Hi Shawn,

It is very kind of you to be concerned. But, I'm not certain what symptoms I may exhibit?

As I noted, I sent out a probe today, as did Jesse Livermore, at a key inflection point in the market as presented by Billy. It never reached a stable profit point; every rally was sold, and I watched it all day. Finally, I began to fret about holding any position over night, and I sold the position and took, a perhaps less well advised but profitable trade in TZA to finish off the day with a scratch. The biggest waste, I suppose, was my time. but I enjoyed the chance to learn very much.

As for the robot, I should note that I have followed it carefully and faithfully. In June, I made a fundamental decision to follow the robots rather than Dr. K's MDM, even though I did very well with the Dr. K's MDM and recommend it. I missed the two best robot trades this summer because I was at funerals or on vacation with family. The robot, however, missed the big August down move and the creeping October rise. The profits I made at the end of September and the beginning of October were neutralized by losses in November.

I must admit that I find the Thinkorswim platform to be seductive but not effective. It offers so much power. In fact, as I have noted previously, I don't really need a Ferrari to trade the markets. Indeed, I have four active trading accounts. TOS is the worst performer of all by a large margin. Two accounts in Vanguard are up approximately 50% this year. Another flouders about in a TBT trade that many, including Tom Sosnoff (never believe anything your broker says), called the trade of the decade. It may take me a decade to realize the profit in that one! In any case, you can be sure Vanguard is no Ferrari. It is more like my 1997 Nissan Quest, stable and dependable but not flashy. And I trade it very infrequently.

I do have a rather significant question about the robots, and it regards position sizing. I sense that more experienced hands adjust their positions, choosing leveraged or unleveraged plays depending on their experience. Being an utter newbie and having read Trend Following and the turtle books, I know I should follow the order, no matter what I think. Presently, I've decided to take exposure of 125% of my TOS account on any robot trade. But honestly, I don't know if this is correct or not. The last couple of robot trades resulted in some hard blows. Nonetheless, I remain steadfast in my conviction that the robot presents the best possible opportunity for me and others here.

Lastly, I want to note that I pulled down Value in Time from my shelf to read once again during this Thanksgiving weekend. The logic is now more clear to me than when I read it in the spring, and I feel very excited (like a good graduate student) to know its author is "down the hall" and available to answer questions!

Again, thanks for your tips and concern,