The mayor says there are most likely thousands dead:

The frightening estimate came as desperation deepened in the city, with gunfire crackling sporadically and looters by the hundreds roaming the streets and ransacking tiny shops and big-box stores alike with seeming impunity.

“We know there is a significant number of dead bodies in the water,” and other people dead in attics, Mayor Ray Nagin said. Asked how many, he said: “Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands.”

On some of the few roads that were still open, people waved at passing cars with empty water jugs, begging for relief. Hundreds of people appeared to have spent the night on a crippled highway.

Meanwhile, there is a run on the gas stations. Tradermike also posted about it.

Good morning, my name is Ugly, and I am a loser. I have it in me to do serious financial damage to my account.

Dear Diary,
Today was a nice follow through day with some more volume and I think it bodes well for the short term at least. I wouldn’t be suprised to see the market make new highs starting with this move.
The BBH has a very nice looking chart. I expect it to break over $200 soon.
The OIH and XLE made new all-time highs, while the IWR made a strong move up with huge volume.
The fact that these leading groups were so strong today gives me confidence.
JOYG is another beauty of a stock that has held its 2-year trendline obediently.
CELG keeps rising and has been a good investment, despite the 2000 bubble.
BMHC made a strong move up, which should take it to the magic number $100 at least.
FRK has been a solid investment and moved up strongly because of the hurricane destruction.
Recent IPO ALJ is on fire.
Oh yeah STV - where did you hear it first? That’s right, Ugly told you so. I can’t brag too loudly, though, because I never bought it for myself. I hope some of you were able to.
EAC looks like a good investment.
NGS is going nuts.

I played paintball for the first time last weekend. I was one of about ten other novices in jeans and a t-shirt who had never played before. There were five or six pros geared up in camouflage, army boots, and their own guns. I enjoyed shooting them the most. But I also got a few welts that later turned into bruises. It was a lot of fun, though, and I can’t wait to play again.

* user agreement — how to use ugly picks

“It is one of the great paradoxes of the stock market that what seems too high usually goes higher and what seems too low usually goes lower.” - William O’Neil

Click here for charts.

* CCI is making a bullish crossover 100
** Adjusted for dividends and splits - data should, but may not always be correct - please verify with other sources
Nasdaq and AMEX stocks only

Lesson #4: Mysterious are the ways of action

He, who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is wise among traders. He is the stock market Yogi.
Foolish is the trader who trades actively only for activity. Whether waiting patiently for the right time to begin a trade or holding a position until the correct moment to close, doing nothing can often be the wisest thing to do.

[See other lessons here]

Good morning, my name is Ugly, and I am a loser. I have it in me to do serious financial damage to my account.

Dear Diary,
FLML continues its move down.
KOMG took a nasty dive, breaking down its trendline and 50-day moving average.
I would keep my eye on URBN at the $50 mark. If the support there doesn’t hold, it won’t look good.
YHOO is looking weak, too. A break down of $30 and I would expect it to head much lower.
CUTR closed at a new high and looks pretty sweet despite the weakness in the market.
I really like the looks of ARD.
STV just won’t quit. Damn, what a nice one.

* user agreement — how to use ugly picks

From the TAG 21 conference in Las Vegas:

“A great trader who has made tens of millions of dollars from the stock and commodities markets told me the one individual universal reason for failure is the inability to take a loss. This has become my motto, as the true path to riches lies not with the wins, but managing the losses in a prudent, confrontational manner,” says Cook.

“The true path to success always must journey through failure. All–and I mean all–the million dollar traders I know had severe losses. And only when they coped with the losses did they achieve true success,” Cook said. “The road is long–perhaps five to 10 years. The emotions will sometimes be an obstacle that just plain wins that battle.

“The true winner is the one who perseveres. The race is a marathon and not a sprint. Recognition that all humans fall short of perfect is the first step to the trek to knowing yourself and knowing your limitations.

“However, you must also keep foremost in mind that our God-given talents are very rarely realized to the true extent of the gift.

“Trade and prosper–it is an attainable American dream,” Cook said.

“It is one of the great paradoxes of the stock market that what seems too high usually goes higher and what seems too low usually goes lower.” - William O’Neil

Click here for charts.

* CCI is making a bullish crossover 100
** Adjusted for dividends and splits - data should, but may not always be correct - please verify with other sources
Nasdaq and AMEX stocks only

Based on their research, two biologists have concluded that caloric restriction won’t greatly increase lifespan in humans. Their opinion is very similar to that of Aubrey De Grey.

“The trade-off between calories and longevity appears to be close to a linear relationship, but the slope isn’t very steep,” said Phelan, whose model predicts the relationship between calories consumed and life span.

“Longevity is not a trait that exists in isolation; it evolves as part of a complex life history, with a wide range of underpinning physiological mechanisms involving, among other things, chronic disease processes.”

For instance, in mice, starvation reduces fertility, which in turn lengthens life span as the animal is not stressed by repeated matings and pregnancies and the associated production of hormones, they said.

Good morning, my name is Ugly, and I am a loser. I have it in me to do serious financial damage to my account.

Dear Diary,
Biotech had a nice looking move today.
As for the Nasdaq, it was a nice move up but not totally convincing. We’ll see how it follows through.
Looking at the 15-year chart of CVH, you would have no idea that the market topped in 2000.
The chart on SGDE looks really good - it is one of my favorites.
Nice move on LDSH at the end of the day to close at a new all-time high.
JVA hasn’t cooled a bit - it must be all of the antioxidants.
Although it is thinly traded, the block trade on Wednesday with today’s new high looks promising for PRSC.

* user agreement — how to use ugly picks

Muckdog pointed out that it was in the news recently that coffee is America’s greatest source of antioxidants.

“Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source. Nothing else comes close”

Black tea was the second-leading source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet. Bananas, dry beans and corn placed third, fourth and fifth

Roasting supposedly enhances antioxidant activity and may even give it four times the amount of antioxidants as green tea!
Keep in mind though, that coffee can elevate cholesterol levels while green tea helps lower them. Coffee also has more caffeine than tea: an average 6-oz. cup of green tea contains about 30 mg of caffeine, coffee has about 100 mg per cup.