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The ethics of buying stolen bikes

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:05:06 -0800

Help me figure out the ethics of buying stolen bikes (or other stolen things). I've always believed that buying a stolen bike was the worst of sins--along the lines of stealing books from the public library or pushing your grandma down the stairs. And living in the Bay Area, my friends' bikes get stolen all the time, even if they ride theft-proof junkers, so I can genuinely empathize with the experience of losing a prized possession. But as an often-broke cyclist (who rides one of those aforementioned junkers), occasionally I'm equally tempted by those lightweight newish bikes that're providentially cheap and don't need the rear derailleur replaced, and then the front derailleur replaced, and then suddenly the hub feels crunchy and the rear brakes never have quite the right tension on 'em, etc.

There's a Saturday flea market near my house where I buy cheap wool socks and used cell phone chargers sometimes. One full corner of the market has a booming trade in obviously stolen bikes--shiny, new road bikes priced at $100-200, but almost certainly worth at least double, for example. I've been able to resist the temptation for a decade now, and my maybe-too-righteous moral stance still feels solid to me (occasionally dreaming of a bike and actually buying one are two different things!). But sometimes I think, oh why bother? There'll always be an underground economy for stolen, priced-to-move bikes: the allure's too great, and there seems to be basically no chance of getting caught. Why shouldn't I buy a stolen bike? There's no way the real owner will find it before it's gone, whether I'm the purchaser or not. Right?

For me, the biggest flaw in the "someone's gonna buy it, why not me?" argument is my own integrity: I don't want to be the kind of person who, unblinkingly, buys stolen goods. (I'm not.) But on the other hand, why should I avoid buying a locally-stolen bike but feel guilt-free about purchasing sweatshop-made socks, for example, just because I can empathize more readily with one than the other? Or avoid buying a used circular saw that might also be stolen, but might not?... To clarify, I'm not looking for help justifying anything to myself; I know it's not okay for me, regardless of how ineffectual my stolen-stuff boycott actually is. I'm just trying to put words to the sense that there's something more to this than just personal integrity (or the law). But what?

Saving "Podiatrist Convention" for the anniversary party.

explosion — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:33:30 -0800

(NameMy___Filter) Help me name our wedding! Next year, giraffe and I are going to be married, and I am currently designing our wedding invitations. However, there's a twist, as the invitation is in the form of a poster, similar to a promo poster for a music festival or perhaps a movie. We have pretty much nailed down the wording of the remainder of the poster, but I'm at a loss for a good title.

Rejected concepts so far:

"Steve and Erin's Wedding" (too boring)
"WeddingFest 2009" (too cheesy)
"Podiatrist Convention" (too Dada)

I'm open to suggestions including our real names, user names ("Giraffe and Explosion" has nice cadence, I think), or neither. Humor is definitely a plus, but I want something that won't be lost on family members or friends who are less familiar with the Internet (the rest of the poster is for that).

How much does CD packaging add to your enjoyment?

davebush — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 19:37:17 -0800

CD packaging: How much does it add to your enjoyment of the music? Does it influence your listening experience to any degree? Feel free to mention both positive and negative examples.

Loving Bad Movies

Gucky — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 11:37:02 -0800

What bad movie(s) do you love? Not in an MST3K way, but you actually enjoy unironically, even though you know they're bad (or considered bad by the majority of humanity)? Seeing the comment on the traumatic movie thread, I thought to myself, "Hey. I liked SUPER MARIO BROTHERS. Maybe I shouldn't admit that out loud."

Sure, there are bad films we love because they're bad. But there are also bad movies that you love despite the bad.

(My worst has to be BARB WIRE. The gall to remake CASABLANCA with Pam Anderson as Rick! Beautiful.)

What's yours?

Have you ever dated a Suicide Girl?

orange clock — Tue, 28 Dec 2004 14:22:46 -0800

Have you ever dated a Suicide Girl?

Why are the first few episodes of cartoons usually the worst?

skallas — Thu, 04 Nov 2004 14:17:48 -0800

Why are the first few episodes of cartoons usually the worst? Ignoring the pilot which might have had a different production team, there seems to be some magic rule that the first three episodes of any new cartoon series are going to be pretty lackluster. I’ve been watching some Futurama reruns and have noticed that there are less jokes per minute, the voices and timing are really off, and the animation in some parts is sub-par. I’ve noticed this in other series too. Is there some kind of review the production team goes through after episode three? Perhaps they don’t get to see the first couple of episodes until they are working on the fifth? Does the voice talent just ‘gel’ after a few episodes?

How do you escape being chased through woods by a crazed killer?

Evstar — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 20:14:39 -0800

Assume you're being chased through the woods near a highway by an armed man with the intent to kill or at least mame you. How do you escape?

Coincidences

Jaybo — Sat, 24 Jul 2004 05:38:38 -0800

This is a bit of a ChatFilter question but I'm curious about any coincidences you (or people you know) have experienced - the more unbelievable, the better. I'm also curious about any theories you may have about "coincidence". I know the dictionary definition but what is coincidence really? Do you think it's something mystical or something that's inevitable with the number of events that happen every second of every day? Here's a hypothetical but typical example: "I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen for years while travelling to New York. Not only did we find meet in a city of millions, but it turns out we both married women named Sara. Can you believe it?"

