This evening I was going through some of the memorabilia I've got stashed in my garage, looking for an old photo.

Along the way I started looking through some of the stuff that my grandmother saved, including a box of things from my grandfather's old barber shop. Including a photo of my grandfather standing in his old barber shop that was taken long before I came along...

According to the calendars on the wall, this was taken in April of 1941.

Also in the box was an atlas. Specifically a war atlas which was printed sometime in 1942, complete with a scary General Douglas MacArthur portrait. It was put together soon after the USA entered the war after Pearl Harbor on December 8th in the previous year...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

Inside is some rather cool historical context for the day. Like when The United Nations was an important part of America's alliance with the free world...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

And there's a recap of how we got to where we were...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

And then? BLAM! A summary of America's defensive capabilities and a history of using them in the war...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

In the middle is an atlas with maps of the world and commentary on their part in the war effort. And then there's a plan to smash the Nazis! Back when we actually fought Nazis...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

History fascinates me in a way that few things do.

Finds like this bring it to life.

Ever since my life-changing tomato salad yesterday, I keep looking out my back window at my plants.

And then in my head I start screaming "HURRY UP! HURRRRRRYYYY!!!"

Because they're just out there teasing me with their unripe selves...

Hopefully on Sunday there will be enough.

If not, I guess I'll go out and scream at them in person.

I told the story of my cherry tomato plants in a previous entry.

Long story short, I decided to try growing tomatoes in my Aerogarden (which I've only used for herbs). Alas, the plants grew into the grow lights, burning them. I ended up planting them outside and it didn't go well because they weren't used to the heat. I thought they were goners.

But then they rallied! I got a couple tomatoes off them, then ignored the plants.

Yesterday I noticed that I had a lot tomatoes on them and made a note to harvest them today. There's a baked tomato and feta dish I like, and I thought I'd smear it on toast for dinner.

I planted them too far apart because I didn't want them growing too close together. Turns out I planted too far apart. And I should have bought a wire cage to help support their weight.

Regardless, they turned out beautiful. I thought that bugs and birds would have ate them, but nope!

And I couldn't do it.

I couldn't cook my harvest. The tomatoes were SO beautiful and SO tasty that I decided to make a fresh tomato feta salad instead (tossed with EVOO, Mediterranean herbs, red pepper flakes, and a little minced garlic, then topped with a balsamic glaze)...

Cannot possible enunciate how phenomenally delicious this was.

Next year I'll be planting at least ten plants... probably more... because I could eat like this all Summer and still want more. Store bought tomatoes cannot compare.

Or maybe I need a greenhouse so I can eat like this all year long?

Somebody buy me a greenhouse.

As I've already said... I have zero problem with Disney (the company) deciding to make an animatronic of Disney (the man) because Walt Himself had zero problems with dredging up people like Abraham Lincoln to be turned into a robot. So why not? In the end, I actually thought that it was a good thing.

At least I did until I saw what they came up with.

Does Walt Disney Company not have photos of Walt Disney? They did a terrible job of making something that even remotely resembles the guy...

I know it can't be perfect... but getting the hairline, eyebrows, and nose right would have gone a long ways towards a better resemblance.

I can't even figure out what era this is supposed to be from. It's not near his last appearance (bottom), that's for sure. Why wouldn't they take his look from the middle of the extremes that people recognize him from (top)? That would have made a lot more sense.

Yikes.

I guess those people saying that he should have never been ressurected as an animatronic have nothing to worry about.

Because that ain't him.

I had no intention of buying a Switch 2. Not only did it feel overpriced with overpriced games, there were some other things that rubbed me the wrong way as well. But the biggest reason I wasn't going to buy one is that I barely have time to play my OG Switch and Xbox Series S as it is. Why buy something new to give me even more I won't have time for?

But then it came to pass through a series of events that I acquired one anyway...

   
I've been jotting down notes for the past couple weeks as I run across things...

