ethics challenge

more daring than making cakes, ha!

9/7/08

For the sake of acting in accordance with principles i can be proud of, and having defensible reasons for the exceptions i make, I’m going to try to follow the law re: copyrights/IP.  I’m doing this because it’s the issue at hand at our school right now, and I’m being forced to think about how I can justify my behavior as an adult to children/teenagers and the example I would want to set for my own kids.  I think about that in abstract terms whenever I think about having kids, and here is a chance to practice.  Breaking these particular laws is something i’ve done on a regular basis – so i don’t have to talk about this in hypothetical terms, i can just go ahead and put my opinions about it into practice and confront the things that make doing so difficult.

I think there are arguments to be made for breaking these laws in an ethical way, for example for educational purposes, or for the sake of open access to information and facilitating progress in a community of scientists or artists – though admittedly i think these are stronger arguments for changing the law than for breaking it as individuals with no additional effort/activism.  I don’t honestly believe any of these justifications apply to the way i violate the law most of the time. I think the main reasons I violate the law are out of greed (not wanting to pay) and laziness (not wanting to go to the trouble of working around not having the program I want, even if it is possible).  I don’t want to be a freerider, and I don’t want to let myself do things only because I know I won’t get caught that I know i wouldn’t do otherwise.  Seneca says to imagine “a master whose life, conversation, and soul-expressing face have satisfied you” (epistle 11) and to act like you would in his presence.  This is sort of a variation on WWJD, but it isn’t what would he do, but what would you do if he stood beside you?  How would you justify your behavior to someone you truly respect/who has a stronger sense of ethics/wisdom than you?  Of course all this is moot if you’re not interested in becoming a “virtuous” person in the usual sense or if you are an anarchist, and I understand that my basic premises are that the law is valuable/worth following for its own sake (not the only rational view out there) and that working toward more ethical behavior is an important and practical/real life goal for me.

I have an illegal copy of microsoft office suite on my computer and I don’t believe i would tell Seneca or Jesus or Martin Luther King, Jr. or Thomas Jefferson or anyone else that I have a right to it, either naturally by virtue of being human or as part of my due as a member of a society governed by laws.  So I deleted it.  I also deleted a folder i copied from a friend’s ipod of songs i wanted to listen to in case i want to keep them.  This is not as hard as deleting songs I know i will miss, but it is 10.24g of potential pleasure.  On the upside, my computer was running out of room and this will free up a long of space, and save me the time of sifting through it all!  I have two CDs out from the library, that I would have just copied to listen to on my ipod later and see if i like them.  I’m not going to do it.  If I don’t listen to them before they are due, too bad.  Maybe I’m not missing much, or maybe I’ll rediscover them at some moment in the future when they will be more meaningful/appreciated.  If i’m going to be totally honest, I do that a lot (copy library CDs for the sake of discovering new music), but it’s not true that i often go out and buy records if I DO like it, or that i convince other people who wouldn’t have otherwise bought it to do so.  and i often keep music even if it is mediocre.

My first goal is to change my future behavior or find ethical reasons not to do so. I haven’t resolved what i’m going to do about old stuff that is important to me.  One idea I had is to look to the play count on itunes, and maybe only let myself keep songs that i’m supposedly “trying out” for a certain number of plays, then either delete it and accept not having it, or go buy it.  In the old days before mp3s, I spent a lot of time in record shops and I found all kinds of deals.  At that time i had way less money than i do now, but it was a  priority so i naturally made record shopping significant part of my budget.  If music is so important to me, shouldn’t i be willing to make sacrifices for it?  If it isn’t worth paying for, maybe it’s not work compromising for.

I’m not going to just delete all the songs i have and start over, because i’ve paid for some of this stuff, copied it from cds, etc.  some of it is so important to me that it will take me time to prepare myself to part with it.   In the cases where i copied songs from a cd i don’t own, but i do in fact have them on a record, i think its ok to keep them because the result is the same as if i hooked up the record player and made mp3s of the songs.  I can honestly say that the audio quality is not the deciding factor.  People who know me well have seen me abuse my records on occasion, and also take the greatest pleasure in listening to a horribly scratched and full-of-pops and hisses record.  I can hear past those imperfections, and I actually kind of like them because I think they’re like wrinkles on a person who has lived a full life.  The more worn a record gets over time, the more evidence that it has given people pleasure.

