Treasure Never Buried

The Future of...

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

For now, I'm not sure what the future of TNB will be. It's been months since I last posted and even longer since I last collected. So, for now, I think it's fair to say that TNB is no more. I will keep this blog alive for posterity's sake and for the off chance that I decide to revisit this venture in the future.

Thanks to everyone that has made TNB such an enjoyable memory for me. I've made some great friends, and a few that I'll consider lifelong. With my current focus on being a fulltime husband and father, restaurant manager, and college student there is little to no time left for hobbies. Even my Tuesday Night Softball has become difficult to fit in.

Once again thanks to everyone along the way! I hope to be back in some form or fashion in the future!

Sincerely,

jv

ps I'm still interested in unloading stuff from my collection so if you think I might have something you need don't hesitate to ask. I'm going to attempt to get some eBay stuff going again by the end of the year. And, yes, there are a few of you with outstanding packages left to send. I WILL get to it at some point.

Wantlists Updated!

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Wanna get rid of some crap? Take a look to your right and you'll find my updated wantlists. I'll take some of it.

(latest wanted crap is the 1998 Upper Deck...and I need quite a bit.)

1998 Upper Deck

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:19:00 +0000

UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2009

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I NEED THE FOLLOWING CARDS TO COMPLETE THIS SET:

1998 UPPER DECK

(X denotes pending trade)