Butcher, baker, beggar, thief, doctor, lawyer, tribal chief? What are you?

rorycberger — Tue, 20 Jul 2004 09:25:38 -0800

IANA- filter: I know that you are not a Lawyer, a Financial Advisor, a Physicist, a Pizza Stone Expert, a Mathematician, an Astronomer, or a Doctor (at least not the right kind); so what are you? btw, if you are any of those things feel free to answer as well, I wouldn't want to discourage any Pizza Stone Experts from joining the discussion. Oh, and I'm a recent college graduate doing number crunching for the finance department of a start-up company.

Generosity towards yourself, what have you experienced?

ralawrence — Tue, 13 Jul 2004 10:14:35 -0800

Guy finds an iPod on the aeroplane and decided to track down the owner. What acts of human generosity towards yourself have you experienced?

MeFite Stairway to Heaven

Keyser Soze — Tue, 29 Jun 2004 21:33:24 -0800

Who would you want to meet if you died, went to a heaven, and there was a great big Metafilter reunion in the sky, free drinks? Who would you beat up? Do you think it's best we don't know each other personally?

How can I invest $14?

BirdD0g — Tue, 13 Apr 2004 07:15:26 -0800

I have an extra $14. Rather than spend it at the bar, I've decided to try to turn it into $1,000 by April 15, 2005 through fairly low risk investments (i.e. no poker games or lottery tickets). My first goal is $20. What would you do to make $20 from $14?

Shaking a Stick

badstone — Tue, 20 Jan 2004 14:39:52 -0800

How much stuff can the average person shake a stick at? I've done some googling to find the origins of the phrase: "More than you can shake a stick at....", and the typical result is this one, which throws out some guesses and early usages, but cannot come up with the real answer. Does anybody know where the phrase really comes from?

Best-of Chatfilter: books, music, and movies

adrober — Wed, 17 Dec 2003 20:52:36 -0800

I find that I never really relate to year-end "best-of" lists because much of the best movies, music, and books I encounter during the year are older works that I hadn't discovered before. So what are the Top 10 Best Things that you discovered in 2003, that weren't made in 2003? To get the ball rolling (and to avoid writing my 20-page law school paper) here's mine (in no particular order):

1. David Byrne's "Rei Momo" (CD). I just bought this yesterday and this has to be one of my favorite first-listens ever. I think the first song "Independence Day" and the 8th song "Don't Want To Be Part of Your World" are absolutely brilliant.

2. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love In The Time Of Cholera" (Book). It always seemed uninviting and daunting on the shelf and when I finally forced myself to read it I was completely seduced by its humor and beauty. A truly wonderful book.

3. Alfred Hitchcock's "Notorious" (movie). So I signed up for Netflix this year and began renting movies that I felt I should see at some point in my life. This one I popped in rather grudgingly and how blown-away I was by the end. This movie fizzles and pops with tension, romance, and clever dialogue. The ending on the staircase is seared forever on to my memory.

4. They Might Be Giants "Lincoln" (CD). I discovered this in Amoeba music out in LA. It quickly became my favorite TMBG album. Particular favorites: "Mr. Me," "Purple Toupee" and "Where Your Eyes Don't Go."

5. The Collected Plays of Joe Orton / "Prick Up Your Ears" by John Lahr (Books). I have always enjoyed New Yorker theater critic John Lahr, and I picked up his biography of Joe Orton without really knowing who Joe Orton was. So I also bought a collection of Joe Orton plays and read each play along with the biography. The result was a newfound favorite playwright: Joe Orton's comedy was lightyears ahead of its time. "What The Butler Saw" and "Loot" are both racier, funnier and scarier than anything you might find on TV today.

6. The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and Barefoot Contessa Parties! (Cookbooks). I have been cooking for two and half years now, and without a doubt these cookbooks contain the most delectable, easy-to-do, totally worthwhile recipes ever. Granted, a typical cupcake contains 80 sticks of butter, but they are so worth it. Mmmm.

7. Burt Bacharach's Box Set (CDs). So on a strange whim, I bought the Burt Bacharach box set. The woman at the register eyed me suspiciously. "Swinger?" her eyes seemed to ask. "Ya, baby," my pelvis answered. But, seriously, these three discs contain an insane amount of great material. Aside from the songs I already knew, I am now constantly singing "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" as well as "Promises, Promises, "Make It Easy On Yourself," "Made In Paris."

8. "The Velveteen Father" by Jesse Green (Book). I discovered Jesse Green when I read a profile he wrote in The New York Times Magazine Section. I so enjoyed his writing that I typed his name on Amazon and came up with this book. This is one of the funniest, sharpest and most profound books on parenting you'll ever want to read. That it involves gay parenting is almost besides the point. I really loved this book and highly recommend it.

9. (tie) "La Strada" by Frederico Fellini and "Sunset Blvd." by Billy Wilder (Movies). Saw the first one at a Fellini festival in LA and really enjoyed it. Saw the second one from Netflix and was totally in awe of it. Neither one was so great as to warrant a single slot, but together they make the list.

10. Patti LuPone. Yes yes, I know, she's a person. And yes, yes, I know, that's a very gay way to end the list. But, God help me, she's my new guiltiest of guilty pleasures. I love her live CD "Live On Broadway" as well as her new (uh oh! Its new!) CD "Matters of the Heart." But the point is, I "discovered" her for the first time this year and now my heart belongs to Patti.