....A-Counting Crower http://therisingend.posterous.com Most recent posts at ....A-Counting Crower posterous.com Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:29:00 -0800 Are you an investor or a trader? http://therisingend.posterous.com/are-you-an-investor-or-a-trader http://therisingend.posterous.com/are-you-an-investor-or-a-trader

If you are like many investors during these current economic times, you may not trust the stock market or brokerages in general.  This is logical – the stock market dip turned the public into a mass hysteria during the latter half of 2008 when most people’s savings had appeared to vanish.  With that said however the markets have since staged an incredible comeback and left many people by who were scared to re-invest their money into something which they believed had failed them. 

Some people are wading back into the markets but are confused on what certain market terminology means and how to invest their money.  Those people have decided that they want to do investing on their own terms, without the help of a broker.  One of the goals of my blog is to help those people out who are becoming budding investors or traders. 

When putting your money in the stock market – there are two types of people, investors and traders (or 3 if you have heard the old adage ‘bulls make money, bears make money, and pigs get slaughtered’).  Investors tend to keep their money invested in securities for the long haul and do not tend to care about day-to-day fluctuations of the market.  Traders on the other hand live for these day-to-day and week-to-week fluctuations.  It’s worth noting that you can make money both ways, but there are far more successful investors than there are traders, because timing the market is a very hard thing to do. 

I myself was a trader for a small proprietary trading firm for a small stint but have also been an investor for a much longer period.  When asking yourself what you want to be, there are several questions you need to ask yourself, such as:

·         Do I have enough disposable income to trade?

·         What is/are the objective(s) of me saving money?

·         Do I have the time to invest in getting a feel for the markets?

Upon answering these questions, you should get a feel to determine whether you are an investor or a trader.  To be able to trade, disposable income is needed because traders tend to speculate based on market movements and individual stock movements.  You do not want to trade with money that you need to pay your mortgage with or pay your kid’s tuition costs.

Speculation can cause you to lose all your money, and I have seen it multiple times while working at E*TRADE Financial as well as with other employees at the prop trading firm where I worked.  The key is always risk management though.  Allocate a certain percentage that you feel comfortable losing with each position you enter into.  A typical percentage is 5%.  For example:  if I enter into a position and the position moves adversely to what I wanted, I will sell the stock off, no questions asked, when I lose 5% of the value of the position.  There are even ways to set this up so it will happen automatically on most online brokerage sites without you having to watch the market every second.

For an investor however, they are viewing the market on a much longer timescale.  A 5% decline over a small period will not (or should not) cause an investor to panic.  If the investor feels that their position is solid, they might hold onto it even if the stock drops 50% because they feel it may go back up.  Even investors need to learn rules of minimizing risks though.  Investors should and do tend to check their statements yearly for any drastic changes to the valuation of their portfolio.  Some investors even check quarterly for these changes and make decisions on their investments based on that time period. For both timeframes it is a wise decision as it takes the emotion out of the daily swings in the market.  If they check their statement for fluctuations any more than that it would be overkill.  However if a mutual fund, ETF (which I will explain in a later blog and highly recommend), or stock is suffering from a long decline in performance, it may be time to re-allocate your portfolio at the end of that year.

Whether you are an investor or a trader, risk management is a key objective in investing money into the stock market.  For the budding person entering the stock market, ask yourself the aforementioned questions, and then decide upon a suitable route.  One is not better than the other, and neither ways are perfect.  Always make sure to read as much as possible upon making financial decisions. 

My next update will focus on the investors as it is much easier to explain their terminology and modus operandi.  It also provides a solid foundation for moving to trading securities.  I hope everyone is studying hard for finals and getting all their Holiday shopping done!

Disclaimer - I am not advocating any method of investment and will not be held responsible for losses made when using the information in my blog.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan
Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:46:00 -0800 Modding the ASUS G72GX Laptop http://therisingend.posterous.com/modding-the-asus-g72gx-laptop http://therisingend.posterous.com/modding-the-asus-g72gx-laptop

It's been almost a month since my last update, which is a little too long.  Being a full-time student, part-time worker, and husband takes a toll on you, especially towards the end of the semester.  With only a month left in the semester, the finish line is almost there!  In between studying I decided upon modding my new laptop I bought from Newegg.com - the ASUS G72GX laptop, which is a beast of a laptop for the price.  Caution - modding the laptop will void the warranty (although if you buy the newegg version it's refurbished and doesn't have much of one).

