I started a new collecting project a few weeks ago. I decided that I need to quit randomly buying cards and focus on something. That something turned out to be collecting every plain Topps baseball card set from the year of my birth (1981) until the present.
To get a start I went out to eBay. My plan is to buy backwards; start with the older sets and come towards now. The rational was the older sets would cost more. In my hunting I was fortunate to find one seller getting rid of almost every Topps base set from 81 until the late 90s. I won three auctions: 1981, 1982, and one that included 1986-1992. Since they all came from the same seller I saved a chunk of change on shipping.
I got a really good deal on the auctions. The 1982 set contains Cal Ripken Jr.’s rookie card; it books for $40 to $60. I got it for $32 and some change. The auction for 86-92 only cost me $54. That is less than $10 a set; none of the sets are worth much but getting them in bulk really saved me on shipping.
I am well on my way and assume I will be there by the end of the year. I am also fairly certain that I have the 2008 series one set, I just need to sort through them. It feels good to have a direction.
I had big plans for the trailer this weekend, but only got about half of them finished. A few weeks ago I bought all of the stuff to do the roof insulation, boards, etc so I was ready to go. I got out there Saturday morning and quickly added most of the foam board insulation; it only took about two hours total. After that I sprayed expanding foam insulation into all of the nooks and crannies; then I went in to eat lunch.
After lunch is when the wheels fell off of my plans. I went out and cut a piece of plywood for the roof (1/4 inch luan). When I tried to get it on the roof is when I realized that it was not going to bend like I wanted it to. Of course, in BFE Arkansas there is only one place that sells plywood that is less than 1/4 inch thick, and they are closed on the weekends. So I packed it up and played with the kids the rest of the day, which was more fun than working on the trailer anyway.
When I was a kid I remember catching a few episodes of an old TV show called Home Run Derby. The show had AL and NL players square off in a home run competition. All of the big hitters of the day appeared on the show — Mantle, Mays, Banks, Arron, etc. The rules were similar to the home run derby of today with the exception that strikes are called and count for outs (which greatly speeds the process). The players actually got cash for competing and more for winning; so it was like a game show.
I faintly remember watching the show when I was a kid but I remember loving it. The other day, to absolute delight, I found that the show is available on DVD. What’s even better is that Netfix had them. The first volume got here today so you can guess what I will be watching this evening.
This is something I wish they did now. Of course the prize money needs to go to charity now since players are payed properly.
For as long as I can remember (as an adult) I have wanted to plant a vegetable garden. This year I finally got around to it. I put in two above ground planting beds.
I did it for several reasons. The main one is an attempt to lessen my impact on the environment. The other big one is the euphoria that comes with growing your own food; I cannot explain it.
In my garden I have the following
- 4 rows of Black Seed Sampson Leaf Lettuce
- 4 rows on a lettuce blend
- 2 rows of carrots
- 2 cucumber hills
- 3 yellow tomato plants
- 5 roma tomato plants
- 3 rows of green beans
- 4 yellow squash hills
I grew the lettuce seedlings from seeds and transplanted them. They have been growing in a planter for the last 3-4 weeks. The tomato plans were given to me by my mother-in-law. The rest of it is seed.
There are a few cool things about my garden:
- It is 100% organic
- The boxes are made from untreated pine lumber. The treated stuff has nasty chemicals.
- The dirt is black because it is 70% compost
Right now this whole thing is just one big experiment. I am not a gardener so it will be interesting. Oh an the fence, it is to keep out our furry child Lucy. she thinks the dirt is a bed.
I made a quick trip to Target this morning for a few things and I could not resist a trip by the trading card rack. While I was looking around I saw a small box of assorted items on the bottom shelf so I knelt down to look. It was a box of random packs — sports and non-sports — that had been repriced for quick sale. There were several packs of baseball cards that were a few years old. I almost bought some but decided not to because I know absolutely nothing about the value of such cards. However, right before I put the box down I saw something that caught my eye. Low-and-behold there were Samurai Jack trading cards. I am a HUGE fan of the show so I bought the three packs that were there on impulse ($0.99 each, so what is $3).
