Waxing Contestic...

Fuji has asked this week about an embarrassing sports memorabilia story from our past. I have not really been collecting long enough to have much to report there so a post like this is about as close as I can get for this category.

A while back, our favorite north of the border Canuck had himself a little contest. Only there were no prizes guaranteed for entering this little thing, hell, you couldn't even be assured of bragging rights for finishing well.
The contest was more or less based on a pack-war scenario, though bonus points were awarded here and there for commenting, and bribery, and even topless photos were hinted at...

Anywhoo, a GReat time was had by most, points were awarded, an overall winner was declared, and then a prize was announced. A follow-up post later confirmed by the good Captain himself declared there would be a 2nd and 3rd place prize delivered as well, chosen by the almighty randomizer. Yours truly and Fan of Reds were randomly selected for runner-up prize-a-bility.


Now for the embarrassing "I am an IDIOT" confession, I totally forgot about all of this until an envelope from north-o-the-border shows up in my snailbox! I looked at the return address and had a small panic attack on the spot, oh crap, I've forgotten about a trade made with someone! Or promised somebody something and not delivered, or something along those lines... Opening the package revealed some Phillies and an explanatory note for the Captain, "Thanx for entering my little contest!" Well, relief sets in, followed by wonder? I had not won first place in any contest recently that I could remember, CAUSE these cards have GOT to be first place for sure.


Check them out:

The Elements Howard looks GReat, and is all golden shininess!! The Triple Threads Robin Roberts is just too cool! Combined with the Schmidt and the Carlton, I would have been totally stoked, but those were not the only cards in the package:

I just can't believe that these are for anything other than a first place finish!! I hope Morgan and Chris are as happy with their prizes, cause I sure as hell am!!
Thanks for the consolation prize there Captain
thanks for reading everybody,
Have a GReat weekend!
Dawgbones

More Douche-Baggery...

Or why it's smart to have a smart-phone handy in today's traffically challenged world!!
WARNING: this is a total non-baseball rant.

So I leave work today on what has been a real scorcher of a day, headed home for the weekend when what to my wandering eyes should appear? Some freaking douche-bag that thinks he owns the road!!

Let me set the stage. If I am in my cage (that's spelled A U T O M O B I L E for all you non-bikers out there) I am normally stuck in the far right-hand lane of the road, with the cruise control set on the ole double nickle. I have experimented with my car (a 2007 Honda Civic sedan) and receive around 33-35 mpg when "keeping up" with traffic, sometimes arriving home some 4 to 8 minutes sooner than if I were to set the cruise as I normally do. Setting the cruise control on 55 mph nets me better than 43 mpg, which also allows me to drive to work for a full two weeks between fill-ups. Now, if I have to pass vehicles enroute, I will pick up the pace to get out of the left lane more quickly, but I am generally happy to let the world pass me by, and normally have very few people getting frustrated with me.

Now my route home (I-64 East from Hampton to Chesapeake, Virginia) is approximately 27 miles, but does cross the Elizabeth River via the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. Just before the bridge, the road narrows from three lanes to two. Approaching the merge point, IE. sign stating "Right Lane ends 1/2 mile", I put my signal on, check the rear and side view mirrors, and only seeing a ford pickup in the center lane about 1/4 mile back, I merge left. Checking my rear view again, it is now filled with the grill of said Ford. Really dude, there is a whole other lane to your left which has nobody in it.

Nope, he's not having it, he's gonna teach me a lesson.

Sorry guy, unless you physically push me, you ain't changing the cruise setting in my car. He gets even closer! I reach up and flip the transmission lever into Neutral, immediately causing the car to deccelerate. Riding a motorcycle has taught me one thing, if they are going to hit you, hitting you at a slower speed is better, speeding up  only leaves you being tailgated at a faster pace. Upon reaching somewhere around 43 mph, he finally passes me. Now, I do give him the ole double-eagle salute as he goes by me. And as I also know what traffic at the bridge-tunnel is like, especially on a summer Friday afternoon, traffic comes to a grinding halt within another 1/4 mile. I see him flip his seat-belt off, yep, he wants to  come talk. Really dude?? Traffic starts moving again, so he decides against the chat session, for now. But, traffic does comes to a halt again on the bridge. By this time, I've pulled out the earlier mentioned smartphone, placing it on the dash-board and activating the camera feature. As I have been accosted in traffic before, I'm at least getting some information to be used in a courtroom later if need be.

