Why Prospective Counterfeiters Shouldn't Waste $ On Photoshop

[mallorys_camera]

I just made an interesting discovery! You cannot open a scanned .jpg of money with Photoshop!

I am making a shadow box for Max's 22nd birthday because I can't afford to give him a big hunk of cash (which is what he really wants! I would too.) The shadow box commemorates a road trip together when he was about 11. We were driving up the back end of Carmel Valley Road, deep country, very very beautiful. We came to the top of the pass and I laughed and said, "In thirty years this will all be one big housing development."

"Bet you it won't," said Max.

"Bet you it will," I said. "And furthermore in ten years you won't remember this conversation."

"Bet you I will."

"Bet you you won't."

"Put your money where your mouth is, Mom!"

"Okay, Max. Ten big ones!"

So on his 21st birthday he called me and said, "By the way, you owe me ten bucks."

So what this shadowbox is is a bunch of watercolors of Carmel Valley Road and one of him and a scanned image of a ten dollar bill. Except Photoshop won't open the scanned image! Instead it sends me to this website.

Fortunately Corel Painter opens scanned money just fine.

Comments

[paris-of-priam.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm VERY impressed by that!
For centuries the U.S. Dollar was the easiest currency in the world to counterfeit. 30 years ago most of the other industrialized countries re-designed their currency to make it impossible to photocopy or scan. Colour combinations were deliberately chosen to throw photocopiers off, and the line patterns were designed so that they'd strobe if they were scanned. They put in water marks and computer strips. But when they tried to do the same thing to the U.S. dollar everybody started kicking and screaming. Eventually they compromised just enough to put that computer strip down the side, but refused to do any colour changes.

I'm thinking that Adobe probably built in that feature on their own volition, though. *shrug*

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

Ya think? I dunno. I know I've opened pictures of money before so Adobe's would have to be sensitized to size somehow. I'm guessing it's an actual watermark of sorts from the U.S. guv'mint.

We could answer this question with an experiment to see if Photoshop will open other scanned currencies. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of lose ruples, marks or yen lying around. But aren't you in Canada? Quick, scan some money!

[bel-ebat.livejournal.com]

maybe it's all the drugs, but everyday reminders of the government (that are NOT taxes) can trip me out- and i've been going to work in a federal courthouse everyday!

i took a tour of the top floor that the u.s. marshalls are on here, and they showed me all of their hidden camera spots and their insanely vivid zoom capabilities that they use to zone in on spots a good distance all over town and that they often use just to check attractive people out.

also, i really like that story about max.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

America needs you to become a high power attorney, Alessandra! So you can subvert from within.

Forget where I read this but apparently training yourself to remember throw-away moments like this is some sort of key to higher intelligence.

[bel-ebat.livejournal.com]

hahah. i am so unsure of my life as an attorney. academically i'm interested, but in terms of lifestyle i'm still a little confused. either way, it's a great form of human study.

i think we may have talked about this! i wrote an entry a long time ago about how over the course of my life i've fixated on everyday moments with the goal of remembering them later in as much detail as i could. i always just thought it was a good way to remember you were alive.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

Ah! See how I confabulated an entire Malcolm Gladwell-esque scenario around it! :-)

We did talk about it. And I think you're right. It's those throw-away moments that really anchor you to Life.

[bel-ebat.livejournal.com]

:)