If you have any for trade, please contact me
by clicking this link

1998 Upper Deck
510	NEEDED
1	Tino Martinez HIST
2	Jimmy Key HIST
3	Jay Buhner HIST
4	Mark Gardner HIST
5	Greg Maddux HIST
6	Pedro Martinez HIST
7	Hideo Nomo HIST
8	Sammy Sosa HIST
9	Mark McGwire GHL
10	Ken Griffey Jr. GHL
11	Larry Walker GHL
12	Tino Martinez GHL
13	Mike Piazza GHL
14	Jose Cruz Jr. GHL
15	Tony Gwynn GHL
16	Greg Maddux GHL
17	Roger Clemens GHL
18	Alex Rodriguez GHL
19	Shigetoshi Hasegawa
20	Eddie Murray
21	Jason Dickson
22	Darin Erstad
23	Chuck Finley
24	Dave Hollins
25	Garret Anderson
26	Michael Tucker
27	Kenny Lofton
28	Javier Lopez
29	Fred McGriff
30	Greg Maddux
31	Jeff Blauser
32	John Smoltz
33	Mark Wohlers
34	Scott Erickson
35	Jimmy Key
36	Harold Baines
37	Randy Myers
38	B.J. Surhoff
39	Eric Davis
40	Rafael Palmeiro
41	Jeffrey Hammonds
42	Mo Vaughn
43	Tom Gordon
44	Tim Naehring
45	Darren Bragg
46	Aaron Sele
47	Troy O'Leary
48	John Valentin
49	Doug Glanville
50	Ryne Sandberg
51	Steve Trachsel
52	Mark Grace
53	Kevin Foster
54	Kevin Tapani
55	Kevin Orie
56	Lyle Mouton
57	Ray Durham
58	Jaime Navarro
59	Mike Cameron
60	Albert Belle
61	Doug Drabek
62	Chris Snopek
63	Eddie Taubensee
64	Terry Pendleton
65	Barry Larkin
66	Willie Greene
67	Deion Sanders
68	Pokey Reese
69	Jeff Shaw
70	Jim Thome
71	Orel Hershiser
72	Omar Vizquel
73	Brian Giles
74	David Justice
75	Bartolo Colon
76	Sandy Alomar Jr.
77	Neifi Perez
78	Dante Bichette
79	Vinny Castilla
80	Eric Young
81	Quinton McCracken
82	Jamey Wright
83	John Thomson
84	Damion Easley
85	Justin Thompson
86	Willie Blair
87	Raul Casanova
88	Bobby Higginson
89	Bubba Trammell
90	Tony Clark
91	Livan Hernandez
92	Charles Johnson
93	Edgar Renteria
94	Alex Fernandez
95	Gary Sheffield
96	Moises Alou
97	Tony Saunders
98	Robb Nen
99	Darryl Kile
100	Craig Biggio
101	Chris Holt
102	Bob Abreu
103	Luis Gonzalez
104	Billy Wagner
105	Brad Ausmus
106	Chili Davis
107	Tim Belcher
108	Dean Palmer
109	Jeff King
110	Jose Rosado
111	Mike Macfarlane
112	Jay Bell
113	Todd Worrell
114	Chan Ho Park
115	Raul Mondesi
116	Brett Butler
117	Greg Gagne
118	Hideo Nomo
119	Todd Zeile
120	Eric Karros
121	Cal Eldred
122	Jeff D'Amico
123	Antone Williamson
124	Doug Jones
125	Dave Nilsson
126	Gerald Williams
127	Fernando Vina
128	Ron Coomer
129	Matt Lawton
130	Paul Molitor
131	Todd Walker
132	Rick Aguilera
133	Brad Radke
134	Bob Tewksbury
135	Vladimir Guerrero
136	Tony Gwynn DG
137	Roger Clemens DG
138	Dennis Eckersley DG
139	Brady Anderson DG
140	Ken Griffey Jr. DG
141	Derek Jeter DG
142	Ken Caminiti DG
143	Frank Thomas DG
144	Barry Bonds DG
145	Cal Ripken DG
146	Alex Rodriguez DG
147	Greg Maddux DG
148	Kenny Lofton DG
149	Mike Piazza DG
150	Mark McGwire DG
151	Andruw Jones DG
152	Rusty Greer DG
153	F.P. Santangelo DG
154	Mike Lansing
155	Lee Smith
156	Carlos Perez
157	Pedro Martinez
158	Ryan McGuire
159	F.P. Santangelo
160	Rondell White
161	Takashi Kashiwada RC
162	Butch Huskey
163	Edgardo Alfonzo
164	John Franco
165	Todd Hundley
166	Rey Ordonez
167	Armando Reynoso
168	John Olerud
169	Bernie Williams
170	Andy Pettitte
171	Wade Boggs
172	Paul O'Neill
173	Cecil Fielder
174	Charlie Hayes
175	David Cone
176	Hideki Irabu
177	Mark Bellhorn
178	Steve Karsay
179	Damon Mashore
180	Jason McDonald
181	Scott Spiezio
182	Ariel Prieto
183	Jason Giambi
184	Wendell Magee
185	Rico Brogna
186	Garrett Stephenson
187	Wayne Gomes
188	Ricky Bottalico
189	Mickey Morandini
190	Mike Lieberthal
191	Kevin Polcovich
192	Francisco Cordova
193	Kevin Young
194	Jon Lieber
195	Kevin Elster
196	Tony Womack
197	Lou Collier
198	Mike Difelice RC
199	Gary Gaetti
200	Dennis Eckersley
201	Alan Benes
202	Willie McGee
203	Ron Gant
204	Fernando Valenzuela
205	Mark McGwire
206	Archi Cianfrocco
207	Andy Ashby
208	Steve Finley
209	Quilvio Veras
210	Ken Caminiti
211	Rickey Henderson
212	Joey Hamilton
213	Derrek Lee
214	Bill Mueller
215	Shawn Estes
216	J.T. Snow
217	Mark Gardner
218	Terry Mulholland
219	Dante Powell
220	Jeff Kent
221	Jamie Moyer
222	Joey Cora
223	Jeff Fassero
224	Dennis Martinez
225	Ken Griffey Jr.
226	Edgar Martinez
227	Russ Davis
228	Dan Wilson
229	Will Clark
230	Ivan Rodriguez
231	Benji Gil
232	Lee Stevens
233	Mickey Tettleton
234	Julio Santana
235	Rusty Greer
236	Bobby Witt
237	Ed Sprague
238	Pat Hentgen
239	Kelvim Escobar
240	Joe Carter
241	Carlos Delgado
242	Shannon Stewart
243	Benito Santiago
244	Tino Martinez SH
245	Ken Griffey Jr. SH
246	Kevin Brown SH
247	Ryne Sandberg SH
248	Mo Vaughn SH
249	Darryl Hamilton SH
250	Randy Johnson SH
251	Steve Finley SH
252	Bobby Higginson SH
253	Brett Tomko
254	Mark Kotsay
255	Jose Guillen
256	Eli Marrero
257	Dennis Reyes
258	Richie Sexson
259	Pat Cline
260	Todd Helton
261	Juan Melo
262	Matt Morris
263	Jeremi Gonzalez
264	Jeff Abbott
265	Aaron Boone
266	Todd Dunwoody
267	Jaret Wright
268	Derrick Gibson
269	Mario Valdez
270	Fernando Tatis
271	Craig Counsell
273	Danny Clyburn
274	Brian Rose
280	Ben Grieve
282	Ken Cloude
284	Kevin Millwood RC
285	Paul Konerko
286	Juan Encarnacion
289	Gary DiSarcina
296	Allen Watson
299	Tom Glavine
300	Chipper Jones
302	Mark Lemke
303	Ryan Klesko
309	Mike Bordick
310	Cal Ripken
311	Geronimo Berroa
314	Tim Wakefield
316	Jeff Frye
319	Robinson Checo
320	Nomar Garciaparra
322	Tyler Houston
324	Terry Adams
325	Sammy Sosa
326	Scott Servais
327	Manny Alexander
328	Norberto Martin
331	Robin Ventura
333	Keith Foulke
334	James Baldwin
335	Chris Stynes
336	Bret Boone
337	Jon Nunnally
338	Dave Burba
341	Mike Remlinger
342	Pat Watkins
343	Chad Ogea
345	Kenny Lofton
348	Enrique Wilson
349	Bruce Aven
350	Manny Ramirez
351	Jerry DiPoto
353	Kirt Manwaring
354	Vinny Castilla
358	Scott Sanders
359	Deivi Cruz
360	Brian L. Hunter
370	Joe Oliver
373	Brian Moehler
375	Bobby Bonilla
376	Al Leiter
377	Josh Booty
380	Felix Heredia
384	Shane Reynolds
388	Bill Spiers
390	Johnny Damon
392	Jeff Montgomery
393	Glendon Rusch
394	Mike Sweeney
395	Kevin Appier
396	Joe Vitiello
397	Ramon Martinez
398	Darren Dreifort
400	Mike Piazza
402	Ismael Valdes
406	Jeff Cirillo
408	Mike Matheny
413	Pat Meares
417	John Smoltz PH
420	Livan Hernandez PH
421	Kevin Brown PH
422	Marquis Grissom PH
423	Mike Mussina PH
424	Eric Davis PH
425	Tony Fernandez PH
426	Moises Alou PH
427	Sandy Alomar Jr. PH
428	Gary Sheffield PH
429	Jaret Wright PH
437	Dustin Hermanson
440	Vladimir Guerrero
441	Ugueth Urbina
446	Dave Mlicki
447	Brian Bohanon
448	Mel Rojas
455	Ken Griffey Jr. UE
456	Larry Walker UE
457	Alex Rodriguez UE
458	Tony Gwynn UE
461	Chad Curtis
463	Joe Girardi
466	Willie Adams
468	Dave Telgheder
469	Dave Magadan
470	Matt Stairs
471	Bill Taylor
472	Jimmy Haynes
474	Midre Cummings
476	Mike Grace
477	Mark Leiter
478	Matt Beech
479	Scott Rolen
482	Jermaine Allensworth
484	Jason Schmidt
485	Jose Guillen
491	Matt Morris
492	Royce Clayton
494	Wally Joyner
495	Trevor Hoffman
504	Kirk Rueter
505	Barry Bonds
508	Julian Tavarez
509	Rich Aurilia
510	Alex Rodriguez
518	Kevin Elster
520	Juan Gonzalez
521	John Wetteland
523	Darren Oliver
524	Roger Pavlik
526	Woody Williams
527	Alex Gonzalez
528	Robert Person
529	Juan Guzman
532	F.Cordova/R.Rincon/M.Smith SH
533	Nomar Garciaparra SH
534	Roger Clemens SH
535	Mark McGwire SH
536	Larry Walker SH
537	Mike Piazza SH
538	Curt Schilling SH
540	Ken Griffey Jr. SH
542	Shane Monahan
543	Gabe Kapler RC
544	Eric Milton
545	Gary Matthews Jr. RC
546	Mike Kinkade RC
549	Norm Hutchins
551	Masato Yoshii RC
556	Carlos Lee RC
558	Kerry Wood
561	Manny Aybar RC
563	Jarrod Washburn
564	Mark L. Johnson
567	Mike Caruso
568	Cliff Politte
570	Magglio Ordonez RC
574	Darron Ingram RC
578	Kevin Witt
580	Alex Gonzalez
582	Wes Helms
585	Daryle Ward
587	Preston Wilson
588	Jim Chamblee RC
589	Mike Lowell RC
591	Francisco Cordero RC
592	Rolando Arrojo RC
593	Braden Looper
594	Sidney Ponson
598	Danny Klassen
599	Larry Sutton
601	Randy Johnson EP
602	Greg Maddux EP
603	Roger Clemens EP
604	Jaret Wright EP
605	Mike Piazza EP
606	Tino Martinez EP
607	Frank Thomas EP
608	Mo Vaughn EP
609	Todd Helton EP
610	Mark McGwire EP
611	Jeff Bagwell EP
612	Travis Lee EP
613	Scott Rolen EP
614	Cal Ripken EP
615	Chipper Jones EP
619	Tony Gwynn EP
620	Ken Griffey Jr. EP
621	Kenny Lofton EP
622	Juan Gonzalez EP
623	Jose Cruz Jr. EP
624	Larry Walker EP
625	Barry Bonds EP
626	Ben Grieve EP
627	Andruw Jones EP
628	Vladimir Guerrero EP
629	Paul Konerko EP
630	Paul Molitor EP
631	Cecil Fielder
632	Jack McDowell
634	Brian Anderson
637	Andy Stankiewicz
638	Tony Batista
639	Omar Daal
641	Brent Brede
642	Jorge Fabregas
643	Karim Garcia
644	Felix Rodriguez
645	Andy Benes
649	Walt Weiss
650	Andres Galarraga
652	Ozzie Guillen
653	Joe Carter
656	Jim Leyritz
662	Mike Sirotka
664	Damian Jackson
669	Mike Jackson
672	Paul Assenmacher
673	Eric Plunk
675	Darryl Kile
676	Luis Gonzalez
677	Frank Castillo
678	Joe Randa
679	Bip Roberts
680	Derrek Lee
681	M.Piazza Mets SP
681A	M.Piazza Marlins SP
691	Bobby Bonilla
692	Marquis Grissom
695	Orlando Merced
696	David Ortiz
698	Otis Nixon
701	Rich Becker
702	Al Leiter
703	Chili Davis
709	Tom Candiotti
711	Bob Abreu
714	Desi Relaford
722	Robb Nen
726	Kevin Stocker
729	Dave Martinez
730	Fred McGriff
737	John Flaherty
739	Roberto Kelly
741	Danny Patterson
742	Aaron Sele
743	Tony Fernandez
744	Randy Myers
745	Jose Canseco
749	Fred McGriff SH CL
750	Travis Lee SH CL

Cardboard Connection

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:42:00 +0000

As a side note to my previous post, I'll be spending some time getting familiar with Cardboard Connection 2.0. Some of you may remember the single article I wrote there late last year. I have intended to write more for Mike but failed miserably.