• Availability, like for all new systems, is shit. To Nintendo's credit, they did try to keep the scalping down. The problem is that they did a horrible job of it. IF you had an active Nintendo Online membership for a year or more AND you've had 50 hours of gameplay on that account by April 2nd AND you have data-sharing with Nintendo on... you could register for an invitation to purchase a system. But here's the thing: Nintendo doesn't tell you if you qualify! You could sign up and wait it out, all the while wondering if they think you know you qualify. But the simple fact is that you just don't know. I signed up for an invitation even though I had no intention on buying a unit, I know that I'm qualified, and can see that I made the request, but... nothing. Is that because I overlooked something? Who knows? As of this writing Nintendo still hasn't send me an invitation. Not a big deal, I just thought maybe somebody I knew could use it if they wanted one.
• The unit itself is very, very nice. It's thin. It has a large display. The controllers are magnetic and oh-so-satisfying to attach/detach. The menu system is essentially the same as the previous version... which is to say that it's excellent. If I have a complaint, it's that it's not the most ergonomic thing to hold. Your hands cramp after a bit. But, for the most part? Nice.
• The setup, which seems simple on the surface, was kinda a hassle for me. For reasons unknown, it kept having connection issues. But it locks up rather than allow you to fix your settings or enter new ones, so I had to wait for it to time-out multiple times then fail before I was able to register and transfer stuff from my old Switch. Also? I tried to use my favorite USB-C charger, which works perfectly fine on an OG Switch... but I wasn't allowed to use it during initial setup. I had to use the official charger for some reason. No idea if it's a wattage issue, but it was silly given that my S2 had nearly a full charge. After setup my favorite charger works fine.
• One of the things that made me think the S2 is overpriced is that the screen isn't OLED. What the fuck, Nintendo?!? Also... there's a "screen protector" pre-installed on the display. Except not really. It's actually just a plastic film of some kind on the display to keep a shattered screen from spitting glass everywhere. No, you'll still have to add a screen protector to protect not only the screen, but to also protect the film on the screen. This kinda pisses me off. Why not just have the unit come with a protector already on it? I mean a real one. It would add pennies to the cost. Oh well. Fortunately modern screen protectors are fairly cheap and dead-simple to align and install thanks to most having a placement tray attached. I paid $9 for a two pack of scratch-resistant tempered glass, and it was quick, easy, and looks better than having my S2 go naked.
• That being said, the display is a huge step up from the first generation OG Switch screen. I can actually read the tiny text while playing No Man's Sky now.
• Another thing that made me think the S2 is overpriced is the pathetic amount of storage. You get 256GB. Yes, that's 8× what you got in the OG Switch... but that was eight years ago. Games are so much larger now. Which is to say that you'll likely be having to shell out a chunk of money for a pricey microSD Express card. A "regular" microSD card won't work. To double your storage with an additional 256GB will cost you $60. Whereas if Nintendo would have just shipped with 512GB standard, it would have only added around $10 to the purchase price.
• Nintendo has never shipped state-of-the-art hardware. They usually have mid-to-low range specs and rely on having clever games to compel people to purchase their stuff. This time, however, it feels like they went more high end. The unit feels snappy and modern. Graphics are quite good. Load times are decent. No, it's not going to blow the doors off the competition... but it does feel closer to the other options out there.
• I'm just going to put this out there... not a lot of games out there at launch. Yes, Mario Cart World is a terrific IP launch title (with a few caveats) but there's no Mario or Kirby or other strong Nintendo IP available yet. The next one to come out is Donkey Kong Bananza on July 17th, and it looks great. But come on. The good news is that Nintendo has updated a few OG Switch titles for S2. I got a free update for my copy of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker which updates the visuals, for example. But other updates, like for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are $10 each if you want the updated visuals and such (though I think Nintendo Online subscribers can get it for free?). That's not the same as a new game.
• That being said... some 3rd party publishers are offering upgrades to their games for S2. The one that got me most excited was Hello Games' No Man's Sky. They were already pushing the OG Switch to its limits to give a darn good version of the game... but the FREE update for S2 is next level. The game is gorgeous. And it's on parity with other platforms in a way that the OG Switch was never going to be. I could write an entire post about how much I love this game... and how much more I love it now... but suffice to say if you haven't played it, you owe it to yourself to give it a go.
• My favorite video game ever since it was released is Minecraft Dungeons. There's been no upgrade made available for S2, but it's a much better experience because load times are better. Alas, the game is locked to the OG Switch's 30fps, so without an update we're not going to see 60fps. That's a darn shame, because I would love to see that on a handheld.
• I got the bundle which came with a digital copy of Mario Cart World. I don't know that I'd say the game is perfect, but it is fun to play and there's so many little brilliant details to be had. I have spent hours just driving around everywhere and seeing stuff in the "world." I haven't even done many races yet, and I still like it. I just wish the races I had played would let you run a classic three-lap race around the track you choose like all the other Mario Cart games, but that's not yet allowed for some inexplicable reason. There's a bunch of other bizarre choices made as well... mostly having to do with the fact that there's no "unreal environment" options to be had. So ultimately I just don't know if it's going to have the replay value of, say, Mario Cart 8. Hopefully Nintendo will have some DLC to shore up the game to make it truly great.
• Nintendo stirred up a lot of controversy with their "Game-Key Cards." These are cartridges which don't actually include any game data... just a license to download the game. Nintendo claims this is a way to sell games on cartridges that are too big for cartridges. Meaning you have to fill up your precious storage space even though you bought a cartridge. But why can't they put at least some of the data on the cartridge so downloads are smaller? I think this is fucking bullshit. I prefer to buy cartridges because I don't have to worry about games I buy disappearing online... don't have to fill up all my storage space... and can play immediately instead of having to wait for a download. The only time I buy games online is when they are on sale for a very good price. Ultimately I see no purpose to Game-Key Cards when you can just buy it online.
• I bought no less than three console grips for my OG Switch. But once I found the Skull & Co. GripCase, I never looked back. It made the console so much more comfortable to play un-docked. Unfortunately, they didn't make that for the Switch 2, so I had to look elsewhere. I was going to go with the Dbrand KillSwitch 2, but it's not a single piece. It's got separate covers for the Joy-Con controllers, which I never want to take off. I always play with them attached and want a grip that keeps everything together. So I ordered a Satisfye ZenGrip 2, which is on back-order until August. I really, really hope I love it as much as the GripCase, because S2 (like the OG Switch) is hand-cramping to play without a grip.
• Battery life feels like a step down from OG Switch, but is probably on-par with other handheld consoles of this class. This wasn't surprising. What is surprising is how fast the battery drains when S2 is not being used. Fully charged on a Monday... fully depleted when I returned from vacation on Saturday and wanted to play.
• The included charger is... okay?... and it does improve on the old version because the cable can be separated from the power brick. I hate it when a cable gets damaged but there's nothing you can do except replace the entire thing instead of replacing just the cable. I haven't timed anything but it seems as though charging on the dock is faster than plugging directly into the S2.
• HDR displayed on the console is darn nice. But trying to get a good HDR image on my television is a complete mess. Probably because my TV doesn't have HGiG support? Adjusting the image with the configuration setup tool results in an image that does not look good. Everything is washed out and ugly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong... but that's on Nintendo... not on me, because I'm merely following their on-screen instructions. I swear that television manufacturers are intentionally screwing up HDR implementation, because I have yet to find a television that does it perfectly out of the gate. And Nintendo isn't doing anything to help out.
• S2 accessories are ridiculously expensive... and just got a price bump thanks to new tariffs. The Pro Controller, which I would like to have because it has programmable buttons under the ZL and ZR triggers, jumped from $80 to $85. Insanity. This is a $50 accessory, maximum. Good thing the OG Switch Pro Controller I already own can be used. Even though it doesn't have the programmable buttons and better sticks/buttons.
• I'm going to wrap things up by talking about the thing that bothers me the absolute most about the S2... it's that the Welcome Tour app costs $10. Yep, the "game" that tells you all about the $450 or $499 console you just bought costs an additional $10. Which is really shitty when you consider that the Nintendo Wii came bundled with Wii Sports, containing actual games, at no cost. This is a shit-bag, greedy, money-grab that is absolutely asinine. And the more I think about it the madder I get, so I guess I'm done now.

