NIN Remix

For all of ya who dun know, you can get NIN's raw wav files for remix.

Go check it out and remix some shit!

Trio of Doom

Trio of Doom consists of John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius and Tony Williams. This is a jazz/rock album and the first five songs are live takes from 1979's Havana Jam in Cuba. the rest of the album are recorded in the studio.

For a album recored in the late 70's/early 80's everything sounded really nice and clean.

Listening to this album is like listening to three great masters playing individually but yet they compliment each other really well. Tony Williams ferocious hi hat and snare rolls combined with McLaughlin's violin like guitar and Jaco's fat and rounded bass tone seamlessly fits in.

The dynamics of this album is incredible. When listening to modern albums, you will hear a lot of heavy compression, everything is very much at one volume or a particular place in the mix. However Trio of Doom is different, you can hear the dynamics very succinctly and clearly for each player.

Anybody who is a jazz/rock fan should get this incredible album.

9/10

Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos 5.1

Systematic Chaos is ballsy and dark but dun be mistaken its not heavy like Train of Thought. The overall theme is like sadness, you have songs that talks about monsters, people dying and stuff.

As expected the longest song on this album clocks in at 16:38 and the shortest song is 5:35. Songs like Constant Motion and The Dark Eternal Night are extremely heavy and ballsy. The song Forsaken feels out of place, it sounds like something you will hear on the radio and not on a Dream Theater album.

For the 5.1 mix, you mainly have vocals and bass coming from the center speaker, front left/right contains the drums, guitars and keyboard. Back left/right is mainly backing vocals and some acoustic guitars/keys. One of the immediate difference of a 5.1 and a stereo mix is, 5.1 feels more spacious everything is spread out nicely.

8/10 for this great progressive rock album

Travis Barker

Travis Barker is the ex Blink 182 drummer and this is his version of Soulja Boy's Crank That. This is some intense drumming!

AC/DC Live

This is an old classic live album. I still remember back in 1992 when I bought the cassette version of this album...ya I'm that old :/

This is a new remastered 2 CD set. This album was remastered by mastering guru George Marino from Sterling Sound. If ya wondering whats mastering, well here is a pretty good article on mastering by The G-man.

For those who are unfamiliar with AC/DC they are a very well known rock band from Australia formed in 1973. Some of their well known hits include Thunderstruck, Shoot to Thrill, Hells Bell, Highway to Hell and For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

I dun particularly like the way Brian Johnson sings but however I really dig some of the guitar riffs by Malcolm and Angus Young. In alot of their songs, you can hear that they are very much influenced by the blues. High energy arse kicking riffs!

7/10 for this great album!

Opeth - The Roundhouse Tapes

I've never been a huge fan of these Swedish progressive metal masters, Opeth. Its probably because they down tune too much, it makes everything sound really bassy and dark, even the way the album was mixed, its really dark too, the cymbals are way in the background, at first I was like shit is my hearing gone? I can barely hear the highs.

By the way this is the first Opeth album I bought. I've had heard some of their stuff from friends and via the web. It didn't make me go wow but they definitely did not make me go yucks. In particular I like The Night and the Silent Water, Windowpane and Blackwater Park. Did I mention that this is a live album? But it does not feel like an live album. You dun hear the audience a lot.

This seems to be the current trend at the moment. You dun really hear the fans as much now, only at the intro, outro and when the band ain't playing. It feels too clean :(

Overall I would say the mix and feel of this live album fits Opeth. I'm very interested to get the 5.1 mix of Ghost Reveries I've never heard a 5.1 mix of a progressive death metal band, should be interesting to check them out.

6/10 for this album

Stunts

Oh man check out some of the stunts, crazy stuff.

Rain/Zouk

Man its been raining like crazy for the past couple of days in Singapore, a typical day for me...I leave my apartment, dry and reach my destination, wet.....

And I'm using an umbrella, the rain is juz too fucking overwhelming....

Anyway, I'll be doing FOH at Zouk this coming Thursday for the SAE party.

So be there or be deaf

Transformer Cosplay

I'm not a huge fan of cosplay but this is some serious shit!

Guitar Pickups and Snare Drum

Check that out...freaking kool :)

Face Book

Facebook addicts check it out its for ya'll

Art?

This is pretty kool so check it out!

Live Earth DVD + CD

Went to the record store today, Live Earth DVD + CD is out in Singapore, bought it straight away cuz its for a good cause!

