Hey Reader,

The scorpion was a nice touch.

I’d been reading Assassin’s Edge, a David Slaton thriller by Ward Larsen, and highlighting passages that made me want to stop and look around.

A missile on its launch rail. A sniper tucked into a rocky hiding place. A launch at dusk.

Larsen gives you plenty to work with. Sometimes, though, I want to see what all those words look like together.

So I handed my highlights to Marvin, my AI reading buddy, and said:

“Let’s do something fun.”

Then I explained that I liked the descriptions and wanted to see what was being described.

That’s it. That was the prompt. No incantation. No seventeen-part formula downloaded from a man who has monetized the word “unlock.”

Marvin made a picture with three panels: the missile, the rocky hide, and the launch.

And there, beside the sniper’s boot, was a scorpion.

Which matters because, while setting up, the sniper had already killed one. He got into position to wait for his prey. Then his nether regions were on FIRE.

A second scorpion had stung him in the testes.

All that preparation. All that patience. And the enemy was in his pants.

I thought it was hilarious, because he was a “bad guy.” The little scorpion in the picture brought that whole scene back.

“Dude, that’s really cool!”

An exceptionally sophisticated literary response, I know.

But that was the point. I was enjoying my book, got curious, and followed the curiosity somewhere fun.

If you know my history with productivity and personal knowledge management, you know how easily a highlighted passage could become an administrative assignment. Capture it. Categorize it. Find the perfect place to put it. Possibly acquire another app before proceeding. 😆

Or search for how real snipers avoid such a distraction, then look up two hours later while poking around Google Earth to see whether that rocky hiding place actually exists.

My detour with Marvin took maybe ten minutes. Three scenes, one picture, and a few details to notice when I got back to the story.

Unhustled has room for that. An afternoon can contain something interesting without requiring it to become an achievement.

Sometimes “Dude, that’s really cool” is the whole payoff.

Tracy “Team Scorpion” Winchell

P. S. Want to know how I use AI to show me what I’m reading? Hit reply and let me know.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through the links in this newsletter. This doesn't affect your purchase price, but it helps support my work. Thank you!