Mining can be still profitable afaik ![Smiley :)](http://www.tekforums.net/Smileys/teksmileys/smiley.gif)
As for trading, yes that ican be profitable but the usual caveats of don't trade with more than you can afford to lose.
I went for a couple of beers and sushi once after work, the market crashed and I lost £90 of profit (I had bought very low) in the 2-3 hours I was out.
Mining can still be profitable if you have the right hardware, I wouldn't recommend going out of my way to make a mining rig though. I'm sitting on my mined coins (still mining every day too) until I can sell them for a good amount. I got greedy before when I should have sold around the 5GBP mark but didn't, so now I'm waiting for the market to recover. I have about £100s worth at least but I keep waiting for another boom so I can maximise my profits. I've absolutely no problem mining all year as eventually I might get a tidy sum back.
As Matt said about trading, it is definitely profitable if you know how to play it but has the same risks as stock trading anywhere else. He's the one I ask when I am watching the markets and waiting for the right time to sell to see what is going on
![Smiley :)](http://www.tekforums.net/Smileys/teksmileys/smiley.gif)