The Pips Are Strong With This One!

Today we're doing something a little different. Those close to me will know that I'm a day trader. Its just one of the few opportunities I was fortunate enough to be presented with that has provided me with an alternative stream of income. What's a day trader you ask? Ever seen movies like "Wall Street"? Well its exactly like that! Only less dramatic... much less...

This will be the first of many posts that I will share of my journey in derivatives trading. So without further ado, I present to you my latest entry in the Gold market. Just a few things to note, vertical axis is the spot price of Gold in USD and each candle representing one hour in price movement.

My entry was on the 30th of May 2013. Prior to the 30th, the price has been relatively crabbish so I was pretty much expecting the price to explode at any moment. So upon waking up close to noon, I noticed the price had already broken past yesterday's high (29th May). Fortunately, I hadn't missed the entry. After a brief analysis, I predicted an entry at about 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

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At 2pm, I returned to my charts and at the close of the hour, the entry was proper. A300 activated on a BUY but there was already a fairly large movement before and the price needed to "rest". However, with a busy schedule ahead of me, I decided to just enter by placing a 300 pip take profit. 7 hours later, a comfortable 300 pips was harvested. The price did encounter a slight reversal in between. However, by applying "ambuyat" (not the food, but a technical charting technique), I was aware that it will not go beyond the horizontal line A1. By also applying ambuyat, the day's limit was noted at A2, which was super predictable.

This is my 6th A300 trade, all of which have yielded positive trades. And within a mere 30 days, a conservative 10% ROI (returns on investment) was easily achieved. When you're thinking of venturing into derivatives trading, there's only a couple of simple questions you gotta ask. Is there a proven, predictable trading system that yields results? And is there a mentor willing to guide you along the way? Fortunately, for me it is a solid and resounding YES to both. With SRDC, and the recent A300 set up, it couldn't be easier! I owe a debt of gratitude to the SRDC community ,especially its founder Sensei OrangeRoshan. When you're an SRDC trader reading this post... May the pips be with you!

Fast & Furious 6 Review

(Spoiler alert!) If you haven't seen the movie, I suggest you... look at some of my other posts instead.

So here we are at the 6th installment of what seems to be a never ending franchise. The fast and the furious series of films certainly has its ups and downs; some memorable and some honestly that should stay forgotten.

Fast & Furious 6 takes off where Fast Five left off; a heist which left them each with a hefty sum of cash. Fast Five certainly made us believe that it was the last in the series.

The plot for Fast & Furious 6 seemed straight forward enough at first glance from its trailer. Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) believed to have been killed in the 4th movie is alive and well, and apparently in bed with the enemy now. Dom, wanting to find out the truth for himself is forced into a mission by Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to take down criminal mastermind, Shaw (Luke Evans). So the entire crew reassembles and well you know the rest.

Furious 6 (the film's title in the opening credits) is just one of those "leave your brain at home" kinda popcorn flick. It does nothing more, nothing less. It also doesn't try to be smart, which it does so successfully. Is the plot predictable, yes. But we're certainly not expecting this film or any in its series to be nominated for an Oscar anytime soon. So I would definitely recommend walking into the film with the right kinda expectations.

I believe a very important part of the Fast & Furious franchise has got to be the cars featured in the movie. (Seems kinda obvious, but hear me out) I felt strongly that its predecessors always seemed to face an identity crisis when it comes to car selection. But not in this. It was clear from the get-go that Furious 6 was gonna be about American Muscles, and it did not disappoint. The roars of the classic muscles sounded great in the theatre. And there is certainly something unique about American muscles featured against the backdrop of London. This time, they finally got it right.

I'm sure some of you had your guesses of why Letty is now with the baddies. I certainly had my guess and thought that she might have been undercover with another law enforcement agency. It seemed like the obvious choice considering that she was shown in the trailer clipping Dom in the shoulder, purposely missing a kill shot. And in the film, she actually used a rare FMJ round to clip Dom in the shoulder, allowing Dom and the crew to trace her steps via the bullet. But in the film, she actually suffered from amnesia (due to the events in Fast Five), which completely threw me off guard. I certainly believed they could've done a lot more with Letty being an undercover agent.

Former MMA fighter Gina Carano was the latest addition to the cast. She plays Riley, Hobbs' new sidekick in the flick. She's certainly a welcome addition to the team and had a fantastic girl fight with Letty in one of the scenes! But what was really off was when they revealed that she was a traitor and was actually working for Shaw. This betrayal was highly unnecessary as it was never integral to the plot.

Overall, even with its flaws, it was still an enjoyable summer flick. The pace was fantastic with over-the-top, physics defying action sequences that were laid out perfectly across the duration of the movie. A short surprise clip was also included in the credits that almost confirms a sequel is certainly in the works. (Hey, if you're gonna milk the franchise, might as well milk it to the max!) However, the biggest question that was left unsolved was... Which airport runway was that in the final sequence? It will probably win the Guinness World Record for longest runway!

Verdict: 7.5/10

Charcoal BBQ & Grill Food Review

So when it comes to food, you've gotta understand that I'm extremely critical. Nothing short of superb meals will satisfy my senses. Here it is then, my very first post on a food review. I will be critiquing the meals itself and not the restaurant as that wouldn't be very fair. (Unless I have an appetite to gobble up the whole menu!)