The G72GX runs really hot with the GPU reaching temperatures up to and sometimes over 90C.  The fan is extremely loud on the laptop as well, making taking notes in class a bit of an embarrassment while the Professor is lecturing.  After reading about the cooling measures that were already provided with my G72GX, I decided on making a few of my own changes.  I did run into a problem on the way though regarding the GPU cooling.  If you do not have the tools to file down the GPU heatsink, then you will need to purchase copper shimmies to make the heatsink touch the GPU.

Starting off, there is a list of things you will need:

  • Small Screwdriver
  • Arctic Silver 5 (or another thermal paste - I find this one works well)
  • Alcohol
  • Cloth
  • Something to spread the Arctic Silver 5 (I actually used a small piece of cardboard)
  • Copper heatsinks for VGA memory (you can go aluminum like I did as well, but won't be as cool)
  • Copper shimmies 

The first thing that I did was to unscrew the back of the laptop where the GPU, CPU, and Hard drives are located.  It is the largest panel, and has around eight small screws.  Make sure to keep track of where your screws are!  Upon taking this cover off, I then preceded to unscrew the CPU heatsink, which is connected to the fan, so both will come out together.  Upon doing that I had to then remove the thermal pad that was on the heatsink using alcohol and the cloth.  Do NOT use water.  The picture below is the heatsink with the cooling pad removed.

Imag0128

At the same time I also removed the GPU heatsink and it was only held on by two screws.  Place both heatsinks away from the laptop.  After removing the heatsinks, it is time to put some Arctic Silver 5 on the CPU.  With mobile processors, the part that conducts the heat is a lot smaller than desktop processors.  What this means is use a TINY amount of AS5 and gently spread it over the entirety of the portion located on the picture.  

Imag0127

After making sure that the top of the processor is now completely covered with AS5 you can put the CPU heatsink back on, shown here:

Imag0129

The next step is to put AS5 over all of the portions of the GPU that had cooling pads on them.  Again, very liberally use the paste and make sure that the top is entirely covered.  You can view the photo below to see where the AS5 was applied.  If you cannot file off the extensions, this is also where you would put the copper shimmies in to make sure that the GPU and heatsinks are touching so that they can transfer the heat away from the GPU.

 

Place the GPU heatsink back on, making sure not to disturb the copper shimmies.  Once the GPU is screwed in make sure that the heatsink is touching the shimmies, and the shimmies are touching the appropriate areas.  After verifying that, we come to the last step.  

Take your copper (or aluminum in my case) heatsinks and place them on the copper portions of the laptop that you can visually see.  You can also place some on the GPU heatsink, but it is really negligible as to its effect.  I just had some extras I threw on there for good measure.

Imag0131

After everything has been done, it is time to close up the back of the laptop.  Once closed I started my computer, and here were the SpeedFan results:

Imag0132

While those are not indicative of actual temperatures, I have noticed a considerable cooling of both the GPU and CPU.  My GPU has gone from idling at 59C to 49C, and my CPU has gone from 36C to 28C idling.  Under full load my GPU has gone from 90C to 78C, and my CPU has gone from 50C to 39C.  If you have any questions, please feel free to message me on twitter on the right side of the page, or leave a comment.  Have a good week!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan
Fri, 15 Oct 2010 07:55:00 -0700 New Hobby Time...Backpacking! http://therisingend.posterous.com/new-hobby-timebackpacking http://therisingend.posterous.com/new-hobby-timebackpacking

My wife and I have enjoyed going up to Amicalola Falls and Kennesaw Mountain for day-hikes for about as long as we've been together.  There's just something about being out in nature that recharges your batteries for another week or month of work or school.  So recently I have been wanting to expand our hiking adventures to more of a backpacking adventure than just a standard day-hike.  

Amicalola Falls : 

Kennesaw State University has a fantastic library where I was able to check out several books on trails in North Georgia - turns out there is quite a few!  I'm very excited to be in a state that has so many great looking trails to blaze.  I'm probably going to start out with easy to access trails with accessible campgrounds so that we can get used to the idea of backpacking. 

I have always wanted to do the Appalachian Trail though, it's been a goal of mine for several years.  For that, I'll need a lot better gear and more time in the gym getting my endurance up.  If you want to send me some Christmas presents - make it backpacking gear that you can find here!  

