The thing one does for research. Today I weathered the heat and humidity by applying massive doses of cold tea and by reading an interesting article about the ethics of criminals.

Apart from the interesting bits about organized crime in 15th century Spain – that might come handy for future writing pursuits – I was particularly interested in one aspect of the ethics/crime/professionalism quandary: if I can compare writing to a con game (as Lawrence Block, among others, has done), and a writer to a highly skilled international jewel thief (cfr. Paddy McAloon’s “The Best Jewel Thief in the World”), then what is the place of ethics in all this?
Does being professionals only mean we get paid, and any way we get paid is OK?
Or is there something more? And how it works?
Spending a few hours with this article helped define some basic principles.

I might write about the whole thing, one of these nights.