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Frequently Asked Questions

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Answers

Dear Mr. Seykota:

I am not sure of the part how to replace the Bad Rock with a Good Rock. Do you take recess and decide with tribe what the Good Rock is going to be?

Can I attend your tribe to experience this process so I can duplicate here?

Clip: http://www.banjoband.com/

see SVO-p

Hi Chief Ed,

This is from the instructional text, PRIVATE PILOT MANUEVERS, by Jeppesen Sandersen Inc:

"... the FAA strongly recommends the use of the 3-step process when exchanging flight controls..."

PILOT PASSING CONTROL:
"You have the flight controls."

PILOT TAKING CONTROL:
"I have the flight controls."

PILOT PASSING CONTROL:
"You have the flight controls."

The FAA in fact recommends the SVO-p syntax for essential communication between pilots -- and also between pilots and the tower.

OK.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Price trend seems to be the best indicator of price trend; other indicators seem largely incidental.

Ed:

I'm a [non-us] engineer that came here in 1996. I started to work as a Process Control Engineer in a Paper Plant here in [State].

A year ago I took a position as Customer Project Manager in a Power Utility company in the Distribution side of the business.

I don't like he job I'm doing now, and being 45 yrs old there is no much room for me in the job market. Beside, with all the outsourcing this kind of jobs are very unstable.

I'm selling an apartment that we bought about 3 yrs ago and maybe be able to make $30k.

Can you help me to improve my trading skills, so in a near future I could make my current salary of $50k/yr and live only out of trading?

aaBlog/2004/media/07-23_ExpressionOfDisgust.jpg

Hi Ed,

I am trying to fulfill a commitment I make whilst visiting with you in Lake Tahoe; my commitment is to ... post my Rock Process to other Tribe members.

Well now feels like a good time to catch up, I am delighted to let you know that I have the $20mln plus another $10mln after my presentation, things got a bit long winded in terms of legal documents etc but I launch the commodity fund on 3 April. I notice my need to explain myself has dispersed, and can now appreciate the power of silence in a meeting. I find meeting and socializing with larger groups more enjoyable.

Thank you for receiving me and for taking an onward interest.

Clip: http://www.wpclipart.com/money/index.html

If you would care to respond to [Name]'s version of events regarding the life and times of Ed Seykota it would be appreciated.

Many thanks Ed for the TSP on Trends, I Coded your YPROC into Wealth-Lab as an indicator and gained a far better insight into Trends than I previously had. You helped me understand that a trend has Motion and Velocity, not just Motion and my account balance is now reflecting that fact.

-----

Re: Seykota's Method?

Posted by: [Name]

Date: October 23, 2003 10:32PM

Everyone who has the status of an Ed Seykota at one point had a huge edge over everyone else. Ed's edge was that he was a computerized trend follower who understood position sizing during a time in the 60s and 70s where there were huge computerized trends and NO ONE else had those real edges. He also had a lot of psychological insight.

You cannot imagine how huge those edges are. Today, I suspect that is main edge is that he is very smart, has a lot of money, and can use that money to find small edges. Everyone else wants to know what he does, but fail to realize that he the huge edge he once had is no longer possible.

And Ed's not going to tell anyone what he is doing, because if he has some small edge that will disappear as soon as he tells a lot of others. Nevertheless, most people cannot follow what he'd suggest anyway.

Remember what he said in market wizards, "Cut losses; ride winners (that creates positive expectancy); keep bets small (that keeps you in the game); follow the rules without question; know when to break the rules (the last one for example would apply when there are major market conditions that change and your system stops working).

I hope that helps because that is his real secret.

I wonder how much of the stuff inside is real.

Hi Ed,

Can you tell me what might be the positive intention of hate?

Maybe to avoid things you don’t like?

Thanks

images/no_hate.jpg

Hi Chief!

What do you think about [Name]'s website?

It says they aim to "find predictability where it exists". Do you think they are on to something, or are they doomed to fail because there are assuming that markets can be predicted?

I see nothing on the site about supporting traders in sticking to their systems.

I recall feeling this when my parents fought. I remember my mother blaming my tearful state on my father and shielding me from him (somewhat dramatically) and my father saying that I was ok. I remember siding with my mother on this, feeling helpless, and believing that all I could do was curl up and hide.

We move into the Rocks process, and I trade a helplessness rock for a rock giving me, among other things, the power to voice my thoughts and feelings, to try to change my circumstances, and to exit whenever circumstances are truly dangerous and I do not have the power to defuse the danger.