Plus you get to listen to some really cool music and learn ways to save the earth too :)

Support Live Earth!

MDA Rap

MDA is Media Development Authority and they are in charge of censorship in Singapore.
I juz wana say this is pretty awkward but still pretty hip. I actually went through the whole clip.

World Community Grid

I've been involved with World Community Grid for over one year.

And quoted directly from their website:

"World Community Grid's mission is to create the largest public computing grid benefiting humanity. Our work is built on the belief that technological innovation combined with visionary scientific research and large-scale volunteerism can change our world for the better. Our success depends on individuals - like you - collectively contributing their unused computer time to this not-for-profit endeavor."

WCG is involved with several projects like Help Conquer Cancer, Fight AIDS @ Home Project.

I urged everybody to take part in this very meaningful projects :)

Radio mix/Stereo mix...handphone mix?

If ya not in the music industry, you probably won't know that, we have different audio engineers doing different mixes. Some audio engineers specialize in doing mix for radio, some for movies, some for CD...etc etc

When I was going home last night on the subway, some kid was blasting some song on his cellphone like real loud and it occurred to me, I should really be taking advantage of the technology, its no longer cool to juz use a iPod, dude its like back in the 80's, ur only kool if you carry a huge boom box around!(except you use ur cell phone now!)

Maybe I should start pitching myself as "Specialize in Cellphone mixing"

Catch ya all later!

Part time or Freelance?

I've been working in Singapore for a number of years and been to a lot of interview.
According to some reports, it takes an average of six months for someone to find a new job in Singapore.

Other than asking the typical questions like "Tell me more about yourself?", "Tell me why you are suitable for this job?" and my favorite question or sometimes they will tell you straight in the face, "You will most likely be required to work OT(overtime) and we don't pay OT, you MIGHT be given off in lieu, whats your opinion on this?" or more subtly "What do you think of working OT?"

I get the usual oh you mainly did part time work, in our company we don't count part time work as experience.....

Even though my part time work is directly related to job I've applied for....

I realize that when you say "Part time" in Singapore it roughly translate into something like working at Mcdonald's or waiter/ess. Basically it means, you work when you are free and you dun need any specific skill set.

A better way to term yourself is to use the word "freelance" Apparently by using "freelance" it gives you that "WoW" factor, I've people telling me, "I heard freelancing is really hard in Singapore you muz be really good to freelance!"

And NO, I'm not trying to LIE....I'm juz trying to get credit for my experience and I dun really like it when people tell me oh you dun have experience cuz you did work part time so we can only give you entry/basic pay......

Hence by using the word "freelance", it seems like its giving me a slight edge :)

Cheers

Largest Flying V?

Saw this on Youtube, check out this dude playing Pink Panther at Times Square.

Chinese Ghostbusters?

Man I dun know what to say, I'm not a believer of such stuff but ya we still have people believing in exorcism...career enhancement rituals...

Ghostbusters in Singapore

You believe in this kinda stuff?

Visual Sound Theories

I juz got this in the post yesterday. I really dig Steve Vai's arrangement of the songs.

For Your Info, this is not your typical, Live with an Orchestra album. Steve Vai rearranged his old songs for this project. For example, in the song For the Love of God, the harp was playing the chord progression. I think the new arrangements gave a very grand feeling to the overall sound.

Anybody who is a Vai fan should check out this DVD/CD!

Interview with Malaysia's Information Minister

Eh...this is pretty funny...check out the transcript from Kenny Sia if you have no idea when he is preaching.....

Singles?

I've been thinking about the industry and I think that it is inevitable that we will have more and more digital download. Judging from todays viewers/listeners, I think that instead of having a full length album, we should look back in the history. Release only singles and make that available for free or for a nominal amount of fees on the Internet.

Most viewers/listeners only buy a couple of songs per album, why not let us(musicians, producers) make that easier for the audience, eliminate the choices you(audience) get. (Kinda like how HD is evolving in Singapore, I didn't ask for it but it is being pushed into my life anyway....)

Isn't it better to have say, a few hundred thousands download of a few ( 1 - 3 songs) than to have a full length album which nobody listens to anyway....

We don't really need to make money from the songs anyway, we would potentially make more money from the advertisement sales from the the site than selling the single :/
or from selling the various merchandise (Tees, Caps, etc, etc)

US or Singaporean style education?