And there you have it. No idea how much longer I'll hold onto the thing, but I suppose that I'll buy a few overpriced next-gen games just to see what it's like.

Since the unit is here already.

It's 911. The world may be ending, but I'm not sending this blog with it just yet... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• IN THE NEWS: Historic lodge on Grand Canyon North Rim destroyed by wildfire. This is awful. I've never stayed at the Grand Canyon Lodge because it was way out of my price range, but I've eaten dinner there with my mom and it's a wonderful place. Or was...

Image from a news story taken from somewhere on Twitter

The world being both figuratively and literally on fire is really starting to wear on people. Starting with me.

   
• IN THE NEWS: 1 person dies of the plague in northern Arizona. And guess what? The current administration is GUTTING our research and defense against shit like this. All so he can give billionaires more tax cuts while the country goes trillions more into debt. The rest of us just get to die of the plague, I guess.

   
• IN THE NEWS: Mexican volunteers rushed in to help after floods in Texas. Some want to continue recovery efforts. "Oscar Morales is part of the volunteer-led recovery team International Tlatelolco Azteca Rescue Brigade, which was created after the 1985 earthquake that left thousands dead in Mexico City. The group is better known as 'Los Topos,' which translates to 'the moles,' because members search for victims after natural disasters. But the part of the above story which is adding a new level of horrible to an already horrific situation? On social media, Gov. Greg Abbott has thanked almost a dozen states for sending help after the catastrophic floods, but he hasn't publicly mentioned the help of Mexican volunteers. Because of course not. And yet Mexico showed up anyway, even though they knew this would happen. And despite the fact that there could have been seriously harmful consequences for showing up to help a neighbor... like getting deported to a prison in El Salvador. I was holding my breath when I heard they came, just waiting for some stupid racist shit to go down, because that seems to be what this country is all about now.