I am amazed how my fellow tribe members are able to recreate the scene from my childhood. On scant information, they play my parents with uncanny accuracy. I still don't know how they were able to do this.

In the weeks following the meeting, I find myself walking, impromptu, into jazz bars and country bars, listening to beautiful music. I begin to play the guitar again. I also begin to read novels and poetry again, with an even keener sense of pleasure and insight than before. I now ask women out without a single care of whether or not I will be rejected. Indeed, very recently I asked a woman out when I estimated that my chances of getting a yes were pretty low. And, when I got the expected "no," I felt no sense of humiliation. I do all of these things effortlessly, and simply because I want to do them.

I cannot thank you, and my tribe members, enough!!

Peace,

images/09_50l.jpg

It has just occurred to me that I never shared to anyone my curious tendency to head roll in bed before falling asleep. I would roll myself to sleep with load music in the background - this was an obvious ritual for me for well over 25 years - actually, I have decided to stop 1.5 years ago. Babies usually get over this after their 5th year, some never get over it. This is called Rhythmic Movement Disorder - my reluctance to explain this to anyone might be one of my obstacles to get intimate and really close to anyone. I felt like a freak - some studies relate this to autism, mental retardation or maternal neglect. I recall being at a doctor once at age 9, who concluded that I'll "just get over it". I knew it wouldn't be that easy.

From my own experience, I attribute this to plain boredom, loneliness accompanied with too much pent up energy (probably emotional) and a way to comfort myself while lying in bed. I would hypnotize myself and most of my rushing thoughts would just flow with the rhythm of the music, I would also play some sort of "movie" in my head. After a while, I would get tired, turn off the stereo and just fall asleep, with a warm, tingly pulse over my whole body.

I thought this was just plain crazy and lasted way to long, so I decided to stop. I am calmer now and sleep much better. I was able to stop when I mapped out all the characteristics of me doing this - the biggest conclusion is that I was doing it for self-comfort, so I just accepted the fact and started comforting myself with optimistic thoughts instead. I also found a few comfortable sleeping positions during the healing process and it all worked.

I'm glad it's over but nevertheless, it's quite a chunk of my true self and want to find some ways to get the news across to these special people in my life.

Thank you for sharing your process.

Excitement and Boredom


Yesterday I buy [stock] at 43.50 betting on a breakout. Today I walk into a small gap opening. Great!  The stock quickly trades up into the 44.40s and then goes into bore mode. I have an urge to sell. I think it's because I'm bored. It's not exactly an exciting stock. I wonder if I might be better served finding my excitement away from the market. Ahhh ... As I write this the activity picks up as the stock retraces some. To add or to sell or to do nothing at all ... That's the question. I elect to do nothing. I find that I make the most money when I am bored.

You might consider the difference between being bored and being willing to experience boredom.

see: previous

(Intra-Tribe Communication)

After watching the video, it looks like there is much in common with good old fashioned TTP. I imagine by the end of the Tribe meeting, everyone is feeling buzzy and numb.

Like the rest of us, I am investing much of my focus on the reprogramming processes that goes by many names (Rocks / Re-parenting / Looping / Hand me downs / Patterning / Regression etc). Going back and deciphering the old code in an area of our life and then improving upon it with revised code is a common theme.

In my mind I am envisioning a number of interacting loops that have been relating to each other in a particular way for a long time. When you go back and reprogram a loop, it alters the whole system of interacting loops. This can create disorientation that many of us are familiar with after the Rocks process. The system and CM want to move the reprogrammed loop back to where it was because that is what it is used to. Thus, to ensure that we create lasting change, I suspect that working on multiple loops and employing reinforcement processes (group and individual) is important. Ways to do that are finding me. If you have any thoughts, please let me know as I am in the process of organizing a guide and workbook to collect thoughts and experience in this area which I plan to share with you soon.

In the meantime, I'm going to sign up for some belly dancing lessons!

Talking about and analyzing the Rocks Process is not the same as experiencing it.

Wants Cow Pie

Austin, where the heck did you go? You where here just a minute ago, maybe you got filed with the TSP, chart server, and my personal favorite the professor /grad asst / student model of the “Associates Program”. Maybe you could post a picture of a big hot air balloon, or a wind bag, or a big pile of cow poop, or something.

Pages/Print%20Pages/Cow_Pie.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSjnq_ALNVY

In TTP, we combine group process with the accountability for producing results.

