Author: Lawrence Chan

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TLC Weekly Update September 13, 2019

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Another week just fly by so quickly. I don’t even know it is Friday until being reminder to go for an early meeting today. For some mysterious reasons, everything is happening within this month and the next. Maybe it is time to read my horoscope to see what is in store next.

I watched this video about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Gym & Fridge. Interesting how a body builder adapt to old age and stay fit. His way of eating an egg is definitely inspiring.

I have my team working on various versions of the trading strategies featured at DaytradingBias.com. I understand that many people choose their platforms other than TradeStation. As oppose to what many people think, it is much more complicated to convert these mechanical trading strategies into other platforms. The main issue is not the programming factor. Instead, it is the configuration of the underlying charts in each platform are drastically different from each other. Many platforms simply do not have the flexibility to chart the data series in customized ways.

Once we have something ready, I will upload the code and also write in details how to setup the charts correctly in these other platforms.

On the site security front, I am happy that the improved measures have protected the site from being brought down by the hackers so far but the slow down of the site is still causing inconvenience to my members. The security services I am using now are helping us to find the best solution going forward to deal with this remaining issue. I will report on the progress in a month.

This week Toronto is getting warmer suddenly as if it is summer. It was as high as 28 degree Celsius. I wonder if the predicted early arrival of extreme coldness by October will really happen?!

Time to go.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

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TLC Weekly Update September 6, 2019

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Another busy week came to an end. Meetings piled on everyday. I don’t even have time to write until now, Saturday morning. It was an exciting week that produced many great results. I am very happy that several deals are finally completed so that I do not need to worry about them any more.

Another interesting development with DaytradingBias.com was brought to my attention by my team. They told me for some mysterious reasons, the site is gaining huge in Alexa ranking. Alexa ranking is one of the major ranking services on the net that determine the level of traffic a website comparing to all the other ones in the world.

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Since I have not instructed anyone doing any SEO (search engine optimization) or any significant promotion, I have no idea why the site is gaining so much attention. It is nice to see that more people are aware of what I do though.

I read this article on Extreme Experience recently and leads me to reflect on my own experiences in life. Indeed, the ones I can still recall vividly are the ones that produced the most extreme emotions. And they do shape my life much more than those experience that is supposed to be more significant yet has no extreme emotions occurred at the time.

I wonder how I can utilize this knowledge to better shape my life in the future?

I was asked many times this week, as I have to talk to many people who do not know me, about myself career-wise. It is a very long story and just talking about how I started trading already open up a lot more interest of the rest of the story. Maybe I should starting writing a memoir … nah, this can wait.

More catch up this weekend has to get started.

Have a wonderful weekend all!

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TLC Weekly Update August 30, 2019

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The attacks on my site DaytradingBias.com last week actually messed up quite a few things but nothing serious. Given the circumstances, I have again upgraded the defense measures hoping that the site can better protect itself should there be another wave of attacks. I am getting very curious why there are so many bots out there trying to hack sites like mine that are relatively unimportant.

I made good progress in completing the trading course for Emini. I like to get it done quickly but my schedule is packed so I can only work on it at night and during weekend. Anyhow, I am committed to complete the first edition by the end of September. Site members will see the support page for the course soon.

Here is a teaser picture.

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I was asked many times to write more about the astrology cycles that I explained in details couple of years ago. The other day someone asked me specifically certain technical questions about I Chi and I drew some diagrams explaining the concepts in a visual way. I will tidy up those drawings and write up an article on that. So it is coming, don’t worry.

Many people are wondering if we are going to get a trade deal soon between US and China. The truth is, even if a deal is made, it will not be something everyone likes for sure. So just more headaches for traders and investors these coming months. During this tough time, remember to clear your head before making any trading decisions. Try start your day with Muse, a pretty good meditation assistant.

Got to go. Have a great Labour Day long weekend all!

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Not All Display Port to HDMI Adaptors are Created Equal


Over these few weeks, thanks to my Lenovo Yoga died on me (mentioned here), I have to buy a new set of external adaptors. Since the Lenovo Yoga has two USB-C ports but no regular USB port, I have to purchase external adaptor that is built for USB-C. It has its advantage for sure since I just need to use one single port for connection to my 4K HD monitor with ports for networking and other USB devices all in one compact device.

Now that I am using Microsoft Surface Pro 6, all these gadgets no longer work. Trust me. I tried. I even found a USB-C convertor to plug into the Surface USB 3.0 port and no luck. The USB ports on the adaptor kind of work but not the networking port. Definitely no output to the monitor either.

So I have to give them all up and buy myself a new all-in-one adaptor which I found on Amazon.

