No commercial nouse, that's my problem. That and scruples.
I've had a few freebies over the years, thanks to Gruts and my Darwin website: occasional Darwin-related books from publishers, and the odd unexpected present from my Amazon wishlist. Hell, I've even made over a tenner from Amazon referral fees. But I don't have that killer business instinct—the ability to recognise and seize upon a nice little earner.
Take this proposition I received via the Darwin site the other day, for example:
I can offer you $35 if you'll place an ad on [this page] for a website that provides information about LASIK eye surgery. I can supply the ad to you with payment if you're interested.
You see, all I had to do was act the pimp, turn my personal hero, Charles Darwin, into a whore, and $35 could have been mine. That's £15.22 in proper money. A few thousand more offers like that each year, and I could be living the life of Riley. If it weren't for my scruples, that is.
DAMN SCRUPLES!