Night Owl Cards

  I have a couple of blog updates, mostly only of interest to me, before I get to tonight's topic. So, skip to where the sign says "start reading now" if you aren't interested in personal blog business.   1. I finally figured out how to make sure a thumbnail photo appears with my latest blog post on everyone's blog roll, and I also figured out how to make sure the right photo appears in the thumbnail.   I was raging about my frustration with this a few posts ago and I got the impression that no one knew what I was talking about (or no one cared). But after seeing blog post after blog post -- and also a lot of other people's blog posts -- showing up on blog rolls without thumbnail photos, I knew it was more than just me dealing with this issue.   The way to ensure that a thumbnail photo appears with your updated post on everyone's blog rolls is to make sure that you size at least one of the images in your post "original size". If you want the fir...

A few people have noticed: I changed the way the blog looked with zero fanfare earlier this week. I've changed my blog appearance, I think, six times now, although one was just a header swap. Just about all of those came with a bit of a warning or explanation. I didn't think that was necessary this time, mostly because I've been doing this for over a decade, am pretty established, and don't think I need to justify my decisions here. But also I thought that people were familiar with the general changes in web sites over the last two, three, four years and wouldn't be that affected by it. For the most part that seems to be true -- or, no one cares and they're all looking at pretty instagram pictures. I've received a couple of questions though and just because I hate the feeling that some readers are lost, I'll explain what I can. The changes, like many web site changes, are related to mobile phone use. I've been irked by the way my blog ...

I may not set concrete first-of-the-year goals, but there is something about the start of January that makes one take stock. Because of a little extra time this week, I've been able to devote more effort to the collection and the blog, and I've realized there are some things that I want to do in the future. Are those goals? I suppose, in a very vague way. You won't see me checking anything off a year from now, but there are things that I want to get done. So, yes, this is now a housekeeping post, but look at it on the good side: These posts help me keep my wits about me. You don't want night owl to go insane, do you? Sure, the posts will be entertaining for a little while, but I don't think they allow laptops in rubber rooms. So here we go. What I Wanna Do Card-Wise: 1. CONTINUE TO CATALOG CARDS Yesterday I finished cataloging my 2014 cards. This is always a rewarding moment, but it also underlines how far I have to go in the grand scheme of the co...

Perhaps you've noticed. I've changed my banner. Or header. Or whatever you call the image that leads off one's blog. Good gosh the thing is big, isn't it? I don't know if I want to keep it that way. I kind of like that it's the FIRST THING that people see when they hop on the blog. But it's a tad alarming. If anyone knows how I get the image to be like it was before -- a little smaller and subdued -- please let me know. Aside from that, I like the card arrangement. I've been meaning to change it for awhile. I finally got the chance, what with the family out of the house, baseball done for the season, and no cash to blow. So let's move on to the agonizing breakdown of why I chose the cards that I did: 1. Fernando Valenzuela, 1981 Topps Traded: One of the first cards I ever pined over. It took me decades to land it, too. 2. Mr. Met, 2011 Opening Day: I had to get a night card up in the banner. It was one of the old banner's greatest fla...