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan
Tue, 05 Oct 2010 07:28:00 -0700 A little friendly help in trying to find a job in this tough economy... http://therisingend.posterous.com/29733442 http://therisingend.posterous.com/29733442

It's been a little while since the last post as I have been going through interviews, career fairs, and organizational meetings with accounting firms and organizations.  I find myself lucky to have been able to join and meet with each individual that I have come across, as just about everyone has been truly helpful in helping me get started on the career path to a CPA.  There are many great firms out there if you can't make the Big 4 or don't really want to. 

However with my current job helping my father get his Executive Recruiting business up and running, I have taken notice of the various things that help you or hinder you from getting hired by any employer.  While this is in no way a sure fire thing to get you hired in this kind of job market, it can help you get your name and your brand out there for employers to see.  Branding is really assessing yourself and seeing what strengths and weaknesses you have.  Do an honest assessment with yourself.  If you need help, KPMG has a fantastic website for the beginning college student.  Included on this site is a self assessment .pdf which I would take the time to fill out, even if you are an experienced professional.  

Finding a Job cartoons, Finding a Job cartoon, Finding a Job picture, Finding a Job pictures, Finding a Job image, Finding a Job images, Finding a Job illustration, Finding a Job illustrations

After you have done that, here are some additional things that help you on your way towards landing you that elusive job:

  • LinkedIn - It is really imperative that you join this site.  It is a professional networking site that enables you to connect with recruiters, employers, friends, professors, and anyone that you may have networked with.  This way you can keep track of anyone you have met at a networking event or while you were in school.  Keep in mind, especially if you are in graduate classes, that some of your classmates are probably already in the industry.  (Note: Please make sure to spell correctly on this site.  I have seen a lot of profiles that have misspelled words, and you don't want to come across looking uneducated or unprofessional.)
  • Join an organization in your field - Because I am trying to find a position in the Accounting Services industry, I have joined my school's local chapter of Beta Alpha Psi as well as the Georgia Society of CPA's.  Both of these programs have been invaluable in getting me face to face time with accounting professionals and recruiters.  From a personal perspective, I also got to meet two CPA's who both graduated from my same high school, which is very neat.  Always make sure to keep a smile on your face and know what you can bring to the table when speaking with the recruiter/professional.  Volunteering for groups or committees in these organizations can further help distinguish you from the crowd.
  • Career Fairs - These are great for getting face to face time with company recruiters and professionals as well.  While not as intimate as meeting them through your organization, you know that they are hiring or will be hiring in the near future.  Make sure to have a smile again, a resume, and possibly a business card if you have the money or time.  Do your research beforehand on the companies attending.  It's always great to show the recruiters and professionals that you know what industries they service, where they are located, what they do, and what career opportunities they have open.  After speaking with the recruiter/professional make sure to grab a business card.  This enables you to write a follow up letter the day of or the day after the career fair which is key for helping the company remember your name, and showing interest in joining said company.
  • Know your industry - By this I mean if you are in marketing and are applying for a job in IT, temper your expectations for finding a job in that field.  The amount of resumes we get when we post on a job board is staggering.  Probably 95% of them are not qualified for the job.  In these times, if you haven't worked in the specified industry, it is incredibly hard to break into the industry unless you are coming from college. Here's a list of people who have applied for high-level marketing jobs in the medical device field with one of our job posts and needless to say, did not even get remotely considered:
  •  
    • Professional Sports Players
    • College Sports Players
    • Stay at Home Moms
    • Radio Marketing Professionals
  • Utilize your Career Services Center - At Kennesaw State University, where I graduated, they have a fantastic career services center that will help you as much as you want in trying to land a job.  They offer such things as resume review, mock interviews, career fair listings, any available positions, networking events, and the list goes on.  They can be very valuable in helping you find something regardless if you're an alumni or a current student.  (Shout out to Lori Trahan who is fantastic working in KSU's Career Department!)
  • False information on your Resume - This is a no-no.  You may have been able to get by with this decades ago, but now it's a near impossibility with the information age.  Many HR professionals in companies talk to other HR professionals in the same industry.  One of the first searches we were doing the candidate had falsified information on his resume.  Needless to say the HR professional at the workplace found this out and said guy did not get the job.  Not only was he not considered for this job, he was now blacklisted from using our network of recruiters.  And believe me, you do not want to be on any blacklist because it is a very small world out there.