This kids, is what a real Douche-Bag looks like.

This Douche-bag actually gets all the way up to my car before he realizes he is now on candid camera, then suddenly grows a set of chicken feathers which at least temporarily shrinks the size of the balls that he rides around with in his big ole pickem up.

Yeah dumb-ass, I didn't think so, get the fuck back in your truck and go the fuck home. And while you are at it, grow the FUCK up too!

Oh yeah, and I'm keeping you well in front of me so you don't pull anything else stupid out of your over-full bucket of testosterone either!! I've found that hotheads like him are rarely willing to drive slow enough for me to pass them. I'm not stupid enough to get out of my car for any reason, and my car is also small enough to get away from most bigger vehicles in traffic if they are behind me.

So, in closing, let this be a lesson in today's technologically advance society, and I pose a simple question if you don't agree. If you come up on someone that is driving slower than you are, in the right lane, and there is room to pass, PASS and get down the road. Don't be a douche-bag neanderthal and try to start arguments in traffic. Oh, and my simple question if you don't agree, What if I had had a gun instead of a camera?




and if you see this guy in traffic, tellem Dawg said hello!!




It amazes me how great cel-phone cameras have gotten. Makes criminal prosecution so much easier, doesn't it?

Have a GReat weekend,
Thanks for reading my rant.
Dawgbones

For all you picture zoom happy people, look at the first photo, the outside temp is reading 95 on the water, the trip meter was at 429.6 miles when I put 10.1 gallons of gas in it (I was using the A/C today). And the temp gage topped out at 102 degrees in my driveway at home!! Be safe out there, and stay hydrated!

Ollie, Ollie, Fatheads almost Free!!

Picked up a team set from Ollie's Bargain Outlet, for a bargain basement price of $7.99 + tax!

Too Cool,
Have a GReat Friday everybody!!
Looks like it's going to be too hot to ride this weekend!!
Stay Hydrated!
Dawgbones

Another round of Fuji-esque questions for today.

Another round of Fuji-esque questions for today.

Who were your childhood favorites (players)?

My childhood favorites were Marvin the Martian, Scooby-Doo, and The Banana Splits. As I have stated before on this blog, I really did not pay any attention to baseball until the 2009 World Series. Prior to that, I watched some NASCAR in the late 80s and early 90s. As my Banana Split reference alludes to (if you know who they are, you'll get it) late 80s-early 90s was NOT my childhood.

Do you collect their cards & memorabilia?

I do have several pieces  of Martian memorabilia, including a very nice tattoo on my upper left arm.

If so, what's your favorite item (of your favorite childhood player) in your collection?

Now I do actually have a very favorite item, from my childhood, that is actually baseball related. Way back when, sometime before puberty struck. My mother made 1 small attempt to get me into the baseball "scene". She had heard of an appearance by a major league player at a small field in the Hampton Roads area and thought that it might be interesting for me to experience that phenomenon that was 1970s baseball. She packs us up in the V-Dub and off we go for the event, where I received a baseball, signed by none other than:

Yep, Jim "Catfish" Hunter. which was then promptly tossed in the toy-box and eventually relegated to the obscurity of memorabilia hell. IE. a box in the attic. Until sometime in early 2010, when, during one of my wife's GREAT summer purges, I found it and promptly cased it up and proudly added it to my then meager baseball collection.

So there you have it, my favorite piece of baseball memorabilia, from an awesome player, from my mis-spent youth!

Thanks for another GReat round of questions Fuji!
Until next time, thanks for reading.
Have a GReat day!
Dawgbones

New blog to me...

Spotted a blog to add to my blogroll this week. Another newcomer to the collecting world that could use a little help in supporting his first attempt at a contest. Go on over and take a peek, could be fun, and he's got some nice cards for prizes, and who doesn't like free cards.

Andrew's Baseball Cards

Have a GReat week!
Dawgbones

What's your favorite Vintage Card?

Fuji-San has posed another interesting question. Today's question simply asks,


"What is your favorite vintage card and/or 90's insert card in your collection? Why? How did you acquire it?