The changes i’ve made today are relatively easy.  The idea of trashing yoko or arthur russell mp3s or mix tapes from tina is too much right now.  Also i am realizing that i have sentimental attachment to the actual files – the fact that i got something from a particular person at a particular time – even though it isn’t physical property, and knowing how much i’ve enjoyed those 40 plays or whatever the ticker says – has meaning for me, and I’ll have to consider that too…

I’m not doing this to tell the world about how great and ethical i am, but to challenge myself to actually declare what i do publicly and let whoever wants convince me to behave otherwise with their rational arguments.  If you care to comment on my reasoning or values, please consider whether you are putting as much thought into your comments as I am putting into justifying my beliefs publicly.  If you know me and want to talk to me about this in private or via email, please do.  I’m also happy to be used as an example of right or wrong action/reasoning for the sake of discussion as long as i’m allowed to defend myself/refine my position as necessary!

stats today:

• no illegal programs
• one copied font that i’m using for work for two more days (we have 5 licenses and i’m only aware of 3 others in use so i believe it is legal)
• 4715 songs in the itunes library.  I don’t know how many are illegal, but i’m sure it is a significant number.  Going through each of them and deleting them if i’m not willing to buy will tell me for sure if it’s true that “i wouldn’t have paid for it anyway” as we like to say.

In the spirit of supporting artists whose work deserves compensation I’ll tell you about Orishas – my little bro just gave me two of their CDs for my birthday and they are great! I’d heard of them before but didn’t have any of their music.  Cuban rappers with sort of 90s hip hop beats crossed with traditional cuban and other latin american styles.  they sing in english, spanish, and some other language(s) that I can’t understand, but i’m listening to it for the third time.  Instead of making you a cd, check out their songs for free here: http://www.myspace.com/orishasthebest (I especially like “Reina de la Calle”) – Thanks Jesse!

mangosteens

saw them at the grocery store this weekend but I didn’t get them because i don’t usually like fresh fruit that much and i thought maybe it would be wasted on me.  i’ll have to go back though, my curiosity is getting the upper hand…

rip oed

Didn’t hear about this until today, sad. wonder if the ebay prices are getting crazier? do other people care? they must.

speaking of books, this is cute: too bad wordpress won’t do the library thing thingy

daring baking/not

not doing it this month, reasons include budget, busy-ness, and being fed up with buttercream.  seriously, i hate that shit.  but if you’re into fancy pants cakes, check out a shit ton of them.  i feel a little bad for not doing it this month, because it feels wimpy not to do the super complicated thing… but if it were cheap OR i had a free weekend this month OR it wasn’t layer upon layer of sweet and more sweet, I’d be in there with them… but i’ll have way more time once summer starts, and more time to host parties where i can serve these things.  reading this (among others) makes me feel bad about making something like this knowing i would need so much help finishing it and would likely toss most of it…

to make a short story long, stars did not align.  see you next time!

watch

it’s not just johnny cash on the muppets… it’s the history of the world! set course for wild hunt.

easy dinner

been trying to clean out the cupboards by eating through them… today i did something super easy, good, healthy and easy to adapt to whatever is around.  I had beluga lentils (they don’t fall apart as much as other lentils i find) so i toasted up the last bits of some old spices that were almost done (happened to be cumin, ground mustard, and mild chili powder), added some garlic and oil, then i put it all in the pot with some beef stock and a can of tomato paste.  i had some avocado and lemon so i put that on top when they were done, but really you could switch any part of this out (beans or rice instead of lentils, whatever spices/herbs you have, throw in some old veggies, add cheese or sour cream or meat, have it with bread or crackers or whatever).  i’ve been working harder to use what we have before we buy more and i know its kind of anal, but i just made a huge list of whats in the kitchen and cross things off when they’re done, trying to think of something to make with old ingredients before going shopping for something new.  i read some zen dude talking about the difference between the cook who finds the recipe first and then goes shopping and the one who makes whatever is around, and would like to try (on most days) to be more like the latter….

lingua latina

not exactly sure what this article is announcing, since i’ve looked at the vatican website years ago and it seemed to me then that everything was available in latin, but this i thought was funny:

But Father Reginald Foster, an American priest who is the Pope’s official Latinist, praises the virtues and the clarity of the Latin language.

“You have to say something and move on,” he says.

“It’s not like French and some of these philosophical languages where you can write a whole page and say nothing – in Latin you can’t do that!”

hmmm… I’m not so sure… it seems to me you can ramble in any language.

may week 1

1. tilth edible plant sale - kind of like the book sale, but without the barcode scanners. and outside. same fever though! i was hoping for more like onions, squash, carrots, etc. but it was mostly tomatoes and herbs… still it was neat. all the plants were very pretty and there were some nice surprises (lemongrass!). on the way out picked up edible seattle for free which i’ve been looking forward to for a while. i was a little disappointed, as the stories were kind of old news (mangalitsa, urban chickens, tilth/maria hines, etc.) – i mean i appreciate all these things, but there was no new info here. i’m looking forward to seeing more, but for now the price is too high for the content! it has pretty nice layout and thick paper etc… too much budget for show i think, not ready to spend $28 on 4 issues. for some reason the newsstand price is cheaper than subscription??? (4.99). I love the feeling/intention, but i’d honestly prefer more info on xerox for cheap than frou frou presentation driving up cost…. also the stories were all really short, like one or two pages, which is fine for my short attention span, but i think these days (especially in seattle! we love food gossip!) if you’re not going to be fast, you have to have an angle or in-depth coverage or something to justify the wait! anyway, i am excited to see what develops, i hope it becomes indispensable!