School Experiment that Failed

Read this article in one of the local papers today.

I for one is always very concerned about the education system in Singapore. I've been enrolled in a local Singaporean school from Primary 1 to Primary 6 (Grade 1 to Grade 6 for the peeps from US) and when my family moved to work in Malaysia I got enrolled in International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL)

I kinda never really enjoyed my time in the local school...you dun get to choose what classes you wana take, huge class typical ratio would be 1 (teacher):40 (students)

I personally feels that Singaporean education system seems to be cater to a specific style or direction. You will have a VERY strong foundation in Maths and Science and your Arts (music, drama, etc etc) would be left behind.

However in a international school setting, I get to choose the path I want to take, Music...Drama, Science...Foreign Language.

I also believes that parents play a very important role too. If you are brought up in the traditional local education system, you would probably believe that arts is like an extra thing, you dun need to pursue it to survive in this world, go be a doctor or lawyer or at least be a engineer. Thats what you should be in Singapore.

Look at the music/arts scene in Singapore now....fuck it is a failure. Why? because we have been taught in school that music is a dream...look at the TV right now...you have a drama series shown on prime time and the plot is about a composer who can't survive in the music industry and ends up beating his wife...gambling...drinking...and all that jazz...

Why not have a show like Coyote Ugly? Small town songwriter pursuing her dream of becoming a singer. Guess what? When I was in ISKL I have friends 15 or 16 years old gigging constantly at the local nightclubs in KL, they even released an album.

But at least the scene is getting better due to shows like American Idol and the different spin offs of it in Singapore. But are we really promoting music in Singapore or is it juz another way to rip people off their hard earn money?

You decide....

A world is like a pyramid?

I have always and probably will for a very long time to believe that the structure of the world is like a pyramid....

Its like how a company is structured, 1 CEO, a number of managers and a shit load of workers. Even a country is similar, 1 Prime Minister/President/King or Queen and a whole lot of citizens and many people in between.

So why the hell I'm I talking bout all this anyway? Cuz last week I was out with my friends and I was saying how some of my students(ex students rather :p) dun have a goal in life, they are like doing nothing...wasting their youth and one of my friend responded, if everybody is fucking hardworking, trying to get a head in life, than who the fuck is gonna be cleaning the streets?

We can only have so many CEOs, managers...somebody has to do the shit job.....

The harsh reality of life.....

Megadeth/Black Sabbath

Been really busy for the past 2 weeks with teaching and starting my degree course in Audio Engineering.

And I juz wana say, its been a fucking amazing weekend with Megadeth and Black Sabbath gracing our shores.

Man I'm telling ya, I've been to Fort Canning many times and I've never seen it packed so fucking full and for the Black Sabbath concert, the age group is like from maybe 15 to like 60, thats how fucking awesome they are.

Megadeth was awesome too. Real class act. Some really insane shredding :)

Its gonna be a pretty busy week for me (yet again) Juz taken up a assignment for a audio book recording, should be pretty kool, something brand new for me :)

Cya all soon!

How to say no?

I think one of my weakest skillz is not knowing how to say no.

Hence I kinda googled "how to say no" and I came up with some pretty interesting sites, thought I share it with ya'll.

www.getmoredone.com

www.onlineorganizing.com

www.realsimple.com

9/11

Gone (9/11/01) by Andy Timmons



Lost Without You by John Petrucci

Real Life Sux?

There are juz so many things goin on IRL...things I juz can't do...things dat I can't make them right...Sometimes I wish I'm still juz a kid, all innocent and shit, dat way I dun have to deal with reality and it is always time like this I would read up on a couple of people, Jason Becker Tori Amos People who have went against all odds

What is it that I do exactly?

I met up with some old friends and new ones too recently and usually the first question we ask is so what are you doing currently. Usually I would tell my friends I'm a sound/audio engineer.

Usually the reply I get would be along the line of, "Oh so ya like a DJ at a club?" or "Oh you specialize in DSP(Digital Signal Processor)?"

Well nope, I'm none of the above. So today I'll show you what I do exactly. A picture (or sound rather) is worth a thousand words rite?

Original and Unedited portion of a band I recorded

Mp3 of the original file

Same part edited

Mp3 of the edited file

I basically did a couple of things. First there are 2 vocal parts and they are not in sync nor are they in pitch. So I edited it until they are pretty much in time although I did not sync them perfectly cuz in real life it would be almost impossible to do it, gotta have some realism too :p

Next up I used a great software call Melodyne to tune the pitch. Notice how I used Melodyne to elongate the vocal at the very end of the clip!

