The Novel idea

Work is going well on the novel, although I'm still not sure where it's going. I'm over 20,000 words in, about four and a half chapters. I'm aiming for twenty-four-ish chapters.

Method? Don't look back, write 800 words a day, use a spreadsheet to keep track, and make up any deficit. Oh, and finally, make the first draft sh_tty. I call it the SFD, and if you know it's going to be bad, because the name of it is actually telling you it's bad, then it can be very freeing.

I use freemind to keep track of characters and major plot movements, and add detail as I approach each section. Then I write the section, and then go back to freemind. It seems to be working so far, but it doesn't make for having a complete story, start to finish. Ah, well.

Investopia

I use the Investopia Stock Simulator for trying out my theories. I am the user Acmetrades, and I have been using a DMI to gauge whether the market is trending or channeling, and using the ADX to trade trending, and the MACD for trading channeling markets. So far I've had my ups and downs (a little stock trading humor there).

I use prophet.net's Javacharts for doing my research. Have for a long time, I like them. Their free service is unparalleled, even with its limitations.

11-07-09 update:

Currently also exploring momentum trading, using two long-term EMAs to determine up or down trend, and initiating a trade when both the MACD-histogram and the 13-EMA move in the same direction as the trend. More to follow...