Ironjoe,
No I am fairly new to this myself, just years of working in various jobs doing sales and Customer Service, and a father who was a Comptroller for a company, and as I grew older was not afraid to talk to me about investing.
I am now in a position that I can start to look out for myself. My current job, and the fact that my children are grown and on their own, made it possible. I had a friend that I work with that got me started, created a self directed IRA, and did some investigation on various companies (he gave me two "freebies" to get me started - CMKX & QBID).
So now I am "playing" investor. Yes it is risky, but so is life. I am having fun watching every day, reading the boards, and learning from others. If I make a good deal of money I will go to Mutual Funds & Blue Chips for the bulk of my investments but I will never leae the "Pennies"
Ray