Every time I do something like this, I will end up talking to some of my friends. I've a number of friends who are professional sessionist or gigging around the world, and a lot of them put in countless of hours and years of hard work to perfect their craft.

I'm a musician myself and I've never believed in using a software to make up for something you can't do, like in the above example, I feel that musicians now a days are not spending enough time to perfect their trade. I get people who would ask me questions like, "but you can fix it during mixdown stage rite? Lets move on to the next part..."

If you are a professional, shouldn't you be spending time perfecting your skillz and not relying on the engineer to perfect it for you?

Rick Rubin

"That's the magic of the business. It's all doom and gloom, but then you go to a Gossip show or hear Neil in the studio and you remember that too many people make and love music for it to ever die. It will never be over. The music will outlast us all."

-Rick Rubin

I've always been a big fan of Rick Rubin and the artist he has worked with. A real music Guru.

Do check out this article on him.

Tips and Tricks for Pro Tools

I'll be trying to give out a tip every week for mixing and editing in Pro Tools.
Check out the site here!

Music Scene in Singapore

I'm sad to say that bands dun understand that if you organize a concert someone gotta pay for the equipment...rental of the venue...ya da ya da ya da...the list goes on.

Yet bands in Singapore are asking why should they have to sell a certain amount of tix in order to perform?

Fuck man are you guys so fucking dumb dat you think everything is for free? Who the fuck is gonna organize this kinda shit if they can't even break even?

If you know someone who is kind enough to pay for everything and not giving a damn if they break even and dun care if they are losing money...if me a holler cuz I need to know this dude....

...

Another Song?

Almost done remixing another song I recorded a year ago. Should be up in a couple of days once I'm done with the mastering and stuff.

Song is not gonna be up...sorry folks, after talking to the band we decided that we will go back into the studio and record some parts...

Fly Me to the Moon

Went through some of the stuff I've recorded...decided its time to upload some of them.

Fly Me to the Moon, done in SAE Singapore, a very impromptu session saw a guitar and bass lying ard...found a drummer and vocalist, book a studio and recorded some shit...

Mixed and Edited by urs truly...

Performed by people whose name I can't remember


Fly me to the Moon

Fly me to the Moon Lo Fi Mix

Fly me to the Moon Chipmunks

Violin + Hip Hop?

Very Kool Vid

Mix of Hip Hop + Classical Violin!

Direction?

Been kinda wondering what direction I should be heading towards...now dat I've a job as a engineer in a music school, I'm wondering if its gonna be a very stable kind of a thing...not that I've had a stable job ever...since I'm mostly doing part time/free lance jobs and shit...still...

Ferando Torres

Woot...Torres is set to join Liverpool 2morrow...fucking sweet...this will really help Liverpool upfront...we need someone with a proven scoring capability and that person is Torres!!!!

I really feel that Liverpool will do well next season!!!!

Live Earth

Live Earth

Help Save the Earth..its for a good cause. 070707

Check out all the little things you can do to help earth via the home page.

Been Really Busy

Oh man been flying in and out of Malaysia...workin...reading...ya been reading alot til my head is spinning especially on Stock Analysis and Acoustic Treatment.

Kk ya will probably be goin wth...those are like 2 such different topics...totally non related and guess what?

Ya rite...they ain't related ...... rofl


Juz that I'm a musician/engineer cum investor so I read and work on this kind of stuff...

Next up on my project list is to work on a internet radio...well get my station up again...but all in its due time

Black Sabbath Heaven & Hell

OMFG...its Black Sabbath and Dio Live in Singapore Oct 27th Fort Canning Park...it is gonna be so mutha fucking amazing people....