My hardball partner says, “Show me what is standing between you and building bonds with other traders.” I get a picture in my mind of having to go to different companies and sell myself to their management team. I immediately feel tension in my arms and shoulders and I hear a judging internal voice say, “I don’t want to do that.”

I mention to my hardball partner that I hear this internal message. My partner responds by asking, “What is it you don’t want?” He encourages me to increase and intensify the feelings I am trying to avoid. Initially, I think what I don’t want is to have to sell myself. I think it seems insincere. I continue allowing the tension to build. My eyes are closed and the word “REJECTION” flashes in my mind. I focus on this word and gradually it starts to dissolve, giving way to something else. The tension fades and I feel more relaxed.

I open my eyes and look at what is around me. I am in the moment with other traders and we are all trying to support each other.

I realize that participating in this process is the first step in dealing with the fears and judgments that have prevented me from reaching out and building relationships with other traders. As the hardball process concludes, I sense that a transformation is beginning. I wonder how these changes will unfold and play out in my life.

Thank you or sharing your process.

Curve Fitting

My problem is curve fitting.

I optimize a simple moving average using 1 minute bars in the Russel 2000 Index. I optimize over the past 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 years, whatever. The best results are produced. I find that they have NO bearing on future performance. So I test using out of sample data. I find no pairs of data repeat themselves. Thus, no pattern, no system.

Is trying to find a consistent pattern using technical indicators not feasible.

What do you think?
 

See May 20, 2007: Silver Keyboard

Dear Ed,

"systems" seems to be true.

After first TTP experience a guy recommends me a dating web-site. I look for him there and find two nice guys I want to contact. I apply to appear at the dating website.

I think about work-life-balance: working during the day and relaxing in the evening. I do it. I plan to write an inspired text for my page in the dating-web next morning when the air is still fresh, the birds are singing.

My mother calls me late in the night. She sold a big chunk of fine stock in her portfolio despite a developing uptrend, gives me a list of funds to examine and wants me to fill the portfolio with new stock and funds. Positive thing: she respects now that I am active in the area of trading and investing. Negative thing: My mood is gone. Why does she call in the night despite I asked her to call next day. I feel pent-up.

I know that all of this is happening in my head, it's my buttons that somebody else presses. But how does she smell that I am sort of leaving?

In the morning I look at the two guys. They still look great. They are a little bit younger as I am like the guy was who recommended the page to me. Would be nice they answer.

Definitely, I do note some links between "back-tested" snapshot by tribe as described at May 20 and the incidents after snapshot and -not finished- TTP.

I am very glad that there is a method to break up crusty structures.

-----

Sir,

Beyond all that has been written ... I have nothing further to add on Ed!

Have you asked him this question?

-----

So, I figured I would ask you. I sincerely look forward to any thoughts you have.

Thank you.

archive/2006/01/

spreadsheet

You might consider including a graph of your daily equity and daily total margin requirement.  You might also compute your MAR or another bliss function.

A man who works for me, tells me that Dean Koontz writes some of his chapters in SVO-p. He is a best selling fiction writer.

OK.

Most importantly and regardless of being gifted or not, if emotional intensity is an apparent companion of some sort of advanced development, then it should have been nourished by our parents and schools, not slammed down and punished as in our case. My mother related to this and said, "This is an eye opener, if only we had known".

I could have been an achiever, if I only worked harder instead of being indulged in my narcissistic habits of not doing much and "getting everything" - now I am paying the price by going through the whole cycle again and relearning to work more to get more tangible results. That's putting the blame on me - but the truth is I tried many times, I just wouldn't budge for some reason. Now I figure that if I could find some satisfaction according to my "inner priorities", my body would just let me do things I want to do. I hope I'm getting there. Maybe with time, I'll start to tick the right way.

The narcissistic traits in me are also becoming very clear to me, the way I treated people, my "outer" attitudes etc. Although it hurt me more that anybody else, I just do all that. I also didn't realize there is any other alternative to my behavior (and there wasn't for that matter - the feelings where sometimes just overwhelming) and that the other person could possibly have a different mental state, reality or feel any different my occasional very intense moments. I assumed that I know exactly what the other person knew, felt etc. ...and that the other person knew what I felt! This is not a good way to go through relationships although I am open minded enough to assume that other people have lots of compassion within them.

I feel this email is loaded with regret and rightly so, I do regret a lot of things. Now I think of my girl I love for so long. If only I didn't have so many emotional blockages and that default behavior of mine, well, enough said. I have my down days. Right now, for example, I feel quite lonely.

clip: http://www.digital-ethos.com/