If you are a currently a user at CC, please do for me whatever it is that you do to make someone your friend. I haven't gotten that far in figuring out how it works. If you're not a user there, you need to check it out ASAP.

Cardboard Connection WILL be a deciding factor in the crumble of the Beckett Empire.

Him. Me. You.

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:50:00 +0000

I mentioned in a post a few months back that I know how TNB will end. The first chapter was a chronicle of bringing my son into the hobby. Honestly, this hasn't been considered a success in the truest sense. I think that over the next few years this will become a much easier task. But, for now he has Ben 10 and Transformers and Nintendo Wii/Gameboy Advance that eat up his time. Pictures of grown men from a sport that he doesn't fully understand or enjoy yet find no precedence.

I kinda feel the same way. With FaceBook and Stumbleupon and Comcast Cable, how can cards compete anymore?

The second chapter of TNB is Me. During the first few weeks of the posts drought at Treasure Never Buried I was working furiously to update my want lists. This second phase was to be an attempt to unload some stuff I didn't want in exchange for some stuff that I did. While I have my checklists updated, My Collections on Beckett updated, and a few new (old) sets on the queue I've yet to filter this over to the blog. Now, I've lost a great deal of the reader following that I used to have which would have proven fruitful in getting some trades going.

Not to mention that during this time I've pretty much lost my fervor for collecting.

I've yet to buy a single 2009 Baseball product, other than one blaster of 2009 Topps American Heritage. It's not that the recession has put a halt to it, it's that I see the posts written over the last 6 months that contain the same cards we were scanning and posting a year ago with only a slightly different border.

With controversy surrounding Razorgate, Topps inability to take new (or good) player photos, and now Upper Deck's decision to drop the best sets and retread last year's crap I find it to be an uphill battle for me to care anymore.

Unless something drastic happens within the hobby, I don't see myself buying anything other 2009 A&G this year. Why pay $20 bucks a blaster or $100+/- for a hobby box of the same pictures? Where's the sense in that?

For me there is none. And in that vein of thinking, it's pointless for me to purchase 2009 products (as of right now). And without purchasing new product, or even slightly caring to investigate it, what is there for me to blog about?

So, here I am again. In this cold and desolate place where I feel as if I'm cheating on someone that I care about. Every Wii game I've bought could have been a hobby box or two. Every month my new NetFlix invoice comes in the mail I think, "I could have gotten another blaster from Wal-Mart."

One unexpected side effect of the Me chapter is that I've discovered a newfound love of the game itself. This is something that has been lacking in my posts over the last year. I find myself drawn to Sporting Goods stores, looking at gloves and $400 DeMarini bats and backstop hitting nets. I find myself more excited about the prospect of this Baseball season than ever before.

Who knows, maybe this will spark a change in direction for TNB. Maybe it won't end, but rather morph into something else.

With the prospect of being the creepy old fat guy in your kid's college class this fall, I anticipate that my time (and possibly my finances) will make it even harder to collect, if in fact I care to at that point. Over the next few weeks I'll begin uploading and updating my wantlists at TNB. Sometime around the 1 year anniversary of Treasure Never Buried, I'll transition into Chapter 3. You.

What I can't trade away, I'll start sending out as Team/Player packages to some of you that have been with me from the start. And, my eBay auctions will increase as well.

TNB began with a simple essay, a one time effort at articulating where I was at that time and ultimately, unbeknownst to me then, where I would be now.

The hobby is convoluted mess. A tradition ran by those who only want your dollar. My favorite quote is, "You are not who you think you are, you are who everyone else thinks you are." I understand the business aspect of card manufacturing entirely, but I think the companies need an overhaul of their intentions. If the powers that be continue on this path, the hobby as we know it will die. Not that I think it will ever go away, but those in power will effectively write their own demise.

Who knows, maybe I'll still be around to see it. But, I'm not holding my breath.

eBayMacJobCollegeTBall2 - The List Decreases

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 05:06:00 +0000

I did manage to knock two things off the list.

Vacation - 6/7ths of a check mark - 1 day left before I hit the trail again.

DogLove - 1/2 of a check mark - I got a dog. However, Yoga, my other dog, doesn't love her yet.

I introduce the newest addition to the Voyles' household. Sadie, a Dachshund/Yorkie mix, or a Dorkie, for short. She's 7 weeks old (January 10) and so far is extremely energetic. Yoga hates her. She's an annoying little punk that has him terrified.

We're already looking into buying all of the Dog Whisperer DVD sets soon and we're burning Google's servers up looking for answers on how to help them adjust. It's frustrating for both dogs because Sadie is used to having bigger dogs around and she wants to play with Yoga and then cuddle up and sleep beside him. And it's frustrating for him because he just wants her to go away.

He hasn't shown her any affection, attention or concern since she got here yet she still looks for him constantly. If he goes outside without her, she cries at the door for him. He looks for her constantly as well but only to make sure he knows where she is if he needs to run away.

Neither dog is wrong, but we're working to get the two worlds to collide. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

As far as the other stuff...

Job - Hopefully this'll be off the list after my 2nd interview sometime next week...

Mac - Imagine that...I've got to "convince" my wife to let me buy her a computer. I've got a great wife...lol...

College - I can't do anything until August when the new GI Bill takes effect

T-Ball Season 2 - We find out our team this week and start practice.

I've got some card posts coming soon too, I just have to find time to get back into my collection. I have some scans from an '08 Chrome break a few weeks ago that I'm dying to get on here. I don't have a video, but it was a great box.

Anyway, thanks for reading, guys and gals!

Yes Ma'am, Daddy!

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:07:00 +0000

eBayDogLoveMacJobCollegeVacationTBall2 - (Order May Vary)

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:10:00 +0000

That's where I am right now, for anyone curious. That's where I am, where I want to be, where I need to be, and where I'm going to be all tied up in a neatly wrapped, bow-topped package.

Let me clarify...

In some semblance of order...

eBayDogLoveMacJobCollegeVacationTBall2

An often-loathed #d list...

1. I'm currently on vacation. A much needed week of nothing but wants and as few needs as possible. I've informed my two assistants that they shouldn't get their feelings hurt if I don't answer their phone calls. With an Area Manager and a Vice President of Operations on call, they shouldn't need me. Too bad if they do. My app heavy iPhone is on silent.

2. TBall2 - The tee has been purchased. The batting helmet has been fitted. The glove and cleats dusted off and the forms filled out. Season 2 of TBall is here!! I'll be working on the Tball Season 1 Montage Video over the next few weeks.

3. Mac - Lori wants a MacBook. Pro, Air, something. I plan on working on raising some extra dough to make mama happy. Hence #4...
4. eBay - Over the next three months I plan to kill most of my collection. Honestly, I've seriously considered ending my hobbydom all together. That's still up in the air. Lot's of factors affect the decision. At this point, it's pretty obvious from my lack of posts that I don't have time, motivation, desire, etcetera.
5. Job - Something's gotta give. Long Story Short, I was demoted. I was informed via email that I wasn't the General Manager of my restaurant any longer. Here's the funny part...I was demoted by the former General Manager after the current recession (not my performance) forced him to have to return to work at the store level. I suppose the pay wasn't commensurate in his eyes with his experience and so he was proactive in grabbing what he felt was his. No harm no foul, right? I wasn't demoted by my boss, the Vice President of Operations. In fact, he confirmed that I still maintain the position and that the former General Manager was mistaken. All that being said, I don't want the position anymore. Being stabbed in the back and demeaned in the eyes of my staff and management team isn't high on my list of ideal ideals. After my vacation, I'll gladly explain to my superiors that I would prefer to remain as an assistant. Someone else can have the headache. Hence #6
6. College - I'm slowly trending towards figuring out what has to happen for me to start what I should have so long ago. I've honed in on a Computer Science Degree and will go from there.
7. DogLove - We're fixing to head to some animal shelters to find my Chihuahua, Yoga, a live-in gifrlfriend. Preferably another dog, but from the picture of the Chihuahua below, cats might work too...

