Fully Automating the Interactive Brokers plugin of AmiBroker (TWS API)

AmiBroker

Backtesting

Financial

Interactive Brokers

Stock Data

Summary
Using the Interactive Brokers (IB) plugin with AmiBroker requires a delicate touch. It's not that it doesn't work, it's that the current instructions are old and miss highly important points to achieve full automation of downloading multiple symbols.
Objective
This document will identify the method to automate AmiBroker 5.30 on Windows XP(*) to fill ~180+ days of historical 1-minute data for up to 100 symbols using the AmiBroker IB plugin to connect to the Interactive Brokers, Trader Workstation's API.
Limitations
Not all symbols will fully update. The primary issue seems to be the occasional symbol will not download the latest month of data.
Warnings
At the step that says, "Touch Nothing! until the backfill is complete," do exactly that. Any changing of symbols (and seemingly touching any other control), will interrupt the RT symbol list backfill. Switching off "automatic backfill on first data access" helps, but doesn't completely solve backfill interruptions.
Note
This document borrows heavily from the existing AmiBroker "Interactive Brokers DATA PLUGIN" document at http://www.amibroker.com/ib.html . Changes, modifications, and editing done here are to more fully explain the backfill automation steps. Follow the AmiBroker document while making the below changes.
Instructions
As of AmiBroker 5.30, the IB plugin is included by default. Skip step 1., you do not need to download it separately.
In TWS

• Select Configure -> API -> Enable Active X and Socket clients
• Select Configure -> API -> All API Settings...
  In "Trusted IP addresses," click "Create" and enter 127.0.0.1

Optionally create an IB Paper Trading account. Instructions are at : http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/p.php?f=tws&p=p&ib_entity=llc . I would recommend this, as then you no capability of accidentally executing live orders.
In AmiBroker
Follow the instructions from step 4. "Run AmiBroker and create new database with Interactive Brokers plugin as a data source, following these steps:"
Change these values

• Enter 400000 into "Number of bars to load" field
  (This is approximately 3 years of 1-minute data, and will allow room for future accumulation.)

Then move down to http://www.amibroker.com/ib.html#BACKFILL , follow the instructions, and,

• Switch off "automatic backfill on first data access" (Uncheck)
• Click 'Ok' twice to save everything.

Important!
To get full automation, you need to populate the Real Time quote window. There are several ways to do this, here is one method.
In AmiBroker

• Select View -> Realtime Quote
• Prepare a comma separated list of symbols you are interested in (**)
• Right Click on the Realtime Quote window, select Type-in Symbol(s)
• Paste in your list of symbols

The rest of the BACKFILL instructions are interesting and explain the location of where to click. To start the automated downloading, you need to do these five steps as well :

• Right Click on the "CONN" area
• Select Backfill length -> 180 days
• Right Click on the "CONN" area
• Select "Backfill All RT quote window symbols"
• Touch Nothing! until the backfill is complete

The tooltip pop-up messages Backfill timed-out..., pacing violation, downloading n/nn, etc. are normal. When the pop-ups stop you should be finished. Mouse Hover over the "CONN" area for your status.
Optional: Create a 'working' Database (Backup Procedures)
I managed to somehow wipe my working database, either through ingnorance or by running a piece of our of spec example code. Not sure which, but I was sure glad I had made a backup of my primary IB database. There are more ways to making backups than there are ways to skin a cat, so use whatever you're comfortable with. Here's my general procedure for such...
Once Backfilling is finished:

• In AmiBroker, Click File -> Save Database
• Close AmiBroker
• Open Windows Explorer (or whatever you use for file management)
• Find the IB database (C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\IB)
• Copy the entire IB directory to somewhere else (C:\backups\IB)
• Copy the Backup (C:\backups\IB) to a make a Working database (C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\IBWorking)
• Open AmiBroker
• In AmiBroker, Click File -> Open Database
• Select the Working database (C:\Program Files\AmiBroker\IBWorking)
• Click File -> Database settings...
  and change "Data source:" to "(local database)"
• Click File -> Save Database

You can now be reasonably assured no matter what you do that your master IB database won't be corrupted.
When you want to add more bars to your IB database, close your working database and reopen your IB database and follow the "five steps" above. AB will chug away downloading and once done, re-follow the "Backup Procedures," switch back to your working database and you're all set...
Best,
Michael

---

* Should also work on Vista, Win 7, Win 2000, Win NT, Win98 as well, but I've not tested it.
** Example of all current 3x ETFs:
BGU,BGZ,BXDD,BXUB,CZI,CZM,DPK,DRN,DRV,DZK,EDC,EDZ,ERX,ERY,FAS,FAZ,
LBJ,LHB,MWJ,MWN,SDOW,SMDD,SOXL,SOXS,SPXU,SQQQ,SRTY,TMF,TMV,TNA,
TQQQ,TWOL,TWOZ,TYD,TYH,TYO,TYP,TZA,UDOW,UMDD,UPRO,URTY
References :
AmiBroker
http://www.amibroker.com/ib.html
http://www.amibroker.com/video/ib.html
Interactive Brokers
http://www.interactivebrokers.com/php/apiUsersGuide/apiguide/api/histori...
The table listing "Valid Duration and Bar Size Settings for Historical Data Requests" in the above link, seems incorrect. You can get ~180+ days of historical 1 minute data, it just takes a long time.

Hi Michael,Thanks for the

by Guest on Mon, 07/02/2012, 17:12

Hi Michael,
Thanks for the instructions, I just have a question about the optional step: Create a 'working' Database, since we have already saved the external database from IB, so can we use this external database as a working database, rather than using a local database.
Cheers, Fan

Sources for Intraday Historical Stock Data

For back testing possible automated systems for use by a hedge fund, I have a need for 2 years of 1 minute intraday stock data, with at least monthly updates. I might as well publish the research I've done so far...

There is no real order below, I chose {possibly eoddata (if they can get their act together... See comment(s) below}

If you have a source that isn't listed, please add it in a comment.

Thanks,
Michael

========== Not Research, but needing a special note (7/15/15) ==========

QuantQuote Research

Empire State Building
350 Fifth Ave, Suite 2100
New York, NY, 10118

https://quantquote.com/

It seems they are probably a near fraudulent entity? See the 4 comments in the thread:

Here are a few other References:

- https://www.bigmiketrading.com/421509-post14.html
- http://quant.stackexchange.com/questions/18822/why-are-quantquote-histor...

Another oddity is some of the firms on their partner list:

- Dell, Cisco, Seagate, Red Hat

This leads me to the question, "Did their VC(s) just tell them to name drop as much as possible?" Those four companies are all computer related, so any of them being a 'partner' for a financial services firm seems very odd.

