Subj : Re: E-Books & Sharing To : Ben Collver From : Dave Drum Date : Sun Apr 09 2023 06:51:11 -=> Ben Collver wrote to Dave Drum <=- DD> tome or two from https://archive.org (Internet Archive) to which I DD> contribute some of my treasure ... as they are getting their arses DD> sued off by the greedy publishing houses. BC> The more "the empire" tightens their grip, the more star systems, er, BC> hearts and minds will slip through their fingers. Apparently the publishers are afraid that they are being hit in the wallet. According to the ALA: "Libraries, like other consumers, should be free to buy any published e-content at competitive prices, to keep these items in their collection, and to loan them to their patrons. Anything less violates basic democratic principles ... " American Library Association Forbes has an excellent article on the on-going fooforaw, And looking at both sides. In the end it all aboils down, as always, to money - who has it and who wants to keep it as a "right". https://tinyurl.com/FREEBY-BOOKS DD> I've got a Little Free Library in front of my house with an arrow and DD> PARK on the side. I'm on a busy 4-lane arterial street w/no shoulder DD> to pull off onto. So I direct them to my driveway if they'd like. I'm DD> considering putting a Little-Free-Pantry next to it. BC> Nice! I read that the Little Free Library project was started by BC> anarchists in Portland, Oregon as consciousness-raising activism. BC> Eugene also has the Toolbox Project where they have a library of home BC> maintenance and landscaping tools that members can check out for a few BC> days at a time. Membership is dirt cheap - something like $5 per year. BC> I definitely got my money's worth out of that and it makes sense to me BC> that not every household needs to own (or rent) all their tools. Even BC> seasonal tools that everyone wants to use all at once, like an apple BC> press, can be shared to serve a lot of people, reduce waste, etc. That's a great idea. Too bad it's not more widespread. At my advanced years I have a register in my head of friend and relatives mfrom whom I can borrow specialty tools. And if it's automotive AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, and NAPA all have a Loan-A-Tool program for specialty tools used in auto repair. At AutoZone (where I work) the loan-a-tool section is a 6 foot wide by 18 foot high shelving unit just chock-a-block with tools. A deposit is charged (basically the selling price of the tool) and if the tool is returned to *any* AutoZone within 30 days all the $$$ is returned. If the customer keeps the tool longer than 30 days AZ uses the deposit to replace it on the shelf and the customer owns the tool he has. BC> It represents a happy medium between the "I got mine, you get lost" BC> attitude on one end and full-on communal living on the other. There seems to be an over-abundance of the first of those attitudes in our current society. And anyone observant knows that communal living is only ever going to work for small(ish) groups. For myself I just try to treat people the way I'd like to be treated. Often it's not reciprocayed but I muddle on regardless. As soon as my rhubarb "comes in" I am going to make this. Every once in a while a recipe leaps off the screen and says "Take me home, Daddy!" This is one of those. MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake Categories: Fruits, Cakes, Desserts, Citrus, Dairy Yield: 8 servings 10 oz Unsalted butter; room temp, - more to grease pans 1 1/2 lb Rhubarb; rinsed; sliced in - 1/2" cubes (4 cups) 2 ts Cornstarch 1 1/2 c Granulated sugar 1/2 c Light brown sugar 2 c Cake flour 1 1/4 ts Baking powder 1/2 ts Fine sea salt Zest of 1 lemon; grated 1 ts Vanilla extract 4 lg Eggs 1/3 c Sour cream 2 ts Lemon juice Set oven @ 325ºF/165ºC. Line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and sides of the pan. Wrap two layers of foil under the pan, and place it on a baking sheet. In a medium bowl, mix rhubarb, cornstarch and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Mix the brown sugar and 2 ounces butter in a pan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whip 8 ounces butter in a mixer with a paddle attachment for 2 minutes. With your fingers, blend the remaining 1 cup sugar with lemon zest until the mixture is uniform in color. Cream together with the butter at medium-high speed until it is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl halfway through. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the sour cream, then the lemon juice. (It’s O.K. if the mixture looks curdled.) With the mixer set to low speed, add the flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, until well combined. Scrape down the mixer bowl in between the additions. Pour the brown-sugar mixture into the cake pan, then spoon in the rhubarb and its juices. Spoon in the batter so it covers all of the rhubarb. Smooth out the top. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the top of the cake is firm to touch and a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out without any large, moist crumbs. Place the pan on a wire rack, and cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the cake, place a plate on top of the pan and turn it upside-down. Release the cake from the pan while still warm or else it will stick. By: Melissa Clark Yield: 8 servings RECIPE FROM: https://cooking.nytimes.com Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives MMMMM .... Communism is like prohibition, it's a good idea but it won't work. --- MultiMail/Win * Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (1:18/200) .