Princeton, Day 3 Tuesday, June 25, 2002

Another day of work creeps slowly by in Princeton. In addition to the strong representation from the Indian subcontinent, our meetings are attended by Cris, an ex-cipherspook from the NSA.

During lunch, Cris—a bachelor, not uncommon among intelligence and ex-intelligence guys—invites me to see Minority Report at the local movie theater that evening.

I have plans with former college roommate Phil for Wednesday night, but nothing going on tonight, so I accede.

Later, as we are in a break from the group meetings, I consult with Analytics executive Jim on a problem he's having. He invites me to join him for dinner, and we arrive at the solution of making it a party of three for dinner, with Cris and I going on to the movie afterwards.

Dinner proves to be somewhat morally questionable.

We go to a local semi-upscale steak and seafood restaurant. The menu really has only three entree options: shrimp, assorted steak varieties, and Chilean sea bass.

Chilean sea bass, which is not really a sea bass at all, but a form of toothfish, has generated considerable concern among environmental activist groups regarding possible endangerment of the species due to illegal overfishing.

A number of high-profile boycotts have taken place, but the issue is not entirely black and white. The U.S. State and Commerce departments have a fact sheet on the matter which explains that the Chilean sea bass is not officially endangered, and while some abuses may occur the fish is also being caught and imported legally to the U.S. Whether from actual conviction or simply due to pressure from activists, some restaurateurs have joined the boycott while others continue to serve it, asserting that their supplies are legitimate and legal.

On one hand are assertions that "The popularity of Chilean sea bass, both in the U.S. and in Asia, led to a huge increase in catches of this species in the mid 90's, causing concern for the condition of the stocks of this slow-growing fish. In recent years, though, increased enforcement of fishing quotas has led to a large reduction in catches (and a large increase in price)." (found here)

On the other is the Environmental Network, claiming that "For every pound of legally caught fish, an estimated five pounds are hooked illegally."

So, is the problem receding or is it still very much with us? Can we even know for certain how much of a problem there is? By definition, an estimate of the number of pirate catches must have a very wide margin of error, since the whole point of successful pirating is not being noticed.

It seems possible to me that the problem is diminishing, but environmental groups don't want to abandon the momentum of an issue that is getting them a lot of coverage in the news. I can't say I entirely blame them if that's the case—a lot of them could use the attention, but I do think it's best to focus attention on real issues and prioritize the most important ones.

On the other hand, it could be a very real and ongoing situation of danger for the Chilean sea bass.

Ultimately, I decided that since I've never had it before, I would give it a try. I won't order it a second time without establishing to my satisfaction that the restaurant has obtained their fish from legal suppliers, but I gave myself the benefit of the doubt for the first time, just to see what all the fuss is about.

It is quite a delicious fish, with a very nice texture. However, it's certainly not so unique as to be irreplaceable if it is overfished.

So that was my morally questionable dinner.

Afterwards, Cris and I repaired to the local movie theater to take in Minority Report. If I had finished this part of the travelogue in anything approaching a timely manner, I might have reviewed the movie here.

Instead, I'll just make an observation here that I haven't spied in a dozen other blogs & reviews: all of those pro-Precrime commercials bear an eerie resemblance to the "I'm supporting terrorism" anti-drug campaigns that launched during the Super Bowl to near-universal derision. I wonder if that was intentional. If so, score a satire point for Spielberg.

Also, my overall feeling is that this movie is more Kubrickian than the Kubrick ball picked up by Spielberg for A.I., the movie that (to continue the metaphor) he ran down the field for a touchdown...at the opposing team's goal!

The comprehensive, elegant visual styling of the future world, the sense of paranoia and compression, the lingering eye of the camera on seemingly insignificant details—where was this stuff in A.I.?

After the movie, Cris and I wander around the mall discussing the movie for a while before parting ways and heading to our respective temporary homes in Princeton.

Princeton—not my idea of a fun summer in general, but at least now I have one worthwhile acquaintance here, in the world's most improbably happy and normal ex-spook.

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