Housekeeping post

Ain't nothing good gonna get written about cards today so I'm not even going to try. I'll do a 'state of the blog' metapost instead.

So here's where we are. After loathing baseball cards for much of this calendar year, an emergency pony transfusion has refreshed and renewed me and I'm all excited about the world again. I am also now as hopelessly backed up as I was when I got disgusted in the first place. So much time, so little to do.

Scratch that - reverse it.

So here's where I'm behind: Posting, responding to e-mail, sorting trade packages, mailing trade packages, scanning and uploading everything, drawing ponies. I'll hit each one of these concerns individually.

Sorting trade packages: I have a whole pile of packages that are unopened or opened once and quickly looked at that I have to catch up on. I appreciate every one of them, but between sorting them out, and scanning and posting about them all, it just got to be too much. I'm adopting a Thorzul attitude towards trade posts now, which means no trade posts ever. Not that I've done any trade posts lately, it's just now official policy to try to keep me sane. If there's something relevant to a post (sticker packages) or something that inspires a post it'll get posted but otherwise I just can't do it. I'm not as organized as Night Owl. I'm not as organized as the entire cast of Hoarders. Which leads to...

E-mail: This is my current G-mail inbox:

Yes that's over 5700 unread e-mails. I told you I wasn't organized. I try to keep up with important e-mails but a whole lot of them get lost in the shuffle. Sorry. It doesn't mean I don't love you all, it's just that I am a hopeless fuqueup. If you send me something and I don't respond in a timely manner, please send it again, I'm not ignoring you on purpose.

Sending packages: I'm actually kind of caught up after a trip to the post office yesterday. I have one package bound for England that I need to send and another couple in the planning stages. HOWEVER. I found some cards the other day that I was CERTAIN I had mailed off months ago. After a little more excavating of some junk boxes I found some more stuff that I pulled for some reason or another but can't remember why. This next bit is very important:

IF I PROMISED YOU SOMETHING AND YOU NEVER GOT IT, LET ME KNOW.

I'm pretty sure I owe Stats on the Back something now, and probably Joe the Reds guy too. Other than that I have no clue and will have to dig through e-mail to double check myself. Please save me some time and shoot me a message or a comment saying "Hey you remember that X you were gonna send?" Even if I don't owe you something you can pretty much get away with saying I do at this point and I'll send you cards. I really want to get rid of some stuff anyway.

Scanning and uploading. Exactly what is says on the tin. I am behind on this. Especially the art. I'll get it done soon. This doesn't affect you at all anyway. Why am I telling you this?

Drawing Ponies: I'm actually doing ok on this one. I have two outstanding requests for ponies. If you want one just ask or trade me a sticker off my want list. I can't handle any more than one want list out at a time so I'm not putting up any more until I'm done with the stickers. Speaking of Ponies: Front Page of the Wall Street Journal, beeyotches! Now all the stock market dudes can watch ponies instead of fcuking the economy.

Posting: Is a goddamn mess right now. I'm behind on my sticker posts, WAY behind on the cartoon posts and I got a bunch of card show posts clogging up the Queue as well. Plus all the other crap I do on the spur of the moment like impending Hot Stove ZOMG WREN JUST SIGNED $PLAYER. I gotta get organized so I'm making like Twilight Sparkle and putting up a schedule:

Saturday: New Episode, so Ponies in the morning, stickers the rest of the day.

Sunday: Card show pickup and Sketch card

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 1954 Cartoons

Tuesday, Thursday: Card Show/Stickers

Art and assorted nonsense to be interspersed throughout the week. If I fail on this schedule please kick me in the nuts. In a metaphysical sense that is.

Ok other things of interest:

Book Poll: I'm almost done with Drinking at the Movies so I'll be reading the next book this weekend. Fear and Loathing is currently in first place, but I don't have it in hand and there is not a single copy in the Cobb Countly Library system. So instead, I'll be reading the George Carlin book unless there is a late push for another title by tomorrow. I'll work on finding a copy of F&LiLV in the meantime.

Transmogrifier: Someone traded me the Musial, so I have 45 unique rings now.

I had no other option but to click Redeem so I did. I guess Topps is sending me a set now? Do I have to pay for anything? Someone out there has to know how this works.

