Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Tuesday Notes - A "Puzzling" Thought

You'd think that trading almost every day of the year would satisfy my "puzzle" craving ... a craving that began when I was young and couldn't get enough of brain-teasers, logic problems, and -- especially -- jigsaw puzzles.

Yet think again, as I stumbled across a stellar SOOT trading tool (SOOT = "Stay Out of Trouble" ... one of our coined Jellie terms as described in a recent post) in the form of free web-based jigsaw puzzles.

So far, I've done six of them during yesterday and today -- including the one pictured above -- as I monitor the market during the slow times.

I personally prefer the "hard" version, which has about 300 pieces and takes around 45-70 minutes to complete, depending on complexity and how aggressive I want to be in timing myself. Remember, I'm the guy who recently discovered competitive cooking shows!

Benefits?

- It provides a useful diversion as you monitor the market during the slow times;
- It keeps the mind active;
- It helps subconsciously strengthen your "pattern recognition" mindset; and
- It can satisfy "mouse-click" urges for those challenged with discipline during slow markets.

And if that's not enough, you'll never lose a piece.

P.S. While the pieces begin scattered and you can rotate them, all of the pieces are actually aligned properly. It took me two puzzles to figure that out. (Remember, I love "edges")!