A "Sith"-like attitude insists on an innate "goodness" and "badness" (or more appropriately "us-ness" and "them-ness") in everything. The "Jedi" understand that no object or action is intrinsically good or evil. Intention and effect matter, turning black and white into shades of gray. The fundamental difference between the sides is not "good" and "evil". (Everyone has the potential for both.) The real difference is between a desire to control one's environment for personal power and security, and the desire to serve the greater good of all. A "Sith" believes in him/herself, forming temporary alliances only for the purpose of gaining greater personal advantage. A "Jedi" seeks and fosters the good in everyone, risking and sacrificing personal safety and reputation to benefit the whole. Their actions may occasionally resemble each other but their motivations are very different.
The "Jedi" mentality DOES have "absolutes" of a sort. The preservation of life (particularly intelligent life), freedom (physical and intellectual), justice (without regard to status) and the like are enduring values for "Jedi"-like people. But they understand that the universe is morally neutral, that often one value is pitted against another by the unscrupulous, and that sometimes the best that can be done is a moral compromise.
The "Sith" prefer to concretize their "morality". Disloyalty to THIS leader is wrong. Partaking in THAT specific activity is evil. An uncensored discussion of social alternatives is morally decadent. Categorically, without exception, never mind the intent. A "virtuous" act is always "good". A troublemaker is always "bad".
A "Jedi" can observe the ethical situation, note changes, and change his mind about a good idea implemented badly, or a disreputable strategy that actually produces good. A "Jedi" can apologize for being wrong. A "Sith" cannot afford to be inconsistent for fear of losing credibility. Any change in allegiance must be framed and propagandized to appear as part of the plan all along. The "Sith" is about appearances rather than reality. The world is never black and white, but the "Sith" pretends it is. That is what is meant by "dealing in absolutes"."
If you remember after last week's meeting we were anxious because we were
$800 behind on rent. Now we have $5500 and are officially a Public Benefit
Nonprofit Corporation.
Let us take a moment to meditate on this week and the efforts of our
members.
Minutes: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Meeting_Notes_2013-11-06
Hey all, I just noticed that Oakland is the WikiVoyage "Destination of the
Month" -- awesome!
Might be a good time to make sure WikiVoyage's pages point to Oakland Wiki
where appropriate -- or just generally celebrate, dance in the streets…ya
know?
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Main_Page
-Pete
This seems good to support:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ladar/lavabits-dark-mail-initiative
"Along with preserving existing functionality, the team will build in
support for the Dark Mail protocol. Dark Mail, a newly developed messaging
protocol, is designed to provide end-to-end encryption of both the message
itself and the email in transit. Because encryption will be integrated into
the protocol itself, it will be invisible to the user. Dark Mail users will
get the security of PGP without the cognitive burden; *if someone can use
email today they will be able to use Dark Mail tomorrow*." *← Finally this*
"The project will also include building, and releasing as F/OSS, the first
Dark Mail compatible clients. We are planning to launch with clients for
the desktop (Win, Mac, Lin), smartphones and tablets (iOS, Android)."
Super stoked to announce that both Sudo Room AND the Public School have
each won a $4700 grant from Southern Exposure, an excellent nonprofit
supporting the arts in the Bay Area:
*Southern Exposure is proud to announce the recipients of grants in Round 7
of our Alternative Exposure Grant Program. In this round, Southern Exposure
is awarding $70,000 to 16 projects at levels ranging from $5,000 to $2,400.
With major support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts,
Alternative Exposure supports the independent and self-organized work of
artists and small groups that plays a critical and significant role in the
San Francisco Bay Area arts community. In the seven years since launching
Alternative Exposure, Southern Exposure has awarded $421,000 in direct
funds to 120 Bay Area projects.(http://soex.org/artistsresources.html
<http://soex.org/artistsresources.html>*)
This is a nice bit of cash that will very nearly provide the 3-month rent
buffer we endeavor to have as a foundation, though we still need to build
up Rainy Day, maintenance and operations funds. This also gives us
significantly more to work with should we choose to move into a larger
space in the next couple of months.
It would be great to reinitiate conversations and proposals toward a
membership policy and long-term sustainability goals.
Thanks to David Keenan for inspiring a down-to-the-wire grant-writing
hackathon and making the process super fun and collaborative, and major
props to Marc for excellent feedback and revisions. I'll write a blog post
this weekend to publicly thank SOEX.
And <3 to all y'all for making an awesome Sudo Room!
<3
Jenny
http://jennyryan.nethttp://thepyre.orghttp://thevirtualcampfire.orghttp://technomadic.tumblr.com
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
"Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories."
-Laurie Anderson
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."
-Hannah Arendt
"To define is to kill. To suggest is to create."
-Stéphane Mallarmé
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 4:37 PM, Matthew Harbowy <hbergeronx(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> In the future, it might not be so wise to advertise the sale (future or
> past) of alcohol in a public forum if you haven't obtained a permit via
> http://www.abc.ca.gov/Forms/PDFSpc.html since the $1000 fine for holding an
> unlicensed event would exceed any takings you might have had.
>
> This is the sort of accountability your board members should be watching
> your back on, and the fact that none of your board-elect squelched or at
> least turned down the gain on this despite the fact that they would be
> personally liable for this, should be of particular concern, especially
> since you have zero liability insurance.
>
> Not to spoil your fun or anything, but... is sudo room a frat house or an
> adult endeavor? I realize this is the "Wild West" of Oakland, and all, and
> the getting away with it quotient is high, but really?
Hi Matthew,
After reading this email I've nominated you to Sudoroom's board. Will
you accept?
This might be of interest to biohackers and food hackers, and 3D printer
hackers:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24825582
"French physical chemist Herve This says every foodstuff is made up of a
basic chemical mixture - and so it's possible to create nutritious
dishes from powders, oils and liquids that contain the building-blocks
of food, rather than conventional raw ingredients...."
The video shows Professor This making up a fresh serving of something
that could be cookie dough for Soylent Orange. At the end of the video,
with a bit of garnish, it even looks like futuristic sculptureon the plate.
No need for farm animals, no need for vegetables, no need for fruit, and
fortunately, no need for eating worms. Professor This calls it
"Note-By-Note cuisine" but I'd call it "phood."
Whoever invents a 3-D printerfor using this stuff, like the food
dispenser on Star Trek, is goingto earna fortune. "Burger, medium, with
a pickle. Tea, Earl Gray, hot." Or at least, "Phood, orange with blue
swirls, spicy."
-G.
[incorporation] [board] [501c*] [SELC]
INCOMING TRANSMISSION:
This is a reminder to join your fellow Sudo Room intergalactonauts at a
free legal cafe with all of your questions regarding our impending
doom/incorporation!!! (If you are not able to come, please reply to this
thread with questions I can transmit through the darkness for you.)
HOST: Sustainable Economies Law Center <http://theselc.org/>
SPACE: LOL Hackerspace, 1234 23rd Avenue (23rd and International)
TIME: 4:30-7:30p
END TRANSMISSION
[incorporation] [board] [501c*] [SELC]