In The Presence of Enemies

VI Salvation

My soul grows weaker
He knows and he waits
Standing at the infernal gates
In the hour of darkness
The moment I feared has passed
The moment I lost my faith
Promising salvation
My soul is my own now
I do not fight for you
Dark Master

-John Petrucci

The Ministry of Lost Souls

He will choose
The only way
To rid her of her pain
Take her soul now
The decision has been made

Living in a world without love
A burden to my soul
Is living in a worthless world
So I will call on you

Remember me
I gave you life
You would not take it
Your suffering
Was all in vain
Its almost over
Remember me
You were so young
How could I tell you
Remember me
I am the one
Who saved your life last night

-John Petrucci

Forsaken

For a while
I thought I fell asleep
Lying motionless inside a dream

Then rising suddenly
I felt a chilling breath upon me
She softly whispered in my ear

Forsaken
I have come for you tonight
Awaken
Look in my eyes and take my hand
Give yourself up to me


-John Petrucci

I really dig this song and the lyrics...great stuff

More New CDs

I managed to get a copy of Megadeth's United Abominations and Ozzy's Black Rain...what really got to me would be the lyrics from Megadeth's new album...man they are really talking bout some current issues...political stuff...

Still listening to Ozzy's album but I kinda like the overall tone of it...very modern feel but yet still very ballsy...can't help thinking of Dream Theaters's Systematic Chaos...they are both mixed really hot and in ur face but Megadeth's mixing is somewhat darker...probably to be constant with the theme of the overall album...

Systematic Chaos out early?

Not sure why its already out for sale in Singapore...but anyway I bought the album...fucking insane...20 years down the road and I still feel that their stuff is alway so fresh...

I really dig Forsaken and The Ministry of Lost Souls...overall the new album feels somewhat modern yet ballsy...not as dark as Train of Thought but it is still heavier...I'm thinking of Pantera/Slayer when I heard The Dark Eternal Night...but the overall feel is ballsy, in ur face but not as dark...

Juz like most DT albums, the songs seems to flow seamlessly into one and other...good mixture of mellow and heavy tunes...I actually like the mix of this album...maybe I will use Systematic Chaos as my reference when I go into the studio next month...

Can't wait for their concert...

Liverpool Runner up for CL

Sign...I feel kinda sad...we really had some good chances to win CL again but somehow it juz didn't work out...I think we really need to get some top class strikers into the squad

Juz dun know what to say....

Investment IQ Test by Mark Tier

Can't help it but take the test...for those interested this is the link
http://marktier.com/Main/IQ-test.php

This is actually my report
Investment IQ Report Prepared For:
ZHANG F. TEE

The purpose of this report is to identify the investment strengths and weaknesses that have been revealed by your answers to the Investment I.Q. Questionnaire, and to suggest ways you can refine and improve on your current investment practices.

The analysis -- and recommendations -- are based on the winning investment habits of Master Investors like Warren Buffett and George Soros. So the questionnaire, in effect, compares your investment practices to those of the masters -- as the chart above graphically displays.

The first section lists your major strengths and weaknesses; and the final section makes recommendations that, if you follow them, should result in improved investment performance.

To Summarize:
By and large, you are getting the investment results you desire You have some of the strengths of highly successful investors -- but several weaknesses that are holding you backYou have many of the strengths of highly successful investors You are almost always calm and considered when implementing investment decisions -- and indeed, you are probably reasonably satisfied with your performance under pressure

Your Investment Strengths

You make your investment decisions independently

The successful investor generates his own investment ideas based on his own research. Furthermore, he restricts his investing activities to what he knows and understands. The result: he makes his decisions based on FACTS that are personally known to and understood by him.

The investor who bases his investment decisions on something he reads in the newspaper, the opinions of friends, follows some tip from his broker or another investment adviser can never be wholly sure that he's doing the right thing.

By coming to your investment decisions independently, you are following in the footsteps of the Master Investor. This does not mean you should not get ideas from other people. There are always more sources of investment ideas than you could possibly develop entirely on your own. What is important is that you do your own, independent research and evaluation before making a decision to invest regardless of where the initial impetus originally came from.

Since you're following this practice, you've probably already realized that 'good' investment ideas that everybody else knows about aren't really much good at all.

You take a long-term view

Like the Master Investor, you seem to be taking a long-term view, and have realized that the key to being a successful investor is to maximize the annual rate at which your capital compounds.

Taxes and other transactions costs have a direct impact on your ultimate return. By minimizing such costs, as you appear to have done, you can increase the 'magic of compound interest' by several percent per year without making a single investment decision.

Like every other aspect of the investment process, the arrangements you have made should be reviewed periodically. Continued competition in the brokerage industry, for example, may result in lower commissions becoming available.

Taxes are usually the greatest cost of all and tax laws are continually changing. And as your wealth grows, you may find more opportunities to reduce or defer the amount of tax you have to pay. And the less tax you pay, the more money you have to compound.