And there you have it. My proactive Mid Life Crisis. I know that it's a prerequisite for death so I'm getting mine out of the way now.

(Date not exact in photo...but pretty close...)

Speaking of iPhone apps, my iDie app says that I have exhausted 38.6927% of my life already. I only have 17,134 days, 8 hours, 39 minutes and 50, 49, 48 seconds left to go.

I better get crackin'

84

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:08:00 +0000

"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."

Morpheus, 1999

While the red pill sounded more fun (and more like my personality) I took the blue pill.

84 of them to be exact.

I'm tired of saying, "I'm officially a non-smoker." Instead, I will now say, "I'm officially a former Chantix junkie." I'm sincerely glad that both phases of my life are over.

I'll admit that I've had a few smokes since the first of the year, since I decided to quit for good. And, while I've only had a few that I've truly wanted, I can honestly say that I have had zero that I've enjoyed. The smell, the aftertaste, all of it. I'm glad that it's over.

It hasn't been easy. That much is true. Smoking is the most frustrating of all catch-22s I've found. When you are frustrated or anxious, you want a cigarette. But, when you are attempting to quit, you can't have a cigarette when you're frustrated or anxious which makes you frustrated and anxioius which makes you want a cigarette even more, one which you can't have, which in turn makes you even more frustrated and anxious . . .

. . . No matter how hard you try you can't find a place to put the period at the end of anything you feel.

Eventually, you feel like your head is going to explode and you can't think straight and you're yelling at people who don't deserve it. You find yourself flicking the ashes off of your pen, or even worse, taking a drag off the unlit end. You tap-double tap your cigarette pockets as if motioning a runner in the distance to steal. You crack the window of your car no matter the occasion, temperature or current precipitation.

But then you wake up one day and you grab the coffee and kiss the wife on the way out the door, heading off into the sunrise. You make it through the morning and it doesn't even cross your mind. You go through your new routines, your new habits, and you continue to build a new way of interacting with your nicotine free world.

And then, you smell it on someone from 20 feet away. It hits you like 10-month old chocolate pie. At first, your mouth waters and your eyes glaze. You instinctively reminisce the aroma, the flavor, the feel of a long forgotten friend.

Then, your nose starts to burn. Your eyes water a little and the smell begins to repulse you immediately. With every step the smoker takes in your direction, the smell becomes worse. And even though your body, your mind, your everything tells you that you want one, you know that you don't. You know that you'll smell that way when you light one up. You know that people will smile and shake your hand throughout the day and now you'll know the truth of the look on their face.

Tomorrow, I'll be on my on. The Chantix will start to wear off and work it's way out of my system. The wonderfully bizarre dreams will turn into the dull black & white ones that I was having before Christmas. I don't know how strong the urges will be or if they will ever even return.

But, I do know that people won't be repulsed by my smell before they ever see my face. I know that friends won't struggle to breath while in the room with me. I know that my clothes and my car won't smell like an armpit at Woodstock at any more.

To hell with it...

"I'm officially a non-smoker!"

dupe

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I don't know why I continue to constantly use the word "dupe" rather than "duplicate". I understand the texting generation and my role in it. I get the "lol"s and the "brb"s but come on...

...is it really that much easier to forgo "licate" in favor or "e". There is efficient and then there's just lazy. I think I've been lazy.

That being said, Brad from Rickey Henderson Collectibles managed to send me a Lofton/Manny package that contained all original cards for my collection. Not only did I not own these cards, I had never seen some of the sets they came from. I call that a win-win!

I find it ironic that I received a Lofton package from a Henderson Collector. While I was never a true Rickey Henderson fan, I always loved watching him play when I was a kid and I always felt that Lofton would one day send Henderson's memory and records hurtling into the null void.

Look at the two now, and you'll see I was wrong. Thanks, Brad! I'll be working on a return package very soon...

ps Congrats on Rickey's HOF induction! Well deserved.

I Now Know the Difference Between an Exegesis and a Diatribe...But, I'm Still Confused When It Comes to a Smattering

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Anytime that I take a hiatus of any sort from blogging I find that I struggle to get back into the writing groove. It usually takes me a few posts to get my feet back under me, so to speak.

What better way to hone in on my writing than to showcase a few of the packages that I've received during my time away. This will be a long post and I'll probably go into some sort of exegesis on how these cards affected me, simply to get a chance to do some writing.

No offense to anyone I assure you, and pardon my French, but this post will probably come across a little gay.

The first package comes from steveisjewish at The Easy Life. And, yes, for those of you wondering, steveisjewish is his actual first name. I've seen the Birth Certificate.

I can't help it, I love the word "smattering". I don't know if it's real. I don't know the true definition, but, I know that I love it.

When, I hear "yellow" I see Cold Play. When you hear it you might think Big Bird, or crayon, or taxicab. You might just see the letters themselves. It's still just the word yellow.

Regardless of what "smattering" means, when I hear it, I see a large pile of random cards, some with purpose, most without, that spark feelings of nostalgia or happiness. With all of the sets that I'm working towards completing, this would be what I consider a smattering of cards:

steveisjewish, I plan to attack the want lists on your site with a ferociousness. I'll send you an email soon to insure I'm not sending you a bunch of dupes.

The second group of cards took me back to a place that I hadn't been to in quite some time. Oversized cards

From the scan I'm sure these look like your everyday, run of the mill, 80's Topps Cards. But, in reality, they are all of the oversized variety. While I'm unsure of the dimensions, I'm positive that most everyone knows what I'm talking about.

Over the past year I've explained how much I hate odd sized cards, most notably, the miniature parallels you'll find in Goudey and Allen & Ginter, but also those old 80's sets as well. The only thing the minis come in handy for are as trade bait or as an occasional eBay lot in my collection. However, I do make concessions for odd sized cards when it involves Lofton or Manny.

The reasoning behind this is that with odd sized cards you have to modify your storage. Whether you like them or not, if you plan to keep them you have to think outside the box (pun intended) to store them most times. Over sized cards have never been worth the effort for me.

I absolutely hated the big cards when I was a kid. They usually ended up with small pinholes in the top or scotch tape on the corners, affixed to the walls of our bedroom. When the time came to change the layout or when my brother Justin and I grew tired of the player, the over sized cards came off the wall and went straight into the garbage.

When I came back to the hobby in 2007, I found quite a few of these old over sized cards in my collection. An Upper Deck looss collection of Bagwell(?), a mid to late 90's Collector's Choice of The Big Hurt, and a mid 90's Topps Piazza.

Without even thinking about it, the cards went into the trash. They were so badly damaged from years of free floating from shoe box to shoe box that they would never sell on eBay (which was my intent with the entire collection.)

Not to mention, it was second nature to succumb to old habits and trash them. In my wife's eyes, it was bad enough that I was sorting through old Baseball cards like an 8 year old. I wasn't about to try to convince her to let me tape them to the office walls.

I've noticed over the last year that I'm turning into an old man. Every phase of our life is practice for the next. As a child we spend more time grooming ourselves to be a teenager than we do just being a kid. When we're a teenager, we do the same only with our eyes set on adulthood.

As a young adult, I find myself thinking about retirement and 401ks, chiropractor's visits, and how much more time is left on the clock in my head. I realize I drive slower than I used to, that I drink less often, and that I need to keep the doctor on speed dial in case I come down with a bad case of whatever a "Miley Cyrus" is.

But, more than the attempt to be proactive about my future, I've found that I'm a little more tender than I used to be. Ye Olde Waterworks kicks up over life's sentimentalities more often than not. Patience has become more of a virtue and less of just some girl I went to High School with. I can't even remember her face.

