Topps Piazza Run

Every now and then I will sort my entire collection into teams.

Once I've done that I will put every card for each team in alphabetical order.

Then I will put every card in alphabetical order. That is a task which can take quite some time, since there over 120K cards to rummage through.

Just for something to do, I put my Topps Mike Piazza cards all together (Dodger years only) and threw a few 1992 issues of his to enhance the photo.

I'm pretty sure it's a lower-quality photo, but it's getting dark here and it's difficult to photograph exactly what I wanted in good light.

Anyway, here it is :

You may have noticed two different versions of the 1995 card. The one at the left of the second row is my favorite card in the photo. I got it in a Factory set of 1994 Topps, and it is one of the 1995 Topps Pre-Production set.

That black card is pretty cool as well.

It's a 1992 Donruss Phenoms card I scored off the Bay about a year ago. I think it was only a couple of bucks - who would say no to that?

Well, I'll make sure I take the next batch of photos in decent light, so that way we can actually see them properly!

Until tomorrow,

Happy collecting & blogging!

Nick J

A Test!

OK, here we go.

My scanner didn't work, but you get that for a $60 machine.

I got out my trusty camera to see if I could take a photo of a card and put it on here.

Here goes!

If that is too big, I'll make some more adjustments on my settings.

If not, woohoo!

And a Double Play card as well. I like the backs of the 1982 Fleer cards a lot better than the fronts, but I only took one photo.

Please work, please!

Nick J

Thanks, HP...

I really am anxious to use the scanner from 5 days ago...

I believe I need a CD to install the supportive software. Hopefully, the HP Website will allow me to download it! Unfortunately, I was at work all day today, and will be there all day tomorrow. That means I can't send a great bunch of cards to Nick of Dime Boxes until Wednesday!

It's not fair when work gets in the way of life.

So, Nick, if you're reading, I have packaged your cards up in their container, and I'm really excited to see if you like them. ( I already know you like at least One of them! - although it's the regular issue card.)

Maybe I could just take some photos of my cards and use those images instead...? But a scanner is much better for glossy cards...

I'll come up with something very shortly, guys.

I feel that I have to!

Happy collecting & blogging,

Nick J

Australia

A Slight Similarity?

G'day folks,

 Unfortunately, due to my total lack of sleep, I am without any motivation to try and install a new scanner. I'm pretty sure one needs a functioning brain to carry out that task. Hence, nothing!

 However, I did notice one thing while I was at work last night : Everyone loves the 2012 Topps U&H Adam Kennedy card, right? I'm quite certain that Night Owl does, and I believe it may be GCRL's favorite card from 2012.

 I noticed this card and I couldn't believe the similarities. Granted, I didn't have my copy of the 2012 Kennedy card with me, but from memory, the photograph could not be more twin-like! Even the background is somewhat similar, despite being pictured at different Ballparks.

 Too much time on my hands? Yes, but only when I'm at work.

The scanner installation process may have to wait until tomorrow... It's 6:38pm here, and I'm almost asleep already.

 Can't wait to become a proper blogger, complete with actual scans of my actual cards. I wonder if cards in the Southern Hemisphere warp in the opposite direction to those in the North? That would be the Coriolis Card Effect.

 Sorry for the lame joke,

Here's hoping to have some scans tomorrow.

Happy Blogging!

Nick J

Scanner!

OK, now it's time for me to get a bit more excited here.

My new scanner arrived today, and I've not had any luck in the past with getting them to work properly, so I have to be optimistic here.

Since my baseball card collection now stands at 120517 different cards (not counting doubles), I suppose the time had to come soon enough where I could start to scan some of my best ones. But since I have to work nightshift tonight, it will have to wait a day or two.

It's going to be almost impossible to pick a 'Top Ten' or something like that, so I may just pick a bunch of my favorite cards from each set I own, along with a basic review of each set, and when I came to own the set in question.

Until next time, (not far away!),

Happy blogging and collecting,

Nick J

New finds...

OK,

I really don't post here enough these days, but I really want to pay tribute to a blogger who I've really only discovered in the last month or so.

Most of you guys would know Nick from DimeBoxes, and I wish I had known about his blog for as long as it has been around. Here's what could well be a perfect example of my ineptitude when it comes to blogs that are not only pleasing to the eye, but also effective in linking others to my favorites:

Dime Boxes

If that worked, then I will be astounded!

Basically, this guy collects exactly what I collect. Cheap commons. And LOTS of them! If we were living in the same area & going to the same card shows, I would probably see him as some sort of 'Collecting Adversary', but since we're separated by about 12,000 miles, it's safe to assume we will never be in direct competition for the same pieces of cardboard gold.

It's a safe bet that both of our favorite sets over the years have been Topps Total & Upper Deck 40-Man, because each depicted cards of some relatively minor players suiting up for teams that most folks don't remember them even playing for.

I think that the two of us, apart from serious Kenny Lofton collectors, are two of the very few people who set out to get at least one of Kenny's cards picturing him in each team he played for. I managed to complete the collection a few months ago with his 2003 Upper Deck issue (Thanks COMC), the one card I wanted to own more than any other from the set, because Kenny is a Pittsburgh Pirate.

Hopefully I'll be able to check out my own cards soon, and possibly post a meaningful and card-picture-ful blog entry about another player who I have also collected in the same way as Kenny. Jose Canseco and John Candelaria are two that come to mind. I consider it somewhat of a grand achievement to have nabbed at least one of each card for each player in each uniform. Too many 'each'es there...

Thanks for all the great posts, Nick. I'll be sure to read every single one of them in the future!

Nick J


EDIT : The links worked! This is somewhat exciting for a blogging novice... I promise I will get better :-) NJ

Cheating?

OK... I'm really trying to keep updating my blog more frequently, but it's becoming increasingly difficult, due to the fact I'm an Aussie, and we have no card shops anymore, and our large-scale retailers do not sell cards of any kind.

It's E-Bay or die here!

And I choose to E-Bay. But only once every few months do I get the chance to buy some cards.

The worst part? We can't just buy random packs whenever we see them. There's shipping prices to consider, and we have to buy cards by the box or by the set if we're to avoid ripping ourselves off.

So I choose to buy complete sets.

Yes. Sets.

There's no real 'thrill of the chase' in buying complete sets, but since the ultimate goal is to complete a certain set, it's the best way to do it here.

2002 Topps Total & 2002 Upper Deck 40-Man are just two of the best sets I've somehow won over the years. I really wonder how many people hold a complete set of either, let alone BOTH!

I know there are guys out there who try to obtain a lot of these kinds of sets, and these are the guys who are the hobby's purists, in my opinion. I wish everyone in the hobby had the same kind of OCD that we do!

Time to shop around for some bargains on E-Bay - I'll hopefully learn how to upload some images of obscure cards in my collection soon, especially since I don't want to steal images from COMC.

I really enjoy reading other writers blogs, so if you know one that I may enjoy, please, let me know!

Cheers from Australia,

Nick J