For more information, you'll need to do your own digging.

And, as the person who posted the positive comment for QuantQuote below says, "Buyer beware!"

Best,
Michael

========== Research Finished On ==========

Data Downloader, by Volumedigger
http://www.volumedigger.com/Software/Data_Downloader.aspx

Free
10 days of 1 minute intraday through Google Intraday Stock Quotes Backfill

Price Data
http://price-data.com/
(bumps you to grainmarketresearch.com at some point)

"The One Minute Data on Exchange Traded Funds package offers one minute data files on current Exchange Traded Funds. Our data is in ASCII format, verified for accuracy and is versatile in most major charting programs."

Delivered on CDROMs or FTP links via email.

What it would cost me: $499.99 + $??/month

Their Costs:

Product	Cost	Delivery Method	Update Frequency	Cost / Month
One Minute Data on Exchange Traded Funds	$499.99	CDROMs	N/A?
One Minute Quick Delivery Special	$200	Email	Weekly	$25
One Minute Quick Delivery	$85 (per symbol?)	Email	Weekly	$20
One Minute Stock Data on All US Stocks (2008-present)	$2,000	N/A?

Product descriptions are scattered all over the site, I collected what I needed, if your needs are different, you'll have to dig it out yourself.

Free Trial?
Doubtful, but I didn't scour their oddly layed out site either.

Information:
RC Research
3600 Dallas Highway, NW
Suite 230, PMB 145
Marietta, GA 30064-1685

CQG
http://www.cqg.com/

They have seven plus years of intraday data. They provide much beyond just selling historic stock data.

What it would cost me: $120? + $5/month (per symbol!)

Their Costs:
Standard Pricing (per commodity per calendar month)
Equities, 1 min intraday, $5.00/month

I couldn't find any sort of complete US stock market bundle. ~6,000 US symbols times $5/month = way too much...

Other Notes:
- "New customers can claim a 20% discount on first-time orders by entering the code 'Web' at checkout."

Referral Program:
"Let us know who else would benefit from our services, and we will then reward you with a one-time $250 credit!"

Free Trial?
Sample data at cqgdatafactory.com/?page=orderSample

Information:
Independence Plaza
1050 17th St., Suite 2000
Denver, CO 80265

CQG®, DOMTrader®, SnapTrader®, TFlow®, TFOBV®, TFOBVO®, TFVOL®, and Data Factory\u2122 are trademarks of CQG, Inc.

tickdatamarket
http://tickdatamarket.com/

More than 15 years of 1 minute data. Symbol list on request, so not really sure if they have what I want.

What it would cost me: Insane!

Their Costs (Euros):
Price for one complete symbol :
- 1 minute data : 280 Euros

Price per symbol per month
Stocks - 1 minute data : 3,50

50 Euros minimum order

Other Notes:
- 40 years EOD and 10 years of tick data.

Free Trial?
Didn't check.

Information:
tickdatamarket.com is a web service of Systrade company
Systrade Nº RCS 440 297 414 - RCS POITIERS - FRANCE
-Franchise de TVA- Déclaration CNIL n¡1151675

IQfeed
http://www.iqfeed.net/

Intraday 1 minute Stock/Futures/Indexes back to May 2007.

What it would cost me: $115 + $65/month

Their Costs:
One-time Initiation Fee: $50.00
Monthly Basic Fee: $60.00
Monthly Exchange Fees: $5.00
Monthly Premium Fees: $0.00
MONTHLY RECURRING FEES: $65.00
TOTAL FIRST MONTH FEES OWED: $115.00

Other Notes:
- They provide a data feed, not data.
- "And it works perfectly under wine on Linux."

Free Trial?
Yes, https://www.iqfeed.net/index.cfm?displayaction=start

Information:
IQFeed, a Telvent brand
Telvent DTN
9110 W. Dodge Road
Omaha, NE 68114

Pi Trading
http://pitrading.com/

Sell CD ROMs with historical intraday ASCII data. The current CDs have data through April 30th, 2010. There is no mention of obtaining updates.

What it would cost me: Useless without updates.

Their Costs:
Market Edition is $159
("240 of the most popular and actively traded symbols for stocks, indices, futures, and forex")
Stocks Edition is $159
("over seven years of one-minute intraday historical data for over 1100 of the most popular and actively traded stocks")
Market and Stocks Bundle is $249
(combines both of the above)

Other Notes:
- They also sell off the shelf trading systems. Unfortunately they don't provide results data beyond 2008.
- Found reference that their data pre 2005 is error prone.

Free Trial?
No. They have sample data off of this page, pitrading.com/intraday_ascii_data_market_edition.htm .

Information:
Pi Trading Corporation
Can't find anything else

Kibot
http://www.kibot.com/
(Oricode, Inc., oricode.com)

40 years of daily data and over 10 years of historical, one minute intraday data delivered in ascii Date, Time, Open, High, Low, Close, Volume (OHLC) format.

What it would cost me: $600 + $15/month

Their Costs:

Product	Cost	Start Date	Files (Symbols)
All ETFs	$600	Jan 1998	839
Top ETFs	$250	Jan 1998	50
S&P 500	$600	Jan 1998	550
S&P 100	$300	Jan 1998	110
NASDAQ 100	$300	Jan 1998	110
DOW 65	$250	Jan 1998	71
DOW 30	$150	Jan 1998	36
Russell 1000	$700	Jan 1998	1100
Russell 3000	$1,000	Jan 1998	3300
Indexes and Indicators	$500	Jan 1998	377
Quarterly data updates for one year	Free
Montly data updates	$15 per month
Weekly data updates	$30 per month
Daily data updates	$100 per month

For any interval greater than or equal to 1 minute. One time purchase and updates aren't included, you have to sign up for recurring billing.

They do include pre-market and after-market transactions.

Other Notes:
- Uses ShareIt! and Digital River for payment processing.
- Has an affiliate service, 20%, http://www.kibot.com/Affiliates.aspx

Free Trial?
No. They have a sample data file, linked to at kibot.com/Support.aspx

Information:
Oricode, Inc.
Djordja Vojnovica 90
Indjija 22320
Serbia

Commodity Systems (CSI)
http://csidata.com/

Not very usable... To get raw ascii data, CSI's website says you must run its Windows software and export to raw ascii data format. You can also use their API, but the implication is you're still going to have to run their software to make a data pull.