 

It works … except that the HDMI port does not produce the 4K resolution on my 4K HD monitor. I tried everything including direct changes to the resolution settings. It just cannot get my 4K monitor to display 4K.

So, I tried this on my 4K TV. And it worked. Damn, that’s annoying.

So I ordered a simple display port to HDMI adaptor hoping that it may solve the problem this time.

And nope. It has exactly the same problem. They just cannot sync with my 4K monitor.

Some people asking exactly the same question why the adaptors are not working. The vendors and some other “smart” users blame the problem on the HDMI cable saying that a low quality one will not work. Well, I am using exactly the same cable that used to connect my Lenovo Yoga to the same monitor. I also use this same cable for the connection to TV which works. Don’t tell me it is its low quality causing the problem.

The search goes on. I eventually bought this adaptor.

And it works! I finally found one that works with my 4K monitor giving me 4K resolution.

I don’t blame the other 2 adaptors for not being able to output 4K resolution on my monitor. After all they both can produce 4K output on my TV. My guess is that the 4K specification can be very tricky so a better adaptor may be able to handle more types of monitors.

Lessons learned.

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TLC Weekly Update August 23, 2019

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Hitting writer’s block over the past few days is kind of frustrating. I understand myself well enough to know that I need to work on something unrelated to these projects so that I can regain my concentration. Hence writing a short article on cold shower feels right. Here it is in case you missed that.

I also translated an old NeoTicker function Range2Period into Tradestation. It is a very useful tool for those interested in building trading strategies.

I passed my daily statements for the reference trading account to my team last week but when I check for the updated monthly performance on the site it is not there. It took me some tedious time to capture those statements from the brokerage website so I was not happy to not seeing the update a few days after. It turned out, my team uploaded the picture file but the backend of the site decided not to serve the updated picture …

And it is now fixed. For those interested in seeing the live performance for June and July you can see it finally. I will also try to write about it in next instalment of my trading automation series.

Lately I have been asked many times on how to immigrate to Canada by people from Hong Kong and other Asian countries. I do have connections that can help people out in this area. So if you are thinking about moving to Canada, drop me an email and I will refer you to the right people.

I replaced my broken Toshiba flat screen TV with one having built-in Fire TV. I never thought that it is now so much more convenient to browse the net on TV. Although I mainly use this as my big quote screen, it is nice to be able to watch something else like Prime Video or Netflix when having my lunch at home.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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How to Cold Shower

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There are many benefits with taking cold shower. I am not going to explain all that here. What I like to do is telling you a way to do it through a process that determination and will power are not needed.

First, if you are a hot shower person, start with ending your shower with “less hot” water for like 30 seconds. It has to be something you can tolerate. No point to make it an unpleasant experience. More on this “tolerance” issue later.

Just by doing this for a week, you would reap a small part of the benefits you get from taking ice cold shower.

Next, dial down the temperature of the water you use in your shower. You do not need to go all the way down to warm water until you are comfortable to do so. And remember to end your shower with water than is cooler. At this point, you can adjust the temperature of the water down quickly every few days.

The goal is to allow yourself to have a shower in just warm water and get yourself used to rinse with cooler water. Eventually you will be able to tolerate ice cold water at the end. It does not take long to do so.

Do not misunderstand that I am against taking hot shower. In fact, hot shower has its place as a way to relax our bodies. So do it occasionally when you really need to.

And there is no point to shower all the way with ice cold water either. I find that some body wash does not rinse well in cold water. So practically, just add 30 seconds to a minute of rinsing yourself in cold water at the end would do the job.

If you have never done cold shower, I can tell you that once you have trained your body to tolerate the coldness, your body would react to the cold water giving you a warmness sensation inside.

I like to point out that everywhere on the net recommends people jump into cold water rinse on day one. This is not a good idea especially for people who have weak immune system or other physical ailments. For young but not healthy people, taking a cold water rinse suddenly may ended up getting sick. For older people, ease into the practice carefully.

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TLC Weekly Update August 16, 2019

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I have been busy catching up with projects while attending multiple long business meetings over the week. The week is not quite as productive as I hope for. Things should improve though by next week.

Talking about productivity drop, my four year old flat screen TV just died the other day leaving me without my real-time quotes when I am not inside my office. It is expected but four years is kind of short though. In case you do not know about this, modern electronic devices are not built to last …

I am very glad that my special recommendation worked out (so far) for my DaytradingBias premium members. It feels great to help my members making some money in this tough trading environment. The trade is still in progress. We will see how things go in coming few weeks.

I added a new reading list for aspiring traders who want to pursuit trading as a career. This time the list is not compiled by me. Instead, it is a collection of recommended books on trading by the famous traders of our time.

I am working on another webinar right now. If all goes well, I will schedule that either in late August or early September.

