When you own as many things as I do, organization is a must. Despite having a relatively messy work area, I’m pretty disciplined when it comes to organizing my storage. Over the years I’ve purchased dozens and dozens of garage storage tubs, plastic “shoeboxes” for storing smaller things, and Ziploc baggies for keeping bits and bobs together. I own lots and lots of things and found out a long time ago, searching for those things drives me absolutely batty. I am always on the lookout for new ways to organize things, whether that’s labeling the outside of all those storage tubs or keeping track of what’s where on a spreadsheet. Despite my best efforts, one of the areas that is constantly getting out of control is my workshop toolbox drawers. Despite my best efforts to “keep things apart,” somehow everything gets intermingled and tangled every time I turn around. I suspect every night after I close the drawer, some sort of Toy Story partying is happening in there.

I’ve been trying to come up with some sort of drawer organization system for a while now. I’ve looked online at drawer organizaters and the ones I found seem both expensive and not to my liking. I considered building something out of wood or even 3D printing something, but those solutions felt like a lot of effort and not very configurable. Instead, for the past few years I’ve done nothing, accepting that every time I go looking for a specific screwdriver it’s going to take five minutes of digging to find it.

A couple of months ago while searching for small storage containers on Amazon I found these: food containers. They come in a few different sizes and colors, but these particular ones had everything I was looking for — they’re black (which will look good in the workshop), come with lids, and, appealing to my thrifty side, are inexpensive. This 50 pack of containers costs $25.

There were some smaller ones available, but I thought these slightly larger ones would work better for storing tools and I was right. In the top drawer of my workbench I discovered I could put 15 of the containers (three deep, five wide) although after a little shuffling I removed the fifth row to make room for slightly larger tools. The top drawer is where I put smaller things that I use frequently — pliers, screws, tape measures, Allen wrenches, and so on. It was simple to sort things out into “like” piles and put them into containers. There’s a small space in the front of the drawer between the containers and the front of the drawer, which is a great place to store the screwdrivers I use the most.

The containers aren’t fastened down inside the drawer which makes them easy to remove if needed. Last week I was working on a van project that required an Allen wrench but I wasn’t sure what size I needed. I simply picked up the container full of Allen wrenches and took it to where I was working. Easy peasy!

So far, this system is working great. I’m planning to use the remaining containers to store other random items… and possibly, leftovers. ;)

If you’re interested in pickup a pack of these up, here’s a link to them on Amazon.

It’s been two weeks since I went to the emergency room with excruciating back pain. It took a minute to get all the pieces aligned, but last week I ended up with three separate appointments regarding my back. Last week was a bit of a roller coaster with lots of information, both good and bad, coming at me at a rapid pace. Here’s a quick summary of those appointments, where I am now, and what the plan is moving forward.

01. ANOTHER MRI

Last weekend, I had a second MRI scan, this time to scan the thoracic portion (middle third) of my spine. My entire body was inside the MRI machine both times so I’m not why they don’t scan your entire back while they have you in there, but they don’t.

The results of the MRI were simultaneous sent to me and my doctor so I got to read the news first hand. And while the previous scan seemed to be a “best guess” as to what was causing my pain, this one was a bit more certain. I have two herniated discs (one ruptured, one bulging) in the middle of my back.

02. A VISIT WITH THE NEUROSURGEON

My next stop was a meeting with a local neurosurgeon, who performed four more X-rays on my back and went over the results of them and then MRI scans with me. The herniated discs are definitely the problem. After a brief discussion, his plan is to initially treat my chronic back pain with medicine and physical therapy. If that doesn’t work, the next step will involve steroid injections into my back (essentially an epidural). Surgery would only be performed as a last resort. It was described to me as an invasive procedure which would involve removing parts of my spine, trimming the herniated discs, and then reassembling my back — a procedure that would be followed with month(s) of recovery. Everyone involved is hoping we don’t get to that. The neurosurgeon’s partying words were I should avoid doing anything that might hurt my back worse.

