One of the most Ironic things about fear is that it keeps you out of the market at the time you should be getting in and gets you in exactly when you should be out.

So I took crash course in poultry farming and bought some yard birds for to entertain my punk kids. Here is the lean too I built for them.

This is not really about trading at all. Its about having a life and letting people who have not realized how unimportant they are do all the blogging about trading.

“Red neck noise dude; that’s all it is. Makes about as much sense as you do.”

The markets were interesting this past week; however we find ourselves at the end of the week scratching our heads. The Fed, CPI, Bear Stearns and all the other infinite factors that converge on and aggregate pricing of assets each day. In my view we have been ringside for nothing more than market noise. The S&P was nearly unchanged for the week in spite of all that has gone on.

It does look like the ADM set up is drawing its self into a longer term ascending triangle. It may not break out to the upside while agricultural futures are pulling back. Time will tell. For those who were to lazy to look into it for themselves ADM is a food service firm that produced corn and wheat flour as well as things like cake mixes for your easy bake oven. Don’t take my word on the easy bake oven remark, and don’t even deny having an easy bake oven. Hell I have 3 of them myself and I am damn proud of it.

Gold is almost at its long awaited target of one thousand bucks per oz. (actually, based on the March min for gold we are there; see chart below) let’s watch it this week and see if it becomes a pivot point or a ceiling. Your guess is as good as mine.