Casualties of the "dotcom shakeout," take note. If you've long since tired of lunchtime ping-pong and have a good pair of sealegs, you may be a prime candidate for a career in pirating. What's more, it may prove more lucrative. Here's a comparison of the hard numbers.

Typical monthly wage for a merchant seaman in the early 19th century	30		40,816	Real median U.S. household income
Typical monthly wage for a privateer in the early 19th century	180		78,187	Average annual salary for middle management technical dot-com employee
Percentage of American privateers vessels wrecked, destroyed or captured in the war of 1812	28		189	Number of out-of-business dot-com companies, as of May, 2001
Cost, in today's dollars, of building, outfitting, arming and providing crew for an 1813 schooner of 200 tons	400,000		9,800,000	Average investment, in dollars, in a U.S. Internet startup in the first quarter of 2001
Reported fraction of the U.S. population afflicted with scurvy in 2000	.0005%		.25%	Fraction of workers in the private sector reporting work-related repetitive strain injuries (including carpel tunnel syndrome) in 1998
Cost of one glass of rum (no tip) at Manhattan's oldest drinking establishment, The Bridge Caf�	$6		$11	Cost of one cosmopolitan (plus tip) at Manhattan's chic martini bar Pravda
Approximate cost of a yellow-naped Amazon parrot, known for its talking abilities	$900		$1000	Top eBay bids, in 1998, for electronic talking pet Furby
Length of "golden age," in years	70		5	Length of "golden age," in years
These numbers are acurate and verifiable. We leave that as an exercise to the reader.