03. PHYSICAL THERAPY

I was apprehensive about attending physical therapy, as I didn’t want to do anything that might injure my back further. In fact, the neurosurgeon insisted that I get “manual” treatments only (no machines). I went into the PT thinking it would be the least helpful part of this process, and it turned out to be one of the best parts. The physical therapist I was assigned, Mark, explained to me that a surgeon’s goal would be to keep my spine straight through internal means like metal rods. His goal, he said, was to help me keep my spine straight through external means, like correcting my posture and a few simple exercises. Mark explained some things about bulging discs and my spine that no one else had up to this point.

04. HERE WE ARE

The neurosurgeon put me on Gabapentin (daily) and a muscle relaxer (as needed). I had to buy a larger pill box from Amazon, one with three compartments per day… yay.

The good news is, between the medicine, the exercises, and finding new ways to move (or more importantly, not move), I haven’t had one of those crippling back spasms in about a week. The muscle pain is always there, but varies between and one and a three out of ten on the pain scale throughout the day — not perfect, but manageable. I’m still ramping up on some of my meds, and I hope as I continue the exercises, things will get better. I will be following my neurosurgeon and avoiding activities that could hurt my back further (I’m glad I got away from collecting arcade cabinets). If things stay the same as they are I’ll survive, and if they get better I wouldn’t complain. :)

Last week I announced that I had discovered, as far as I can tell, a previously unknown Star Trek special. Not only can I not find any information regarding this special online, but the Trekkies I reached out to — and the Trekkies they reached out to — can’t seem to find any record of it, either.

As I wrote in my last week’s post, the special is a television airing of parts one and two of the classic Star Trek episode “The Menagerie,” presented together as a single episode. The special is hosted by Leonard Nimoy, who filmed original segments that appear before, during, and after the special.

While YouTube has blocked every version of the video I’ve tried to upload, Earl Green from TheLogBook.com came up with a pretty good solution. Earl edited the actual episode out of the clip, formatted the original Nimoy content in a way that would appease YouTube’s censors, and added a wealth of information to run alongside the video. I think it’s a pretty good compromise and awesome way to enjoy the video. I’m working on a way to get the entire video out there, but for now this seems lke a pretty food solution.

Please enjoy this previously lost Star Trek video.

Thanks again to D. Stone, The Retroist, and Earl Green for all their help.

One of my favorite hobbies (which I have previously discussed) is “digital archaeology.” I love finding, digitizing, archiving and sharing audio and video from the past that may not have mage the transition from analog to digital. I get great personal enjoyment from digging through old cassettes, video tapes, and even computer disks in hopes of finding something that got left behind, something that never made it to the internet and putting it there. To be fair, 95% of what I find already exists in some form. Most of the movies and television shows I find on old tapes have been released on physical media and/or are available to stream, and that stuff isn’t very exciting. The television commercials I find get uploaded to their own YouTube channel (VHS Dumpster Dive). All the home movies I find get archived; some get shared publicly while others may never leave my hard drive.

It’s actually pretty rare for me to find a VHS recording that hasn’t made its way to the internet in some form. It’s extremely rare to find something that nobody seems to remember.

Yesterday, I think I found one.

This tape opens with a station identifier from KAUT 43, a UHF channel operating out of Oklahoma City. An announcer introduces the program as “The Movie For a Sunday Evening,” described as “a series of features selected for family viewing.” This evening’s program? “A very unusual presentation of the first feature length production of Star Trek, The Menagerie. With special guest host, Leonard Nimoy.”

After the opening credits from the original Star Trek television show play, the camera moves to the Enterprise’s transporter room. Moments later, Leonard Nimoy appears in the transporter — not as Spock, but as himself.

Nimoy begins by asking viewers if they can believe it has been eleven years since he first stepped foot on the set of the Enterprise. He further clarifies the date: “it’s been 11 years, 30 days, 8 hours, and 15 minutes since the first Star Trek adventure was filmed.” Overlaid text confirms the date the program was originally created: January, 1975.

After introducing The Menagerie, Nimoy asks Mr. Scott to transport him to the bridge, and after some familiar sounds and special effects, he reappears there. In these shots, Nimoy is very clearly standing in front of a green screen with old Star Trek footage from the bridge rolling behind him. The transporter scene appears to have been shot the same way, but it’s not quite as noticeable as the bridge scenes.

