Introduction I have know R.H. Jaycox (Jay), the author of Internet Profit Pearls, for over a decade. A while back he asked me to read a pre-final draft (don't know how many pre-s I should really use) of the book. Technically I don't have a clue of what he was talking about but,having lost money through an earlier investment,I recognized the truth he was describing. In Chapters 4&11 he recommended writing articles for ezines as a way of promoting a business. I wrote one, showed it to him and he liked it. Jay suggested that I write a series from my ignorant perspective as I try to implement the suggestions in the "final?" draft of the book. I've titled the series,"The Internet Adventures of Stupidman" and the original piece, " The Birth of Stupidman".The moniker seems appropriate as it is how I feel when I try to do something on the computer and it seems to reflect the attitude I get from my teenagers when I try to share my "wisdom" on any subject. Jay said I should share a little background. This is my second marriage. The Boss and I live with my 13 year old son,Greased Lightning, and his 15 year old sister,Fashion Girl. The Boss is one of those people who buys new technology before her neighbors can spell it. (She bought a microwave oven when they were so big they needed a separate room.) She's been on the internet since shortly after Al Gore invented it. She doesn't do sophisticated things on the internet but due to her seniority she's The Boss. Greased Lightning is scary, he reads books about HTML, Java, JavaScript, encryption (Is there a Hacking for Dummies?). His fingers are a blur on the keyboard and his explanations are fast and condescending. Fashion Girl listens to music on the internet, designs art and wardrobes, fills up shopping carts until the wheels fall off and tries to find my credit cards. Greased Lightning serves the function of our house dog. If somebody passes gas and chooses not to accept the responsibility the dog is blamed. Greased Lightning is our farting dog. If the computer crashes The Boss assumes it was something caused by Greased Lighting even if he has not used the computer in several days. I'm afraid to try things on the computer as I don't want to become the farting dog. It's safer to be Stupidman. Jay thinks there are a lot of people in the world who might have good ideas and are also afflicted with keyboard phobia. He says if I share my learning experiences (frustrations are more like it) it will make the world a better place, yada yada yada. Who's kidding who, if you buy through my URL (Greased Lightning goes crazy when I call it an Earl) I make $10. Remember, this idea came from Chapters 4&11. The Birth of Stupidman I used to be smart. Not only did I believe it but many people (including bosses) told me I was smart. In college I learned a little FORTRAN and COBOL (main frame computer languages that are probably extinct by now). In the 70's and 80's I was a whiz at programming PCs in Lotus and Supercalc. But something happened, one night while I was sleeping, the internet was born and I became a dinosaur. While I was not getting it, everybody else was launching dot coms or working out of their homes for 20 minutes a day while making bazillions of dollars. Even teenagers were getting rich! Other than the author of Internet Profit Pearls (and he's not sharing), I don't personally know anybody who has been "successful" with internet commerce, but, from what the media tells me it's all the people I don't know. Towards the end of the dot com boom(naturally) I put some money into a "can't miss" "ground floor" opportunity and touted it to friends and relatives. It missed, ended up in the basement, lost the money and friends but at least my family has started returning my calls. I recently read a book, "Internet Profit Pearls", which belatedly explains what I, my former friends and family did wrong and actually has some helpful suggestions as to how one might make money on the internet without spending much money. You can read the first few chapters for free and if you want the entire book it will cost you $30. Some of the stuff is a little technical but fortunately my 13 year old son understands it (now if I could find a translator maybe I could understand what the boy said). Go on reading: Top right