Monday Notes - Still Smoldering

4:00pm Well, it seems I remain locked into what I'll call a "mini-zone" -- with strong emphasis on mini -- as I was again able to nibble away at the limited opportunities presented and stay out of trouble during the rest of the time to keep the recent performance momentum going. And once again, I felt the Europe session provided equal -- if not better -- rhythm and pace as I added more German chips than U.S. on the day.

I was certainly hoping for a bit better pace on the late-day break, as I was positioned long yet settled for a few crackers as I was protecting earlier gains and didn't care for the lack of rhythm and chop that late in the day. Such is of course often the case during the market's summer doldrums.

I've often said performance momentum means more to me than anything, and such is what carried me through much of late '08 and early '09. At this point in the year -- and given the pathetic summer pace -- all I want is a string of consistency so as to remain sharp for when fall arrives.

For so long as the fire remains smoldering as I referenced last week, it shouldn't take much for it to reignite into a full-fledged flame when the next batch of fuel arrives.

I just have to keep the fire warm until then.