Before the program begins, Nimoy explains that The Menagerie contains clips from The Cage, the unaired Star Trek pilot. After a bit more introduction, The Menagerie Part One begins. I am not a Star Trek expert and couldn’t tell you if there are any differences between this airing and the versions that exist today.

One of the most difficult parts in regards to all this digital archeology is dating recordings. Occasionally I’ll find a tape where the person who recorded the tape physically wrote the recording date on the label, but that’s pretty rare. Most of the time I have to search for clues within the recording itself to figure out when it was recorded. This is most easily done via car commercials that often mention the year, but there weren’t any of those on this tape. I found one commercial with a copyright date of 1982/1983 at the bottom, which feels right based on the other commercials. Later in the program a KAUT 43 advertisement for “Alien Attack” says it will air on “Sunday, February 13th.” In 1983, February 13 did indeed fall on a Sunday, so that year is confirmed. There are ads for upcoming programs on February 13th and 20th. If I were a betting man I’d guess this program aired on Sunday, February 6th, 1983.

Just look at this sweet van you could have purchased for only $299 a month!

After a series of commercials, the program resumes with The Menagerie, Part II. There are more commercials, and more Star Trek.

While there isn’t as much of the Nimoy footage as I would have hoped, he does return for a final appearance at the end of the program. After stating what an impact Star Trek had, he mentions that his journey began eleven years earlier… by putting on these ears.

After watching the program I searched for information online regard it and found nothing. I can’t find a single reference to this special. There’s no reference to it on Leonard Nimoy’s IMDB page. There’s literally nothing about this TV special online.

I then reached out to Earl Green from TheLogBook and The Retroist — two guys who have forgotten more about old stuff than I’ll ever know — and asked them about the program. Not only had they not heard of it either, but each of them reached out to their contacts, and none of them were familiar with it.

I stumped the panel!

I’m not sure what my next plan is. I cannot upload the video in its entirety to YouTube as the Star Trek content will get it removed almost immediately. I’m not sure if I can upload it to the Internet Archive, either. I could in theory clip out just the Leonard Nimoy segments and upload those to YouTube, but I hate presenting this in such an incomplete fashion. Today I’ll be clipping the commercials and uploading them to my VHS Dumpster Dive YouTube channel. If you have suggestions on where or how I should share this tape, let me know below in the comments. My intent is not to hoard this finding but rather to share it with the community at large; I just need to figure out the best way to do that.

Thanks again to Earl Green and The Retroist for their input and my friend Drew for the original tape! May they all live long and prosper.

Having spent several years in high school and college working in the food industry, I can tell you first hand that fast food is never better than the moment it is prepared. Once it is baked, cooked, or assembled, fast food does nothing but get worse. I have eaten Long John Silver’s hushpuppies seconds after scooping them from a vat of boiling grease and taken bites of Grandy’s fried chicken so hot the dripping grease burned my chin, and I am telling you… there’s nothing like it. The fresher, the better.

Based on the five years I spent working at Mazzio’s pizza, three different Pizza Huts, three different Pizza Inns, and the short-lived Heavenly Pizza, I can attest to the fact that there is nothing like a slice of steaming hot pizza right out of the oven. The buffet isn’t the same. Carry out is not the same. Delivery is definitely not the same. The only way to experience pizza the way it was intended is to go into a restaurant, order a pizza, and take a bite the minute it arrives at your table. The roof of your scalded mouth will thank you.

I told Susan that for Valentine’s Day this year, that’s what I wanted — to go to a restaurant and have burning hot pizza. We decided to go to Mazzio’s Pizza in Yukon. I’ve written about Ken’s Pizza in the past — both restaurants were founded by Ken Selby (who also founded Zio’s Italian Kitchen). Mazzio’s makes a decent pizza, but perhaps as important (or even more so) was that I worked at this particular Mazzio’s in high school, and Susan and her friends from band ate there many times. The layout and decor has changed multiple times since I worked there (and the arcade is gone!), but there’s enough that feels familiar to make it a fun date.

On Wednesday evening (Valentine’s Day), Susan and I walked into our local Mazzio’s Pizza and immediately noticed that other than two employees, we were the only people there. There wasn’t a single customer in the dining room — something I found odd on Valentine’s Day, a traditionally popular date event.

