Disqus - Latest Comments for KeithShepard

Re: How Much Transparency is Enough in the Markets

KeithShepard — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:25:43 -0000

[...] but I have learned a few things in my investing career and one of the big ones is…you can’t be all things to all people.

As Bill Cosby once said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

Transparency is nice, but culpability of said transparency is rare. For example: I liked the way Phil (@ppearlman) spoke about the recent Chart.ly data loss in a StockTwits blog post ("We Goofed on Chartly"). You guys didn't try to bury the incident and took responsibility for it.

That's how it should be done professionally and personally.

Re: Twitter Attacked

KeithShepard — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:02:08 -0000

Here you go. Here's the reason for the DDoS (Denial of Services Attack):

- Twitter, Facebook attack targeted one user
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10305200-245....

A pro-Georgian blogger with accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal and Google's Blogger and YouTube was targeted in a denial of service attack that led to the site-wide outage at Twitter and problems at the other sites on Thursday, according to a Facebook executive.

Re: There Is No Holy Grail

toad37 — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:48:58 -0000

I like it. No need to overthink this stuff. Analysis is paralysis.

Re: There Is No Holy Grail

bearishbull — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:23:33 -0000

...I´m memorising this one...."...holy grail of trading is simplicity..."

Re: There Is No Holy Grail

KeithShepard — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:43:55 -0000

Beyond oneself, I believe the Holy Grail of trading is simplicity. Complexity is nothing but an Ego trip and is far too intractable in times of panic, decay or growth.

=^.^=

Re: Marijuana First, Then the Oil

Nigel Ainscoe — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:24:39 -0000

I should just like to note that the Daily Mail is infamous for its poor reporting of scientific news, attributing often poorly performed trials as gospel. I'm not saying that this particular report is untrue (although it may be) just that I am unlikely base any of my beliefs on the content of this particular tabloid newspaper.

Re: Marijuana First, Then the Oil

JakeGint — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:24:35 -0000

Pretty doubtful people would be smoking pot in the volumes that people smoke cancer nails as well, right?

I mean, even if it were equal to twenty nails (I'm skeptical of this claim), that'd be equal to one pack a day, yes?

________

Re: Marijuana First, Then the Oil

KeithShepard — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:50:34 -0000

Good points as always, G. I appreciate the open dialogue. Looking forward to MacroTwits at 9 PM tonight. Cheers.

~Shepard
=^.^=

Re: Marijuana First, Then the Oil

gregordotus — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:07:56 -0000

Thanks Keith. Those are all very good points. At the moment, I am more concerned about the near term suffering and overall hit to health that will surely unfold from a sustained period of poverty in CA (and the US) than the effects of marijuana on the lungs. However, I don't mean to play these two outcomes off each other, and I think all the issues you raise are both serious and substantial.

My guess would be that in a legalization phase, that a whole new range of marijuana intake-products would come on to the market, from baked goods to beverages.

As another, separate point, I have recently seen some research on the 3 decade long integration of sugar and corn-syrup into the US diet. I mention this only because we have a number of quite serious problems to tackle and I grant that advocacy of marijuana legalization is not without flaws. However, in the context of American obesity in its various forms, I wonder that marijuana legalization presents minor rather than major negative externalities. I also have to consider that the market is already constructed, and that taxation would simply acknowledge what's already in play.

G

Re: Marijuana First, Then the Oil

KeithShepard — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:40:01 -0000

It's always struck me as odd that nobody brings up Cancer (lung and others) when speaking of legalizing pot. Of course, you don't have to "smoke" pot. Vaporizing can cut down on lung aliments and some people claim eating pot is a fine buzz. But let's face it: I bet most pot is smoked.

A 2008 study out of New Zealand published in the European Respiratory Journal found that "one joint was equivalent to about 20 cigarettes" in terms of lung cancer exposure.

In the high-exposure group, lung cancer risk rose by 5.7 times for patients who smoked more than a joint a day for 10 years, or two joints a day for 5 years, after adjusting for other variables, including cigarette smoking.

"Cannabis smokers end up with five times more carbon monoxide in their bloodstream (than tobacco smokers)," team leader Richard Beasley, at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, said in a news release.

The scientists also noted that marijuana could be expected to harm the airways more than tobacco since its smoke contained twice the level of carcinogens, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, compared with tobacco cigarettes.

"There are higher concentrations of carcinogens in cannabis smoke...what is intriguing to us is there is so little work done on cannabis when there is so much done on tobacco,” said Beasley.

- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-51103...

Now let's assume that the study is flawed somewhat. Let's cut in half and say one joint equals 10 cigarettes. Isn't there any thought to the overall health impact of legitimizing yet another smokeable "vice"? It seems to me the cigarette companies are being driven to extinction for this reason: lung and other cancer problems. How does the government go about parsing that message?

