Dear Anonymous.

G'day "Anonymous",

You have commented:

"More grandstanding from the master of sophistry masked in verbal diarrhea. If this is a thesis, your pretensions to academia fail, but keep up the ramp as your "investments" dwindle. If your ramp succeeds you may be able to sell to some more "suckers" north of 2.50 as would appear the motive behind this so-called thesis."

I always appreciate comments that dispute my thoughts that are presented with a modicum of reasoning and logic. After all, I am not the fount of all wisdom. The wisest thing that I do is to listen to others and learn.

Unfortunately, your comments don't seem to even make the vaguest attempt to reach for anything of value to anybody.

Generally, I no longer bother to reply to comments that consist purely of unsupported criticism. However, whilst your postings clearly fall into this category, I am making an exception. (It's my blog - I'll break my own rules if I wish)

I actually have no problem whatsoever in your considering my posts to be "verbal diarrhoea". Furthermore, it is within your rights to express that opinion - even though it adds nothing at all to the discussion or the community knowledge. Perhaps my ramblings add nothing either but at least they have an intention of doing so and I am willing to support them with a logical argument.

As to sophistry. Depending upon which definition you use, this could be considered a compliment or an insult. Whilst I would (of course) prefer the first, I suspect that your intent is the latter. The problem that you have with that accusation is that sophistry (used in the negative sense) implies the presentation of a logical argument with the intent of deceiving somebody.

As a starting point, you and other readers have my assurances that I have no intent or interest in deceiving anybody.

Perhaps a better assurance might be achieved by considering my more than ten years of public postings. I am simply not smart enough to maintain a deception for such a long period of time.

Ultimately, however, it is the content of my posts that, I believe, speak most strongly for my integrity. I have always provided in detail the reasoning behind my views. After all, I would achieve no personal satisfaction from simply spouting comments with no reasoning applied. It is my (sometimes failed) attempt to build my skills of expression and logic that drive me to make the effort to write my postings.

You make the strange accusation that I am a stock ramper. If I am then I am a very poor one. A successful share ramper should by now be sitting a massive pile of ill gotten gains. I assure you that I am not.

More specifically, you make the accusation that my post is a ramp for CST. I am wondering if you have actually read it carefully. If you do then you will see that firstly it does not suggest any action to anybody other than that they make decisions for which they are willing to account to themselves for. The result of such a suggestion (if I was bold enough to believe that my post may actually impact anybody's thinking) could just as equally be to sell CST shares as to hold or buy.

In the end, I am happy with who I am and am enjoying the never ending task of becoming more proficient at the things that I do. I am by no means under the misapprehension that my posts are revealing some hitherto unknown secrets - they are nothing more than a result of my own personal thoughts and my attempts to translate them into the written word. If the result of that is postings that you find objectionable then there is little that I can do about that, other than to suggest that you don't read them or, better still, address them with contrary, logically supported thoughts of your own. (I would respectfully request that if you would like to do that then you select a nickname for yourself - addressing posts from "Anonymous" is a little tiresome and results in unnecessary confusion)

Finally, (here's some irony) it strikes me that perhaps the reason behind your attack on me exemplifies exactly the point that I make in my post. I suspect (but admittedly have no evidence) that you have at some point made some investment decisions regarding CST that you now feel unhappy about. You now wish to blame somebody else (me, it seems) for the decisions that you have made. If that makes you feel somewhat better about yourself then I am more than willing to passively provide that need - as sad as it is.

Try to have a great 2011.

(With apologies to other readers. It is always my intent to provide posts of interest. In this case, please forgive my indulgent actions in defending myself).