At the counter we were met by a very busy and frazzled manager. Susan began our order by stating “this is for here,” and the manager responded with, “we’re not doing dine in right now.” One of the many blessings of entering middle age is that, perhaps more than they should, words now come out of my mouth without ever checking in with whatever mental gatekeeping system I once had. I believe what came out of my mouth was, “lack of seating?”

The manager went on to explain that this Mazzio’s was about to be remodeled and would be closing on Sunday for “a couple of months.” He went on to explain that there were no plates or silverware in the store. All the salt, pepper, cheese, and red pepper shakers have been removed from the tables. Also, the soda dispense is missing.

“We don’t need plates,” Susan countered. “And we’ll go get our own drinks,” I added. And so we did. While our pizza was being prepared, Susan and I drove down the street to OnCue to buy a couple of drinks and steal a few extra napkins. (And yes, we offered to buy the manager a drink!) Just a few minutes after we returned, the sole other employee came out to the dining room and, rather unceremoniously, delivered our medium half-supreme, half Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza.

It turns out, you don’t need plates or silverware to eat pizza — napkins will do just fine.

The only thing better than a hot slice of pizza fresh out of the oven is having an entire restaurant to yourself on Valentine’s Date with your true love.

Since this happened, I learned through Facebook that the Yukon Mazzio’s is changing owners and has been purchased by someone who graduated from our high school. I’m looking forward to the remodel and returning to Mazzio’s when they reopen… although it’ll probably be busier then.

Sometime in early December I began having severe back pain. It started in my lower back, worked its way up into my middle back, and finally settled near my kidney. The general consensus was that I might be about to pass a kidney stone, but I didn’t have any of the other traditional symptoms. A couple of handfuls of Advil a day made the pain bearable.

And then, right before Christmas, the mostly dull and throbbing but occasionally stabbing pain morphed into intense back spasms. They mostly happen in the morning, when transiting from laying to sitting, and again from sitting to standing. I told Susan it feels like someone behind me occasionally hitting all the nerves in my back with an ax. It’s hard to describe any pain as a 10 out of 10, but that’s what it feels like. When it happens while I’m trying to stand, I almost always fall back into the bed. I’m never quiet when it happens, either. Involuntarily, sounds come out that sound like I’m turning into a werewolf. With no idea what was causing this, I begged Susan to throw away our new mattress and buy a different one. That made things worse. If anyone wants a $500 king-sized firm mattress that’s been slept on twice, hit me up.

After visiting my doctor I was prescribed some Tramadol — stronger than Advil and Tylenol, but not good enough. An x-ray showed nothing and so I was sent to have an MRI. After two attempts to squeeze me into a normal-sized MRI failed (that’s a whole different story), I was finally sent to an open MRI with a pocket full of Xanax. They scanned my lower back and found minor spinal compression, but nothing that should be causing what I’m feeling.

Things came to a head Tuesday night when I discovered I could no longer lay down, sit up, or stand up without being attacked by the back spasms. After an hour of spasm after spasm, I couldn’t take it anymore and so just in time for the clock to roll over into Valentine’s Day, Susan and I arrived at the Mercy Hospital Emergency Room. After a few minutes in the waiting room I was whisked back to a room and promptly given an EKG to determine that my heart was okay. (The spasms were so bad that my arm and leg were starting to tingle.) Two nurses whose ages didn’t add up to mine took turns fishing for a vein to start an IV, and a dose of morphine brought the spasms down to a 5 out of 10 on the pain scale. (Their multiple attempts at finding a vein helped take my mind off my back for a few minutes.) The morphone was followed by either Vicodin or valium (I forget) and then I was rolled down the hall for a CT scan.

Sometime between 3 and 4 a.m., we got our answer. The CT scan showed calcium build ups on my spine, some of which are apparently touching and/or pinching nerves. The doctor said it looks like DISH, so here it is straight from Google:

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a form of arthritis that involves the tendons and ligaments around the spine. Also known as Forestier’s disease, this condition occurs when these tendons and ligaments become hardened, a process known as calcification.

As G.I. Joe used to say, “knowing is half the battle.”

