Toto, we're not in Chow Hall Eats territory...

(This was a draft I didn't post. I'm going to have a go at cleaning it up and posting it. I'm clearly not following the Make it Rich as a Blogger Playbook.)

I love Poke. I always wonder if it should be spelled Poké. Or poké. I'd probably had it or variations of it previously, but the first time I knew I was eating a wonderful dish called poke was at the 45th Stop N Shop. And their website spells it poké, so that's what I'm going with.

The 45th Stop N Shop is famous in Seattle for its poké. But I'm here to tell you that my mom makes a great poké. We had it tonight (see note above - that tonight was many tonights ago), and it was perfect. Salmon, rice, cucumbers, radishes, veggies, soy sauce(s). A wonderfully refreshing summer meal.

I took the short-term (with potential for more) job with that AI startup. I'm grateful for the opportunity, for a myriad of reasons. A lot of the reasons involve plenty of introspection. I don't think talking about those sorts of things is bad, but I'll leave it for another day.

Ok ok, I can probably give a short take. If you want to gain a greater appreciation for photojournalists, try to be one. I didn't have the hustle, the talent, the eye, the drive, or the commitment. I kicked ass at having a camera, a Moleskine notebook, and a pen. I got close to the drive and commitment in very fleeting moments. But then the cynicism creeps in. Show these issues, write about these issues, and we'll make better decisions...

I did have immense respect for the profession, though. And that raises another issue. There are amazing photojournalists (Seattle can claim several spots on that list!); there are very few entities who are paying them adequately and protecting them. Look at the photos in the 4 major newspapers, and then compare them with the iPhone shots that most papers are happy to run with. (Not a dis against iPhone photographers, just the blurry, poorly composed shots of passersby that a lot of news organizations will suck up rather than pay someone.)

When you're in your 50s and your main (un-remark(et)able) skills are in international affairs, you're in a bad spot if you get cynical about international affairs and journalism. It's never a bad time to read Eisenhower's parting address. I think our main journalistic outlets have gotten too cozy with the powers that be. And it's a revolving door of sorts - think tanks, cable news, State. I don't think it's beyond repair, but the NYT and WAPO need to hire more scrappy streetfighters. Jen Psaki did her job in the White House and at State - making us feel good and heroic about everything her bosses were doing. That's the job. MSNBC doesn't need to hire her after that, or a wave of flag-rank officers and spooks.

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be might (is this a typo, should it be mighty?), ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction. . . . American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. . . . This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. . . .Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. . . . In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

I'm worried about what's coming with the power of AI. That's one reason I like working for this company. It's not developing the AI Brain. It knows the AI Brain is already here. About a year ago the founders of the company realized that AI was here, and people weren't thinking about security. Congress debating AI policy? That boat has flown from the train station. (I'm exaggerating a little - I'm an advocate of policy work.) This company wanted to make it possible for employees to use AI while their IT departments were comfortable with the security issues. I'm sure it sounds like I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. Fair enough. I've always liked seeing behind the curtain.

I've also loved learning about the break-neck speed of tech startups. I'll save this one for another day. But I'll throw in two thoughts - 1) the idea that it's all private chef lunches and foosball tables? Wrong! and 2) I'm going to do what my old colonels did, raised the #2 finger, paused, realized they'd said two-pronged, forgot #2, and said, "Dismissed."

I've stopped watching Drops of God. I don't think it's bad, but it hasn't held my interest. I think I'll come back to it.

I watched the end of Barry. (See above Drops of God) Hard for me not to finish a show or book. I like what they were doing with that show, and the actors were great, but I started losing interest towards the end of season 2. Again, not their fault. I thought they did a great job, just not my thing.

I'm still on board with Silo. The cast is incredible, and I like that I (I'm sure most of us) have theories about what's going on. And I've mentioned it before, Rebecca Ferguson has hit her stride. Fun to watch in an actor's career development.

Something new on top of the old. I watched Invasion on Apple. I binged it, but only because I needed something to watch. I didn't think highly of it. Whole pages of the script must have one sentence: X stares off into the distance for 5 minutes. Opens mouth and widens eyes at a slow pace to indicate that something important is happening. Cut to other character across the world.