Gov: "Cigarettes are bad, but pot is okay because it's a "safer" smoke?"

Hate to say it but I doubt there is a "safe" smoke in terms of cancer. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there is something we can burn and inhale and our lungs, liver and kidneys will be fine with any residual affects. I'm willing to be wrong on that.

Outside of medical marijuana, I just can't figure out how the US Gov. is going to drop 90 to 100 years of miscalculated ignorant demonizing of marijuana, change public policy by claiming "pot is now okay because we're fucking broke" AND save face.

A few recent (within a 2-3 years) headlines to ponder:

- "Marijuana Damages DNA And May Cause Cancer, New Test Reveals"
- "Marijuana Use Linked To Increased Risk Of Testicular Cancer"
- "Heavy Marijuana Use May Damage Developing Brain In Teens, Young Adults"
- "Marijuana Use Takes Toll On Adolescent Brain Function, Research Finds"

I'm not against the legalization of marijuana ... I just don't understand how marijuana's role in cancer is being overlooked while society is in the process of a world wide tobacco prohibition.

/Edit: Before I'm eviscerated by the Pro Pot crowd: I'm not against the legalization of marijuana. Just would like further health studies done.

/Edit 2: Someone just sent me this study done in 2006: Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection

~Shepard
=^.^=

Re: On your mark, GO, get set

KeithShepard — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:58:55 -0000

Good post. I disagree with your comment here:

Flip a coin to determine your directional bias on a trade.

Simply pulling up a yearly chart of any symbol and looking left to right will tell you what you need to know about directionality (without knowing any charting alchemy that you so loath) and it takes about 5-10 seconds.

They have charts on StockTwits.com. People should use them. Maybe they would make money.

Re: Welcome Abnormal Returns to the StockTwits Blog Network

KeithShepard — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:14:58 -0000

Congrats @abnormalreturns on the new blog. Grabbing the RSS feed in 3, 2, 1...

Re: Tickerville Taking Hiatus from StockTwits Brunch

KeithShepard — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:17:46 -0000

Thanks for all your great Saturday brunches Quint. Your time and sharing of your knowledge was (and is) greatly appreciated. Many of us totally understand the time constraints gig as well. Good luck and good trading.

Cheers. =^.^=
@KeithShepard

Re: Stocktwits Introduces Social Stock Charting with Chart.ly

KeithShepard — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:05:20 -0000

Awesome job with Chart.ly. I was getting tired of using TwitPic and looking for something with more options. Great looking site with a clean design.

Re: Stocktwits IS for EVERYBODY…AND Here is How I Use It!

howardlindzon — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:14:25 -0000

Poetry

Re: Stocktwits IS for EVERYBODY…AND Here is How I Use It!

KeithShepard — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:09:03 -0000

Excellent post. Keep it simple, keep it real. Complexity is the death of trading. It's a fact: simple systems, whether biological or artificial, produce consistent results over time and generally survive a surprise cock punch or two. That's what I like about Twitter & StockTwits. Simply effective.

All things change shape eventually.

~Shepard
=^.^=

Re: Attention: Having Content Feed Problems (RSS & Email)

marketfolly — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:58:24 -0000

awesome Keith, thanks so much for all your help, truly appreciate it!

Re: Attention: Having Content Feed Problems (RSS & Email)

KeithShepard — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:52:48 -0000

Seems to be fixed. I just received all your posts for today in my Google RSS Reader. Cheers.

=^.^=

Re: Futures hadn't turned green since Friday's close..

KeithShepard — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:34:20 -0000

Fade that gap!

=^.^=

Re: A Few Site Updates

KeithShepard — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:11:10 -0000

Sweet! Nice improvements ... especially on the ticker pages. They look great.

=^.^=

Re: Tumblr Hacks - Add comments to Tumblr with Disqus

KeithShepard — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:05:20 -0000

Ah...figured it out. Cool.

=^.^=

Re: Tumblr Hacks - Add comments to Tumblr with Disqus

KeithShepard — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:56:01 -0000

Yeah, how do you add comments to your Tumblr blog? Hmmm...

Re: Is Apple Broken? Nope…Just The Market!

KeithShepard — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:42:49 -0000

I agree. Apple's stock is at a critical point technically. $80-$82 is my line of demarcation as well.

Trade Shows themselves are ridiculous. No Value. Zero. Period.

Totally agree! I worked many trade shows back in the 90's (video support). Totally worthless drinking boondoggles. Trade shows are about sex and whiskey. And that's about it.

Re: Is Apple Broken? Nope…Just The Market!

howardlindzon — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:49:14 -0000

I am ugly so only about the whiskey for me

Re: My Twitter Notes

KeithShepard — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:06:30 -0000

Great post and good idea. I should review my Twitter stream more often.

=^.^=