2. anchovy butter - wandering in the market i found anchovy paste – i think its new to the shelves because my love of the old times has me thinking about garum and liquamen and things all the time, and i’m sure i would have seen this (however distant) relative if it it had been there in the past… anyway, i’m not blown away by this particular product, but it has so much potential as a staple. 2 parts butter, 1 part anchovy + crostini. this works with anything with a strong flavor. blue cheese is a good one. tapenade. they’re great on their own but crisping up some baguette with olive oil and mixing a nice butter up makes such an easy subtle appetizer (everyone has a guest that wants a plainer option right?) – and makes the expensive stuff last longer.

3. rhubarb – i’m just excited about rhubarb. for the first of the season i followed the cupcake guy’s suggestion – this dude is one of the reasons i like the internet. it was totally delicious and doing the crust free form was fun and freeing… i also did a crust in the food processor for the first time (my bro got me a baby one for xmas so it barely fits!) it is so easy! if i had a full size one and a dishwasher, it’s hard to imagine barriers to baking. anyway, i got some more rhubarb in my delivery this week, and i’m doing exactly the same thing. but in muffin cups. they are going to be so small and delicious they blow my mind.

4. beer – more spring day happy hour dates with a pitcher lately. who doesn’t love beer?

5. bentos – i don’t feel like writing a lot about it right this minute, but i got inspired to finally start doing them, american style – and i’m amazed at my success rate in this. it really doesn’t feel like work. i don’t know exactly how this attitude adjustment came about, but the chore of making lunch (or the idea of the chore that always prevented me from doing it) is just normal and even a relaxing part of my morning routine now. part of it is that my guy is so willing to eat whatever, that i can experiment or clean up the leftovers or do a tired same-as-yesterday and he’s equally grateful every day. it really does feel good to feed someone vegetables! premature mom i guess. mine aren’t as balanced as his, since i’m a bit more picky, but both of us are eating more cheaply for sure, and more balanced meals if not always optimally healthy ones…. and i do honestly think i sneak in more vitamins than i would have otherwise, if i weren’t trying to fill some small space with a carrot or piece of apple or something.

daring baking 2

So this challenge is cheesecake lollipops (recipe). We don’t really eat a lot of dessert, so I had to wait until there would be guests to help eat all this (I halved the recipe, but still). I knew there was a lot of cooling/freezing time and that I should start the recipe a day or two ahead, but I had better things to do Friday night and I was busy all day Saturday and too exhausted by the time I got home. So Sunday morning, resolve to do it in a rush rather than put it off for next weekend (already committed to carrot cake next weekend for a bday). The first shortcut I took was not waiting for the cream cheese to reach room temp. I cut it up small and put it near the oven for a while, warmed up maybe 5 degrees or so, but couldn’t wait! The batter seemed a little lumpy, but I wasn’t too concerned. Had to get it cooked and cooling to be ready by 6!

I don’t have a regular 10″ cake pan, only a springform (and 8s and 9s) and since it always cooks without dripping, I didn’t think to check that it it would be watertight… so hot water leaked into the pan when I poured it into the larger roasting pan (with batter already in). I thought it might be automatically ruined, but I wasn’t about to go buy tons more cream cheese, so fuck it. I took the cake pan out and did my best to make a seal with layers and layers of foil and put it back in. Set timer for 20 (of 35-40m bake time) since I halved it. I ended up baking it longer than the original time (maybe 55m?) to get it set properly. Let it cool not quite the full time (another shortcut), but it was ok. Tried to make balls at first, but without a melon baller or ice cream scoop – shaping cheesecake by hand is just annoying – so I immediately simplified by just cutting squares (man, i’m good at shortcuts!). I varied the sizes quite a bit for variety and so people could choose a little or a lot, try different flavors, etc. The dipping and decorating was (no surprise) the most fun part, and I got into drizzling, mixing different toppings, etc. Everyone was amazed and loved them, so there’s a new sure-fire thing in my arsenal I guess, and though the technique isn’t difficult, all the waiting time makes it unlikely that I’ll do this too often. Also, even halved the recipe produced way more than I could use (even with company!) and I was giving them away for days.

2 1/2 eggs….



sort of lumpy batter in an improvised foil shield



done. lots of hot water coming out of every foil crevice. This part I’ll do differently next time!



I have neither the time nor the patience to make spheres. Plan B!



I was happy with chunky rectangles, but made a few more balls out of the scraps



with sticks in they looked like a winter forest…



melt crisco! get into my body!



mis en place – ready to decorate



This is going to get messy fast.



first round – coconut, almond

a combo.



add caramel, try drizzling… learned it works best with a spoon



realized i had raspberries in the freezer… got to crushing.



this was a good idea. everyone agreed.



decorated forest.

sunny

saturday was lovely.  we did some weeding and planted a few things.  sunday was gray.  monday heavy rains.