   
• IN THE NEWS: From Mackintosh Braun on Instagram. "Our independent album The Sound was removed from all streaming and stores by TuneCore because Warner Sync UK Warner Music has claimed they own a song on the album. We made this record broke, sharing a studio apartment back in 2006. This is why the music industry is broken. They’ve effectively removed our music from existence for no reason… if you can write someone do it, no idea how to fix this." This is horrible, but so typical of the abuse which huge companies can unleash whenever they want, and rarely face consequences... even nearly 20 years later. This is an incredible debut album from MB (Macintosh Braun), one of my all-time favorite bands. I've been hoping for a new album for a decade now, but have taken consolation that their old albums are still out there to be enjoyed. Except when they're not.

   
• End of an Era! The Rivers of America has been removed from Walt Disney World's maps. That's where the new Cars attractions are going to go...

The Rivers of America in Disneyland is still there, so that's nice.

   
• PC Mini! If you're looking to kill some time and are mesmerized by electronics videos like I am, here's your next watch...

It's remarkable how much of the work is done by hand. I would have sworn that these would be 90% automated by machine. Also remarkable? How everything is being made to look like a Mac mini now, right down to the packaging.

   
• Hello Depression! Am I the only one who can no longer watch movies about the total fantasy of what this country could be without being filled with abject despair over how it is?

I just wanted a feel-good movie to play while I had a sandwich, so I put on Dave, which I normally love. Now it just makes me depressed.

   
And now we can continue with the ongoing nightmare of our existence.

I was gone two days on vacation and, just like when I'm gone for two weeks, Jake won't leave my side.

Every night I go to sleep and he's laying next to me, then when I wake up and he's still there. I don't know how he manages to get any sleep with all my tossing and turning, but it doesn't seem to discourage him. Of course even belly rubs only distract him for a second before he falls asleep again...

If only I could sleep like that.

After talking with a friend who had just watched Mickey 17, which stars Robert Pattinson, I remembered that he also starred in the Christopher Nolan's Tenet, a movie I like the more times I see it.

This time was no different. Such a brilliant film.

I've watched videos, read articles, and examined timeline charts in order to better understand the film. And here's another one which was very recently released (spoilers, of course)...

I love that the movie is so deep that videos and articles are still being written about it.

Next up from Nolan is his adaptation of The Odyssey, the trailer for which has apparently leaked online. I'm not going to try and watch anything until Universal officially releases it. Otherwise I know that I'm going to undoubtedly be clicking on a fucking shit-ton of AI-generated shit, because that's what YouTube is all about now-a-days.

Except...

Unlike Facebook, YouTube may actually be trying to curb the AI slop we're being inundated with. Thank God. I am so sick and fucking tired of this crap that it almost makes me want to abandon the internet so I don't have to see it.

And, just like that, Summer vacation is over.

Now I need a vacation from my vacation...

...which is how you know it was a good vacation.

The third deepest lake in the USA is Lake Chelan, which is an hour from my home (the first is Crater Lake in Oregon, the second is The Great Salt Lake in Utah). Friends and I decided to spend part of our week hanging out at the local big deep.

The weather yesterday was perfect. Plenty of blue sky and sunshine, which means the lake was fairly calm and we could take a boat out to swim and soak up the sun...

Half-way up the 50-mile lake is 25 Mile Creek, where we stopped for ice cream...

It was a fantastic day and a fantastic trip on the lake.

But not all was perfect when we got back.

The condo room I rented inexplicably has a set of stairs immediately after walking in the door...

Now, keep in mind that from the perspective of the photo above, you can actually see the stairs. But if you are on the top of the stairs, you don't see the sides. From your perspective, you can barely see stairs exist and it looks much like this...

Which means that I charged right through the door, concentrating on not catching my bag and suitcase on the closing door, didn't see the stairs... and walked right off the edge, catching myself on the little sink there.

I wrenched by back pretty good, and spent two days of my vacation in pain.

I don't understand how this is even a legal construction. Don't stairs have to have guardrails to keep you from falling off? I'd think that the owners would want to have a railing of some kind for safety. Because even after I learned (the hard way) that the stairs are there, I was still running into them (particularly at night, because the bathroom is just past the sink.

Oh well. I had pills on me so I could push through and have a good vacation despite it all. That's probably the thing to focus on.