Reports are mixed as to what causes this. Approximately 25% of all men have some sort of calcium that builds up on their spines. Only the lucky ones have it in places that affects nerves. Some studies have linked it to type-two diabetes, some link it to obesity, but all of them agree that none of them are sure.

Along with the Tramadol (for pain) and another muscle relaxer, I was also prescribed prednisone, a steroid to help reduce the swelling of the muscles and nerves.

They’re scheduling me for another MRI, this time to scan my entire back. (Why they didn’t do that in the first place, I have no idea.) Short term treatment will include pain management through medicine, physical therapy, and potentially, steroid shots in the back. If none of that works the last recourse will be back surgery. I’ve been told my whole life to avoid having back surgery if at all possible, but I’ve since been told that this is an out patient procedure that doesn’t go near the spinal column, so even though it wouldn’t be my first choice it also doesn’t sound like the end of the world.

Between all the medicine and the general lack of sleep that comes from random back spasms in the middle of the night (I’ve been averaging 2-3 hours of sleep a night for the past week), I haven’t been on my A-game over the past few days. I’ve changed when I’m taking my pills and am hoping to be able to make it through a work day tomorrow. Ironically, the two places that hurt my back the least are my office chair and my recliner, two of my favorite places.

“Isn’t that how the Crocodile Hunter died?”

That’s the first question I asked when Susan informed me we would be swimming with stingrays while on vacation in the Cayman Islands. Turns out it’s everyone’s first question, so let me address it right up front. Over the past 80 years, 20 people have been killed by stingrays. To put that number in perspective, in 2021 1,554 people died from falling off furniture. You are nearly 80 times more likely to die from falling off your couch than being killed by a stingray. They’re pretty safe.

Our cruise ship was too large to dock in the Grand Cayman Island, so the morning we arrived we exited the cruise ship and boarded a tinder, which took us ashore. From there we boarded a van/taxi that would eventually take us to our catamaran. Both Mexico and the Cayman Islands are packed with vans acting as taxis, many of them models we don’t have here in the states. I really enjoyed look at them, and had forgot that as a UK territory, vehicles on the Cayman Islands are right-hand drive.

Twelve of us exited the van and boarded the catamaran, which took us approximately 45 minutes back out into the ocean. There was little to do on the catamaran except sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery, which is not a bad way to spend some vacation time.

During the trip our guide (a woman named Lou) told us what to expect. She said that we would not be going to where the stingray live, but rather a “mutual meeting spot.” In my mind, I likened it to feeding squirrels in the park. The stingray know what time the ships come, and that they bring food (shrimp). The stingray are also very social and like interacting with people.

Our guide also cautioned us that the stingray are wild animals that they do not control. Typically a dozen or more stingray show up; however, on one recent trip, none came. The guides do not control the stingrays.

Our guide gave us two warnings. The first was “not to freak out.” She explained that the stingray’s barbed tail, while indeed sharp, faces backwards. It is not for attacking; it’s to protect it from being eaten from behind. The odds of the stingray in front of you poking you is statistically zero; what could happen, however, is people might freak out and flail their arms, accidentally hitting a stingray behind them. So don’t do that. The other thing we were warned not to do was rub our hands on our bodies or clothing after feeding shrimp to the stingray, as that’s the easiest way to (a) transfer the smell of shrimp onto your clothes or body and (b) spend the day getting swarmed by stingrays.

After 45 minutes or so on the water we arrived at the spot. Although the water was over my head where we exited the boat, within just a few feet it became shallow enough to stand in. Any concerns of no stingrays showing up quickly subsided as dozens rushed over to greet us.

Believe it or not, all our guides had to do was hold their arms out and the stingray would swim right into their arms. Apparently they love to cuddle and get hugs. The trick is not to try and lift them (they weigh 70-90lbs), but simply support them.

If I had to compare the stingrays to anything it would be cats. They enjoy rubbing up against people as they swim by.

After about an hour in the ocean it was time to return to the catamaran and head back to shore. While the trip out was full of nervous chatter and small talk, the trip back was mostly silent as people enjoyed the trip and tried to process what we had just done. It was an incredibly odd and unique experience, one I will never forget.

