Empyting out the photo folder.

I've been clipping different things from around the internet and they're cluttering up the ole photo folder.  Let's see what we have in there, shall we?

This one was swiped from MLB's Cut Four page which is always a good way to waste a couple of hours on the internet everyday. 

Second, an announcement from the local sports news guy:

 For those of you who don't know, I do NOT have cable-tv or a satellite dish.  I get my HD channels through rabbit ears.  The price is right, and I get ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, and . . . wait for it . . . WAOE.

That's right!  45 Cubs games for free!  I feel like I just hit the jackpot.  There is more interest surrounding this Cubs team than there's been in the last six years, and now I can get a taste from my own man room!

Next up a picture of the new dorm rooms at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Yep, the dorm room windows open up to the baseball diamond and I'm guessing they actually house the university's baseball players.  How cool is this?  You could literally roll out of bed and already be at the ballpark for practice.

 I picked up top-loader display which I plan on hanging on the wall in the man room.  I think I'll put cards of current Cubs in the 20 slots.  Quick rules, no player can have more than one card in the display and they must be pictured in the uniform of the Cubs or one of their past/current affiliates.

I guess I 'll have to wait a little before adding Jon Lester, Dexter Fowler, Miguel Montero, David Ross, Jason Motte, Tommy LaStella, or Chris Denorfia to the display.  Boy, the Cubs were busy this off season!

And lastly, we have a math comic.

I get that it's a pirate joke, and I love everything pirate, but the math teacher in me actually wants to be able to solve the equation...  the best I can do is:   R(x) + Rrrr(x) = R(x)[1 + rrr].  No? Yeah, I don't know either.

That should about do it for the photo folder.  Thanks again for reading!

The Joy of a Completed Set: 1984 Topps

Steve, from The Card Chop, knocked off the last six cards from my 1984 Topps want list.  Set complete!

In return for Steve's efforts I sent him a couple of odd-ball sets from the 90s and some Braves for his collection.  I know that Mattingly rookie is the card from the 84 set and I'm really happy Steve was willing to part with it.  I hope he was as pleased with the return!  Thanks for set help, Steve!

Now, what should I focus on?  I've been slowly knocking off sets from my set needs page. 

I actually found the last relic from the 2012 Panini Triple Play set that I need.  I have a search saved on eBay and this was the first hit in over a year:

 As it turns out there were four other bidders who wanted in on a nameless swatch of baseball pants embedded in a baseball card.

I tried to snipe the auction, but my max bid wasn't nearly enough.  Bummer.  Currently there's three jersey cards, one base card, and one bat card from the set on eBay, but I'll probably have to wait another year or two until the pants show up again.   I still need the pants card AND three other short prints to finish my set.  Sigh.

In the meantime I guess I'll try my hand at the 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes set.  There's 260 cards in the short set and I only need eight after ripping a couple of boxes I picked up for cheap back in December.   If you have any let me know, because I'll do my best to make it worth your while.

Thanks for stopping by!

I like cards from Alaska, not Alaskan like weather.

About this time yesterday I was stuck at the bottom of the driveway after making it only half way up the slippery slope.  A month ago I kissed a curb after loosing control around a corner and busted the steering column in my car.

Honestly, I'm tired of this weather.  It needs to warm up.  Now.

It's March, but instead the forecast for today says we'll be stuck in the teens for yet another day.

How about something I'm not tired of?

 Yep, a PWE and a note.  Nice!  David is a kind, non-blogging, baseball card sending soul.

Above we have my 751st unique Ryne Sandberg card.  This one is from the 2014 Panini Classics set and is numbered out of 149.  The Kris Bryant is sweet as well.  I now have 15 different cards of Bryant and 11 of those have come from the Bloggosphere.  How cool is that?

David, please expand your collection so I have a fighting chance to send some quality cardboard goodness your way!  Thanks for thinking of me!

It's March, Right?

It was 6a.m. and I was out on the roads this morning going to work.  After sliding through an intersection in my neighborhood I decided to take a look at my phone once I got to a stop light.  Two missed phone calls, one voice mail, and three text messages.  Shoot.

Why didn't I check my phone before I left the house?  Argh.  Stupid. 

So, I did a u-turn and made it half-way up my drive way before loosing my forward momentum.  My newly repaired card was now sliding back down the driveway . .  backwards.  Just my luck, right?

I came to a stop in the snow bank, which I created with my trusty shovel a week earlier, and I was safe.  Stuck, but safe.  I was only in about six inches of snow, but that was enough to stop me and trap me.  If I had traction I would have been able to push through or pull out, but my front wheels were on hockey rink.  Sigh.

I left the car and went inside to announce that school was wisely cancelled, and I would be making pancakes for breakfast after I extricated the card from the snow bank at the bottom of the driveway.

The above picture gives you a better idea at the steepness of my driveway.  This shot is after my salting efforts.

A 40-pound bag of water softener salt later and . . .   poof!  It's magic!  The car is gone!

Now, the car is in the garage, my belly is happy, and I can catch up on the piles of cards and my blogging responsibilities.  Life is good.

Happy National Pancake Day!   Stay safe out there!  It's March, so it's going to get warmer soon, right?

New Twins Blogger and 2 Announcements

Brian contacted me a couple of weeks ago and offered to trade me some 1984 Topps to help finish my now completed set. I had already worked out a trade with another blogger for last half-dozen cards that I needed, but that didn't stop me from hammering out a trade with the author of Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary.

I sent Brian a bubble mailer of Twinkies, which he seemed to appreciate and he returned the favor with the following:

 Kong and ROCK SHOULDERS!  If ROCKSHOULDERS had a superior mustache like Dave Kingman, then he would be unstoppable.  Instead, ROCK SHOULDERS is now a Texas Ranger and I have resorted to crying myself to sleep at night.   Sigh...

 I couldn't afford Mark Prior's cards when he first came up.  I was only twenty-four and doing my best to bank a few bucks for a new set of wheels.  Now I seem to have quite a collection of jersey cards and even a few autos!

 Does anyone else wish Topps would go back to making a special All-Star insert set like the ones below?  I liked that they kept the design consistent from year to year.

If they did this, wouldn't it open up 40 or 50 spots in Topps Update?  That would be nice. 

Hey, a new Kerry Wood card for my collection!

I'm now up to 366 unique Kerry Wood cards.  Excellent.

Alright, you may want to sit down for this one.  I have an announcement.

It's official.  I am starting a Brooks Kieschnick collection, but Kieschnick's Cubs cards.  I know, you're shocked.  I'm glad you sat down.

That's right.  Brian, your two contributions are the cards that broke that silly camel's back.

So, go on and click on my "haves" and see what you can do to expand my Kieschnick collection.  I dare you!

Oh, and one more announcement... Brian is holding a group break and he is looking for others to jump in.  He's planning on cracking open a few boxes of cards from the mid to late 90's and all he is asking in return is a trade package of twins in return.  That's pretty hard to beat if you ask me. 

Thanks for the trade and welcome to the blogosphere, Brian!