What it would cost me: $83.25 + $33.25/month

Their Costs:
Standard Packages

Product	$ Setup	$ Month / Yearly
North American Futures	$60	$36.54 / $313
World Futures	$135	$63 / $540
Single-Stock Futures	$40	$11.20 / $96
U.S. Stocks & Indices	$50	$33.25 / $285
Non U.S. Stocks & Indices	$60	$28 / $240
Mutual Funds	$40	$16.38 / $140
U.S. & Foreign Stocks, Indices, & Mutual Funds	$100	$43.75 / $375
World Options	$175	$55.44 / $475
Budget Market Mix	$50	$22.99 / $199

Monthly billing generally includes 5 years of historical data. You can extend the years of historical data for an additional fee.

Yearly billing generally includes 10 years of historical data.

Deluxe Packages are more and include full historical data for futures and stocks.

Deluxe Packages

Product	$ Setup	$ Yearly
North American Futures	$200	$500
World Futures	$300	$708
U.S. & Foreign Stocks, Indices, & Mutual Funds	$300	$600
World Options	$400	$4600

Free Trial?
No, they have a 30-Day Trial of "Unfair Advantage" for $20, csidata.com/ua/trial/index.html
"You have access to all markets in the CSI database, but is limited to a daily limit of 49 futures and 7500 stocks. It includes 1 year of history on all markets, except options which only have 3 months history included."

Information:
Commodity Systems, Inc
200 W. Palmetto Park Road, #200
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Toll Free: (800)274-4727
Phone: (561)392-8663
Fax: (561)392-7761

Tick Data
tickdata.com

Utter Bullshit!

What it would cost me: $12,350 + $7,060/year

Their Costs:
(One Minute Trade Data, Available Dates: 01/02/1993 - 05/05/2010)

Product	$ Initial	$ Yearly
Complete database, all symbols back to database inception	$41,000	$7,060
Complete database by year, all symbols for 1 year	$7,060	$7,060
Complete database by year, all symbols for 2 years	$12,350	$7,060
Cost per symbol for one year	$15	$15

Notes:
- Uses hokey "no copy" bs. Easily defeated though.

Free Trial?
Sorta... Has demo versions of "our TickWrite 7 and Time Series Builder software applications that include sample data."

Information:
Tick Data
10134-G Colvin Run Road
Great Falls, Virginia 22066
a division of Nexa Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Penson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNSN)

Automated Trader
http://www.automatedtrader.net/

"Each package provides every Nasdaq traded stock with data available from January 2005."

What it would cost me: Doesn't offer the ETFs I desire.

Their Costs:
One Minute Bar Data (OHLCV), Jan 2008 - current, £1250

Information:
Automated Trader Ltd,
61 Leconfield Road,
London,
N5 2RZ
Switchboard: +44 207 183 2211
Fax: +44 20 7183 4039

TradeStation Securities
http://www.tradestation.com/

"TradeStation includes 6 months of tick-by-tick data, plus over 18 years of intraday (minute and above) data" Start date for the data set I desire (NYSE Stocks) is 01/01/1991.

What it would cost me: $0 + $100/month

Their Costs:
Brokerage Customer, $99.95/month or free with 5000 equities traded per month.
Non-Professional, Subscription Customer, $249.95/month

Other Notes:
Possible future broaker, need to explore their automated system and if you need a client running to execute trades.

Free Trial?
Demo account?

Information:
TradeStation Securities, Inc.

EODData
http://www.eoddata.com/

Sell End of Day data with limited intraday historical data.

What it would cost me: $NA + $20/month

Their Costs:
Platinum membership is $19.95, which would include the last 30 days of intraday historical data and allow daily updates with their "DataClient."

Free Trial?
Yes for EOD data.

Other Notes:
They reply promptly to sales inquirely emails (below).

Hi Michael,

Sorry, we can only provide 30 days worth of intraday historical data.

You will need to subscription to the platinum service to access the intraday
data.

Kind Regards,
Nick Kruger | Customer Service

Information:
EODData, LLC
444 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60611

========== Research in Process ================

========== Researching Next ================

http://www.paritech.com.au/
http://www.premiumdata.net/
http://www.kinetick.com/

=================================================

Other Notes:
- Nice list of analysis software, http://www.iqfeed.net/index.cfm?displayaction=data&section=software

- Swiped from AmiBroker Yahoo Group:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/amibroker/messages/150001?threaded...
// To do longer term back testing, you would need to obtain lengthier historical options data. Some sources are listed below.
// Please verify this information yourself. It was gathered from their sales reps in May 2010.
/*
LiveVol: trade and 1 min bid/ask, starting 1/04
TickData: tick bid/ask and 1 sec close, starting 7/04
iQFeed: trade bid/ask/last, starting 1 month ago; 1 min bid/ask/last, starting 5/07
eSignal: tick bid/ask starting up to 60 days ago, bar bid/ask starting up to 120 days ago, day bid/ask starting up to 1 year ago
OptionVue: 30 min bid/ask, starting 1/2/01
Ivy DB: day bid/ask, starting 1/96
iVolatility: day bid/ask, starting 11/1/00
HistoricalOptionData: day bid/ask/last, starting 2/02
Stricknet: day bid/ask/last, starting 1/2/03
*/

Ticker Symbol

by John on Fri, 07/09/2010, 06:29

Lookin for a source, preferably free, for US Equitys ticker symbols. Update weekly would be nice. Any thoughts? I would then use my RT data for data.

Thanks,

John

Replying to my Q. I found a

by John on Thu, 07/15/2010, 06:30

Replying to my Q. I found a source for symbols.
http://www.iqfeed.net/symbolguide/index.cfm?symbolguide=lookup&displayaction=support&section=guide&web=iqfeed

It downloads as a zip. Open it uo it is a text file. Unfortunately it is a HUGE file. Excel won't sort it. Need to find a app that will.

Also, if you use Amibroker, IQ has a special deal.
http://www.amibroker.com/iqfeed.html

John

Did you ever find any decent

by Travis on Wed, 07/14/2010, 23:22

Did you ever find any decent low-cost sources?

Intraday Sources

by Michael Gravis on Thu, 07/15/2010, 11:24

"Lookin for a source, preferably free, for US Equitys ticker symbols. Update weekly would be nice. Any thoughts? I would then use my RT data for data."

John, I was on a similar search a couple weeks ago and decided to go with the Pi Trading Stocks Edition (http://pitrading.com/intraday_ascii_data_stocks_edition.htm) based on the information on this blog along with my own research and other online reviews. I ordered and received the July DVD update last week. My search criteria was intraday data (minute time frame) for US stocks for use with NinjaTrader and AmiBroker. I was more interested in quality than price in my choice, but all 3 vendors are competitive.