Art: I have set up a Deviant Art account to post my schtuff. My handle is Mickey-Malice after my Reddit username. I have no idea how that place works but I'll be slowly adding stuff over time. Eventually I might even get caught up and start posting daily! HAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! I kill me. One last question: Is anyone else seeing this ad on EVERY dang page with Google ads?

I posted on my Deviant Art profile that one of my favorite artists is Howard Finster and ever since then I've been bombarded by this outsider art auction ad. There are Finsters listed too, I'm trying to figure out how to raise a quick grand for a Finster Angel. Just curious to see if everyone is seeing this ad or if Google really is Big Brother. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

He loved Big Brother.

(still time to vote for Huxley!)

Under Construction

I'm doing a little long overdue maintenance on the blog right now which means that posting may or may not be light this week. 

If there's anything you love or hate about the design, this is the time to yell at me.

If there's anything you want to see me do in 2011, this is the time to yell at me. 

If there's a neglected series of posts that I never finished that you want finished immediately, this is the time to yell at me. 

If you just want to yell at me, this is the time to yell at me. 

I actually have a couple of interesting things planned out for this year, believe it or not. Here's a teaser of one of them to help get you through the night.

Enjoy your night's rest as VERN BICKFORD STARES THROUGH YOUR SOUL. muahahaha!

Quick update on schtuff

My shower head broke this morning. I turned on the shower and the thing just popped. This means I had to buy a new one, which meant a trip out to a store that sold them, which meant I was going to swing by Target looking for the Chrome nightmare box for the group break.

The Target didn't have one of the boxes, but they did have a $1.59 cheapo box. Inside the cheapo box were a few 2010 Topps Update packs that someone had hidden in there. When I pulled out the Update packs some weirdo popped out of nowhere and told me not to buy those packs. I wasn't really planning to anyway, so I put them back in the Topps gravity feed where they belonged. Mixed 'em up real good. I still gotta buy the box tomorrow, if the Target by work sold out (not out of the realm of possibility as there are moochers who scour the Targets in this town) I'm in a heap of trouble.

I plan on at getting least a couple of the Blaster League prizes out tomorrow. My schedule makes it tough to hit the post office but tomorrow should be open.

I'm also feeling kind of bad as I have been miserable about posting packages I've received from people lately. I'm going to do something to rectify that soon.

Finally, Rowland's Office sums it up best.

Everything's gone all to hell

I've got a cold, kids are all sick, I've got four packages - all way overdue - ready to go and I have no time to get to the post office, My vintage Braves binder got a pot of water dumped on it, I've had at least three massive card avalanches today alone, I can't find half of my collection amongst all the junk, I don't even know who I owe cards to anymore and this morning this happened:

The 'puter, she is dead. Well, maybe not dead, but coughing up blood at least. I can probably save the stuff on the hard drive but I gotta get a new one. This will cause some complications:

No scans till I get a new computer.
No pics off my phone until I get a new computer.
No images off my hard drive until I have the time to do some troubleshooting.

Posting will be erratic to say the least over the next week. I can still surf, e-mail and even post, I've got a Linux box for that. I'm too lazy to deal with the drivers for my scanner and stuff so card images will be scarce. In the meantime I'm going to to some organizing, e-mailing mailing, sorting and wantlisting. Tomorrow though, I'm done with today right now. This minor setback might force me to get creative with some posts in the near future. Hmm, there might be a silver lining in this bluescreen after all.

Hey Dinged Corners....

Do you want this?

Heartbreaking Matt sent me his entire trade pile for his ante into my Heritage Blaster league. And I mean his entire trade pile. I got permission from Matt to send you this and replace it with a comparable card if you want it.

YES I KNOW THIS IS A BORING POST OF INTEREST TO ONLY TWO OR THEE PEOPLE. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT WRITE YOUR OWN DAMN BLOG

ATTENTION: Anyone in the Punk Rock Paint Fantasy Baseball League

If you're in the league, log into Yahoo now. The draft is in an hour.

that's 8:45 PM Eastern.

7:45 PM Central.

6:45 PM Mountain.

5:45 PM Pacific.

I don't want to be doing this by myself, people.

