Roberto, the Puerto Rican dude who has not been mentioned lately, got punched out by a 14-year-old. Roberto is the only other guy [than myself] who regularly commutes by bicycle. Except he is constantly running off the road and getting into mixes with cars and trucks. It seems he went to some lady’s place for dinner and told her son his turtle aquarium was too dirty. One thing led to another and that is another good reason to not date unmarried women with children. When these single-parent brats say they have a black belt, just tell them you have brown shorts. Roberto could have easily taken the wimp but thought it was illegal to hit back.
That, folks, was gossip too hilarious to avoid. There is better news but first, I must report a milestone. Today I made my first non-eBay non-programming money on the Internet. For all the talking and planning some people do, I claim to be one of the first in this town who has actually done it. Even more encouraging is that the income is from writing, meaning the residuals could be there for quite some time to come. It is therefore misleading when I can tell you the amount was $1.11, for I intend to pursue that as far as it will go.
For any newcomers, I have [long ago] agreed to share information about making legitimate money on the Internet. A few months ago I began posting product reviews ranging from my digital recorder to my seven-speed bicycle. I noticed my “account” had a balance of $0.00 and never gave it a second thought. My understanding is that I had to sign up to make money and I was not interested, presuming my articles would not make much difference.
I did notice that quite a number of people began reading my posts, including many with “lead” and “advisor” tags. Hundreds of people, 372 this month alone. The tags indicate advanced users who act as moderators for such things as spelling and ability to stay on topic. My guess is they, upon seeing I was not enrolled for money, must have opened the account for me. Bingo!
Now for the promised ebook progress report. My research phase ended this morning and I’ve chosen a product from England, which I’ll refer to as Activ E. It is a compiler, an ebook compiler to be exact, and thus more understandable to me for I first used a compiler when I was 18 years old. I’m still reading the directions to understand how it takes ordinary word processed document (in case you’ve ever wondered what that “Save as a Web Page” option was for) and turns it into an ebook. My plan is to produce some kind of ebook by late Friday this week.
This undertaking again reveals the danger of not keeping current with computers. Activ E is a simple application yet would be intimidating to anyone without the basics. Fall behind at all, and you will not be able to even comprehend the improved versions that arrive in no time. Activ E seems well-thought out. You can use it for free to do everything except sell the ebooks, a step that requires a one-time fee of $29.95. They do not charge any royalties. There is an overwhelming array of options. For example “rebranding” is where you write something that allows the purchaser to put his own name and title to the book.
I spent the $1.11 on a coffee; I believe that coffee first “free” thing I’ve ever had in this territory. Thanks a heap, Florida, a big steaming heap.