Needs Some Improvement

You can learn more from your mistakes

One of the most important habits the Master Investor follows religiously is that whenever he makes a mistake he goes over everything he did, how he came to his decision, how he executed it, whether he monitored his investment properly and so on to find out what he did wrong...so he won't do it again.

Occasionally he might be unable to uncover any evidence that suggests he did not follow all his rules. If this happens, he will try and figure out if there's been some change in the market that means his investment approach is no longer working, or needs to be modified in some way. Or looks into himself to see if, perhaps, he has changed in some way that he had failed to recognize. Or he may realize that he's been under stress and should take some action to minimize that.

It appears that much of the time -- but not all the time -- you have a similar attitude towards learning from your mistakes.

Most people prefer not to dwell on their mistakes and so are fated to repeat them.

Not you. But it will pay you to analyze your mistakes more rigorously and consistently than you have in the past. The result will be to turn your mistakes into learning experiences.

For example, set aside a fixed time once a week (or if you are a day trader, perhaps once a day) to review any mistakes you may have made, no matter how small they appear to be. Being willing to be self-critical is a powerful practice that will enable you to continuously refine your method of investing.

You sometimes have trouble 'pulling the trigger'

When the Master Investor has made a decision to buy and sell, he acts immediately. The process of phoning his broker has much emotional significance to him as when you phone a restaurant to make a dinner reservation.

When you have made an investment decision, however, you sometimes have difficulty 'pulling the trigger.'

There have probably been occasions when you've identified an opportunity but missed it -- because the price zoomed while you hesitated. Or agonized over when to take a profit. And, perhaps, occasionally, you were too tentative: buying only a small amount when you 'knew' you should buy more.

When this happens, it is an indication that you are not always sure about what you are doing.

So if you were to look back over your past investment decisions and compare the times when you acted immediately and the times when you agonized over it, you will probably find that the times when you procrastinated were the times when you weren't really sure you were doing the right thing.

From this exercise you might even find that the investments you made when you acted instantly were the ones you really understood. So -- assuming of course that your confidence in what you were doing was not misplaced -- you might discover your investment niche; and were you to specialize in just these kinds of investments, you will probably find that you'll consistently make money.

Acting instantly once you've made an investment decision -- when your confidence comes from really knowing what you're doing -- is a trait that really separates the investment sheep from the investment goats.

It would help if you clarified your investment goals

The Master Investor's primary focus is the process of investment. The profits he expects to make, while very important, are actually secondary. A major secret of his success is that he enjoys the hunt, the process of discovering new investment opportunities that meet his criteria.

Investment profits are a means to some other goal, not an end in themselves. The Master Investor has defined his investment goals. It appears that your investment goals need some additional clarification.

Perhaps like Warren Buffett, for you investing is just plain fun. Or maybe your primary goals are security or independence, or similar objectives that your investing helps you achieve. Whatever they are for you, once you have clearly defined them you'll find, paradoxically, that you will make more money from your investments when profits are no longer your primary aim.

Your Investment Weaknesses

You lack a consistent investment focus

It seems evident from your answers that you are not clear about the kinds of investments that work for you -- and those that don't.

The Master Investor has clearly defined his 'circle of competence.' This means that he has drawn, so to speak, a circle in the sand. Within that circle are the investments and investment methods he understands. Outside that circle are investment categories he knows little or nothing about.

The Master Investor's edge, his 'competitive advantage,' comes from being crystal clear about where that line is drawn; and making investments only within his circle. As a result, he will only buy an investment he understands. And he makes a point of learning as much as possible about the kinds of investments within his circle of competence.

In other words, he specializes. Even investment 'whales' like Warren Buffett and George Soros occupy a tiny niche in the multi-trillion dollar investment marketplace.

By the same token, investments that are not in his circle of competence simply do not interest him. He just ignores them.

You have yet to make this distinction.

It's crucial to define your circle of competence as that's the only way you can consistently find investments which are, in Warren Buffett's words, 'high probability events.' This means: investments with the prospect of a substantial profit and a small to negligible risk of loss.

And to emulate the Master Investor, it's imperative that you avoid entirely investments you do not understand, no matter how appealing they may seem. Quite probably, if you think about it, you will realize that this has been a major cause of past investment losses.

To improve your investment results, it's essential that you define your circle of competence and clarify your investment criteria; and there are some suggestions you are urged to consider in the last section.