Of the sources listed, I narrowed down to 3 intraday discount vendors: Price Data/Grain Market Research (http://price-data.com/), Pi Trading (http://pitrading.com/historical_data.htm), and Kibot (http://www.kibot.com/). I wish I could afford to look at Tick Data (http://www.tickdata.com/), but the prices are ridiculous; they even have a minimum order amount.

The deciding factor for me was the features and quality of the data. I require volume information for my back testing (OHLCV). By comparing sample data from the 3 vendors, only Pi Trading included accurate volume information for stocks. In fact, Price Data/Grain Market Research does not include the volume field. Price Date includes the following disclaimer on their page: "Data Format: Files are Comma Delimited ASCII format with a *.txt file extension. Field order is Date, Time, Open, High, Low, Close". I found a few online posts with references to issues with Kibot volume history, but I could not compare with my real-time data as the Kibot data was not synchronized on the close price of each minute bar.

Michael, Thanks for the comprehensive collection of data sources. You might be interested in the following tidbits I found when doing data search. I was only interested in intraday (minute) data, so my focus was in that area.

- Price Data/Grain Market Research does not include a volume field in their price history.
- Price Data/Grain Market Research & Pi Trading include standard session data (no pre/post market).
- Pi Trading data is updated monthly through the first Friday of the new month. A return customer discount program is available for updates.
- Price Data/Grain Market Research is updated monthly through the last weekday of the month. An automatic update program is available for updates.
- Kibot & Pi Trading data is adjusted for splits.
- Price Data/Grain Market Research does not adjust their intraday data for splits.
- Note to NinjaTraders users: NinjaTrader requires a special format for their txt data importer. Pi Trading provides a utility (free download) on their site to automate the conversion so their data can be imported into NinjaTrader. KiBot will convert their data before shipment to NinjaTrader with 24 hour turnaround.

A quick suggestion: It would be helpful if your source list was broken into intraday, end-of-day, and real-time categories.

-I hope this helps.

-Michael

Intraday data

by Guest on Sat, 07/24/2010, 17:45

Hi Michael,

We now have intraday history back to 1 Jan 2009 available for purchase: cost $10/month/exchange
Data back to 1991 is currently being loaded for AMEX, NASDAQ and NYSE.

So... within the next month we should have 1,5,10,15,30 and 60 minute bars back to 1991

For more information visit: http://www.eoddata.com/products/historicaldata.aspx

Regards

Andrew Fox
CUSTOMER SERVICE
eoddata.com

Still can only order 1 month :(

by Michael on Fri, 07/30/2010, 19:17

Hi Andrew,

I already sent a support ticket, but just for readers knowledge, eoddata's order process has a bug(?), in that you can't order more than one month of intraday data. If you fill out the form for 18 months and click 'Buy', the Shopping Cart only contains a bill for one month...*

I'm sure they'll fix it soon....

Michael
* I could try to "Order" 18 times? But that seems really painful...

######## Update ###########

Subject: Re: Intraday data
Date: Sunday 01 August 2010, 7:39:15 am
From: Michael
To: eoddata.com

Hi Andrew,

Based upon your comment on my site, I signed up as a Platinum Member, and immediately ran into a few problems...

1) Using the DataClient, only the last two days of intraday data would download (AMEX, NYSE). I could get back to Jun 30th on the website single day download form, but obviously that's useless for backfilling purposes.

[FIXED: Use URL http://www.eoddata.com/myaccount/buyhistoricaldata.aspx ]
2) The Shopping cart for past intraday data has a bug. You can select 18 months on the "PURCHASE INTRADAY HISTORICAL DATA," but once you hit "BUY NOW" the shopping cart only has 1 month in it:

Type
Level
Name
Quantity
Amount

Intraday
UPGRADE
AMEX Intraday History
Add a month to intraday historical access
1
$10.00

[RESOLVED: Got a nice reply from Nick on Sunday that fixed item 2) ]
3) The web support ticket I sent in Friday was never responded to. I didn't even get the normal automated, "We've received your request, ticket # is ..."

###

I'm looking for the full 18 months of AMEX Intraday History, please call me so I can get this ordered.

Thank you,
Michael

###
[Update: Wed, Aug 4, 2010, 1:48PM EDT

Not sure I like their support much. There have been no automated replies to any tickets I've sent in, telling me they received the ticket. I've sent in 4 so far, 2 webform and 2 email, with the last ticket on their webform crashing with a 500 internal server error. I don't think they even get emailed support tickets, as the one I sent in Sun, 1 Aug 2010 07:39, still hasn't been replied too.

Current issue:
After taking a day or so for the DataClient to realize I had purchased the 18 months of AMEX data, a day or so to download the data (probs with that too) and then I find out it's not adjusted for splits.

I'm feeling like a guinea pig not a "Platinum" member...

###
[Update: Wed, Aug 4, 2010, 2:08PM EDT

ROFMFAO I tried to resubmit the ticket with Opera, instead of Firefox. Got Server Error (Error:500) there too.

Thanks for the resource

by Cory on Mon, 02/13/2012, 00:10

This page has just saved me so... many.. hours.. of wading through all the BS. Thanks for the great resource! Any follow up or review of the services listed here? Did you play with any of them?

Cory
mawhorter.net

Thanks for sharing your

by Antoine Savine on Sat, 03/31/2012, 08:34

Thanks for sharing your research.
I did similar research and looked basically into the same providers.
One you may want to also look at is e-signal (more exactly their data feeder e-data).
I see you want to research kinetick. I believe they only provide data through Ninja Trader, so useless unless this is your system.
Do you have any insight into forex data?
Thanks.

There are some new products

by Markos on Sat, 04/07/2012, 00:51

There are some new products and data intervals on [deleted for spam]'s web site. Free tick-by-tick data going back to 2009 is available for some stocks. Also, free full history since 1998 is available. Great if you want to plugin their data into your software and analyze it before making an actual purchase.

Spam Alert

by Jason Stockman on Fri, 04/27/2012, 22:06

Warning to moderators: the above link is spam.

Marcos, likely a paid affiliate, has posted this same message/link over 17 times (google search count) on various trading forums in the month of April.

Thanks Jason, I had already

by Michael on Sun, 05/20/2012, 15:58

Thanks Jason,

I had already made it a non-usable link, I'll remove it entirely.

Best,
Michael

Updated feed list?

by Rob on Mon, 04/30/2012, 16:12

Thanks for the helpful guide, however when researching each feed, I have found some of the info to be out-of-date or not valid.

Any chance you are going to update the list? If you want my notes, I can forward them to you.

