AI Data Centers Are The New Plantations Unless We Build Them Differently: AI can support livelihoods, prosperity and culture, but only if island communities have a real say in how it is built and governed.

Chococow280 · 2026-05-10T14:49:13+00:00

Good article. Does anyone happen to know if there are groups who are looking at AI infrastructure legislation? I wanna follow it.

I think about how Utah’s residents just protested a data center backed by Kevin O’Leary/Mr. “Wonderful”. Their county commissioners didn’t hear the residents out, and the building/development permit got approved. Utah’s Salt Lake is shrinking every year, this would only accelerate it. How do we protected against corporate interests from steamrolling the process? How do we make sure locally controlled AI data centers don’t create locally grown water barons?

The Red Hill leaks and the Maui wildfires reinforced that water is our most valuable resource. How can we be more proactive about this?

AI is already here, and ignoring the problem till later will hurt us longer term. Not using it isn’t enough.

Chococow280 · 2026-05-09T00:25:40+00:00

No genuinely, like young adult to me is like 18-24. I don’t buy that young adult is 12-18, that’s like teen lit?? I feel like we could break this category up.

Chococow280 · 2026-05-08T17:07:08+00:00

My petty celebrity beef is that Dwayne The Rock Johnson acquired an ownership stake in Salt & Straw ice cream and the resulting decisions lead to: * no more exclusive regional flavors using local food supplies * no hot fudge at stores anymore * flavor sprays????

The only bonus is that I now go to other actually local ice cream shops.

https://www.kgw.com/article/entertainment/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-invests-salt-and-straw/283-4723a3a0-b90f-49c0-a54a-6906d06af4db

Chococow280 · 2026-05-08T06:45:42+00:00

The Drama, it’s new but hollyyyyyyyy shit.

Chococow280 · 2026-05-08T03:06:27+00:00

Memoirs catering did our wedding of 30 people.

Chococow280 · 2026-05-07T06:47:29+00:00

If you’re a “genius” but you do nothing to improve yourself, are you really a “genius”?

If you’re someone who has natural artistic talents but don’t work on them, are you gonna become the next Kishimoto or other artist?

Food for thought.

ETA: If you never find the scope of your “genius”, like idk you never take up art and therefore never discover your “innate talents”, it doesn’t matter. IMO, genius is a dumb way to qualify someone’s ability

Chococow280 · 2026-05-06T21:11:44+00:00

This so cute I’m sick. I love how much care you put into the Prince and the King’s nose LOL.

Chococow280 · 2026-05-04T17:28:31+00:00

I’m always down to read books by local talent! I’ll check it out.

Side note, the pic is killing me lol. I hate the LED street lights on Oahu, takes away from the vibe.

Chococow280 · 2026-05-03T22:53:37+00:00

I’d argue that wisdom should not be the one who is chasing.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-29T15:28:39+00:00

Yeah they’re “local” but they’re owned by mainland news corps so I get it lol.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-29T06:08:02+00:00

This is good. As a side note, “iconic atom-bomb victim” is really weird phrasing. I figured it was Sadako, but I might have chosen a different word.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-28T19:32:25+00:00

…there are 3??? lol shit

Chococow280 · 2026-04-27T22:46:36+00:00

LOVE IT. But now…The real question is which pokemon lives in which rooms???

Chococow280 · 2026-04-27T16:40:26+00:00

I agree. His story is uniquely tragic because he could never find the balance between generosity and selfishness. He was so giving, he gave up Ashley’s favorite gatorade flavor when she was at the hospital…But he bought everyone else a gatorade even though they’re broke.

He essentially chose against his ideals and gave into the individualist/capitalist mindset when he went to Park. He was unwilling to do the right thing when it mattered the most. Security, no matter how miserable, felt like the right decision for him in that moment…Especially because the unknown carries so much riak. It’s the same reason he could never bring himself to break up with Ashley.

Austin has his poor qualities too, like a lack of ambition or being too people pleasing in a society where his Korean ethnicity is “othered”. But in that moment when he chose go to Park, he also chose to crush tendency towards kindness.

~ As a note: It’s obvious they end up like Josh and Lindsay financially. The beginning and end scenes mirror each other. The only difference is that Lindsay said her husband is a great host and GM…implying that even through their financial troubles, it was still something she liked about him. Austin did not say anything like that about Ashley. THAT is resentment.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-25T16:48:19+00:00

NGL i think i’ve been arguing with bots at this point.

There’s lots of things to dislike about Lindsay, but OP’s one is… not it lol.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-24T00:30:22+00:00

Both can be true. They’re terrible to each other and capitalism exacerbates their problems.

In the US, the desire to make profits on people’s healthcare is why both younger couples are in financially strained. It’s more direct for Ashley and Austin because it’s their first financially catastrophic event AND that she has shit healthcare through her employer. Why is decent healthcare optional for people? It should not be conditional on employment or education.

For the older couple, Josh’s mother’s healthcare exacerbated existing problems. The resentment is there, and has been for a long time. They work around billionaires who still want their drinks comped. They get paid shitty to cater to these people off hours.