As I've only been collecting since 2010 I have no 90s inserts to post about. (if someone wants to send me some, I'll gladly post about them...)


Now Vintage, for me, it's my 1960 Topps Robin Roberts:

It's a GReat card, as I posted on Number 5 Type Collection's blog yesterday, Roberts is one of those photogenic personalities, like Mickey Mantle, I don't think I've ever seen a bad photo of either one of them. 


And How I acquired it is mostly Why I love it so much. Even wayer back now... Once upon a time, everybody's favorite Troll had a "GReat Grand baby Troll, guess the time of birth contest". You can read the rest of that post here.


Well, needless to say, this was my runner-up prize for the contest as I did not actually win it. But I made a new friend. I can honestly say that there has not been 1 person in this life that I've never met face to face that I've taken an instant liking to the way I did with the Troll. I think the only other bloggers that influenced me as much as Troll are BA Benny and the Big Kahuna over at Enough Already. Benny and Troll are the biggest reasons I started my own blog and the Big Kahuna opened my eyes to the importance of charity and how much impact even the smallest gestures can make in the world.


From reading all the GReat posts, from trades to contests to just life in general, the Troll is just one really awesome, stand-up guy. He'll send out cards for trade, often with a more than 5-to-1 ratio of what he gladly get in return. He'll also send out cards just because he thinks you'll enjoy them more than he does. 


Don't get me wrong here, I really appreciate all the friends I've made out here in the blogosphere, and there are a bunch of them. Spankee (who I've met face-to-face) is an awesome trader and funny poster, despite being a Mets fan. Fuji, for the great posts and this awesome annual contest. Chemgod, over at Bad Wax, whom I will meet the next time he's down this way in Hampton. Ryan H., just up the road in Richmond, who runs "The Nest where all the Oriole cards come to roost".


There are a ton of GReat blogs that I read every day, written by the best bunch of folks I've never had the good fortune of meeting face-to-face, but look forward to "seeing" every day through my little window on the world here.

Thanks for another GReat question Fuji,
Thanks for reading,
Have a GReat day!
Dawgbones

eBay, the experience...

What's a cheap (under $5), cool card you feel every collector should add to their collection?

Well,
   I believe everyone should have at least one relic card from their favorite player/team. And with the over-abundance of said relic cards, and the invention of eBay, many of these can be had for well under $5.

   Case in point, whilst perusing eBay last week, I ran across a very nice bat relic from the Flyin Hawaiian, none other than Shane Victorino that fits the bill quite nicely for this topic.

   This particular card comes from 2010's Allen & Ginter's mini-framed relic collection. As I was able to pick this one up with a BIN price of $2.96 with free shipping, I think it more than qualifies for Fuji's under $5 criteria and is a more than welcome addition to my collection.

   Now, I would have been very pleased if that card was the only one I purchased last week, but, it was not. As is the case with most of us, once we've found an offering from a buyer, we are also apt to look for the "combined shipping" option to add a card or two more to the collection. I'm very happy to say that I chose this option as well, finding not only another Phillie to add, but a very nice, 2nd bat relic from 2002 Upper Deck's Diamond Connection. And it is from Scott Rolen too boot! As most of my readers know, I collect a specialty category of players that wear the #17 jersey, and Mr. Rolen is one of the Phillies to have worn that number.

   I just love the Liberty Bell stamped into the relic, adds a very nice touch. And I was able to snag this one with a BIN price of $2.95! Also well under Fuji-San's $5 price cap with free shipping as well. And I almost had both of them for under Fuji's price cap!

   So there you have it, I think my answer fits in rather well to this weekend's "bat"-a-round. And the timing of this purchase and Fuji's question is just too awesome.

Thanks for the question Fuji,
Thanks for reading,
Have a GReat week!
Dawgbones

Contest Pimpage...

What's your number? Mine is lucky number 7, worn by the likes of Mickey Mantle. If you don't have a number, might I suggest #5. He's having a contest right now. Go on over to Number 5 Type Collection and check it out.

There's vintage on the line!! Just let me have the Harmon, won't you. Just be sure to get there soon, it ends tomorrow.

thanks for reading, have a GReat night!

Flea Markets...

