If Jesus were around today, do you suppose he would be a copyright lawyer? I hope not, because I’m engaged in a little project that I’m almost ashamed of… I’ve been copying the text of my preferred interpretation of the Bible from an online source… with the aim of converting the plain text into a formatted e-book on my Palm OS device. I’m only copying it for my own use, so I don’t plan to distribute, share, sell, or profit from this enterprise. However, I’m not sure the owners of the web site would consider this an example of authorized copying.

This is where I apply a heaping helping of rationalization… my best friend.

I could read this online Bible on my Palm, on the web, at home – anyway (even if I didn’t copy it to a durable source on my Palm). The problem is that my Palm uses more power when it’s connected to the internet, shortening it’s battery life. Who’s the victim if I save the text to my Palm so I don’t use so much power. It’s not like there are any ads on these pages that will miss some clicks (and the resulting revenue)… there are no ads. In fact, wasting Palm Power wastes energy, which means we have to produce more energy, which usually means drilling and burning more oil, which usually causes more pollution, which destroys a little more of God’s creation. So when you get right down to it, I’m doing everyone (not just myself) a favor by copying the Bible to my Palm.

Yeah, that’s the ticket!