For the record, not a single person mentioned my t-shirt during the entire adventure.

Jasper Mall is a 2020 documentary about a dying mall in Jasper, Alabama. The film follows Mike, the mall’s general manager, lone security guard, only custodian, and for much of the film, Jasper Mall’s sole employee. As visitors to the mall dwindle and the anchor stores are long gone, we watch vendor after vendor contemplate retirement or relocating their businesses. Through a series of vignettes we watch retired men who meet at the same courtyard table every day to play dominos, a man who sells knives and plays his electric guitar to fill the time between customers, and a young hairstylist who can’t help but wonder if there’s life outside of Jasper, Alabama. Connecting these slices of life is Mike who makes his rounds through the mall, sometimes ensuring exit doors haven’t been tampered with and other times pushing a mop bucket.

On our drive home from Tampa it occurred to me that if we changed our route slightly we would travel right through Jasper, Alabama, and so that’s what we did.

The Jasper Mall is every mall. Outside, the walls are the same off-white color that must be mandatory for malls. Inside, the floor tiles consist of both shades of brown. The planters are made of classic bricks as is the obligatory half-height wall surrounding the center courtyard. The wooden benches lining the mall look exactly like the ones you’re imagining. You could pick up the Jasper Mall and relocate it to Iowa or New Mexico or Kentucky without changing a single thing.

Based on the 2020 documentary, we were surprised not only to find the mall still open, but that things seemed to be turning around. In the documentary there were no restaurants inside the mall. Today, there are two: Lin Garden II, and Garfield’s. Belk, a department store, now occupies one of the mall’s two formerly empty anchor spots. The parking lot contained a surprising number of cars — fifty, at least. That being said, the mall could hardly be described as bustling. While standing in the center of the mall at 4:30pm on a Saturday, I couldn’t see another human being.

The general lack of people inside the mall created a weird sensation, as if we weren’t supposed to be there. Although the lights were on, it felt as if perhaps the mall were indeed closed. Peering into some of the shops we passed not only did I not see any customers, but often I didn’t see any employees. Occasionally we would hear pieces of conversations spilling out from shops into the mall’s halls, but rarely could we pinpoint where they were coming from.

If you visit the Jasper Mall in hopes of finding filming locations from the documentary, you’re in luck. It’s pretty hard not to find them, actually. The table where the men played dominos, the massage chairs, and even Mike’s office are all in the middle of the mall.

And in case you get lost or are looking for a specific store, they have an updated mall directory.

We were surprised to find a Garfield’s Restaurant and Pub open in the mall. Garfield’s was an Oklahoma-based restaurant which had locations in Crossroads Mall and Quail Springs Mall, both of which are now gone. Garfield’s is similar to Applebee’s and Chili’s — they serve steaks, burgers, salads, wings, nachos… nothing too wild, and great food when you’re on the road. We couldn’t help but ask our waitress if she had heard of the Jasper Mall documentary, and of course she had. Everyone working in the mall has.

Like everyone who visits the Jasper Mall after watching the documentary we had hoped to run into Mike. Unfortunately for us his office hours are Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, and we blew through town on a Saturday. “You might still check,” offered our waitress. “He’s here a lot.” We eventually backtracked to Mike’s office and knocked on the door, but he was already gone for the day. We left him one of my business cards and a short note on the back, and I nearly leapt out of my seat the following morning in the car when I saw Mike had sent me a short email.

I don’t know how long the Jasper Mall will remain open. I don’t know how long any mall will remain open. But here is what I do know. In my life there have been many malls, many arcades, many restaurants, and many businesses that only after they closed did I wish I had visited more — that I had spent more time and more money there. If I lived in Jasper, Alabama, I would shop at Shoe Dept., Bath and Body Works, and Hibbett Sports. I would eat at Lin Garden and Garfield’s, get massages in those chairs and play dominoes in that courtyard.

The Jasper Mall may still be dying, but it’s not dead yet.

Link: Jasper Mall (The Mall)
Link: Jasper Mall (The Documentary)

After nine days away, Susan and I have returned home from vacation. We spent five days cruising on the Carnival Paradise, and four days driving to and from Tampa.