Hi Rob, I doubt I'll go back

by Michael on Sun, 05/20/2012, 16:01

Hi Rob,

I doubt I'll go back through the research to update this anytime soon, so: Please add your info as a comment and I'll link to it from the main body.

Best,
Michael

I look at QuantQuote

by Hirosi on Tue, 05/22/2012, 09:01

I look at QuantQuote (quantquote.com) which not on you're page

Minute resolution: split/dividend adjusted, split/dividend/earnings data, symbol changes, survivorship bias, all include. 1998-Present
DJIA - $150
DJ65 - $250
S&P 100 - $350
S&P 500 - $700
Russell 1000 - $1000
250 ETFs - $400

Possible to buy custom list of symbols with custom date range, online price calculator.

I also enquire about other data offering not show on website:
Tick resolution:
NYSE & NASDAQ & AMEX - $100/week
Minute resolution daily update for Russell 1000 - $75/month
Live Feed (~250ms update interval, unlimited symbols) - $300/month + exch fees

If anyone has feedback about their data, please tell to me.
Thanks!

Commodities Intra-Day Data

by VK on Thu, 05/31/2012, 14:52

Michael - the research you put together is excellent and I am very appreciative.

I was looking for 1 min intraday data for commodity futures (specifically CBOT grains) with a daily subscription. After extensive research, it seems only CQG and eSignal offer this product. If you or any others can find another competent source, please let me know.

Thanks,

VK

I posted this on ET (elite

by nocloud on Tue, 07/24/2012, 23:51

I posted this on ET (elite trader) earlier today, but since this was linked in that thread, I feel compelled to post this here as well.

In short, Kibot data is very very poor quality and I recommend everybody stay away. My customer service experience with them has been poor, problems take a long time to fix IF they fix them, and they even try to charge you money to fix their own mistakes. Google around and you can see numerous examples of bad kibot data.

I can give a thumbs up to QuantQuote (quantquote.com), at least they fix their problems quickly if you manage to find one (I have only found one so far and it was very minor) and are willing to give free support. The same really can't be said for Kibot. Buyer beware!

A new source of intraday data

by Vladimir on Mon, 02/25/2013, 17:57

Hi Michael, you probably have the best list of historical intraday data sources. Consider adding my company's offer: historical-intraday.com.

There are more than 2000 stocks in the data files and data goes back up to 2010. Data is in csv format, intervals are 1-minute. Data tested for completeness.

Price is the lowest on the market and we'll be able to provide good customer support should it be required. Price is US $149.

Vladimir, your site is so new it's not even ranked! Also, a question: How does your data account for splits? Michael

Lease Instead of Buying - More Affordable

by John on Sun, 04/06/2014, 13:01

Thanks for a great and very comprehensive list of intraday data providers.

I just want to add some notes of my own.

Buying Data:

Professional/Institutional Data. TickData.com has widest selection but very expensive. For US equities talk to QuantQuote.com

Retail: Kibot and Pi are far less expensive but the data is problematical.

Leasing Access:

Professional/Institutional: QuantGo.com gives access to years of institutional intraday data (tick and bars) for relatively low monthly price. XIgnite.com has a pay as you go model but it can get expensive quickly as you are paying per "hit".

In summary, if I only need a small amount of data one time then I will use QuantQuote.com and if I need lots of intraday data from different years or asset classes then I am using QuantGo.com

QuantQuote Review - Overall poor data quality

by Jonas on Tue, 04/29/2014, 13:16

Based on the recommendation above, I decided to purchase some price data from QuantQuote for an upcoming project. Due to the large amount of history required, we were trying to find an alternative over the traditional research vendors.

For the evaluation, I ordered the DJIA minute resolution package containing the companies from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. For the comparison, I was using historical data from previous projects as supplied by TickData and CQG. I was also using our current quote vendor (Bloomberg) but their backfill is limited.

Now for my observations:

Incorrect Dividend Adjustment Method

The data is "already" adjusted for corporate events. However, I found the adjusted history to be useless and had to revert to using unadjusted prices in my evaluation.

When trying to align the data with my other test vendors, I was unable to synchronize parts of the history. After a long walk-through of several files, I found the QuantQuote data was occasionally missing dividends. Not all declared dividends were being accounted for in the history. This problem was not limited to a single symbol. Issue confirmed using the CBOE adjustment history and CSI.

Erroneous bar data

I found several instances of the open or close of a one minute bar being outside the range. example: It is not possible to have a close price above the high of the bar. I was under the impression the data was filtered for bad-ticks.

Overall bad data quality

Performing a statistical analysis of the O-H-L-C prices between four vendors, I compared each price field individually and only used regular session history. Again, I had to compare unadjusted prices only as the QuantQuote method had too many errors to reliability align the data between sources.

I found the QuantQuote data to have an unusually high number of outliers and divergences compared with with the other vendors (TickData, Bloomberg and CQG). I plotted and analyzed my results in Excel but could not find how to post the charts in this forum.

I understand no data source is perfect, but unless you have the time and resources to manipulate the data into shape, I would avoid QuantQuote for any serious project.

Understandably, Tickdata is the best. Bloomberg is a close second is quality, but has limited intraday back-fill. I have some additional data on order from other vendors mentioned on this thread and will try to evaluate over the next few weeks.

I would welcome the experiences and suggestions on other sources to consider.

>

QuantQuote Review

by Fahad Mucznik on Fri, 07/04/2014, 17:14

Hi Jonas, I observed some similar traits in the QuantQuote dataset, e.g. some outliers in the data and I talked to their support team about this and figured out the reason for it.

Basically, QuantQuote has two datasets. One is the "cleaned" dataset, and the other is the "raw" dataset. For some time, they provided the raw dataset as the default since their offering are geared towards Quants. The philosophy is that since bad ticks to come in through the tape, if you are a high frequency quant trader, your algos will actually see the bad ticks. So to trade realistically, your algos should be trained on raw data.

Apparently, QuantQuote got a number of complaints about this so since May 2014, they have switched back to the clean dataset as the default, which filters out all bad ticks. I simply emailed them and asked to get data from the clean dataset instead and those files didn't have any outliers. I would recommend emailing them to ask for your data, but from the clean dataset.

Cheers,
Fahad

Quantquote

by Rahul on Wed, 07/08/2015, 20:05

Hey Guys,

Based on the review here http://quant.caltech.edu/historical-stock-data.html, I bought data from Quantquote. Experience has been very bad. I paid $1,500 and got incomplete data and they don't reply to emails. No one picks up the phone listed on their website. Don't know what to do as they are simply absconding. If anyone has any ideas or know email of a person at QuantQuote who can help, I would be grateful.