I got to my truck and opened them before leaving the parking lot. The cards have a nice canvas top, rounded corners, and the same amazing artwork that made the show a hit. I was glad to see rounded corners because the cards were released in 2002 and had lord knows how many hands on them. The cards were in great shape and I was very pleased with my purchase, despite the fact that the cards are relatively worthless.
When I got home I researched the set to find more information. After a little digging I found several eBay auctions selling the entire set along with the two insert sets that were released. Needless to say I have a few bids in and I am anxiously awaiting the outcome.
Like I said the cards are not worth much but they are so cool, and I love the show (I have all of the DVDs). Thats what collecting is all about right? The thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of finding/owning something that makes one happy. At least that is my take on it.
I once read an an article about how eating beans for breakfast boosted brain activity, and was one of the best foods you could eat for breakfast. Right after reading the article I tried it and it truly worked. I felt more energized and ready for the day. It beat the heck out of the cold serial I was use to.
The only problem I had was the taste; beans first thing in the morning are not that appetizing. Plus I was eating them cold out of a can, I am sure that had something to do with it.
Anyway, the last few weeks I have been sluggish in the morning. I have been finding it hard to get up and get going. So I decided to try the beans again. My taste buds have matured over the last few years so it should not be a big deal.
With that in mind, I went to the store yesterday and grabbed a few different styles of beans. And this morning I cracked the top on a can of baked beans. Once heated they were actually pretty good, even in the morning. Now, I am sure they do not go well with coffee but I can do without that.
Another plus of eating beans in the morning is that it gets me started on my daily water intake earlier. To get the beans down I drank a cup and a half of water. It is usually 10:30-11:00 before I get that much down.
We will see how long this lasts but for now I am sticking with it.
I find physically writing to be quaint and stately. I sit in front of a computer 8+ hours a day and type WAY faster than I can write; so writing is interesting for me. It is something that I have vowed to do on several occasions but kept putting off. This weekend I finally took the plunge.
I was in the new container store (awesome place for borderline OCD folks like me) of all places when I stumbled across this little notebook next to the stationary. It was small, had an elastic strap to keep it closed, and had silky smooth paper. The wrapper said that it was the famous moleskine journal used by Hemingway and some other great thinkers/writers. I thought what the hey it looks neat, even though it was $13; typically far more than I would spend on paper. Little did I know that I fell hook-line-and-sinker for a marketing ploy and that the little notebook had a cult following.
The moleskine is designed to be like a journal that those people used. There is more in the Wikipedia article. The funny thing is that I did not really care that it was just marketing fluff because I really like the thing. It lays completely open so writing on both sides is possible. There is no bleed through on the paper. The strap is a really nice feature; it keeps it from flying open in my bag. It also has this little pocket in the back where you can stash things. Granted in the little version all it is really good for is holding the fortunes out of the fortune cookies.
There is also an Apple like following for these notebooks. It is odd to think that something so simple could have such a following.
I actually like to writing in it. I assume it will more than likely be with me wherever I go now. Especially hiking, I find that when I actually have time to think it makes me want to write. Oh and Merlin Mann has some really neat hacks for the moleskine.
I am a simply kind of guy. I like simple, clear cut things. That is not at all what I got when I opened a box of 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones this morning. When I bought the box I was lured by the promise of rookie autograph cards and the fact that every card is sequentially numbered. Basically the base set cards are all 1 of 150. Then there are parallels that are 1 of 25, 1 of 10 and other such rarities. What I did not realize was the set is built around the premise of tracking a milestone. Basically if a player reaches a milestone of say 300 strike outs there is a card for each of the strikeouts. So there will be 300 different cards of player Joe each 1 of 150. This makes for like 5,000+ unique cards in the set. Then you throw the inserts in and you have one big mess.
After I figured out what the idea behind the set was I felt rather annoyed; of course it is my own fault for not checking the product before buying. Onward I went through the box. Then the next frustration arose, they bordered many of the cards with black edges and my box looked like it went through a tumble drier. When I buy a box of premium cards I expect every card to come out pristine. Needless to say several of the cards are worthless because of muffed edges. The black border only makes them look worse.
The box had a few redeeming qualities, several blue 1 of 10 parallels and my two rookie signatures; one was a nobody and the other was J.R. Towels the new promising catcher for the Astros. The experience was alright, I doubt I get another box though.