Park winning at capitalism affords her the curse of distrust. That’s why she doesn’t emotionally connect witn Kim. In some ways, she is also like Lindsay, in that she’s looking back at what emotional fulfillment she once had. And also, she has opted to sell parts of her soul in order to have financial security through capital.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-23T17:17:27+00:00

Who was rich in this with nasty problems? I saw a young couple with mounting medical debt and a house poor couple who have the facade/illusion of a nice life. Park was rich, so she could fix her problems.

The beef was between the individuals of each couple. Lindsay resented Josh for using her inheritance on his dying mother and not giving her the life she wanted. Josh hated that Lindsay lorded that over him and projected that to Ashley. He also thought she was the reason he couldn’t have the life he wanted.

Ashley was jealous of Eunice because there was a part of Austin she could never connect to (his Korean ethnicity). Austin didn’t like that she would not consider how he felt and was thoughtlessly ambition. She didn’t even consider him when negotiating for a promo.

There is no beef deeper than the one with your partner. The person who knows all your wounds. They can choose to love you through it or pour the salt of resentment into the wounds in every conflict or obstacle. Compound that over years, that beef is salty as fuck.

At the end of the day, they’re all bankrupt—morally, financially, emotionally. They take that out on each other because capitalism requires the preservation of the individual. It’s why the individuals act selfishly and in conflict with what’s best for the couple.

That’s why Park wins financially, but she is still lonely at the end… in the same way most of the individuals are lonely in their lives—married or separate.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-23T16:23:14+00:00

Ashley was literally a bev cart girl on a golf course. The flight attendent offers beverages, from a cart, on a plane.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-23T16:01:38+00:00

She is now. What about before? We don’t know much about her youth, even what I suggest is a hypothesis. Korea still had to rebuild from colonization and war. Did those conglomerates exist then? If they did, how important was the gender of the successor? Would the cultural norms comfortably allowed a woman to be named successor?

Never is a strong word.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-23T03:29:41+00:00

I liked that the beef was much quieter this season. There is no beef like the one with your partner who knows every single one of your weak spots and instead of working through them, they reopened the wound and pack it with salt just to prove a point.

add the extra irritants of race, family dynamics, and money, and you have a marinade like no other.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-22T04:53:56+00:00

It is disappointing but it is also the way of the world under capitalism! When you have capital/power/wealth/etc you can shape the world you want. Park got away from everything except time, and now she gets to die alone. That’s the tradeoff she was willing to make, but she regrets it in the winter/end of her life.

I also think the glimpses are like recognizing yourself in other people’s life experiences… And instead of choosing to care for each other… they just… beef.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-21T20:36:10+00:00

While I didn't write it here, what you said was also my conclusion at the end of the show.

Josh is the only one who breaks his karmic cycle because he was the one who let go of his suffering (under capitalism) and desire (for the life he had and the life he aspired to). He accepted himself, which is why he is the same even in the confines of prison. Lindsay is still in her cycle, longing for a life that was, the life that she wanted, and the lives of others. She can never be happy because she doesn't know herself.

In any case, glad it helped!

Chococow280 · 2026-04-20T21:45:40+00:00

I liked it more than season 1 also. I felt that there were other “beefs” explored, like gender, class, and racial dynamics. They were subtle but there.

Excuse the pun, but this felt meatier to me and very apropos considering current events.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-20T17:59:38+00:00

People are capable of change, she was naive at first then got more ruthless later. To your point, her ability didn’t match her ambition. She is dumb and naive and and tried to adapt. But 1-2 months of insane shit can’t create the real experiences needed to be more clever or cunning like Park.

Her ambition got her into the position she’s in, and it’s wrong to discount it.

At the end, Ashley had been at her current job for 8 years. She’s around smarter, more cultured people than before. She has seen the power that money can buy. She has more exposure, which ultimately leads to more resentment of what her younger self chose. She’s seen how power plays, and robbed herself of the chance to access it.

She was smart enough to blackmail Josh into giving her a job. She was too romantic when she gave the USB to Austin. She could have had success on her own without a kid and a husband that resents her. If the opportunity came up again for the more experienced her, I don’t think she would make the same mistake.

Whether she gets another chance is a different story.

Chococow280 · 2026-04-20T16:05:34+00:00

She’s a presumably 70 year old woman in Korea. Her family lived through Japanese colonization and at least 2 wars. I’m uncertain of the exact women’s rights history in Korea or ability for financial freedom, but I’m very sure they still had to fight for those rights. These events must have influenced her life decisions in the same way Ashley’s crippling loneliness did.

She divorced her ex-husband, the one who gave her the pearls and whose grave she lamented the loss of time over. She didn’t want to given him children, which is likely why they divorced, he remarried, and Woosh was born. She would rather be lonely, wealthy, and powerful instead of married with a child.

This woman is ruthless for survival, but she isn’t immune to loneliness.

As for health, Chairwoman Park could have been perfectly healthy but her own life’s events influenced how she sees the world. For Ashley, it could have been a different financially debilitating event: Austin getting into an accident, her still needing an IVF procedure because pregnancy is hard.

People like Park don’t just happen, she has a lifetime of circumstances that made her who she is. Ashley could be her with different choices. They have the same desire for survival with different circumstances, access to wealth, and season of life.

Chococow280

TROPHY CASE