Short Change
I've been fighting a cold for a little over a week now. Last weekend I stayed home and tried to rest. Fever ate me for a few days and then I got bored - which is dangerous.
I've discovered Amazon Unbox, which is sort of like iTunes video for TiVo, and on it, I've discovered the cable show, "The Riches" with Izzy Edwards, Minnie Driver, and Shannon Woodward. The show is about a family of Irish Travelers, (white gypsies), who sort of happen upon a car accident where an upscale couple have been killed on the way to a new house, new job, etc, and then do the identity theft thing and move into their life.
I've always been fascinated by con men and confidence games and this show is particularly interesting in that they show crossovers between con games and typical American life. One feature that recurs, and the webisodes are all about, is short changing.
A friend recently posted about a lost wallet, (http://people.tribe.net/cynthiasays/blog/444cf2da-0f69-4008-99cc-3c1f0964e21f), and comments there refer to http://wallettest.com. Maybe it's the way that I was raised. Maybe it's a need to show off how fast and accurately I can count money, or maybe it's a feature of my autism, but I really just wouldn't consider keeping a wallet. And I wouldn't consider keeping inaccurate change either.
Seriously. People hand me overchange several times a year and I just stand there with my hand out until they get the clue, recount, and fix it. In a couple of cases in my life, the person has tried several times and _still_ gotten it wrong, or has gotten irate about it, and in those cases I've walked off with anywhere from a few cents to $10 or so that wasn't really mine. I complain if I'm short changed, and I can literally count my change as fast as someone can drop it into my hand, so it only makes sense that I'd return overchange as well.
Call it a compulsion, if you will, or a particular rigidity on my part. The funny thing is, after watching all of these examples of intentional short changing, I now want to try it out. I want to practice. And I want to learn to get good enough that I can start inventing my own short changing tricks. I mean, sleight of hand, distraction, hypnosis, NLP, this should be right up my ally. Except that I'm going to have to get over this personal taboo of mine that says all change has to be scrupulously and strictly mathematically correct.
Tantra teaches that there's great power in taboo breaking. And having discovered this personal taboo, it's obvious to me that I now have a personal obligation to break it. The next question is when and how. I certainly don't want to become known for this by any establishment that I frequent.
Clearly this merits more thought.
I've discovered Amazon Unbox, which is sort of like iTunes video for TiVo, and on it, I've discovered the cable show, "The Riches" with Izzy Edwards, Minnie Driver, and Shannon Woodward. The show is about a family of Irish Travelers, (white gypsies), who sort of happen upon a car accident where an upscale couple have been killed on the way to a new house, new job, etc, and then do the identity theft thing and move into their life.
I've always been fascinated by con men and confidence games and this show is particularly interesting in that they show crossovers between con games and typical American life. One feature that recurs, and the webisodes are all about, is short changing.
A friend recently posted about a lost wallet, (http://people.tribe.net/cynthiasays/blog/444cf2da-0f69-4008-99cc-3c1f0964e21f), and comments there refer to http://wallettest.com. Maybe it's the way that I was raised. Maybe it's a need to show off how fast and accurately I can count money, or maybe it's a feature of my autism, but I really just wouldn't consider keeping a wallet. And I wouldn't consider keeping inaccurate change either.
Seriously. People hand me overchange several times a year and I just stand there with my hand out until they get the clue, recount, and fix it. In a couple of cases in my life, the person has tried several times and _still_ gotten it wrong, or has gotten irate about it, and in those cases I've walked off with anywhere from a few cents to $10 or so that wasn't really mine. I complain if I'm short changed, and I can literally count my change as fast as someone can drop it into my hand, so it only makes sense that I'd return overchange as well.
Call it a compulsion, if you will, or a particular rigidity on my part. The funny thing is, after watching all of these examples of intentional short changing, I now want to try it out. I want to practice. And I want to learn to get good enough that I can start inventing my own short changing tricks. I mean, sleight of hand, distraction, hypnosis, NLP, this should be right up my ally. Except that I'm going to have to get over this personal taboo of mine that says all change has to be scrupulously and strictly mathematically correct.
Tantra teaches that there's great power in taboo breaking. And having discovered this personal taboo, it's obvious to me that I now have a personal obligation to break it. The next question is when and how. I certainly don't want to become known for this by any establishment that I frequent.
Clearly this merits more thought.