Well, missed my $12 ZSL entry by a buck, but my call for a couple of 20% down days seems to be playing out. I'm not all that fond of the inner mechanics of the ultra short ETFs, but they can make for some really profitable brief trades.

I own lots of HSTRX in a retirement account - it's never had a down year. Hussman's weekly missives are a must read.

Hey, thanks Lee. Speaking of phrases, Dashiell Hammett is one of the masters. In the Maltese Falcon Sam Spade is speaking about a man who suddenly disappeared:

MBP, I still hope to scale into ZSL at around $12 since I think that 50 is inexorably sucking silver higher, although the engine has shut down and it's just coasting towards its apogee.

ROFL!

Listening to Bernanke's live press conference - soooo lame, talk about softball questions. I guess no one is going to ask "Why should we believe you now since you have been so wrong in the past"? The FED sophistry is on full display.

un parapluie pour vous.

Hey Lee, Zeev's Turnips seems to be turning into Zeev's apocalyptic, tinfoil hat, apocryphal, doom and gloom, despondency to the nth degree board. Time to weed the turnip patch

zab, silver is in full parabolic mode and I expect 50+, however I hope to scale into ZSL at around $12.50. IMHO, there are several 20% down days for silver on the horizon. Time will tell.

I'me still waiting to short silver via ZSL. Anyway, here’s an interesting article that ties together a confluence of factors affecting silver including the possibility of a near term black swan event:

http://www.istockanalyst.com/finance/story/5083807/rein-in-rampant-speculation-or-face-the-black-silver-swan

+1 for that Dan, all noise and no signal.

Correct Newly, and the dollar is currently at an important inflection point - if $USD can move above 75 we may see a rally - as of now it's holding 74.83. According to Marty over at Stock Timing, 74.21 is the line in the sand - nothing but air below that.

Remember the "L5 Society" - founded in 1975 to promote the creation of a permanent space habitat that would take advantage of the stable gravitational equilibrium at L4 or L5. Guess we have to wait for the Chinese to make it so.

I read Hussman each week - good stuff. His HSTRX is the only mutual fund I own and its never had a loosing year since its inception.

Why thank you Lee, now to try to work these words into a sentence:

Fustigate, doryphore, rodomontade

Still holding my underwater RUT calls, and I still expect to exit this trade with a profit. The denouement of all this POMO is going to be some sort of blow off top. Sans POMO, this market would be several thousand points lower IMHO.

Zab, I've had good luck lately trading index call options. Since I believe that a blow off top is still in the making, almost all of my trades are on the long side. Options limit losses to know quantities and give you some latitude to let winners run. Although I'm currently under water in some RUT calls I still expect to escape with a profit.

Sold some IWM call options earlier this morning for a profit, however, I could have doubled that had I held till now. 2nd day in a row I've done that - should have just slept in. Emotion trumps logic, but this one way market seems to defy logic.

Love the double play - they make it look so easy. Also love the look on the pitcher's face when they call a balk.

Just dropped off my 17 year old van at the shop this morning - it's closing in on 200K and I hope to nurse it along for another few years. I hold on to everything till the bitter end - still using the blender we got as a wedding gift 36 years ago, and a few of my bicycles are older than that Hell, my wallet is more duct tape than leather.

Lee, Padres opened yesterday in ST Louis where we beat the Cardinals - YES! And we still have "AGON", but he's now Alberto Gonzales. Opening day is next Tuesday here in SD.

"Through rain, sleet, snow, Middle East riots, earthquakes, tsunamis, sovereign debt crises, record budget deficits, the housing depression and prolonged high unemployment, the [U.S] markets prevailed," said Brian Greenberg, owner of wealth management firm Brian Greenberg & Associates in Marlton, New Jersey.

Well, I'm not all that sanguine about how the market will prevail once the tsunami of stimulus retreats.

Sold my IWM calls for a profit - was going to hold, but I don't like where oil is going.

I prefer: Eat right, exercise, die anyway

Emptyhead, isn't "good politician" a contradiction in terms

Noticed a headline today: Forget the four year Harvard degree, in the long run you'll make more as a plumber.

Bought IWM calls on the dip.

Yes, that's why I took the loss.

zab, I made the mistake of *investing* in MSFT when it dropped to $85. Ended up as a write off on my taxes. Anyway, Microsoft has gone nowhere for a decade.

Geez, should have held my SPY calls longer. Unbelievable. Letting profits ride in this environment is tough.

Got up late - sold my SPY MAY 21 133 calls for $$. Probably should have held them a bit longer.

Sure was nice to get back from my bike ride and discover a profit - still holding my SPY calls. This market is truly nuts, but it is what it is. FWIW, I still expect the dollar to rally sooner rather than later.

The natural sugars in the food begin to brown and take on a nutty, slightly sweet flavor.

Still holding my SPY MAY 21 2011 133 Calls. Stop set and heading out for a bike ride along the ocean.

Newly, roasting at 375 begins the carmelization process resulting in a slightly sweet, salty texture with all those tasty brown bits.

OT: Great addition Lee, have to give it a try.

Thanks for the link Newly, years ago I made a jerry rigged hydroponic garden from PVC Piping, but the newer models look really cool.

OT: Brussel sprouts are a favorite of mine as well. Cut in half, tossed with olive oil, pepper and sea salt, and roasted in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes. YUM.

OT: Newly, that was a weekly special - priced per head. When I owned a house I cultivated multiple raised bed vegetable gardens - sure do miss that. Not enough space in my downtown condo to grow much, and all the community gardens here have a long waiting list.

OT: Newly, do you have Henry's Market in your neck of the woods? It's the last bastion of reasonable produce prices here in SD - cauliflower was about $1.50 a head a few days ago. Anyway, I don't eat meat so I'm always scouring the circulars for good veggie prices.