This should get you pointed in the right direction towards finding that elusive career.  A helpful hint: you may be nervous and some of these suggestions may get you outside of your shell of comfortability.  This is a GOOD thing.  After doing several of these you will get the hang of how to conduct yourself in a professional manner and present yourself in a positive light.  Many of these professionals and recruiters have been in your shoes and know how nervous it can be.  Just be yourself, and remember the information I posted above.  Again this list is by no means all-inclusive and if you have any other suggestions or ideas feel free to e-mail me or comment below.  You can also follow me with the link to twitter (@m_tolan) on the right hand side of this blog.  Best of luck in you finding your dream career.

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:04:00 -0700 Behind the stock market headlines... http://therisingend.posterous.com/behind-the-stock-market-headlines http://therisingend.posterous.com/behind-the-stock-market-headlines

These days I get a kick out of reading the headlines on Yahoo! Finance or any other financial website after the market has closed.  Here are some headlines the past week after the trading day ends:

  • Stocks Slip as caution about the economy returns
  • Financials Rally Over Relief on Jobs Report
  • Stocks Drop as Fear Returns over Economic Data
  • Stocks Gain as Economic Fears Ease

The thing that tickles me to death is that people actually believe that these are the reasons the stock market moves this way.  Over a two week period there were headlines that read "European Debt causes stock market to falter," while the next day it says "Markets shrug off European Debt to go higher" and three days later it says "Stock Market Falls over European Debt fears."  It seems there always has to be a reason that the market has moved, which technically is the truth as someone has to move the markets for some reason, but these days it seems that those news headlines affect the markets less and less.  There are numerous reports out that the ‘small investor’ has not been investing their money into the stock markets during the whole rally and subsequent channeling which you can see here and here .

What the average investor may or may not know is what goes on behind the scenes in today’s stock market.  The stock market has long been hiring the best and brightest students from top schools to develop what’s termed ‘Black Boxes’ which trade stocks based on algorithms in microseconds.  This causes high volume in what ordinarily would not be such a high volume trading session.

For the average investor looking to foray into trading equities in the stock market this provides a very daunting proposition – how are they to compete against these juggernauts trading millions upon millions of shares a day? 

Some firms that offer online trading are stepping up and offering items to where you can create your own algorithms, although probably not to the level a Goldman Sachs programmer can do.  Working for E*TRADE Financial a while ago there was an add on to where you could make your own algorithmic equations in excel and have their high-frequency trading system, Power E*TRADE Pro, place the trades for you when your algorithms told you to do so.

A very simplistic example is that you can place a trade which reads if the DOW hits 9000, buy 1000 shares of GOOG (Google, Inc.).  If you know a few things about technical analysis, then you can setup a trade which will execute if the MACD convergence line crosses the divergence line, the Fibonacci regression line has broken through on above average volume, the top of the Fibonacci Arc has been hit, or a certain pattern (cup and handle) has been recognized.  If you want to know more about these then feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

In August 2009 the TABB Group released a report which said that firms that did algorithmic trading took in roughly $21 billion profits in 2008!  Obviously something is working right for these companies who simply trade stocks all day long.  There also has to be someone on the wrong side of those trades…see Greece, Italy and the always effervescent small traders.

                                                

So what does this mean to the Average Joe investing in the stock market?  With over 70% (was estimated in 2009, now it’s supposedly north of 80%) of the trades being done with these ‘Black Boxes’ it means that eventually these companies’ profit margins will regress over time as everyone will know what algorithm sequence to trade with, and will render most technical analysis methods virtually unusable unless someone has a one-of-a-kind method.  This has happened with popular charting tools and technical indicators.  The Moving Average indicator hasn’t been effective for decades.  This is also why Goldman and the other big boys are hiring the most talented and brightest people to build them one-of-a-kind machines. 

It also means that just because there was a bad report, it’s probably not the reason the market is going lower.  In reality it’s probably because a key algorithmic indicator was hit and the computer told it to sell off.  Big firms don’t look at the news like they used to and say “OMG…Beige Book report had a negative outlook so sell sell sell!!”  In contrast they let their programmers work and let the computer algorithms take over and automate the entire process.  I just can’t help but thinking of the Terminator, machines interacting with machines (black boxes), all the while killing what’s left of the human population (small investors).

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan
Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:58:00 -0700 Taxes hidden in the Health Reform Bill http://therisingend.posterous.com/taxes-hidden-in-the-health-reform-bill http://therisingend.posterous.com/taxes-hidden-in-the-health-reform-bill

As much as I have tried to stay out of politics because I view most of it as idiots bickering over which pork barrel project is going through, I decided to take a look at this infamous healthcare bill.  H.R.3962 "Affordable Health Care for America Act" is a rather long bill that you can actually view here in it's entirety which was passed almost two months ago.  As I'm currently enrolled in a tax course I wanted to take a look a the specific taxes that have been added that were buried in the bill, and how they may affect you and I.

