Night Owl Cards

It's been one of those weeks where I can't achieve anything that I want. Everywhere there's a road block. False family crises. Car issues. Allergies. Computer meltdowns. Busy work. And, oh yeah, let's throw the baseball playoffs in the middle of it all. If I were to redesign the calendar, the first two months that I would crumple up into a ball, throw in the waste basket, and redo would be March and October. They are undoubtedly defective. So with the little time that I have today, I thought I'd show off the remnants of my belated birthday spree. I pretty much showed all the good stuff already. But I had a handful of dollars leftover and went to ebay to see what I could scrounge up cheaply. Yes, this was cheap and better damn well be. You can see some of the foil has worn off. But I don't really care about such things. This is plenty of shiny for me. And with this card I am down to needing a single sparkly for the whole diamond parallel Dodger set. ...

I've heard the complaints from Wordpress users who say they aren't able to comment on Blogger blogs anymore, or are only able to through a great deal of effort. That's tough to hear. I like comments. But even a Blogger user like me has noticed the comment set-up isn't the way it used to be -- Blogger is tinkering with something for some unknown reason. But I have a different complaint about Blogger and it has to do with following blogs. I follow many, many card blogs. Blogger lets you officially only follow 300 (why, I don't know), but if I could follow more I would. I have been at the maximum for probably a couple of years now. Not being able to follow as many blogs as you want is a minor inconvenience, but for a long time it wasn't too difficult to handle. If a new blog came along, I would merely search out a blog that hadn't posted in like a year, delete that blog from my following list, and add the new blog. That way I'd still be at the 300 n...

It's a little difficult to pinpoint when the baseball card collecting year ends these days. As a kid, I remember baseball cards disappearing off shelves in September. So that signaled the end of the collecting year for me. But today baseball cards are available in stores year round, and companies are even issuing sets during the offseason. If you're like me, and need a little time to file away that year's cards, it gets frustrating. I need an end point to the collecting year, so I can file my cards away and get ready for 2012. Since card companies aren't helping me out, I decided to create my own end point. The end of the collecting season for me is when Topps Update hits stores. That doesn't mean I stop buying packs. All it means is I can now start filing away my cards. During the collecting season, each of my card sets are stacked on a desk in the "card room." Topps base has a couple of stacks, Heritage has a stack, A&G has a stack, etc. It...

I am on my happy way to a card show today. In fact, I'm probably there right now, hopefully finding something that both my wallet and I like. I've referenced this card show here and here . It's in a small town along the lake. I enjoy the drive there, and it's one of the more pleasant recurring summer moments that I have. The choice of cards isn't the greatest because there is a whole lot of other stuff being sold at the same time (I often wonder if when I am elderly whether I will transform into one of the many postcard collectors I see at the show, pulling up a folding metal chair, and leafing through "Having a Great Time" and "Wish You Were Here."). But I am not picky and I always find something. But there is nothing better than going to a card show and knowing that there are cards that you will not have to buy at the show. The cards have been checked off already, and you can explain to your wallet that " see? I don't need T...

Before I get into this post, just take a moment to stare at this John Buck card. Have you ever stared at a word or a letter for so long that it doesn't make sense anymore? Sure you have. If you stare long enough at this Buck card, particularly his space-age catcher's mask, it doesn't even appear as if he's playing baseball anymore, or that's he's even human. OK, maybe it's me. Anyway, to continue the silliness, I've compiled a countdown of my favorite 2011 cards so far. I say it's silly because I'm not trying to complete any 2011 sets right now. That means I have just a starter's set worth of 2011 cards, and am probably missing some dandy ones. But tradition is tradition and this blog is nothing without traditions and old, moldy cardboard that the app-loving junkies just can't understand. In recognition of my relatively scant number of 2011 cards, I've trimmed the list to a mere top 10. I'll keep the commenting to a min...