Get it in gear, fellow managers...

Goddammit, Blogger

If I am going to take the time to click on Post Options, then go to Post Date and Time, then click on the radio button for Scheduled at, then actually type in the exact date and time I want the post to be published, then click on Publish Post and then double and triple check my Edit Posts tab to make sure it is ACTUALLY scheduled I DO NOT WANT TO CHECK AGAIN IN THE MORNING TO FIND THAT IT HAS MAGICALLY BEEN PUT BACK INTO DRAFT MODE BY MISCHIEVOUS MAGICAL GOOGLE ELVES.

Fred McGriff says...

STOP DOING THIS

All Night Owls, Vampires and Day Sleepers, Speak Now

I am now putting the finishing touches on a monster post that has taken me several hours to write. I planned to post it tomorrow morning, but if there is someone awake out there who would like to see it now, leave a comment here before I finish it and go to bed. Otherwise you'll have to wait 'till the morning like all the sane people who are sleeping right now. As a fellow insomniac, I'm more than willing to accommodate you as long as you let me know you're out there.

70's set poll

The deadline on the poll on the right requesting your assistance in helping me choose which set to focus on next is almost up. I have no real preference on which one I choose so whatever you all say is what I'll build next. While I plan to get all my wantlists in order over the next few months, the selected set will be getting the binder treatment, so choose wisely. The local card shop seems to have a whole lot more commons for sale from '74-'76 but you never know when or where '70s cards will pop up out of nowhere.

It looks like it's coming down to a fight between 1974 and 1976 so here's some pros and cons for each set to help you decide which to vote for. Hey, it's 2am and I can't sleep so just humor me.

1974 Topps:

Pros:

• The first set released by Topps in one series. Which means...
• NO IMPOSSIBLE HIGH NUMBERS
• The design is quite attractive.
• Hank Aaron's tribute set.
• The San Diego/Washington variations are neat.

Cons:

• Dave Winfield is the only big rookie in the set and I don't have it.
• I need about 300 card for the set which is 100 or so more than I need to finish off 1976.
• According to Beckett these cards are slightly more expensive than 1976 cards and a couple of sources I'd use to build these sets pay attention to such things.

1976 Topps:

Pros:

• I need less than 200 cards to complete the thing.
• The only decent rookie at all is Eck and I've got it.
• Other than the second year Brett, I'm pretty sure I have most if not all of the big names in the set.
• Hank Aaron's last card.
• This would be by far the easiest '70s set for me to finish.
  

Cons:

• While it has grown on me in the past few years, the '76 design was one of my least favorite when I was a kid.
• The rookies in this set are really dreadful. '74 at least has Winfield, Griffey and Cobra, after Eck, we're looking at Ron Guidry and... who, Jerry Remy?
• This set will be easier to complete, but I'm not sure it would be as satisfying to finish as that '74 set.

You guys go vote away while I ponder the situation some more. I still have votes of my own I can cast. If you have already voted for '75, '77 or '78, feel free to change your vote because those are pretty much out of the running at this point.

Before you post in the comments "Why don't you just try to build both of them?" the answer is: Because I'm also going to be choosing a '60's set to tackle, silly.

What a weird year this has been

About to go full circle. This calls for a celebration.

CONTEST IMMINENT.

Funny how things work out...

After whining about this and this last week I suddenly had both problems resolve themselves in the span of about an hour on Friday morning. When one door closes, another one opens. While my situation has changed quite possibly for the better, my time for blogging is going to be very tight for the next few weeks. Don't worry, I'm not going away, but I REALLY need to put all my focus on a couple of other things right now. Writing stupid stuff about cards is something I really enjoy so you'll still see posts here and there over the next month. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around in this summer of my discontent, and I'll hopefully be back to my three posts a day schedule by the time the Fat Man starts hopping down chimneys.

Yay!

I finally found a post office on the way home from work that stays open late. So along with the packages I sent to Wax Heaven and Stats on the Back earlier this week using the automatic postage machine thingy I finally got out the ones for Dinged Corners (forgot the zip code) and Captain Canuck (no Canadian post at the machine) this evening. I don't think I made that postal worker happy when I had to fill out a customs form at 6:05. Now I can finally get out those packages for Todd and Matt and start getting things sent again. Sorry I've been slack the last few weeks but when you get a half hour for lunch and the closes posts offices are 15 minutes away it causes problems.

