"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro..."
Hunter S. Thompson

i
The author of HOW-TO Meet Women considers himself a card-carrying nerd, even to the extent of wearing a pocket protector. He is, among other things, a programmer and technical writer (author of the Software Building and Installation HOWTO for the Linux Documentation Project). Although happily married for over a decade, he will never forget his origins, his lonely bachelor years.

If HMW has something of the flavor of a technical "howto", this is hardly accidental. A touch of subjectivity and humor flavor the brew, but without diluting its emphasis on the practical. The intended audience is primarily shy single men, but much of the content is gender neutral, and the author has received favorable comment on it from women.

ii
In a bygone era, hard-won wisdom gained from lore and painful experience passed from father to son, or from master to apprentice. Guilds and secretive elites jealously guarded specialized knowledge. Keeping the masses ignorant circumscribed their lives and preserved the status quo. The invention of the printing press, and, in our own time, the personal computer changed all that and gave access to virtually unlimited information to any literate person. On balance, this seems a favorable development, but it has drastically accelerated the pace of social change and let loose the demon of unbridled technology. It has made possible the publication of information that can cause incalculable harm.


The major advances in civilization are processes that all but wreck the societies in which they occur.
Alfred North Whitehead

There were ethical issues to consider before releasing HOW-TO Meet Women upon an unsuspecting public. Certain of the techniques contained therein could certainly be used by unscrupulous men to seduce and exploit women. Yet, it must be assumed that predators and manipulators already have the requisite knowledge for plying their sinister trade, as they have been with such devastating effect for all of recorded history and beyond. And the need is there, it is painfully obvious, to put shy men on something of an equal footing with their more socially adept fellows.



iii
So, where do we go from here? The author will continue to put words on paper, or, as it were, onto his Web site. You, the reader, will continue your quest, somewhat wiser, hopefully, to fully realize your human potential. Men will continue to seek women, and women men... and the world will go on with business as usual.

The author wishes to bestow his admittedly limited blessings on the readers of HMW. You deserve your shot at happiness. May you have passionate and fulfilling relationships with women!

Never eat at a place called Mom's.
Never play cards with a man named Doc.
And never lie down with a woman who's got more troubles than you.
Nelson Algren, "What Every Young Man Should Know"








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