You have not developed a fully-fledged search strategy

For too many investors, the most important actions are the buying and selling of an investment. The reality is quite different: the Master Investor spends the majority of his time looking for investments that meet his criteria. Buying and selling are actions that take but moments.

The Master Investor has, of course, clarified his investment criteria so he knows exactly what kind of investment he's looking for.

It's a tautology, but it's worth emphasizing: only if you have defined your investment criteria can you develop a search strategy to find investments that meet them.

But it seems that you don't really have a search strategy, and the probable reason is that you have not clarified your investment criteria.

The act of defining them often makes the search process obvious. So that is the place to start.

And you'll find some suggestions that will rectify that situation at the end of this report.

You don't have an exit strategy

The Master Investor has developed a very clear exit strategy. Before he even buys an investment, he knows exactly what would cause him to sell it. His rules for selling grow directly from his reasons for buying. In other words: from his investment criteria.

From your responses to the questionnaire it is evident that taking profits (or cutting losses) can be a source of great stress and anxiety for you. The probable cause is that you have not clarified your investment criteria.

Without proper investment criteria, it's simply impossible to have a fully-developed exit strategy. To put it another way: if you don't know why you are buying an investment, how can you know when to sell it.

As suggested above, it's essential that you first define your circle of competence and clarify your investment criteria and only then will you be in the position to create a fully-developed exit strategy.

Recommendations

It appears that, by and large, you are getting the investment results you desire.

Even so, there is always some aspect of your investment approach that can be improved, especially if you developed it by trial and error.

By going through the following exercises and using them as a gauge to judge your current practices you're bound to find something that can be further refined.

1. Check the clarity of your investment goals

A driving force behind the Master Investor's success is his investment goals. And he is, of course, very clear about what they are.

So it's important that you are also very clear about yours. Even if you feel that you have that clarity, it pays to review them from time to time. Simply ask yourself: WHY are you investing, what's your purpose?

Paradoxical as it may seem, your purpose in investing is NOT to make money. Making money is the means to your ultimate goal. For example, your goal might be security. If it is, then losing money will jeopardize its achievement.

If profit is your only investment objective, you'll find -- strange as it may seem -- that those profits will improve when you discover and focus on your underlying 'higher' goal.

2. Refine your investment focus

The successful investor specializes. He clearly defines his circle of competence and stays there. He doesn't go venturing into unknown territory. The Master Investor goes one step further: he occupies a tiny niche and learns everything there is to know about it.

For success, it's essential that you have a similarly narrow focus. One way to improve your investment results is to refine your 'circle of competence.'

Simply ask yourself the following questions:
What am I interested in? What class of investments and what aspects of investing fascinate me? What do I know now? What would I like to know and be willing to learn?

This will help you 'draw the line' (if you have not already done so) between what you know (or are willing to learn) and what you don't know.

Finally, by only making investments inside your circle of competence, you will follow the Master Investor in only investing in what you understand.

And as markets change -- and as you change -- it's worth revisiting these questions once a year or so to keep yourself on track; and to see if there are any changes you need to make.

3. Refine your investment criteria

Your investment criteria are all the reasons that go into your decision to purchase an individual investment.

Here are two processes that can help to both refine your investment criteria and pinpoint any weaknesses in your investment methodology:

1. Go through your past investments and separate them into two 'piles,' the winners and the losers. For each category, analyze why you lost money or why you made a profit. What did you do differently? For the winners, what did you do that was the same? Answering these questions should lead you to focus on what, in the past, you've done RIGHT.

2. Go back over previous investments and write down all the reasons why you bought them. Whenever you make a new investment, again, write your reasons down so that you can refer to them easily in the future. At the same time -- that is, BEFORE you make the investment -- write down exactly what factors would cause you to take either a profit or a loss.

The successful investor is ruthless when it comes to taking losses -- and one reason is that he knows before he buys exactly what factors would cause him to sell.

This process effectively forces you to hone your criteria, and will also help make your own thinking processes clearer to you.

Keeping written records of your reasons for making each of your investments will help you continually refine and improve your investment methodology.

