Well, we made it down to Buenos Aires, Argentina and just got through our first trading day.  Thankfully, today was a profitable day for us.  We had a 66% win ratio this morning, and were able to pull out a few points in the e-mini S&P 500.

I wanted to introduce Marcello Arrambide, who has been a long-time trading partner of mine.  He also runs our live trading room with our MAP Mastery students for the Emini Academy.

Ok, I’ll admit it.  I’m a bit of a geek.  I love gadgets and gizmos, and my favorite device this month is the Amazon Kindle.  When I first heard about it I was really intrigued at the idea of having a light, portable “reading device”.  Here are the top 3 things I absolutely love about the Kindle:

1.  It reads just like paper- I used to spend countless hours reading PDF’s and Ebooks on my desktop and laptop.  After 10 minutes of reading, the glare of the monitor would bring on piercing pains in my eyes.  It also made me very tired.  The Kindle doesn’t use any back-light, and looks just like paper.  Say “bye bye” to squinty-eyed monitor reading!

2.  It can hold about 1,500 books.  This is a big one for me… since I travel quite a bit, it’s nice not to have to carry around thick ass books everywhere I go.  Weighing in at 10.2 ounces, the Kindle makes it extremely easy to carry your entire library in the palm of your hand!

3.  Most books only cost $9.99.  Before I bought my kindle, I estimate that I spent around $500 a year on books.  No mas!  Thanks to the Kindle, I’m going to save about 50% on my books.

Super-bonus benefit- I almost forgot to mention that you can download books, newspapers, blogs and magazines in about 30 seconds.  No more driving to Barnes & Noble and waiting in lines to get your next read.  Oh, and if you want to preview a book before paying for it, you can download the first chapter for free!

In my opinion, the Amazon Kindle is the best thing since Wordpress.  And, at $259, it’s become very affordable.  I’d love to hear from you if you own a Kindle… how do you like it compared to regular paperback?  Likes and dislikes?

I can’t think of anything cooler than day trading on the side of a volcano, then surfing in the Pacific the next day… that’s definitely the life for me!  And we’re already planning an extended stay back down there.  I always joke about trading from a tiki-hut in paradise… well, it’s come true.

Here’s a quick video with some pictures… and life lessons.

Untitled from Chris Dunn on Vimeo.

A
number of people have asked about my trading office and how best to set one
up.  In this post, I'll talk about how my
office is configured and why.  I'll also
show you all the hardware I use and their respective functions.

First,
a trading office needs to be in a quiet and comfortable environment.  If you’re trading from home, I recommend
dedicating a separate room for your office. 
This will allow you to be removed from distractions like kids, TV,
visitors, etc. 

My office is painted a soft light-brown color for a relaxed feel.  My furniture is a mix of dark brown and black wood.  I keep the shades on my window up for natural light.  I don't have a TV, bed, or home phone in my office.  When I'm in my office, I'm working and not sleeping, playing, or lounging around.  I also keep the door shut and cell phone on vibrate to limit interruptions. 

For my primary trading computer, I use an HP desktop with Windows Vista.  It has 3GB of RAM and 500GB of hard drive space.  You will also notice that I have three E-Machine 19" monitors.  They all deliver a 1440×900 resolution.  You don't need expensive monitors, just make sure they're all the same size and have the same resolution.  TigerDirect.com (www.tigerdirect.com) has great prices on monitors. You should go with nothing smaller than 19" monitors; I wouldn't go any larger than 22".

I rely on noise-cancelling USB headphones to communicate on Skype (www.skype.com) and in our e-mini trading class room.  Notice my comfortable chair with an easy roll padding.  Also, I have a Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard (fewer cords means less clutter!). 

To the left of my desk I have the desktop computer, UPS (uninterrupted power supply), and printer.  The UPS protects my computer against electrical surges and will keep the computer running on battery for up to an hour if the power goes out.  I only turn my printer on when I need to print something.

Behind my desk you will find a filing cabinet used for my GTD system (read: Getting Things Done by David Allen).  I have an inbox and current reading material (I'm currently reading The New Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, and The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss). 

I have a Dell laptop ready for travel or as a back-up computer.  Typically, I don't trade on the laptop.  I’d much rather prefer having at least two screens to trade from.  The third screen is used as extra space for checking the economic calendar and hosting our class room. 

Feel free to comment about your trading office or send me pictures of your set up!  I'm always interested in sharing ideas and helping other traders. 

Life hacking is a relatively new term that focuses on finding the quickest and most efficient solutions possible.  Basically, it's learning how to "cut the fat" and properly organize information.  You can apply life hacking techniques to almost any part of your life including: work tasks, personal errands or with learning a new skill.