I have to start looking for alternative and hourly resolutions are sufficient for me. Has anyone had any recent experience with Kibot, PiTrading or any other vendors? (Recent as in last 1-2 months). I have already 1,500 with Quantquote and can't afford to lose anymore money.

RS

The reviews for Quantquote at quant.caltech.edu are fake

by Jason on Wed, 07/15/2015, 03:40

RS,

So sorry you had a bad experience, but no surprise. I was fooled, too. Quantquote is not a reliable company, and neither is their data.

The reviews here http://quant.caltech.edu/historical-stock-data.html are fake. The site is a scam piggybacking on CalTech's reputation. As reported on other forums, the founders of Quantquote also maintain the quant subdomain at Caltech. Can someone say conflict of interest?

Run a google search for both Quantquote and Caltech, and you will find two common denominators: Jason Stockman (CTO) and Andy Yen (Founder). And the funny thing, according to Jason Stockman's old resume, he admits designing both web sites.

Quantquote's service has been accelerating to the downside. Both founders have moved on to their next startup: encrypted emails.

Jason

Bought KIBOT for now

by rsiddh on Wed, 08/05/2015, 08:54

Even though there were some bad reviews on the internet, I took the leap of faith and bought Kibot data. It looks ok for now. Maybe because I am looking more at recent history. Will post here if I see anything problematic.

free data for shorter term

by Tim on Sat, 02/07/2015, 20:33

I didn't see anything listed for free data. There are several sites that have some free data, but generally only going back 50 days or so. The following site has some info:

http://www.quantshare.com/sa-426-6-ways-to-download-free-intraday-and-ti...

I found the google finance query to be the most complete. You can query any time period down to one-minute, but you will only receive up to 50 days of data.

a bit more

by Tim on Sun, 02/08/2015, 22:34

The 50 days was for an hourly query. It may be shorter for 1 minute...

Another site that has free data going back a few years for selected ETFs, stocks and some Forex is http://thebonnotgang.com/tbg/historical-data/

Tim

Zalman ZM-NC2000Black Notebook Cooler (Black)

Computer

Cooler

Laptop

Notebook

Future Review of the "Zalman ZM-NC2000Black Notebook Cooler (Black)"
(It's arriving in a few days and I need a stub to play with...)
##########
And I never got to writing this up :(
It's a very nice cooler, handles a 17 inch laptop well. Very quiet, the stock fans have lasted a year now with out changing sound levels. Or breaking! Unfortunately the add-on fans I modded into it now make a bit of noise on high :(
Was definitely a good purchase.
Michael

You have to downclock maxed out Laptop Memory?

Okay, I have to admit I've never heard of this...
I went to Newegg to check on getting 8GB for my new baby, and found the:
G.SKILL 4GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory Model F2-6400CL6S-4GBSQ - Retail
@ $114.99 per
And the reviews are, in a word, shitty. But that's not the point of this post.
One of the G.SKILL responses is that when you max out memory, the mem controller has to downclock to work?
Here's the review and response from newegg.com:

Cons: My notebook BIOS is downclocking the RAM to 333MHz instead of the 400MHz that it should run at and my old ram ran at. The manufacturer told me that I needed to upgrade to the latest BIOS (already there) and that it was HP's fault. They said that all 4GB sticks would do that.

Manufacturer Response:.
Dear Customer
Thank you for your G.Skill purchase. When maximizing laptop memory capacity, most will need to downclock one speed to operate properly due to a memory controller overload. This is very common. The memory itself will run at its rated specification, but it is unable to since the laptop BIOS is written to automatically downclock if the maximum memory capacity module per slot is being utilized. You should not see much of a performance drop between DDR2-667 and DDR2-800. If you have any further questions, please feel free to let us know.
Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT
Quality and customer service are our top priorities.
Tech Support Email: ustech@gskillusa.com
RMA Dept Email: rma@gskillusa.com
G.Skill Forum: http://www.gskill.us/forum/

Personally that sounds like just so much bullshit. And if it was true shouldn't the G.Skill reply have been to buy a lesser clocked ram module? As it would be cheaper for the customer?
(Okay, a 4GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Laptop Memory module is actually more expensive than the DDR2 800 (PC2 6400), but it's a lower CAS latency [CL], so blah! I'll probably just wait till next year when the 4GBs are cheap...)
Anyone have any thoughts on if this is just utter BS?
Michael

WUXGA Laptop - OCZ Support Forum Thread

Cache of my interactions with the OCZ DIY Laptop Support forum.
Original Thread: ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67016
michael- 01-01-2010, 08:21 AM

Okay I'll bite, you say you have DIY, build your own laptops, but where exactly is the link to do it?
I'm on this page:
OCZ / Products / DIY Notebooks / OCZ DIY 17" Gaming Notebook - Intel - NVIDIA Edition
OCZ DIY 17" Gaming Notebook - Intel - NVIDIA Edition
ocztechnology.com/products/diy_notebooks/ocz_diy_17-gaming_notebook-small_intel-nvidia_edition-small_
(I also tried a link off of ocztechnology.com/products/diy_notebooks/ called "Visit our Dedicated DIY Site" but it just hangs on some flash crap. )
Anyone know where a working link to customize the above system is?
Thanks,
Michael

(And a side note, I believe they jacked with this post time. I know I checked back later in the day, and there had been no reply.)
Praz 01-01-2010, 08:36 AM

What information are you looking for exactly? The first link you provided has links listed for both a how-to guide and validated componets. The second link loads fine for me using Firefox 3.5.6.

vaughn_k 01-01-2010, 09:10 PM

Michael - Below is a post that I made on two other threads. If you wish to purchase a DIY laptop, NewEgg has the OCZ DIY 17" Gaming Notebook - Intel - NVIDIA Edition for $510 and a bundle with OCZ laptop memory:
newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856172010
You might find the 'old' specification sheet, that I reference, useful. At least it gives the model numbers for a few compatible Intel notebook CPU's.
I have had NO success getting answers to my questions below. I sent the same post to QCZ sales with NO RESPONSE!
I have several more specific questions, however I hesitate to ask them until I receive a credible response to my simple question below. Good luck with your information search...Vaughn !:-)
PS - The OCZ web page \u201cDescription\u201d states "Choose from list of validated components". I was unable to find a CURRENT/COMPLETE list of validated components with CURRENT model numbers, other than possibly
ocztechnology.com/diy/17_...Components.pdf
Below is my previous post:
I intend to \u2018build\u2019 an OCZDIY17B1-US DIY Laptop. Please tell me the Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, and Core 2 Quad MODEL NUMBERS of the Intel CPU\u2019s that are compatible (examples for the Intel Core 2 Duo are T7500, T7700, etc.). Thank you\u2026Vaughn !:-)
PS \u2013 The \u201cFull Spec Sheet\u201d at:
ocztechnology.com/diy/OCZDIY17B1-US.pdf
shows No Core 2 Quad model number and only one Core 2 Extreme model number. The list of supported processors appears to be incomplete.
The web page \u201cDescription\u201d states support for Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, and Core 2 Quad processors. The web page \u201cDescription\u201d is at:
ocztechnology.com/product...edition-small_
Thank you.

michael- 01-19-2010, 09:52 AM

• Originally Posted by Praz
• What information are you looking for exactly?

