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I’m really short on time this week. “Bill-paying” job bogging me down. For tonight, I’m going to just toss up a few interesting charts and make some quick comments.

First: It’s options expiry, it’s August. Short of a “geopolitical event,” this is a gimme for a long weekend if you trade for a living (you lucky dog, you).

There are no two ways about it, AAPL just looks like a screaming short setup to me. Today’s bar is an “nr11” and is the lowest volume in 11 days also (I suppose that would be a “lv11″ if we’re just sitting around pissing jargon).

The nr11 and lv11 are no coincidence. Range and volume are usually tightly correlated. As a matter of fact, when they’re not, it can be a strong signal. But that’s another post. Back to Apple.

Today’s high is 68.66. If it’s not broken, it’ll be my initial stop. Entry would be below today’s low of 67.18. If tomorrow is a higher low and higher high, I’ll move the spotlight to it as my trading bar. If the 70.000000 high of the 8/3/06 bar is broken, all bets are off, I’m wrong, next patient please.

Note: you can follow the progression of this setup here.

Update on CSCO (Cisco Systems):

A check on our friend Cisco. I said if I were in, I’d have pulled a Landry and covered half my position. My trailing stop would be just above breakeven, at about 20.20. Give ‘er a little room for consolidation.

Since I’m not in, this could be an entry opportunity. Let’s look at it as a potential setup. One or two more lower highs on short bars with low volume (as I said above, that’s typically a redundant statement), and I’ll be looking to get long. A Daily Dummy Spot would be nice, but I don’t insist.

Give me some action, she said. Show me some volatility. Something that’s just all pent-up and waiting to explode. An intraday move that could give me whiplash.

Well, here y’go. How’s down from 62 to 36 in just over a month, then back up from 36 to 48 in a few days? Add a little bar that’s something like an nr90, and you’ve got the potential for a major adrenaline-laced trade. As always, wait for the break, grasshoppa, wait for the break. Then throw the gate open and try to stay on for 8 seconds.

Is the GIGM setup a short or a long?

That thar candle on the far right edge qualifies as completing an Upside Gap Three Methods Bullish pattern. Should mean “go long, amigo!” (”This gap-closing move should be looked upon as supporting for the current uptrend. This third-day reaction can be considered as profit-taking. “)

I’d have to vote with the dissenting minority. Monster volume days like this stock had on 8/8/06 often mark tops or bottoms. Today looks more like a resumption of the prevailing (down) trend to me. We’ll know soon enough if the 18th-century rice traders are right.

And speaking of rice… I’d be on a break of 10.37 here like white on rice. See that bodacious volume bar yesterday (8/16, nearly 7 million shares)? Ditto what I said above about volume like that often marking tops or bottoms. “Support” and “resistance” really amount to “volume at price” after all, and a big day like that can create as much S/R as weeks of “normal” trading.

Note: you can follow the progress of this setup here.

Gotta get some sleep. Best of luck and thanks for visiting.