I wonder about truly mechanical systems. I think many tasks can be set up for you, but actually pulling the trigger on both sides of a trade? I don't know. Could be my nature to fuss. I'm working on that, just in general, like not being a perfectionist (on household projects, for example).
If good traders often say when they break their own rules, they loose... then why don't they just take those rules and make their systems fully mechanical? Could it be that to make the adjustments one needs to make over time, you need to be in the market more directly than mechanical system allows?
BTW, we're having a chat on Automated Systems tomorrow with ECHOtrade's Jeff DeWitt. He'll be detailing ways of automating traders' strategies using ECHOtrade's new Predator Pro software package.
André