Fuji-san has passed out the first of his bat-arounds for the summer. In which he asks two very simple questions:
Do you ever go to flea markets in search of collectibles? If so, what are some of your favorite flea market purchases?

The simple short answer to said question, part A, is yes. The not-so-simple explanation to part A is:
I really don't have "flea markets" in my hometown. At least not true flea markets. The few that we do have in this area are more like mini-malls for those vendors that can't afford to open a "real" store-front somewhere else in town, or they can get away with no business license by doing this I speculate.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to pick on the little guys here, I applaud anyone that tries to make an honest living. And I also try to support any small businesses that I can when I make purchases around town. Including the comic shop where I but all of my comic related supplies, Zeno's, in Chesapeake. Wayne is a real stand-up guy that watches out for his regular customers, as well as being a super-friendly place to hunt for New and used comics as well as gently used books.

But that does not leave me with many options for flea market finds. Most of my finds come from out of town flea markets when I am on vacation. Like the items I posted about here.

I must say though, for part B, I don't make many purchases at flea markets, they are a lot of fun to browse through, but I rarely find much that peaks my interests or at true flea market pricing. Back in the day, I used to follow NASCAR more regularly and would hunt for some of the rarer die-casts until I realized that the "vendors" would spend Monday thru Friday picking through the shelves at the local toy stores and big box stores, buying up all the good stuff to turn around and triple the price to sell it at the flea markets on the weekends! I just lost interest in supporting the secondary market in that manner.

I really got burned a few years back hunting for the 1:87 scale Hotwheels Batmobile. The local Toy-R-Us would only order 1 case of cars at a time, but by the time I would get there, someone picked the 3 or 4 good cars from the case, leaving the rest to slowly sell over the next 2 months or more. There were only 2  Batmobiles in each case, and I flat refuse to pay $50 or more for a diecast that the toy store sold for less than $5 retail.

Image borrowed from www.66Batman.com

So I made up my mind then that if I could not get the Batmobile from a retail store, I would not buy any of the cars from that series at all.

I don't necessarily blame the toy store for this, hell, I don't even blame the "pack-searchers" for this. I blame Hotwheels for deliberately limiting the supply of this item to drive up the "collectibilty" of their product. I can honestly say that I've even stopped looking at any Hotwheels stuff since then so they've lost an avid collector most likely for life.

Tahnks for the topic Fuji,
Thanks for reading,
Have a GReat day!
Dawgbones

BA Benny's Back...

and he's having a contest. but don't bother entering cause the Osbourne is MINE!!

go on over and check out the card I'm going to win. You should be following Benny by now.
If you aren't, I can't help you. He's the one that got me into blogging.

Thanks,
Have a GReat night!
I'm watching the Twins win!
Dawgbones

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

At least for me it is. No, Christmas isn't coming early this year, Fuji is almost on summer break, and is opening up his 3rd annual summer-long contest. I missed the first two go rounds, but had an absolute blast participating last year. and got my favorite autographed baseball card of 2011 to top it off:

Go on over to the Chronicles of Fuji, and join in on the fun. I've been looking forward to this all spring, especially since my Phillies have decided to boycott the 2012 season.

What are you still reading here for? GO, follow, enter!! Awesome fun times ahead!!

Thanks for reading,
Have a GReat night!
Dawgbones

Contest Sighting...

Good Sunday everybody!
I spotted a contest earlier this weekend but refused to leave the solemness of my motorcycle seat to blog about it. However, you are in luck, I do need to get a little rest before starting the weekday drudgery of my job, so you get to read about a contest. It's over at Bass on Balls, a nifty little blog that is worth a read or two.

1st Prizes is a complete set of:

Go on over and check it out. And, as always, if you like what you see, tellem Dawgbones sentcha!

Have a GReat week! I think it's supposed to rain in these parts so I hope you stay dry where ever you are!
Dawgbones

It's like... having my own Contest.

... Only I don't have to get prizes, or give entries, or anything. Cause it's not actually my contest.

It's over here, at It's Like having My Own Card Shop. Only you might want to swing by here first. It's Hello, Victory! A neat, new blog on the landscape that's worth checking out. And you'll gain entrance in Mr. Wilson's fine contest by following his buddy's efforts.

Good luck,
Have a GReat weekend!
Dawgbones