And, I've found that I hold on to things tighter than the 20 year old version of jv did. He frivolously threw away things that were to cumbersome to carry. Rather than modify the sum to accommodate the parts, he went with a lean approach and shaved the fat that he felt unnecessary.

The jv today, the one practicing for "old mandom", approaches it differently and respects the memories entailed. He forgets more frequently yet remembers more vividly.

It would be easier to wash, rinse, repeat when it comes to the over sized cards that steveisjewish sent me. And, had he sent them to me 3 years ago, this might have been the case. But, I think I'll hold on to these this time.

And the next time I visit my Dad, I'll go see if I can find some of those old pinholes in the wall.

Thanks for the cards, Steve, and for kicking up some memories that I never realized were so fond. I'll be working on a return package for you soon, man. Thanks!

Maybe...Maybe Not. But, Probably.

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 07:13:00 +0000

Although I think I was on to a really good idea with HaveWant, and maybe one day someone will be able to take the idea and run farther with it than I have, HW has probably seen it's last post. I simply don't have the time to focus on it any more than I already have.

Hopefully, someone has gotten some use out of it over the last few months and I sincerely appreciate everyone's input and submissions. It's simply not taking off the way that I anticipated.

I'll leave the site alive for posterity's sake and in the event that creativity strikes again in the future and reignites the idea.

TNB and Wax Heaven Team Up

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:56:00 +0000

Yeah, you read that right...

A few months ago (shortly before unprofessionally attacking WaxHeaven over what I thought to be a act of malicious intent) I offered to help Mario with the Sports Cards Blog Directory. I had just recently figured out how RSS worked and had plugged every card blog on the directory into my Google Reader account.

Over time I developed a method that allowed me to easily determine which blogs weren't updating often. I approached Mario with this and offered to assist in helping him to keep "dead" blogs off the list. This went well for about a month and then...

I flipped out and went after a guy that has done more to keep the hobby floating over the last two years than any single person on the planet. Once again, I apologize for being me...

Needless to say, Mario and I didn't talk for awhile and when it came to updating the directory, he didn't ask for help and I didn't offer.

I must say that I was very surprised to find an email this past Sunday morning asking if I would be interested in taking over the directory. And, in all honesty, I'm honored that Mario considered me at all in light of our past.

I don't suppose this makes us BFF now or any other type of whatever it is that gets a guy like AngryChris off, but it is a step in the right direction.

I think 2009 WILL BE the year of the blogger in the hobby. The last thing we need is animosity within our ranks. There's enough backstabbing and deceit going on elsewhere.

As usual, I'm turning a unnecessarily long rant into an unnecessarily long post.

Short story long, I'll be overseeing the Sports Card Blog Directory. I do not intend to delete or modify anything as it stands now. I do have some ideas for additions in the future but they're minor and intended only to further showcase future blogs that will be added. And, with most things, they have the potential for never happening.

I will post an update on the site very soon explaining the methods used in and the criteria of maintaining a listing.

And, obviously, this time I'll talk to Mario before making any decisions.

I'm Still Standing...

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:29:00 +0000

...Just maybe not "Better Than I've Ever Been."

The "Stop Smoking" Campaign has been a 100% success thus far and I can't imagine why I would go back to smoking. It's too easy to start, too hard to stop. I've had one cigarette since December 27. I think I hate the medicine more than I hate not being able to smoke.

Part of that success has been that I have had to get away from other habits that put me in a position to smoke. My biggest vice was to sit on the front porch and pound away at the QWERTY row while smoking pack after pack. This is the first time since I've quit that I've brought my laptop outside to work. I keep staring at the ash tray the way Farley stared at Chocolate Cake.

But, the change in smoker's status hasn't been the only thing that's tripped me up lately when it comes to maintaining this blog. It's been mostly about my job. Anyone who's read this blog for any amount of time knows that I spend quite a bit of my energy complaining about the never ending requirements of running a restaurant.

Hopefully, I will have that situation fixed soon as well.

I'm going sometime in the very near future to speak to a good friend about a position in his new company, working behind the scenes in the technical department. While, I have no idea just yet what this position entails, I do know that it has nothing to do with herding 18 year olds around a restaurant all day. I know that it doesn't involve constant phone calls on my personal cellphone at all hours of the night. And, I know that it won't have me in a position to be constantly and consistently badgered for the mistakes of my subordinates.

Hopefully, I won't have any "subordinates" for awhile. That is, if the job is worth taking.

I've also spent a good deal of time at night reading a new novel I picked up the other day, "The Sawtelle Dogs." I've been at it for a little over a week and still have the greater portion of it to go. I plan to get back to reading more than I have the past few years and watching less of the screens, tv and internet alike.

And, finally, in the afternoons that I've had off, I've been buried in boxes and boxes of commons. I've completely overhauled my entire collection's organization. And, most importantly, I've pulled out the sets that I intend to go back and finish. 1998 Upper Deck and 1991 Score come to mind, but, there are a few contemporary sets as well.

Sooooo, all that being said, I have no intentions of ending this blog and I've not been gone for lack of material or inspiration. I'm simply at a spot in my life where I need to reset my self and figure out where I want to go, what I need to do.

I'm sure I'll be back to normal soon enough!

(If you're waiting for a reply to an email, that's coming as well. Thanks to everyone that has checked in over the last few weeks. I'll get back to you guys and gals soon.)

Super Gay

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:48:00 +0000

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Holy Crap, this is funny...

Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:47:00 +0000

As usual, I leave for awhile and when I return, I have a 6 page post in my head.

WARNING: Potentially Offensive Language Directly Ahead

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For almost two weeks afterwards, I couldn't fall asleep without regretting what might have been.

Late this past summer, I walked into the card shop, exchanging the usual greetings with the shopkeep. Usually, I'm the only patron there, allowing Jerry and I the chance to talk awhile. I then buy my one obligatory pack and walk out frustrated that I couldn't afford more.

I've read the question posed lately by many different bloggers, but I've yet to hear a yay or a nay on the topic. "Has the recession affected your collecting habits?" I weigh in with a resounding yes.

Mr. President Elect, I and my stagnant collection need you to fix this recession soon.

Like the thorns of a rose bush, his USPS attire stuck out (quite painfully I might add) as if the outfit were audibly screaming for an overhaul. Had it not been for the Postal Get-Up, I would have buried the incident somewhere on the back side of the temporal lobe. Somewhere alongside most of the third season of Quantum Leap and a couple of late era Jackson 5 songs.

Surprisingly, prior to this I had never been in the presence of a pack searcher, or at least not one in the act of doing so. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening to the freshly opened box of 2008 Upper Deck X, and, when I did, I was infuriated.

Even more surprisingly for me, I didn't say anything.

"So...you're the sorry sonuvabitch that's been doing it!?!"

That's what I wanted to say. That's what I should have said.

Instead, I bought the three packs in my hand that the guy hadn't yet searched, and I left the store, utterly and obviously pissed. I've yet to revisit this shop since then because, honestly, I'm going to have a few words for the shop owner for allowing this. Instead, I've gone back to buying retail.

I intended to post about this incident many, many times but always felt that it was more of the same incessant whining from me about the status of today's hobby, that it wouldn't change things anyway. Honestly, that's the reason I didn't say anything to the pack searcher. What good would it do?

Yesterday, for the first time in quite a few years, the snow that fell stuck to the ground. And, as much as I envisioned staying home with my wife and son to build our first ever snowman together, duty called. I reluctantly saddled my trusty old steed, Sunfire, built by Pontiac about 13 years ago, and headed to work.

I had a few catering deliveries that morning, one of which put me right next to a local Wal-Mart.

As I'm sure is the case with most of the Wal-Marts you've seen, the card aisle sits directly across the way from the front restrooms. As I was about to turn through the door of the little boy's room, I noticed a guy perusing the cards. I recognized him as the person who stocks the shelves.