Pork_barrel

I'll go with a list as I think it's much easier to read and get across points than a block of text.  For the people who don't understand taxes I'll try to make them more understandable.  For starters AGI, or adjusted gross income, is what you make in a year (from ALL income sources) subtracted by exclusions and deductions.  Exclusions are typically government tax breaks (think 401(k) and traditional IRA's - you don't have to pay tax on the money put in there), while deductions arise from certain expenses throughout the taxable year (think marketing expenses).  

We'll start with the first mention of actual tax numbers in the article, which begins on page 297 of the 1900 page article.

  1. Page 297 - Tax on individuals if you do not have insurance or insurance which is not good enough - 2.5% of AGI.  
  2. Page 310 - Tax on companies over 50 people who do not have insurance for all people - $100 each day of non-conformance, 30 day grace period for company to correct.
  3. Page 313 - Tax on same companies as #2.  This is an ADDITIONAL tax of 8% of each individual's wages that are not covered.
  4. Page 337 - Tax on individuals who have more than  $1 million AGI other than corporations - 5.4% flat rate.
  5. Page 339 - Tax on medical devices of 2.5% for the first sale.

 

Yes, there are limitations and exceptions to these rules of which one of the most interesting is that people who are recognized as part of a religious sect as determined by 1402(g), as long as your sect conscientiously opposes public or private insurance due to several reasons you can read here, are exempt from said tax.

Number four blew my mind as well - more taxes for people who make more money without causation.  Number five - I'll probably have my father blog about that one, as it could cause some problems for his field (check out his blog at shawntolan.com/blog).

Bottom line is if you do not have healthcare insurance, it is now required (and you will be taxed if you don't have it!) - so more money out of your pocket if you chose not to buy health insurance previously.  They will in effect tax you the exact same amount of money that the national average premium would be.  For the rest of the taxes, it may not seem like much to worry about from an individual perspective.  What you don't see behind the scenes though is that these taxes are added in to the costs of goods and then passed on to consumers, almost ALWAYS.

Hope this article shed some light on the hidden taxes input into our IRS tax code.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan
Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:08:21 -0700 New Arsenal jersey! http://therisingend.posterous.com/new-arsenal-jersey http://therisingend.posterous.com/new-arsenal-jersey
Imag0105

Received my new jersey today from eBay. Paid $4.88 for it and its the real deal.  Up next in the mail...vuvezela!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan
Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:53:16 -0700 Video test...Braves warming up! http://therisingend.posterous.com/video-testbraves-warming-up http://therisingend.posterous.com/video-testbraves-warming-up
VIDEO0012.3gp Watch on Posterous

Conrad, Heyward, Infante (being stretched by trainer), Ankiel warming up pre-game before their walk off win against the Dodgers

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan
Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:14:00 -0700 Graduate classes...first blog post! http://therisingend.posterous.com/graduate-classesfirst-blog-post http://therisingend.posterous.com/graduate-classesfirst-blog-post

I've been wanting to start a blog for some time now and after seeing Chris' blog it got me motivated to go ahead and make the plunge.  I must say that this website is very easy to navigate and use.  I haven't gone through all the features present but the layout is sleek.

I started my first graduate classes this past week.  It was pretty amazing when I found out after my first two classes that two research reports will be due by the end of the semester.  

Hey wait...this is for Accounting!  

One is on XBRL reporting and how it's changed or will change accounting practices, and  the other is regarding Federal income tax that is TBD.  In my other class dealing with Auditing, I was put into a group with three Asian women and we have to do two presentations and a project together.  While they may be good students, every single one of them is no master of the English language, so it's pretty much a slam dunk that I am going to be the one doing the presentations.  This could turn out to be an absolutely wonderful semester.

I get to go to my first class for my fourth and final class this semester, which will deal with issues in Managerial Accounting.   It's only on Thursday's but lasts until 10:45 at night.  It's a good bet I won't see my wife on Thursday's.

Time for this man to hit the sack and I hope Chris has fun in Mystic, CT with Meghan!

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/697499/matt_n_rory.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wuf4t1b0557 Matt Tolan therisingend Matt Tolan