So my 6-year-old son wants a copy of the new Super Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo Switch. It's a fun game, but it got me thinking about a video game idea I had ages ago that would be even better.

How about a fighting game with biblical characters? The roster could be incredible. The finishing moves would be awesome. Here are some of my ideas:

• Moses. His main weapon is a staff that pulls all sorts of nasty tricks. It can turn you into a frog. It can blast you with a waterfall shooting out of a rock. His finishing move is to brain you with some stone tablets.
• Elijah. He can call down fire to destroy you. He can make it rain on command. Oh yeah, and just when you think you've knocked him out, he summons a chariot of fire to sweep him across the screen and kick your butt.
• Goliath. The biggest fighter in the game, which of course means he's incredibly powerful and equally slow. He does a lot of taunting.
• David. The seemingly unassuming shepherd boy uses a sling to hurl rocks at your face (which is particularly effective against Goliath). He also plays a mean lyre which lowers your speed and defense, almost as if to soothe your soul.
• Peter. He'll deny that he's even a fighter a few times. He's got limited ability to walk on water, and will sock you with a fishing net full of fish if he's got you on the ropes.
• Daniel. His special move, Lion's Den, makes him impervious to damage.
• Jonah. Summons a whale to chew you up and spit you out. Enough said.
• Samson. Watch out for his main weapon, the jawbone of donkey. You might have a chance if you can cut his hair. If you somehow beat him, he'll topple the fighting stage to get even.
• Jesus (Available Downloadable Content for an extra $59.99). The ultimate combo of speed and power. Turns the other cheek to your attacks. Can't be killed, he just keeps resurrecting.

The game could be awesome, especially in Solo Mode, when you reach the Revelation Stage.

​Among the most ill-conceived designs in video game console history was the Sears Tele-Games version of Pong.

Before all of the sleek-looking boxes to play your video games, there was this version of Pong. It was a box with two knobs on it. Knobs which could be easily reached by your sister, er, opponent.

You see, it was entirely possible for one to simply reach over and fiddle with the other person's hand as the ball approached. You might watch in horror on your 13-inch black-and-white TV as the square pixel, passing as a ball, goes past your paddle. You might punch your sister. A brawl over pong cheating might break out. 

You also may never see the pong console again after that night in 1981. 

​Someday I'm going to have to traverse the route of the Oregon Trail.

You see, along those wagon ruts near Fort Hall or the Blue Mountains and Chimney Rock, I've laid to rest some dear friends and family. I owe them all an apology.

If only I had realized just how deadly cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever were, I would have fed you more than your meager rations. I wouldn't have kept such a grueling pace. I would have spent more time with all of you and less time hunting. (Though I would have appreciated if at least one or two of you had come along to carry meat from time to time.)

I regret trying to ford the river when it was 9.3 feet deep, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Next time I'll trade a wagon tongue to hire the guide. I draw the line at the Barlow Toll Road though, it's still a rip off.

Insert Disk 2 into Drive A: to read the rest of this thought.