I rifled through the mental Rolodex of faces in my head, not content to assume that this was simply the guy stocking out the new products. My curiosity consumed me. Instead of rushing back to the restaurant, I moved towards the mystery man.

When I reached the aisle, I had discarded all wondering and settled upon the obvious and evident answer. He must be the card stocker. I was further convinced of this when I noticed that he had literally hundreds of packs strewn all across the currently closed checkout counter.

I had no time and no money, but the urge to browse got the better of me. When in Rome, I suppose. I began to shop.

"But, if he's the stocker, where are the empty cases that this product is coming from?" I asked myself. "Why is he more concerned with the product on the racks? Why is he about to shelve cards that were released months ago?"

When he found me watching him, he turned and mumbled an almost inaudible "hey" in my general direction and then returned to the task at hand.

It was then that I saw the USPS logo on his shirt. It all came rushing back to me as I watched him bend the packages, searching for his coveted hits.

I could not contain myself. Before I realized what I was doing, I leaned towards him, as if to whisper a secret in his ear. But, rather than whisper, I spoke loudly at less than 6 inches from his head.

"So...you're the sorry sonuvabitch that's been doing it!?!"

That's what I wanted to say to this person all along. This time, I didn't bite my tongue.

"Excuse me?" He seemed shocked that he was being confronted in such a forceful manner.

"Excuse you? Why should I? I didn't hear you burp, you piece of fucking shit. Why don't you put the packs down and stop ripping off the 12 year olds that will come after you." I replied.

"You're just mad that you don't know how to do it." He stated, grinning as if he had won.

"No, I know how, trust me. It's just that I'm not a dirtbag, you fuckstick."

"Whatever. Feel how you wanna feel about it. I don't care. If you don't like it, that's what those boxes are for. They're safe until I figure out a way to search them, too," he professed.

A part of me wanted him to keep it coming, yearned for him to put his hands on me. I was so angry that I had begun to tremble. My temper is like a land mine buried 20 feet deep. It takes awhile to get to it, but, when you finally do, it's over. He was already 18 feet deep in a hole. Had he kept digging, he would have been 20 feet deep in an explosive ass whooping.

Instead, I walked away again. This time I had said my piece. I walked away elated that I had been afforded the opportunity to do what I had so badly wanted to do months before. But, there was less of a spring in my step with each one that I took away from his direction.

What had I accomplished? I had whetted my own appetite for retribution, but what had I done for the hobby?

I've spent hours of my life pumping out posts such as this over the last six months. I've argued the case of action vs. inaction. I firmly believe that it's worthless to sit around and verbally spew hate on the quirks of our hobby. There has to be an action that accompanies it if you want resolution for the complaint.

As the mechanical doors of Wal-Mart opened before me, I exited to find that the beautiful snow from the early morning had now turned into a stinging cold and relentless rain. Had this been 13 days ago, I could have made a nice Guns 'N Roses reference.

Sadly, I know no songs about December Rain.

I sat down in my car and felt the satisfaction of victory turn into an overwhelming sense of defeat. My words had not been enough. I felt that there was something left undone. I sprinted back towards the entrance.

As I hurried past the card aisle, I found that he was still entrenched in the center. I slid past, unbeknownst to Asshole, and located the store's General Manager.

I was now taking action.

After a few minutes of standing in Customer Service, patiently waiting for a manager, he noticed me. He then promptly paid for his packs and scuttled out the door.

When the GM arrived, we returned to the card aisle together. I relayed a CliffsNotes version of the incident, going all the way back to my first encounter with Asshole. She told me that they knew who he was but that they couldn't figure out what he was doing. They were frustrated that he was damaging the packages every time he came in.

She assured me that they would pull the surveillance tapes and seek legal action about it.

Whether or not they do, that's Wal-Mart's business. I could care less. I can at least sleep at night thinking that Asshole got his just desserts.

I wish that I had the patience and frame of mind to be as civil as my good friend was during the subject of this post.

But, alas, I must apologize and inform you that I'm not. My redneck raising has programmed me in such a manner that when confronted by an asshole, or in this case "The Asshole," you just have to be a bigger asshole.

Maybe what I've done is laughable, and maybe some will consider it over the top. I like to think that I tried. Even if nothing comes of it, I tried.

At least I'll get a good night's sleep tonight knowing that I spoke my mind.

This is the place where I usually type some interesting and quirky title, I just can't think of a good one right now

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:31:00 +0000

I knew it had been awhile since my last post but I had not realized it had been almost two weeks. I don't have much to say other than that I'm still around and reading your blogs. I'm just obviously not dropping much time and effort into my own these days.

It's the usual snivel and drivel...work, work, work. And, some of it has had to do with the Chantix I'm taking to quit smoking. Everything in my life is a trigger for me to smoke. But, sitting on the porch with my laptop and pounding away on posts is absolutely the worst of them. It's my haven, my getaway from it all. So, by cutting that part out I've found that I sit inside on the couch and spend less time with the laptop. This is actually on the second time I've turned it on since last Thursday.

Anywho, I'm alive and kicking and will be returning soon. By soon, I mean something in the future with an '09 at the end of the date. I'm still collecting and I'm working on some packages for a couple of people, but I won't be updating the blog with posts much, if any, between now and New Years.

Happy Holidays to everyone. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 07:23:00 +0000

Football has arrived at HaveWant! I have built the team pages and can now accommodate any and all requests to add your stuff if you are a Football Collector.

You can find the link here for the Football team pages. I will start working on Hockey and Basketball over the next few weeks. If it seems feasible, I may look into Boxing, Golf, Soccer, College, and possibly even minor league teams for each sport.

And, I would love to incorporate Oddball and Non Sport stuff as well.

Also, I will have the first ever non-blogger's stuff updated very soon. David P., or Fredodap (as some of you may know him) is an outstanding trader! He and I have mailed back and forth for a few months and you're doing yourself a disservice if you've not traded with him before.

I am now opening HaveWant to EVERYONE, bloggers and readers alike! Here's the catch...

You either have to have completed successful trades with myself OR you must supply me with five established bloggers that you have traded with in the recent past. I will then contact those bloggers and determine if you are a "safe trader" or not.

I hate to sound harsh, negative, or condescending but I have been burned by mail trades in the past and I've read where other's have as well. I will not allow HaveWant to become a place for bad traders to congregate.

If you are a blogger and have not requested to be added, please take a moment to check out the site and consider the offer.

If you're a reader and do not have a blog, HaveWant is now open to you as well.

Happy trading!

HaveWant is a Blog...

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:13:00 +0000

I've gone against my initial decision and decided to make HaveWant more of a "blog" than a trading consolidation website.

If you use a Feed Reader, make sure to add HaveWant to your Reader to receive the latest updates.

I've spent all night (and have a few hours to go) building in functionality for other sports. Now that the team pages are all built and the links work for Baseball, I will be focusing on Football. I will then move to whichever sport has the most collector's in tow.

If at any time you find a player on any of the "Players" pages that is not a link, it simply means that there are collectors on the site for this player, I just don't have a card scan yet. The only thing holding back the specific player's post is a good card scan.

I'll have the Football Teams posts up soon. I may contact some of you from time to time for help on matters pertaining to other sports. Gellman is the resident Football expert. I'll need a Hockey, which I'm sure there are some out there, and eventually, Basketball, Golf, Boxing, etc.

My ultimate goal is to include any and all "oddball" type stuff as well. Trader Crack will be my go to guy on that, I'm sure.

If you haven't got on board with HaveWant and would like to, please email me at your earliest convenience.

Thanks!!

What Possesses...

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We've all heard this phrase in various forms in the past. "What possessed..."

What possessed him/her/them to do that? What possessed us to go there? What possesses us to feel this way?