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So as to avoid overcrowded and fully booked restaurants on Mother's Day itself, me and brother decided to do lunch with mom and grandma a day in advance; And after much deliberation, we'd decided on Charcoal. (Charcoal is a local BBQ and grill place here in Brunei) Honestly, I've never really been a fan of Charcoal. I've heard time and before that this place serves up one of the better lamb chops in town. (Which is debatable) But we decided we'd give some of their other items on the menu a chance. If you've ever been to Charcoal you'll be familiar with the image above. If I'm not mistaken its deep fried wonton skin, complementary every time you dine in there. Which is good, because they really do take a considerable amount of time to prepare your food.

I'm a fan of Charcoal's sparkling juices. At B$3.00 a pop, it doesn't really burn a hole in your wallet as well. Its a great thirst quencher and something to cool your tongue with after you've had something really hot from their menu.

This above image is why I keep coming back over and over again to Charcoal. Its a Creamy Pesto Linguine topped with Smoked Salmon. You get to choose your own combination of pasta type, sauce and also the topping. The creamy pesto sauce is brilliant if you like the strong smell of basil leafs and the linguine just soaks up all that goodness! On top of that, Charcoal really gives a generous serving of smoked salmon. The salmon is just right, not too salty and still has that bounce when you munch down on it. By far my favorite dish on their menu. (Which is ironic as this meal is neither BBQ'd not grilled!) Verdict: 9/10

This next one is called the "Texan 1/2 chicken", served with sides of mashed potatoes and grilled veggies. The 1/2 chicken here is grilled to perfection, where the meat just tears right off the bones and its still juicy all the way to the inside. Unfortunately this is where the good ends. On the description in the menu, it says the chicken was marinated with mustard, honey and BBQ sauce; but I do not even taste a single hint of mustard or honey. On top of that, the chicken was way too salty! This makes it supremely hard to taste the other flavors. Verdict: 5/10

Our final dish was the "Pineapple mint lamb" cooked to medium rare. When it comes to lamb, I'm extremely critical. This may be due to the fact that my mom cooks up one helluva lamb chop. (Now I may be a bit biased here but those that have tried my mom's grilled lamb chops will concur) I ordered this particular lamb dish cooked to medium rare, but as i sank my knife onto the meat, I found it to be still too overcooked! (Can i order it to be "bloody" next time?) One positive I can say about this dish is the sauce; Its very zesty and chock full of herbs. But this sauce didn't translate well onto the lamb. Perhaps it wasn't marinated quite long enough. Verdict: 3.5/10

All in all, the food was pretty disappointing. Price wise was ok, but a bit on the high side. Will I come back here again? Sure, but maybe just for the pasta! Well what's really important at the end of the day was the quality time you spend with your loved ones. And me and brother were very grateful we get to spend time over lunch with mom and grandma. Too often, people complain about things they do not have, whereas instead, be grateful for the things you do have.

Ever had any experience dining in Charcoal yourself? Feel free to drop me a comment below to tell me about it!

The Dream Debt

I often find the topic of "Dreams" a particularly interesting one. Dreams not in the literal sense, "dreams" as in things you'd like to achieve, things you'd like to have and what not. I've had the luck of coming into contact with people that actually taught me what its like to have a dream. Trust me, when you have a dream, it'll make each and every day of your life all the more purposeful.

There have been plenty of books written on this topic. But I'd like to bring up one specific book that I've read that's particularly engaging. Its called "Dream Making in a Dream Taking World" by Dr. Steve Price. Dr. Price talks about something called "The Dream Debt" in his book. What's a dream debt? Perhaps you've heard of the saying "a debt of gratitude". These are the people in your life that have sacrificed so that you can have what you have in life at this moment.

Now why did I bring up this subject? As I write this post, Mothers' Day is just coming to a close. I can tell you my mom has certainly given up plenty to raise me and my brother to be the person we are today. (I'm not going to go into the details) How do I pay off my "Dream Debt" exactly? Will your actions ensure that their sacrifices are worth while? This subject goes even deeper as you move up your family tree. What sacrifices did our forefathers have had to make to ensure the next generation will have a better life?

Are you just going to coast through life in a mediocre fashion? Or will you find a cause worthy of fighting for? A cause that will make those who come before to be proud of who you are. I personally make it an obligation to make sure I pay off my dream debt.

I was grateful to have the opportunity of dining with my mom and grandmother (mom's mom) to celebrate mothers' day. And I will soon be reviewing the food in my next post. Look forward to that as there will be plenty of yummylicious images. With that, I wish all the mothers around the world a very Happy Mothers' Day. Go and make your momma proud!

The Dream World

I'm not really certain if I'd be any good at this whole blogging business honestly. Since I recently took up photography as a hobby and will shoot anything and everything; I guess this will be great place to showcase my work. As I'm still uncertain for the personality for my new blog, I will blog about practically everything, from food reviews (I know its pretty cliche) and even Silver and Gold Coins (which I involve myself in as my day job).

Some of you here are probably wondering what the title of my blog means. For those who are familiar with the film "The Matrix", you will undoubtedly know what "The Red Pill" is. For the benefit of those who aren't, go ahead and watch the movie, cause you're missing out big time! In short, the title character Neo (Keanu Reeves) was offered to choose from either the Blue or Red pill from... You know what, just check out the video below.

The Matrix in 60 seconds

Still don't get what's going on? Then you must watch the movie! The reason why myself and so many fans of the film find it so fascinating is how much the metaphor of "The Matrix" is alike to the world that we're living in. The Matrix is merely a simulated dream world. Are we living in this "dream world" ourselves? Oblivious from the truth and living day to day passively without questioning. If you like me, like to question everything, then I invite you to join me in this journey.

Free your mind...