My afternoon, translated:
"Well, don't you look like a puffy geek. You've got no clue about how a car actually works, do you?"
"I understand the internal combustion engine. There was this book, with cut-away drawing--"
"So if I tell you the alternator (or distributor or one of those bits -- you're not even paying attention, are you?) is having trouble, you'll have a clue how much something like that would cost to fix."
"Um. No."
"And if I were to wildly overcharge you, you wouldn't be able to tell?"
"No."
"Except for the vague feeling in your gut that I'm taking advantage of you because I know what I'm doing and you need your car?"
"Right."
"OK, then. So after I add in the 30 0ummy Fee and the 15% Totally Arbitrary Fee and the 5% Additional Fee Levy Fee, that comes to... Oh, let's call it $500 even."
"OK."
"On second thought, let's make it $550."
Hi there! My name's GREG KNAUSS and I like to make things.
Some of those things are software (like Romantimatic), Web sites (like the Webby-nominated Metababy and The American People) and stories (for Web sites like Suck and Fray, print magazines like Worth and Macworld, and books like "Things I Learned About My Dad" and "Rainy Day Fun and Games for Toddler and Total Bastard").
My e-mail address is greg@eod.com. I'd love to hear from you!