We use it as a means to find justification, as a way of saying that there is no way that this could have been by our own hands. We mean it in the sense that something else must have made us do it.

Some of you may have heard of this story from yesterday. I first caught wind of it on the AM CNN station on my car radio last night. It is not graphic, but it is extremely sad.

What possessed this young man to take his own life prematurely? What possessed him to do it live on the internet. From all of my research, I can't find where somewhere has ever committed suicide publicly via the web.

(You can access the story at efluxmedia.com by clicking the picture)

The story sticks out to me because of the quoted words from the father of Abraham Biggs, Jr.

"We were very good friends".

My son and I call each other "best friends". We often talk about how we don't lie to each other because that's not what best friends do. We don't want to hurt each other. We don't want to make the other sad.

My son came to me Saturday night and told me the truth.

Connor had gone to the neighbor's house to watch Wall-E with Greyson. (Some of you may remember Greyson from the video below)

After watching the movie, Ray (Greyson's father) asked the boys to clean up Greyson's room before Connor left. Greyson obliged. Connor told Mr. Ray, "No."

He had his 5 year old reasons. He was afraid that if he stayed and helped, "you and mama would go to bed without me and I would have to sleep at Greyson's". This was a viable, albeit illogical, concern. It only masked the fact that he simply didn't want to have to clean. He hates to clean.

I am from the South. We do things differently. Shield your eyes or skip this paragraph if you are against corporal punishment. Connor received a spanking. He doesn't always get a spanking for disobedience but occasionally he does. This particular time, he did.

Afterwards, we discussed it. We always do. He understood the reasons behind his punishment for being disobedient. My five year old knows that he is supposed to tell the truth, no matter the consequences.

I'll put my kid up against any other his age 10 years from now that has not been raised under the same principle and I'll show you a better kid in Connor. I'll show you a kid that knows how to "own up" to his decisions, his actions. I'll show you a kid that knows the value of honesty.

I can't speak for the father in this story, I can only quote him. I would never doubt or question the integrity of his words, that he and his son were "very good friends".

But as a father, this story terrifies me and makes me want to make sure I'm involved in my son's life in every aspect that he'll allow me. It causes me to want to hold him more, tell him I love him constantly, and lose my temper less.

My heart goes out to the family of this young man. And, although I can't speak for the father's relationship with his son, I can speak for mine with Connor.

Connor is my best friend and I could never imagine losing him in such a tragic way. If you have children at home, give them an extra hug today and try to keep this families suffering in mind.

Whatever we have to do as parents to guard against the pressures they face, we must.

God

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:31:00 +0000

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...

Courage to change the things I can...

And the patience not to choke the crap out of people who try to offer me a cigarette, knowingly or not, after I start taking the above pictured medication to quit smoking, a nasty habit that I've willingly permitted myself to take part in since early 2000.

I've been mildly successful at quitting three times and all three times it was militarily related. I quit for nearly 6 months while in boot camp and training at Fort Jackson, SC. I somehow managed to start again. I quit while in Uzbekistan for almost 3 months. I started again. And, then finally, while in Afghanistan for about a month. I starte...you get the picture.

I've never been successful because I never truly wanted to quit until now. I've always attempted to stop based on outside influences. I've never, until now, wanted to quit for me.

I love my wife, my son, my friends, my family and I've always felt obligated to quit for them. As much as I love my wife and son, if this is not a testament to the addiction of nicotine, then I don't know what is. The addiction has always been stronger than my desire to quit for my family.

That's sad, frustrating, and inexcusable. I've often made the joke that I would have preferred to have started shooting heroin rather than smoking. I can't imagine anything being more addictive than this.

I will be successful this time. I will quit for good and I'll never start back. I've done that too many times and it's harder to "quit again" under those circumstances. Once I've had that last cigarette, it's over. I wish I had been the type of person back then that I am now. I wish I could have been headstrong enough to say no to begin with.

Please be patient with me as I work out these personal demons. I may disappear from time to time. I'll do whatever I have to do to insure success.

Oh, and yes, I have a beard now too. Just thought I would go ahead and answer that question before it pops up.

Wish me luck!

Post Removed By Request

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Post Removed by Request

Kinda "Lost" - Chapter 2 of 3

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:40:00 +0000

I assure you, this is a Baseball/Card/TNB Blog type post. Just humor me here at first as I attempt to make my point.

At one time in my life, 24 held the title of "Favorite Television Show of All Time".

So did this...

and this...

and obviously this...

And especially this....

Quantum Leap, Sliders, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and tons of others. ("Six Feet Under still runs a close second to the reigning champion.)

My current favorite show of all time is Lost. I love it! I can't get enough of it!

Not long ago, the masterminds behind Lost, Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse made the official announcement that they know how the series will end. They have a definite timeline of what they intend to produce and how the ending will play out.

At first, this infuriated me, simply because I don't ever want this show to end. After doing some "soul searching" about it, I found this to be one of the smartest things that any tv show has ever done.

Too often good shows are ruined by bad series ending episodes. Seinfeld definitely comes to mind. The show was phenomenally funny but the last episode was horrible. 24 started out extremely strong but has suffered in the last few seasons because the writers often have no idea where they are going. The tend to write themselves into a corner and then the plots they have to implement to get them out tend to be outlandish or unbelievable.

I don't think that everything should always have an end in sight. I think that in most cases (outside of television) it lends to the credibility of the work itself. It allows the creative thinking of the author to run rampant, to maintain a sense of "freshness", for lack of better words.

With all of that being said...

I know how Treasure Never Buried will end.

I've debated on this for quite some time and I've discussed it with my wife to get an outside point of view. I don't know exactly when, but I do know how.

I found a blog a few months ago while clicking my beloved "StumbleUpon" button. Seriously, if you've never used StumbleUpon, you're missing out. It's outstandingly fun! You never know where you'll end up. And, don't be surprised if you find your own blog along the way. I try to "stumble" every single post I read from you guys to get us into a bigger audience.

Anyway, the blog I found was "dead". The author had posted almost a year ago that the blog was complete. She makes the statement that the blog began with a goal in mind and that it had run it's course. I feel the same way about TNB.

It struck me as odd considering that out of all our blogs no one really writes in the manner of having an end in site. With the exception of the blogs devoted to displaying a particular set, most card blogs are open ended.

But, I don't feel that this is the case with Treasure Never Buried. My blog began as the chronicle of bringing my son into collecting. And while we've had a blast doing it, I can see where outside influences from other things have kept him from diving in 100%. I feel as he gets older that this will change but for now, I've set out to do everything I intended to do concerning him.

Thus you find the title of the first chapter of TNB complete.

Him.

There will be posts in the future about Connor and his collecting but the focus of TNB will now shift to what I've always anticipated after we finished his set of 1990 Topps. It will now begin Chapter two.

Me.

I won't go into great detail because that would ruin the fun and the suspense of all the tomorrows I've yet write. But, once this phase is complete, I intend to move on to the third and final chapter of TNB.

You.

Once again, I won't even begin to give away the ideas I have for that phase of TNB's existence. But, suffice it to say, I'll shrink my collection down to only the things I want to keep. Lots of other people will "win". And, what I collect/purchase will change dramatically. I probably won't ever quit collecting. And I have no intentions of ever ending HaveWant. Long after TNB is gone, HaveWant will still be kicking around.

Once that is complete, Treasure Never Buried will close it doors forever.

BUT...

You haven't gotten rid of me that easily. This is where I need your help. This is where I want your advice. This is where I say, "I don't know what I want to do afterwards."

I plan on implementing a new poll soon to allow readers to vote on what they would like to see me move into next. Your comments will basically build the vote categories. I will continue to blog, only not about sports or collectibles. I feel like I can write, but I've almost exhausted all that I have to say about the subject. I feel most days that I'm regurgitating much better posts written by all of you.

