This is the 1,000th post since I took down the old OptimizedValue.xyz & re-launched it on 4/20/2020, and I want to thank everyone who’s read my content, offered critiques, inspired & encouraged me along the way!
I first built this in December of 2016, in an effort to tinker with web development/optimization concepts to help me with my day job, as well as a way to put the things I was learning about in my spare time about stocks & markets into writing to increase my understanding of new concepts.
The website has always looked the same, but the content has evolved dramatically, as has my understanding of things.
What began as a fundamentals focused Saturday/Sunday publication that somewhat reeked of consulting deck has morphed into what you see today, and will continue to evolve.
I’ve been getting a good chuckle out of reading through some of the original posts on the Wayback Machine (archive.org), as well as even the oldest ones that are on this version of the site since the rebuild from scratch; it’s been a long 9 years.
Since the rebuild it’s been 2,061 days (https://timeanddate.com is a handy tool), the weekend posts have become focused on macro charts & the week ahead in earnings & economic data announcements, as well as the same old individual name reports for stocks & ETFs (far less frequent, admittedly, but with a focus on fundamentals & technicals), as well as the Daily VolTech report, which outlines S&P 500 components, ETFs & general Stocks ranked based on technical & volume weighted metrics.
We all have interests, thoughts & ideas, but if we don’t put our pen to paper that’s often all that they remain.
It’s not easy putting yourself out there like that (especially when it’s just a time consuming hobby in the initial stages), but it leads to digging deeper into concepts, pushing yourself to learn more & inspires the confidence to continue forward, even when you may not know much (or in the case here, anything really) about your topic of choice.
My point (and I do have one), is that I hope that if you’re reading this & have thought about doing something like this (or even if it never crossed your mind) that in 2026 you mark your beginning, as you’ll only grow your knowledge, improve how you communicate/articulate yourself & get to meet some cool folks & have fun conversations along the way.
Nine years ago it lead to me being able to speak to brokers/industry folks about my ideas on investments at happy hour who had every good reason to brush me off, that evolved into pursuing (still actively) the CMT designation, submitting a paper on something I built to contend for the Charles Dow Award, which lead to me filing a provisional patent on the tool/concept, which inspired the confidence to bring other ideas I’d been sitting on for years to the USPTO, all while meeting cool new folks & reconnecting with old childhood friends/relatives… it’s been a wild ride that I didn’t see coming for sure.
If you read this, I hope it inspires you to take the plunge with whatever your hobby or idea is, put it to paper & if appropriate (obviously don’t give away the recipes to your IP/secret sauce) get it in front of an audience for feedback; you won’t be disappointed & you have no idea where it may take you, while also holding you accountable for your own growth.
Otherwise, it’s just going to sit there for another year & maybe even be forgotten about, which would really be a waste of a good thought…
Thanks again to all who’ve helped me along the way to get here & to the ~9,800 readers/viewers who stopped by in 2025 to date!
Post 1,001 will be available tonight in the Daily VolTech segment, see you back here at 2,000!