Last night I went out with a large group to celebrate a friend's birthday. At the end of dinner and drinks, I witnessed a once-familiar ritual that I hadn't seen since college: everyone mentally estimating what they owe and tossing their cash into a pile at one end of the table, with a couple of former math concentrators puzzling over the bill and trying to make it all work. The only difference was their indignant announcement after everyone had contributed: "Uh, guys? We're two hundred and fifty dollars short."

I do love New York...