For those days that I do feel the collector-blogging urge I'll sit down and pen something for The Cardboard Connection. (I'll be submitting my newest feature there soon...Thermometer or Thermostat.)

I love collecting, but I assure you that after I have finished these three chapters of TNB I will have nothing more to say. I've mapped out in my head the things I want to accomplish. If the first chapter is any indication, you can expect to TNB to keep going for at least another year. That is unless if I am more successful in accomplishing my goals on the next two phases.

My dream is to become a writer. But I honest-to-God don't know what I want to write about. I don't have an area of expertise. I know I'm not near as good as the competition I'll face, but I want to "BE" a writer and I don't know where to start.

This is where you come in. You guys know me better than I concerning how my work so far has been perceived. You know how my head works because you've read 200+ posts from me since May of this year.

What do you think? Where should I go? What should I do? I know who I want to be...I just don't know how to get there.

What is HaveWant and Why Should You Care?

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:11:00 +0000

I'll be sending this post out as an email to many of the blogs that I'm aware of over the next few days. I apologize if this is overkill on the subject. I just don't think that I've been very effective at explaining this site and how it will benefit everyone. I've reworded it make it fit as it's own separate post.

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I wanted to take a quick second to post about the new blog I've created. It's called HaveWant and it's dedicated to the aspect of trading within the blogging community. I've included some links to show you the basic site setup and, if you will allow me, I wanted to go over some of the basic functionality of how this can bring traffic to your have/want lists for trading. But, more importantly, how this could possibly bring more traffic to your site.

Before we begin, let me answer some questions that will hopefully keep you reading this:

Do I have to update my own stuff? No. You simply follow the instructions at the bottom of the post and I'll do the rest.

Do I have to have trade pages on my blog? No. It definitely helps if you do but it's not necessary. You can supply me with the information on what/who/when/how you collect and I'll do the rest. If you only collect Steve Avery and have no trade lists whatsoever, you can still benefit from using HaveWant.

Does it cost anything? Heck no! It's completely free and I do all the work. After you send me the form, the only work you'll ever do is keeping your want lists updated on your blog and sending me any new page links you create and want to feature.

Will this put you, jv, on the Fortune 500 list anytime soon? Here's to hoping, but no. I do not make any money for doing this. I do not expect free stuff from users or anything like that. Monetary contributions would be great and would be recycled into buying future stuff to bust on TNB but are in no way, shape, or form requested. There may be a donation button to PayPal in the future and there may be ads from time to time but I'm not doing this for gain of any sort. I'm doing this to better serve our collective purposes in trading.

First and foremost, HaveWant is not something that you will ever have to worry about physically updating. And, it does not require you to "change" anything about how you have trade lists setup. All I need are links to those pages. After you've looked around the site, take a look at the form I've attached. This is literally all I need to get your blog and your lists on the site. It takes, at the very most, 5 minutes to fill out and send back to me.

Here's how the site works:

1. Users - On this page you'll find a link to all users at HaveWant. By clicking on any users links, you'll be taken to a page where you can see what each user collects. This is where you'll find the links to their blog, a "mailto" contact link, links to any trade pages the user has on their site, a list of what/who they collect, and finally a list of links to any contests that user is sponsoring on their site. Your email address is buried in the mailto link and is not displayed otherwise. Your mailing address is also not requested or wanted.

2. Players - Here you'll notice a list of players. Each name is a link to a page with card scan of the player (submitted by users) and a list of user page links to all users that collect that player.

3. Teams - The Teams page works in the same way as the Players page. However, it's my favorite part of the site simply for the time I invested in building it. If you do nothing else, if you don't reply to this email, if you don't click any of the other links, if you don't decide to join, please at least take a look at this page. I'm pretty proud of it...haha... Sorry, shameless plugging is over now.

4. Contests - Eventually, I'm going to build a page that houses all of the contests currently running and in chronological order.

That's it! That's how the site works. The most common question I've encountered has been simply, "Why?" Why are you doing this, why will this help me, why should I care? Why, why, why?

There are people out there who collect every imaginable player on the planet, every single team is represented somewhere in the blogging world, and every possible "type" of cards or sets. Let's say for instance you're sitting on 50 Omar Vizquels or Randy Johnsons or even Steve Olins. This site allows you to find people who want them. Have a box full of old Expos you could care less about? Click the Expos link and see who collects them. Chances are they'll be willling to trade out all of their Rays, or Red Sox, or Indians for those cards. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

If you're site already catches some nice traffic, I won't lie, HaveWant may not bring much traffic to your site. You're probably already getting most of it anyway. But, this will bring traffic from the more established sites to your site if you're struggling to build a reader base. If there is anything I've learned since I came on as a blogger in our community, it's that we take care of each other. We look out for each other and we try our best to help each other out. This WILL bring traffic to lesser known, less established blogs.

But, yet and still, it will bring traffic to your trade lists, regardless of your readership. Rather than hoping someone will stumble across your blog and then take the time to look at your want lists, you will have the benefit of having other people looking specifically for stuff to unload. They'll find you based on what they're looking to get rid of. The site will bring these people to you and do the work for you.

What do you have to do to join? Simple!

1. Fill out the attached form (request via email) and send it back to me.
2. Send me an image file of your blog's logo (if you need help with this, just let me know and I'll do a screen capture for you.) Size, format, none of that matters. I can work with whatever you send me.
3. Keep your trade lists updated on your site as you see fit.
4. Email me anytime you have a new link to a trade page or contest.

That's it! No more, no less. The bottom line is that this is a free link hosting blog that will bring residual traffic to both your blog and your trading. It's a no brainer and requires almost 0% work on your part after you've emailed me the form and your blog logo image. I will do the rest.

Why am I hawking this? It's not for ad revenue because I make none. I've made $1.27 on clickthrough links on Adsense in 6 months of blogging at Treasure Never Buried and I don't even know how to access it. There will be ads in the future but I'm not concerned with trying to make money off of this. I'm doing it simply because I feel it will accentuate the most interactive part of what we do. Our trades!!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I hope you enjoy using the site and I hope that you will seriously consider allowing me to bring you on as a user.

2004 Topps Chrome Refractors Presidential Pastime

noreply@blogger.com (jv) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:43:00 +0000

UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2008

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I NEED THE FOLLOWING CARDS TO COMPLETE THIS SET:

2004 Topps Chrome Refractors Presidential Pastime

(X denotes pending trade)

If you have any for trade, please contact me
by clicking this link

2004 Topps Chrome Refractors Presidential Pastime
41	NEEDED
PP1	George Washington
PP2	John Adams
PP3	Thomas Jefferson
PP4	James Madison
PP5	James Monroe
PP6	John Quincy Adams
PP7	Andrew Jackson
PP8	Martin Van Buren
PP9	William Harrison
PP10	John Tyler
PP11	James Polk
PP12	Zachary Taylor
PP13	Millard Fillmore
PP14	Franklin Pierce
PP15	James Buchanan
PP17	Andrew Johnson
PP18	Ulysses S. Grant
PP19	Rutherford B. Hayes
PP20	James Garfield
PP21	Chester Arthur
PP22	Grover Cleveland
PP23	Benjamin Harrison
PP24	William McKinley
PP25	Theodore Roosevelt
PP26	William Taft
PP27	Woodrow Wilson
PP28	Warren Harding
PP29	Calvin Coolidge
PP30	Herbert Hoover
PP31	Franklin D. Roosevelt
PP32	Harry Truman
PP33	Dwight Eisenhower
PP34	John F. Kennedy
PP35	Lyndon B. Johnson
PP36	Richard Nixon
PP37	Gerald Ford
PP38	Jimmy Carter
PP39	Ronald Reagan
PP40	George H.W. Bush
PP41	Bill Clinton
PP42	George W. Bush