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Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

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Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#501

Post by sbarre »

fzeroracer wrote: post #468
sbarre wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And people jaywalk all the time. Can we stop being so obtuse and only look at the letter of the law and think about the actual practical real-life consequence as a measure of severity? This was a joke, and no harm was done. Are you really advocating for a felony offence here? This is the same line of thinking, just reversed, that people use to say "well it's not illegal" when someone does something super shitty that…

The letter of the law is that he presented a counterfeit ID to a federal officer where lying to a federal officer is a very serious offense. You can argue that 'well it was a joke!!' but if you were to joke around to your nearest FBI officer about how you have a bomb in your home and you're going to use it I imagine they wouldn't find it very funny.

> if you were to joke around to your nearest FBI officer about how you have a bomb in your home and you're going to use it I imagine they wouldn't find it very funny.

Agreed! Joking about a bomb is a much more serious and very different situation than showing a joke ID in a relaxed situation - and when you probably have your real ID in your pocket.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#502

Post by sicp-enjoyer »

quesera wrote: post #466
sicp-enjoyer wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And why do you think they take those risks? Do you think they would if people treated it like a job at mcdonalds? Would their families support them in being away for so long for 30k/year?

Some of them absolutely would, yes. But psychologically, the drive to be a part of something important is very strong, especially in young men. The military has a rich mythology that plays into, and perpetuates, this. This is not bad or unhealthy! But it is also not inherently good. There are other groups which use the same tactics to recruit people for bad services. It very very much depends.

I completely agree, but I think that "rich mythology" you refer to is fueled by the public also believing in it to a great extent.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#503

Post by oehpr »

xavdid wrote: post #448
jsz0 wrote: post #319

One of the greatest flaws of modern society is how we systematically beat this natural childlike enthusiasm for bending the rules out of people. I'm just old enough to remember when 'it was just a joke' was a legitimate excuse that could get you out of trouble. If the joke was funny and didn't hurt anyone you might get a slap not he wrist but people of all ages appreciated your effort to make the world a less grim pl…

The problem you run into is that people can do legitimately harmful things, and claim it was "just a joke". It ruins it for everyone, unfortunately.

Funny how, in my life experience, "It was just a joke" has been the exclusive use of people who were definitely not joking, absolutely intended to do harmful things, and simply liked hurting people.

They simply thought that so long as they found it amusing, the harm others experienced physically, emotionally, or materially, were not really of consequence. After all, surely if they were in their targets shoes, they would have thicker skin. And that definitely isn't a lie they're telling themselves and others.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#505

Post by QuantumGood »

O__________O wrote: post #42

Related US Mint page for $2 bill sheets: https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/?&p... Basically he tells story in a way that average person assume he’s printing fake bills, when in reality he’s just cutting and binding sets of uncut bills into a notepad. Lying to a federal investigator though is a federal crime and one that’s frequently resulted in prison sentences. Worth noting that Jobs & Woz fir…

Interesting that ALL of the sheets are unavailable at that website.

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#506

Post by lobocinza »

quesera wrote: post #464
sandworm101 wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is cringe worthy, but when you get orders for a multi-year posting far away from friends and family, it really does feel like servitude. It was -30 outside this morning. My car hates me for bringing it here.

Some people join the military to serve their country. But everyone in the military is indoctrinated to believe that they are serving their country. Some of them are shipped overseas. Some live in Virginia Beach. Some are physically endangered. Some sit behind a desk. There are good and noble people who choose a life of service. Some of them are in the military. Some of them are food kitchen volunteers. Not everyone i…

Most like Top Gun?

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#507

Post by x-complexity »

Some of the comments in here scare me to bits: If HN's userbase is that scared of poking at the edges/inconsistencies of authority, even in jest, then how would anyone gain the expertise of challenging said authority when top-down control is pushed too far?

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#508

Post by quesera »

sicp-enjoyer wrote: post #502
quesera wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of them absolutely would, yes. But psychologically, the drive to be a part of something important is very strong, especially in young men. The military has a rich mythology that plays into, and perpetuates, this. This is not bad or unhealthy! But it is also not inherently good. There are other groups which use the same tactics to recruit people for bad services. It very very much depends.

I completely agree, but I think that "rich mythology" you refer to is fueled by the public also believing in it to a great extent.

For certain. It's a symbiotic relationship.

But like any source of low-cost energy, some of it is diverted into unproductive things!

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#509

Post by techdragon »

brookst wrote: post #456
techdragon wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but it wasn “fake”… it was “entirely made up”. There’s a legitimate difference here that I’m sure lawyers would have a field day with. And I’d imagine the agent would have requested additional Id if they actually cared since it’s a simple enough thing to ask again if they took one look at it and weren’t satisfied.

“One simple trick” wasn’t a thing back in the timeframe of this story. No gold-fringed flags, no sovcits, no “technically I didn’t lie”.

I l mean, even without invoking sovereign citizen craziness, it’s pretty easy to imagine a legitimate lawyer arguing the difference between “fake id ” as in an identity document fraudulently attempting to look like a legitimately issued document, and “made up” as in bearing no more than a superficial resemblance to other legitimate identity documents. Now obviously the self confessed train of thought of him deliberately taking the chance to see what the agent would do, definitely comes close to outright mens rea but it’s still arguably not an admission of intent to mislead, and it would all come down to the lawyer… if the agent even cared. Discretion used to be a big part of the “investigation cop” toolkit psychology wise, and fraudulent currency investigation by a secret service agent is much more serious than “this guy shows me his made up id card”

Re: Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

#510

Post by LawTalkingGuy »

jsnell wrote: post #422
enedil wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get how you inferred anybody was humiliated there.

No deep inferrence needed. The entire discussion with the security guy is about toying with him, eventually he tricks the guy, "scores a point" and is ever so pleased at himself: > But I had got a big point on him and I was quite satisfied in that Like, I can sort of understand the humor value of giving away $2 bills as a tip since they're rare and some people don't know about it. But there is literally no value in b…

"Baiting" the security guy has only as much weight as his unnecessary investigation. They knew the bills were fine but he came to investigate anyway and he didn't just ask "Hey, how'd ya get those bills?" but tried to be sneaky. He was also salaried and got paid for the interaction so he wasn't a victim in the slightest, except perhaps to his ego.

The nasty act here, and possibly criminal, was the security guy calling the Secret Service and reporting on someone he knew wasn't actually guilty of anything.

> It is an ugly story ...

Of tedious security people inflating themselves by bothering normal people.

> it's not an isolated occurence! He clearly does this all the time

Thankfully, if these people go unchallenged then when they go off it's on a random unsuspecting person. He's prepared and can take it in stride.

The mistake was to engage with the SS agent without his lawyer. He pretty clearly wouldn't have been arrested but because he essentially volunteered for this fishing expedition they'll perform it.

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