Tonight my goal is to get through all the e-mails that have come my way this week. I'll try to get the rest of 'em this weekend. Thanks for putting up with my crap for the past couple of months, maybe I'll be able to get back in the saddle in October.

July 4th unsolicited Amazon plug + another contest

Amazon.com is giving away a free MP3 of The Star Spangled Banner to anyone in the US with an Amazon account.

My choice: MOJO

If MP3s aren't your thing, Bad Wax has a Mystery card giveaway contest up, try to figure out the card from the clues!

Facebook and Twitter

If anybody wants to be my buddypal you can find me on Facebook here. I only have one rule - I actually have to know who you are. If we've traded before, you have a blog that I know about or if you comment regularly you're in. If you've been lurking for 2 years and only posted anonymously once I'll probably think you're a freaky stalker and ignore you. Not that there's anything wrong with freaky stalkers - I just want to get to know you first.

I'm also considering getting a Twitter account. I follow the Amazon MP3 deals religiously and apparently there is a lot of interest among the card blogs now. Now that I am convinced that it's not just a big fad and actually has some redeeming social value I'm willing to join and post if anyone's interested in hearing what I have to say.

Chilling effect

A chilling effect is a term in law and communication which describes a situation where speech or conduct is suppressed by fear of penalization at the interests of an individual or group. It may prompt self-censorship and therefore hamper free speech.

One is completely gone. Another hasn't posted in a couple of months (Although I may have accidentally scared him off with a rant). I'd comment on the situation, but I'm afraid of being sued. Even mentioning something in passing might attract unwanted attention, I'd better look into my rights.

I'd give a hat tip to the person who made me aware of this situation, but I'm afraid I'll get him in trouble too.

Is anyone planning on going to the Marlins vs. Mets game Sunday afternoon?

If you will be at Shea Taxpayer Field tomorrow Sunday to take in the Mets game please shoot me an e-mail tonight. I have a question for you.

Thanks.

Your input requested

Now that Brian McCann's dinger has all but assured a Braves sweep of the Blue Jays, I am finally going to get out in the yard and attack my overgrown bushes with the hedge trimmer. Once I'm done I will be doing the following:

• Washing off all the pollen and assorted schmutz that got all over me from my filthy plants
• Cooking up a steak I have marinating
• Polishing off said steak with some mashed potatoes, corn and a couple of beers
• Going through my e-mail to log all the outstanding trades I have
• Posting an exceptionally good Jumbo pack of 2009 Topps Heritage

My question for you:

Should I post the pack on A Pack A Day?
Should I post it on A Pack to be Named Later?
Should I forget about those other blogs and just post it right here?

Also, if I post a pack on APAD or APTBNL, should I cross post it here?

You guys mull that over and let me know what you'd prefer in the comments. In the meantime enjoy some Heritage Chippahs I got from Mr. Million himself, Mario at Wax Heaven.



The Minnie Minoso/Chipper Jones card is easily one of my favorites of 2009.

Somebody break this stupid tie

Somebody tied up the poll with about 10 minutes to go. First person to comment decides which project I will try to finish first. Do you want to see:


1880's vintage Allen & Ginter type cards


or 2008 Topps Trading Card History with actual history

Choose...



AND PERISH.

Offline for a bit

I got a bit of a bombshell this morning.

If you've been watching the news at all in the past 6 months, you'll probably guess what it is. Once I get stuff in order I'll be back.

Thanks.

With a little bit of luck...

...I will have a box of 2009 Heritage in my hands right at this very moment. I don't know for sure because I typed this post out this morning at 7:00am. It's 3:00pm now though and if I don't have that box yet, I probably won't get it today. I'm going to remain optimistic and say that I've probably got it. If the cardboard gods are really smiling on me, I'll have a pack or two of T51 Murad as well. Tack that onto the Braves Grapefruit League victory on ESPN that I taped since I was out chasing Heritage and this could become a very good day. If I do have the box, you'll know about it soon enough.

UPDATE: No luck today. Maybe tomorrow.