4. Is your investment system complete?

It's always worth checking that you have covered all the bases of a complete investment system, and that you have clearly-developed rules for each of...
what to buy when to buy it what price to pay how to buy it (these first four depend, in turn, on having very clear investment criteria) what percentage of your portfolio to invest (money management and position sizing) monitoring when to sell (including when to take a loss) rules covering the use of leverage (including whether to use it) 'Hunting': how to go about finding new investments that meet your criteria (and what to do when you can't) how to protect your portfolio against infrequent but potentially devastating events how to handle mistakes and what to do when you don't know what to do -- when the system seems to have stopped working.

By comparing your existing method with this checklist, you'll find what might be missing. Correcting that omission, even if there's just one, could make all the difference in the world.

An element that is often overlooked is the process of monitoring: regularly comparing the current state of an investment with your original criteria for both buying and selling it. When your criteria are crystal clear, whether you should take a profit or a loss will 'jump out' at you.

And writing down all reasons you are making an investment -- and keeping those notes -- serves as a handy reference for the monitoring process.

If your thinking was comprehensive, then the process of monitoring will tell you immediately when it is time to take either a profit or a loss. If your thinking was incomplete, monitoring will reveal that too, enabling you to improve the clarity of your investment thinking. When followed, this process results in fewer, smaller losses and bigger profits.

And it's worth stressing again that one of the Master Investor's most powerful tools is his attitude to mistakes: he treats them as learning experiences.

As a result, he is continually refining his method of investing, and rarely repeats a mistake.

Following his example can only improve your investment results.

Al Di Meola

For the longest time possible, I've been looking for his newest CD, Consequence of Chaos...finally I got the CD...its selling for like 70bucks at a certain CD shop and I absolutely refused to buy it cuz it is overpriced...today I got the same CD for 23 bucks...luving it

We are going to Athens!!!!

Once again Liverpool are in the final of CL and once again we will be hailed as the Kings of Europe on May 23rd...

Go Liverpool!!!!!

Liverpool

Liverpool VS Chelsea in a couple of hours...I really hope Liverpool will win....

Dream Theater EPK

Woot Dream Theater's press kit is out...awesome stuff...get it off here via RoadRunner Records

and dun forget to get their first Single Constant Motion

Can't wait for the new album and tour!!!!

Live shit

Yesterday was like my first paid job as a live sound engineer...I guess its pretty kool and stuff...tired as hell but wtf..

Work

If you dun really enjoy going to work...does it mean its time to find a new job?

Systematic Chaos out on June 5th

Oh...the CD will have 2 versions a normal CD kind and one with a 5.1 surround mix on DvD...omfg its gonna be awesome. I'll probably be getting both since I'm such a huge DT fan!!!!

Checkout the official info here.

Not too inspired

not sure y but ya...no inspiration...

anyway I recently came across a superb pianist by the name of Hiromi Uehara and her technique is like freaking amazing...I've never seen a chick play the piano like her...simply amazing...

Ya'll gotta check her out at www.hiromimusic.com

Ebay got hacked....

OMFG can you believe it?...my god dammed Ebay account got hacked...but I gotta give credits to Ebay for suspending the account b4 any permanent damage was done.

This is actually the first time I got hack into...very unkool cuz I gotta talk to a Ebay rep and stuff... they even called me in Singapore all the way from the states...

Great service from them :)

Been away for sometime

Oh...been away for so long...spent most of March back in ICT and currently working on event stuff...

Dream Theater's new album will be out soon sometime in June....can't fucking wait for the new album...

recently I got Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell The Dio Years....they are rumored to be performing live in Singapore this year...omfg...its Black Sabbath...the band that started it all....if you're a metal fan and you say u never heard of Black Sabbath than you ain't a true metal fan!!!!!!

Was somewhat disappointed...missed Chic Corea's performance due to ICT....shit...

sian 1/2 Waiting for all the awesome gigs to come for this year

Dream Theater and Road Runner unite

Wow...Dream Theater signed with Roadrunner...some really old school metal bands with RR...Sepultura...Megadeth...Cradle of Filth...

I wonder if this is letting us know the direction Dream Theater is heading in?

Only time will tell.....


-Beast

Into a Dark Realm

I'm a big fan of Raymond E Feist and here is an awesome quote from his book Into a Dark Realm

"Information is always among the most prized commodities"

iPhone Debuts

Oh man am I ever so excited...Apple's brand new innovation, the iPhone will be out very soon....looks damn slick...damn cool.

more on their website

iPhone

Sponge

I feel like I'm a sponge rite now...sucking up everything thats coming my way....trying to get all the info into my head......