Time to go. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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TLC Weekly Update August 9, 2019

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All week I was troubled by bad internet connection. Slowed down progress with various projects. Just unbelievable how dependent I am these days on the need to be connected to the net all the time …

My team told me that the Gann Square Excel add-in I have created years ago, is the number one gann tool on the net based on the number of downloads. It is a pleasant surprise for me. Never thought that people like it so much. Just wondering what will happen if I charge a dollar each.

I received quite a number of requests to buy the mechanical trading strategies they see in DaytradingBias instead of subscribing to the premium service which gives full access to all the strategies. I understand what they are thinking of and I can package up the strategies as individual items in the store. The truth of the matter is, the cost of these strategies would add up to way more than the subscription fees. Anyway, I am getting my team to package up some of the items and offer them in the store.

I finally realize that I was sick after I came back to Canada last week. The symptoms were so mild that I thought I was get exhausted from the trip and all. Only until I woke up Thursday in the morning feeling all better that I figure this out.

Someone sent me this Quora answer by James Altucher on Warren Buffett. It is a good read and correct assessment of “The Oracle”. As I told many people asking me about Warren Buffett, he is not a good investor and he is definitely not a good fund manager. Now I can refer everyone to this full length article so that I don’t have to waste time explaining why.

Have a great weekend all!

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TLC Weekly Update August 2, 2019

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I was so exhausted after traveling from Hong Kong back to Toronto that I slept on and off for more than a day before I can get back to my normal schedule excluding exercise. And now that it is Friday, it is my first day of resuming my daily exercise routine. My performance was bad.

What two weeks of non-stop meetings, walking in extreme heat, dining out and significant amount of alcohol can do to me?

Well, upper body strength dropped but I know I will gain it back quickly. Other than that, I do not really feel that bad. It is still too early to tell how long it will take to recover fully.

I guess the worst part of the trip was little to no option to stay away from complex carbohydrates. Every meal I was introduced to try out, with much eager by the inviting parties, has carb as the main ingredient. Exotic ramen, very fancy noodle dishes, you name it, I tried it. The end result is six pounds of fat added to my belly.

I am graceful for the chance to try out all these foods. I enjoyed every moment of having them. Doing this occasionally makes life fun. However, getting back in shape will probably be my priority over the coming few weeks.

Talking about priority, I now have time to get back on track to compile my list of books to read on basic chart reading skills. As I explained before, it is getting more difficult to do so because many of the books I like to include into the list are no longer in print. I am working on adding the alternatives in case you cannot find the ones I recommend.

In the meantime, you can read the series here.

I will get back on track to complete the trading manuals on Emini that I promised my members. It is not an easy task because writing is often a “flow” process that you need your brain to have the big picture in your mind in order to produce content that is coherent with the rest of the book. So I need to read and re-read my manuscripts to pick up from where I left off three weeks ago.

So, catch up time for me and wish you all a great weekend!

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TLC Weekly Update July 26, 2019

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I was doing a presentation in Hong Kong on alternative investment vehicles earlier this week. Some questions are quite interesting. But specifically there is this one question many readers will be interested to know the answers,

What are my opinions on the current market environment?

Here is a quick summary:

  • Brexit is good for UK. British Pound will bottom out soon after Brexit.
  • Do not short Euro now. Too crowded. Too late.
  • When every major economy are using ZIRP to stimulate the economy, there will be unintended consequences.
  • Gold is in the beginning stage of a two to multiple years rally.
  • Equities will not be the place to be for good return in coming two to three years but not necessarily a “crash” that many people wanted to see (i.e. Chicken Little syndrome).
  • Real estate will not generate good return because it always normalize to the long term bond yield which may turn negative if the central banks choose to do so.
  • US dollar will be the place to be until it gets too expensive for the 3rd world countries to service their debts.
  • The belief that you need physical gold implies you believe that the system is heading for total collapse. If that is the case, you should not pile up gold bars. You should buy guns instead. (Stolen from Tim Morge)

There is this very odd thing I like to complain about the restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Many restaurants offering breakfast on their menu but they do not open until much later in the day. And many of them do not indicate what time they open. So I was walking up and down the street not able to find a place for breakfast even though all these places having their signs telling me the nice breakfast they serve … by lunch time.

The week was so packed with all sorts of meetings I could not work on the book list on technical trading skills. I will catch up with that when I return to Toronto in couple of days.

And this year is first time in my life that I have so many people surprised me with birthday cakes and well wishes. I don’t usually celebrate my birthday at all for years. So it is a drastic change indeed. Thank you all of you for remembering my birthday!

For those of you who are curious about my exact date of birth for whatever reason, here is the clue – first moon landing.

Have a nice weekend all!