This time our cruise ports were the Cayman Islands and Cozumel. We’ve been to Cozumel multiple times, but this was was our first time to the Grand Cayman Island. In Cozumel we returned to our favorite resort (Mr. Sancho’s) and on Grand Cayman Island we went on an excursion that involved interacting with stingrays. I’ll be writing more about both of those excursions later this week.

The Carnival Princess is the smallest ship we’ve sailed on since we began cruising. Many of the areas we were used to had been scaled down, and others were completely missing. There were no specialty restaurants like the steakhouse and Italian restaurant our last ship had, and the sushi restaurant had been condensed to a small kiosk. Our last cruise ship had two hot tubs in the Serenity area and this ship only had one. The middle atrium area was missing a large seating area, and many of the retail shops we enjoy were missing. These are observations more than complaints; there was plenty to do and places to explore, but the difference in size was very apparent.

One thing that was better on this ship was the internet access. On our last cruise the internet was so bad as to be essentially useless. This time it was quite functional. In our room I was able to stream Netflix, which is pretty impressive for being in the middle of the ocean with a couple thousand people. We don’t spend a lot of time online while on our cruises, but it is nice during downtimes to be able to share pictures or videos online. The televisions in our room only have a couple of channels worth watching, so being able to connect my laptop to thge room’s television and watch movies that way made the evenings more enjoyable.

When you board a cruise, they take your luggage from you and deliver it to your room several hours later. That means for several hours, all you have access to are the things you carry on. There are hot tubs and swimming pools on the ship, but because everyone’s swimming suits are in their luggage, no one is ever using them. Susan came up with the brilliant idea of wearing our swim suits underneath our regular clothes. After boarding the ship, we walked straight to the rear of the boat to where the hot tub was and for nearly an hour, had the entire thing to ourselves. We could have had it for another hour or two, but it started getting hot and it got awkward with dozens of people looking over the deck at us. But man, did we beat the system.

In the early 2000s I got my first GPS device. To be clear it was not one of those small, cute GPS units that attached to the windshield with a suction cup. It was a device that connected to a laptop with a serial cable (this was pre-USB). The maps were stored on a CD-ROM. I balanced my laptop on my truck’s center console and used a power inverter to power the whole mess. And while it worked, I knew at the time that it was a bit of a Frankenstein solution. I had the same feeling when I took my first road trip after buying an iPod and used one of those FM transmitters to play mp3s on my truck’s stereo. It felt like things were close, but not quite there.

We’ve had smartphones for a long time. My iPhone replaced my iPod and my GPS and my Palm Pilot and my digital camera and a whole bunch of gadgets. It changed everything. Before going on a road trip, we used to sit down with an atlas and plan our route. I used to spend an hour picking out my favorite 48 CDs for a trip. I remember the first time I left for a road trip and just relied on my GPS to get me there. The thought of looking at a paper map feels like something from the stone age now. None of our cars even have CD players anymore.

And while again none of this is breaking headline news, with phones we are never “away” away. The first road trip Susan and I took together, we had to pump quarters into payphones to call home and check in. Now, whichever of us is in the passenger seat is on our phone — texting, calling, checking email, posting on social media… electronically, it’s the same as if we were still home. When I was a kid, video phone calls were a thing of the future and now I get them by accident when someone sits on their phone the wrong way.

What really struck me over the past two days is that we now have unlimited access to the internet in the car. My old wallet full of road trip CDs became Spotify. Access to any album we can think of. As Susan drove I flipped between social media, email, Google News, and other apps.

Just a few years ago, I remember searching iHeartRadio for radio stations carrying OKC Thunder games, so I could listen in real time. Today, I watched two NFL games in the car. Live. Like, while Susan drove, I watched NFL games. And when we stopped for gas and food I paused the game, and when we returned to the car I fast forwarded through commercials and halftime to get caught back up to the live stream. It’s weird. It’s all weird.

As a kid I used to dream about taking our computer with us in the car. I used to dream of watching television in the car, and having some magical device to give me directions. A lot of the things we have now, I never imagined. And as far as car entertainment and access goes… I can’t think of anything else I want. There’s nothing I have access to at home that I can’t access while barreling down the interstate at 75mph.