Waterboarding and the market

There's been a lot written and said about waterboarding recently. The US Senate has been the locus of the discussion. Waterboarding is a torture technique that simulates drowning. It's also what investors and traders do to themselves when they follow the market too closely; they're drowning themselves in information. Living and dying with every tumultuous turn of the market is not only painful, but is less than profitable. I can't tell you how many stupid trades I've made based on bad news that ended up being noise. More information doesn't automatically lead to better decisions. Right now I have position in National Oilwell Varco(NOV) that I've been checking just about daily. I'm expecting it to keep pace with the price of oil. While this isn't a bad thesis, it's one that might not be evident on a day-to-day basis. It's completely counterproductive, worse than watching a pot boil or grass grow. So now I'm going to practice what I preach; I'm only going to check the price of stocks I own once a month. Just in case something happens, I'll set price alerts on my E*Trade account. I think that I'll make better decisions and ultimately make more money.