Best stock I have found for IC are MMM and AET. However this month I wisely stayed away from MMM as its earnings were coming up. Sorry to hear about ur GOOG experience. With high flyers like it, u generally stay very careful of them. Just mark it down as lesson learned and move on, don't let this loss get you down on your possible lucrative options strategy.
I agree with DonnaV on this one, regardless of whether you are trading options or the underlying. I just think that there are some stocks best avoided until you have a great deal of experience, and GOOG is definately one of them. Of course, another reason that I avoid GOOG is that I don't have $43,000+ sitting in a trading account to buy 100 shares.
Arnie, Don't beat up on yourself over mistakes. We all have them!!! I am still making mistakes but, trying to avoid making to many of them. Maintain a trading journal. Since, I started a trading journal----my mistakes kind of jump out of the excel spreadsheet so, it enhances the learning process! Unlike you, I just trade directionally, long and short sides depending on where the stock is going. Speaking of mistakes, I sold out of ATI DJ too soon. I think I sold out my my contracts when it was at $7.40 (got in at $3.70 if I remember correctly). Made a profit so, that was the good part. This option is around $22.00 now----ouch, and would have been a "very good" winner. Oh well, back to the drawing board.