I know drugs kill .. bankrupt.. but apparently they also eat money, quite literally:

“BERLIN, Nov 11 (Reuters) – A mystery substance that caused some euro banknotes in Germany to fall to pieces may be linked to the party drug crystal speed, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday, quoting regional police. Users of crystal speed inhale it through the nose using rolled-up banknotes and chemists think impurities such as sulphates, mingled with sweat, could have created an acid that ate away at the notes, the magazine quoted police as saying.

Around 1,500 banknotes worth between 5 euros and 100 euros ($6.44-$129) crumbled shortly after being withdrawn from cash machines, the Bundesbank said earlier this month.”

I’m sitting in the lobby of the Charles Hotel, waiting for my flight back to CA after a really interesting conference by Longworth Venture Partners, where I had the chance of participating on a panel moderated by Harvard Professor  Andrew McAfee, along with fellow Enterprise Irregulars Jeff Nolan, Ismael Ghalimi and Roth Boothby.

 It’s interview time, the place is swarming with law firms and dark suits: Harvard Law School students. They all look alike in their “uniform” … I haven’t seen this many (dark) suits ever since I moved to California:-)  Guys arrive in full gear, girls’ ritual includes sitting down at the lobby and switching their sneakers to the mandatory torture devices (i.e. high heels).  

Wait!  what’s going on?  A guy in a dark suit, open-collared shirt and no ties arrives… he walks kind of funny, smiles and has his iPod headsets in his ears… greets his friends and heads for the elevator up. 

Will he get eliminated right away?  Or is being “different” the winning strategy?  Whoever you are, if you read this, let me know how it went.  And all you other interviewers, I feel for you… good luck.  And remember: there is life outside the mega-firms.

Update (10/4): What a coincidence that Robert Scoble just posted The suits vs. geeks.