How to build and buy a notebook from OCZ.
(Okay, I thought that was blatantly obvious from my post, but hey, I'll repeat myself)
The second link does NOT load with Firefox 3.0, 2.x, or Opera. Again I'll (somewhat) repeat myself, actually I'll openly state what should have been an obvious implication:

• What bright F-ing idiot at OCZ is authorizing the use of technology that hinders OCZ's customers from actually trying to give OCZ money?

All I wanted was a working link to something where I could select components, have you guys build it, and buy the stupid thing. But, Praz, based on your response, it not only isn't achievable, but OCZ doesn't give a flip on it being achievable.
########################
Vaughn,
Thank you kindly for your post. Very elucidating that you sent an email to the OCZ sales department and didn't get any reply at all.
########################
At this point I've given up on you OCZ, and I won't be checking back in here. If you have any further desire to salvage a potential customer, here's the page I'm compiling my notes on in my quest to find a 17+ inch (WUXGA, 1920 x 1200 resolution or better), Core 2 Quad, 4+ GB memory notebook.
Best of Luck to you OCZ,
Michael

Terra Preta Saves the World (or just your Garden)

Definition:
Terra Preta is an elusive substance that "magically" transforms poor, depleted, or dead soils into everlasting, robust, fertile, "super soils" that will grow anything at twice the regular yield!!!!!!!
Yeah, right!
No one truly knows what the exact mechanisms are that allow Amazonian soils to be transformed from some of the poorest soils on the planet to some of the most fertile. One theory is centuries of spreading burned trash on fields has:

1. Built up sufficient carbon black (bio char, charcoal) to effectively halt rain water nutrient leaching.
2. Added large amounts of additional nutrients.
3. Provided an environment for high levels of microbial activity.
4. Through A), B) and C) allows the soil to be productive for centuries.
5. Drastically reduced watering needs are.

Truthfully, being lazy, I'm all for just A) if you have the time for the existing flora and fauna to build B) and C). It would be the easiest, buy a bunch of hardwood charcoal (not briquets!), pulverize it, and till it into your dirt. But flora and fauna might take years (decades?, centuries?) to achieve real terra preta and we don't live in a "long term" world, so these are my notes on how to make your own part of the world greener and more productive in the short term.
Since we've established we don't have centuries to burn all our trash and spread it on our fields, the trick would seem to be to make a soil amendment as close as possible to the observed characteristics of the "terra preta" soils. To whit:

Make a diverse low-temperature charcoaled product, inoculate it with a good starter microbial soup, and then mix it into your top soil or garden.

There aren't that many good, controlled scientific studies for the method I'm suggesting, but here are some of the results you might expect:

• Increase in yields 10% to 100%
• Water requirements reduced up to 50%
• Stabilizing of soil moisture
• Less pests, deters snails, ants
• No need for chemical fertilizers
• Organic fertilizers (compost) won't leach, so will benefit several seasons (probably decades)
• Soil shouldn't hard pan or crust
• Microbes now have a "happy" home in the nooks of the bio char
• (see also: Gardening with Biochar FAQ below)

Most of the studies I've read just dump single sourced charcoal on a field and observe the results. Since most of these studies show negligible or detrimental results, my theory is they aren't replicating the entire process. Hence the use of multi sourced charcoal and compost tea to replicate the items they are ignoring from the observed composition of terra preta.
You want more info? Google "terra preta" ;)
Also included is a recipe for a terra preta equivalent, which, while it won't have all the 'goodness' of a true terra preta, should give you most of the important benefits.

How to Make True Terra Preta (Backyard / Small Scale)

Materials list:

• 1, 55 Gallon Barrel with air holes close to bottom (Larger)
• 1, 55 Gallon Barrel that will hold water without leaking (Slurry)
• 1, 20+ Gallon Barrel that will hold water without leaking, with lid (Smaller)
• Some Bricks
• Fire wood
• ~3 Gallons Compost Tea
• ~1 Cups Molasses (most any organic sugar source)
• Clean water (Rain, Reverse Osmosis, or Distilled is best. Let tap water sit for 24 hours prior to use and don't use tap water at all if it has fluoride)
• Enough dried material to fill the smaller barrel

For best Terra Preta include any and all Organic matter you can find. Grasses, prunings, leaf litter, acorns, nut shells, bones, corks, coconut husks, corn cobs, any plant matter or waste food. The more variety the better, just make sure it's dried and isn't too fatty or oilily.

First put the smaller barrel on enough bricks that you can place the larger barrel upside down over the smaller barrel such that there is enough of a gap between the larger barrel and the ground so you can turn both barrels over without spilling the smaller barrels contents.
After placing the smaller barrel on bricks, fill it with the material you're turning into Terra Preta, put it's lid on, and place the larger barrel upside down over it. Flip both barrels over and fill the gap between the smaller barrel and larger barrel with fire wood.
(For better details follow the first two steps of a two-barrel charcoal retort. He's using a much smaller barrel system, so come back here when you get to "Light it" at the beginning of step three. Click "Back to the picture page" to see pictures.)
Light, keep adding wood for about 2 hours then let burn out. (Cooking a meal or three is optional.)
Let cool overnight.
Crush biochar and ash remnants to 3/4 inch pieces or smaller. The size is somewhat dependent on your usage. If you're adding it to something outdoors 3/4 inch and smaller should be fine. If you're adding it to potted plants, I'd go for about the size of small pebbles.
Add cooled biochar (smaller barrel) and ash from the larger barrel to the second 55 gallon drum (Slurry barrel). Stir to verify contents are below approximately 100° Fahrenheit (38°C), otherwise you'll kill the good bugs in the compost tea. Add the compost tea and molasses. Stir in enough water to make a soft slurry. Cover (plywood, original barrel lid, etc.) to keep bugs out and place in a warmish (70+F) place. Stir once a day and let the tea inoculate the biochar for about a week.
Drain the slurry (and capture the liquid for use as the next batch's starter or as a liquid fertilizer).
Additional Notes:
The smaller barrel can be anything that will hold water without leaking and has a lid tight enough to keep material from spilling out but loose enough to allow gasification products to escape (without blowing up the barrel). By having the smaller barrel upside down all oxygen will be used up and proper charcoaling will take place. Any 20 gallon oil drum, water heater core, welded propane tank(s), old air compressor tank, etc. will work.

