What was I thinking?

Should I perceive Apple Computer/AAPL as an investment or intermediate term trade? In light of the post-earnings report after-hours trading activity, I would say the latter. Unfortunately, I ignored all the signals I typically heed. Mea maxima culpa -- yes, I am to blame.

Note the reversal days (red bars in chart above): the stock opened on or near the daily high and closed on or near the daily low. Moreover, the weakness the past week (since the all time high) took the stock to a low beneath that of 28 September ($50.59). This is a technical no-no for an up-trend in simple peak & trough analysis, and serves to:
1) Create a pattern of lower highs and now lower lows;
2) Flatten the chart to (at best) a base from an uptrend;
3) Round off a top. The chart has the appearance of concavity (bearish in a rising trend) rather than convexity (bullish in a rising trend).

The best thing that could happen (post-opening tomorrow) would be a rally back to $48-50 based in part on tomorrow's 'surprise' corporate announcement and that the shares have been straight down since the all time high, setting up tomorrow's opening lows as the moment of "obscene weakness" (following a period of "extreme weakness"). My hopes for this rally back are not too high, however, as the pattern now is broken. Where it now trades (~$46) is just above the first level of support (~$45), then the rising 200-day sma ($41.30). Ouch, this hurt hurts.