The final frustration? Posting the cards I did not want on SportLots. The site has tons of shortcomings but the biggest one is entering cards in sets like this. It literally took me 30 minutes to inventory 10 cards. I would really like to get in there and fix the system, or maybe just downright replace it. It is in desperate need of an update, but it is the only easy way I know of to get rid of large amounts of unwanted premium cards; except yard sales of course.
When I was a kid (6 years old) my dad bought me a box of 1987 donruss baseball cards. To a 6 year old back then that was the equivalent of finding the holy grail. Then he told me the catch; I could not open the packages until I graduated from high school.
Over the years the cards sat in my closet, quietly waiting for me to open them. As time went on I got out of collecting and forgot all about them. Then one day when I was home for college I found them and thought hey neat. So I sat down and opened them. I pulled out the bigger names — Clemens, McGwire, Maddux, Bonds, and even Canseco — and sat the rest aside to collect dust.
Years passed again and my mom comes to my house one day and brings a huge box of all my old cards, including the 1987 donruss cards. I thumbed through a few of the boxes but did not pay much attention. Everything that was boxed ended up in yard sale. The only things I kept were the 87 donruss cards and the stuff in albums. And by kept I mean stuffed in the attic.
Today I realized they were up there so I went and got them. First I flipped through the albums and noticed there were actually a few cards of value in there; 3 Jeter rookies, several rare Chipper Jones rookies, and a John Elway card from the mid 80’s. Everything else in the albums was just waisting space.
After looking through those I turned to the 87 donruss cards. It was like going back in time. Back when a box of cards included 30+ packs with 20+ cards in each pack, the sets were 500+ cards strong, every player had a card, and there were no inserts. It was really cool to flip through the cards and see all of the guys that are now in the hall of fame. It also felt weird holding rough cardboard cards in my hands. It was also nice to see the Diamond Kings with the Dick Perez drawings and the Roberto Clemente puzzle pieces.
The cards have held up well, there were a few in disrepair but most of them were fine; even though the have black edges. I still do not know why somebody would use black edges on baseball cards. Of course looking at these has made me want to put the set together. 
This weekend I managed to install the interior celling.
To be honest I have been dreading this step. Mostly because I have a 5 foot wide trailer and all I could find is 4 foot wide plywood. This meant I had to cut and install the plywood with the grain running side to side. That itself is not a big deal, getting the seams to lineup correctly is.
The first section took a bit of trial and error but I got it in there. I slid it in and marked where I needed to trim it so that the seam fell on a spar. After cutting the board and putting it back in place I realized that my trailer was a bit out of square. I was not surprised, after all this trailer was previously a utility trailer with many years of use.
Even with it being a bit out of square I still had plenty of room to attach both sheets of plywood to the spar at the seam. Nailing the second sheet into place took a bit of acrobatics but I got it.
I plan on covering the seam with a small piece of trim and some decorative screws. I also plan on putting some more trim and screws on parts that do not have a seam. I think this will provide a more decorative touch and provide some additional stability.
The last piece was actually the most tricky. It was not straight forward because I had to make it fit perfectly into two joints while keeping the curve in the celling. I had to cut and test fit the section a few times to get it right. In the end I was happy with the result.
The board slid down above the top bulkhead nicely and fit snuggly up to the top sheet on the celling. I am going to put a little piece of trim on the bulkhead to cover the tiny gap; even though it will be inside of a cabinet at some point.
I should mention that I used my brad nailer to tack the celling panels in place; then went to the outside and glued them to the spars. After gluing them I went back inside and add a few more brad nails along the middle of the panels to hold them in place. I also used a utility knife and a straight edge to cut the 1/8th inch birch that I used for the celling.
After I got the panels installed I glued some small blocks along the edges on the outside to help keep the shape of the bend. I used polyurethane glue (gorilla glue), man that stuff is awesome. I also cut the hole in the celling for the vent fan, I did that with a jigsaw.
All-and-all I am very pleased with the way the celling turned out. It looks better than I ever could have imagined. It is also cool that I can lay down inside of the camper and get a real feel for what it will be like when it is finished.