How to Make a Terra Preta Equivalent (Small Scale)

Materials list:

• 1, 5 Gallon Bucket, with lid
• ~10 lbs crushed hardwood charcoal
• ~1 Gallon Compost Tea
• ~1/4 Cup Molasses (most any organic sugar source)
• Clean water (Rain, Reverse Osmosis, or Distilled is best. Let tap water sit for 24 hours prior to use and don't use tap water at all if it has fluoride)
• Something to stir with (long handled shovel works well)

10 pound bags of natural lump hardwood charcoal can be found in most grocery stores for about $6. Restaurant supply stores generally sell 20 pound bags for about $10.
So far the easiest method I've found to crush charcoal is to place the bag on concrete and drive over it with a heavy truck. If you're doing a large volume, try a chipper / shredder.
Place crushed charcoal, compost tea, and molasses in the bucket and stir. If needed add some water to make a soft slurry. Mix well once a day and let the tea inoculate the charcoal for about a week.
Drain the slurry. Capture the liquid for use as the next batch's starter or as a liquid fertilizer.
Scale up as needed.

Application Rates:

This small study, Effects of Varied Soil Composition (Char, Sand, Potting Mix) on the Growth of Radish Starts, suggests that 1/3 char to 2/3 soil gives the best plant growth results. Up to a 16.67 percent addition of sand (~17% Sand, ~50% Soil, 33% Char) shows a marginal decline from maximum plant growth.
The addition of char to achieve 1/3 char of total volume seems to be the key to get best results no matter what the composition of the existing soil.
True Terra Preta and Terra Preta Equivalent
(for recipes see above)
Small Scale

• For plants in pots or individual plants being planted outside, use drained terra preta slurry for approximately 1/3 of the total volume of potting material or fill material. If you made your own slurry, as above, and have no need to keep the drained liquid for any other reason, use its for the plants first watering(s).

Large Scale

• Current Guess for large scale applications: Spread 3 inches of drained terra preta slurry on ground and till in to six inches of top soil. If you have the material, I'd SWAG that you could spread slurry up to 50% of your original soil depth. (e.g. spread 6 inches for 12 inches of top soil if your plow / tiller will mix a full 18 inches. Your result is then 1/3 terra preta by volume.)

Dry bio char / Charcoal / Pure Carbon Black
A less labor intensive method that should give similar, but not as good, results would be to spread X inches of crushed charcoal, spray it with a compost tea solution, and then till it in. Again, don't just dump charcoal on a field and expect good results.
These suggestions were found on the web. If the labor is costlier than the bio char and tea, then you're probably better off overdosing so you don't have to do another application.
Small Scale

• • Bio Char: 1/2 pound per square foot.
  • Compost Tea: 1/2 ounce per square foot.

Large Scale

• Low End:
  • Bio Char: ~2 tons per acre, ~5 mt/ha, .1 pounds per square foot.
  • Compost Tea: 5 gallons per acre.
  High End:
  
  • Bio Char: ~10 tons per acre, ~20 mt/ha, .4 pounds per square foot.
  • Compost Tea: 15 gallons per acre.

Activated Charcoal / Activated Carbon Black
Simplistically, activated charcoal is highly porous charcoal, so you would need less to achieve the same results? So far I haven't found any information one way or another.
If you can get steam activated charcoal for the same price as charcoal, go for it.

• ????

Sources:

Bulk Lump Charcoal
At Restaurant Depots / Supply firms, 20 lbs bags are under $10.
Possible source(s) for buying 1 ton or more (FOB)
B&B Charcoal Products
Possible source(s) for buying 20 tons or more
Activated Carbon; Pure Organic Fertilizer, Hardwood Charcoal; Activated Bleaching Earth
Minimum Order Quantity: 20 Tons, FOB surabaya USD 300~1,000
Compost Tea
Microbial Earth: $7 for 1 gallon at the downtown Austin Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings.
Natural Gardner: Call first they don't always have it ready.
Great Outdoors: Call first they don't always have it for sale.

Reference Information:

• Gardening with Biochar FAQ
• 1 U.S. ton per acre = 2.24 metric tons per hectare.
/

• One acre = 4,840 square yards = 43,560 square feet

Unfinished Research

Turn sugar cane leaf trash into a resource

Transitional diet to full health, in one page or less

(Warning: This document is not complete!)
As the saying goes, "You are what you eat." So, why the hell are we killing ourselves? Especially since scientific knowledge on how to be healthy has been published for decades if not centuries?
This document, and its companion "How to be healthy in un-healthy times," is a summation of more than two decades of reading research into what makes a human healthy. To whit, this is my one page overview of what to do, and what not to do, to transition from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to a diet that achieves long term health. Long term health being defined as lack of any major diseases, dental cavities curing themselves, appropriate weight for your height, a lean body, being physically fit AND mentally healthy. If you also find this useful, great.
Directions:
Follow the "Eating:," "Habits / Lifestyle:," and "Nutrients:" sections of the How to be healthy in un-healthy times document. Modify your suppliments intake as below.

Nutrients:

Do not start taking everything at once! Start at no more than half the doses given on the "How to be healthy" page for the first week, then
Divide the doses to either two or three. Morning and Evening or Morning, Lunch, and Evening. If your supplemt can't be divided, take it in the evening. Based upon the assumption that your body does more "repair" work while your sleeping.

1. Juicing | 32 oz
2. Iodine: Increase to 20g - 30g.

Options:
Do a Vitamin C purge early in the process. This will clean the bowel track of existing contaminants.
Eat some organic, non-pasturized, yogurt.

Juicing:

recipie goes here

Do Note (Warnings?):

Okay, you will detox while doing this. Detoxing is just the body expelling toxins, which is a good thing. You've built up a lifetime of heavy metals (aluminum, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, ...), pesticides, and other chemicals. It will take awhile to eliminate them all.
Severe detoxing will turn you into the equivilant of a slug. If it is interfering with your ability to function, cut back on the ioding.
Notes:
I do NOT recomend taking any non food or any non human body neccisary mineral to detoxify yourself. Taking that into account, and filtering appropriately, these have useful information.
Oral Chelation
http://www.healingdaily.com/oral-chelation.htm