The Dow lost 41 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. The Japanese market got hammered and had to close early which spooked the markets here. That combined with the earnings coming in poorly led the sell-off. We were off about 75 at one point. I bought some OEX calls. I still think a bounce is coming but my timing wasn't that good. There is also a downtrend line in effect now and we are on the way back to it. I didn't put a lot of money in this trade because it really isn't a good set up. I probably should not have even taken this on with just 2 days to go. But if we can get through the downtrend line, it could be a winner. It is right about where I bought it and the time factor looms large. Again, I don't usually do trades like this so we'll see what happens. I still own the GE calls and that sold off and came back also. But they are way in the red and I will think hard about just cutting the loss tomorrow in front of the earnings. I do not want to take a big loss here but it is possible. At this point I will probably wait for Friday and hope to get bailed out. We'll see what happens tomorrow. That trade, in retrospect, did not work out from the beginning and I held on anyway. Those kind of trades have got to be dumped early. I need to remember that. Mentally I'm again having problems of talking to non traders who just don't get it. As much as I'd like to discuss trading with others, it's a losing proposition. People just do not understand what it is, what it involves etc. It is a waste of my time to try and explain. Yeah, it gets lonely when you're the only one but I now realize that it's better than dealing with those that don't understand. I guess trading is a solitary business and that isn't going to change. The battle is with oneself and the markets. No need to discuss this with others. Let them live their lives and I will get what I can from the markets and leave it at that. Less hassle that way and there are enough problems without creating any more. We see what happens tomorrow and if I'm up to the challenge...