Odds & Ends: A catchall post

This post a catch-all of several small topics that I need to get posted, but don't have time to give a full post to.

First, I realize I'm going to break my streak of 10 posts per month that I had going. Last time I did not hit 10 posts in a single month was September 2016. I kept it going longer than I thought I would- but I'm not going to hit it in August 2019. There's a very good chance I won't hit it in September or October either, as I'm going to be extremely busy during the next few weeks, including my favorite day of the year- the Adirondack Nationals is fast approaching.

I got new glasses last week, for the first time since 2005. I'm not really adjusting to them well- I made a poor choice when I selected them. But I like the design, so I'm keeping them...for now. Next month I will get a different pair, and transition these into painting glasses. But it feels like I'm wearing scuba goggles all the time here. I'm at 20/900 vision by the way. Without my glasses, I'm pretty much blind. With them, I can see again. I was at the point where I couldn't read license plates or the scroll on the bottom of NHL Network or NBATV. Now I can. Ironically, adjusting to the computer screen is proving to be a bit of a challenge- which is one thing I could see just fine before. Odd. But I will get used to it eventually.

I have done almost nothing with cards this month. I am writing this on August 27th, and I have not scanned a single card at all this month. That's just a weird feeling, but I have been doing other things. For one, I had been backlogged in updating the original files that go into creating Cardboard History Gallery. That was the last thing I really did in the hobby, then I just kind of shut it down. I even have some cards I scanned in July that I have not edited yet. I just tonight typed in all the cards I've gotten during the month earlier tonight- it's not many. And if I hadn't received (another) generous gift from SumoMenkoMan I would be looking at essentially 50 cards. Instead, it's 183 cards. That's my lowest month in a long time, I think. I do have it all written down but don't feel the motivation to check it.

I'm still at total burnout stage, which I have been at for a while now. August is typically my least-card active month, based on my records. I suspect it may have something to do with the heat, which has always badly interacted with my health problems, and I just don't want to do much.

However, these past few days, the weather has been good so I got the model stuff out and got to work again. That has been going well, surprisingly well- one model literally fell together in a single day, everything worked just perfectly, as I've never seen before. And I've built more than 300 models over the past 20 years!

This was the first one I finished this month. It was originally intended to be a factory stock build, but the paint can was defective. I decided to make a lowrider out of it. Totally coincidentally (this build was started last year) the next model show I plan to go to's main theme is lowriders. The theme was announced after the direction this build would go in was already decided. I used the parts supplied in the kit to make the left front wheel off the ground, as you sometimes see with lowriders- first time I've ever done that.  I've never been to the show before, but some of my club members have and they say it's a good one. There's actually another local model show coming up next weekend but it conflicts with the Adirondack Nationals, and I can't give that up. It's my favorite day of the year, and I need that right now as I'm dealing with a health related thing that is making me very depressed. I don't want to talk about what it is but I am not sure I can enjoy the Lake George trip this year. Even "cardboard therapy" didn't help this time.

On that note, real life has been somewhat trying of late. Our new fridge (purchased 2018) had an issue where everything went bad, our new AC (purchased in April of May of this year) died, our car (leased July 2018) had an oil leak, my storage unit where my models and all kinds of other stuff is stored changed their system and now, what used to be climate controlled, is now set on 80 degrees, which means my entire model collection could be facing damage from the heat. Now I think my tablet may be dying as well, it's certainly not acting right. I'm feeling pretty beat down right now. Coupled with my continued health problems I'm finding it harder and harder to find any happiness in anything. I don't really want to get out of bed each morning at this point...I do, but I feel like I'm just "going through the motions". The Adirondack Nationals is, as I've said, my favorite day of the year, and it couldn't come at a better time...although with my health problems it's getting harder and harder for me to do the car shows.

On a happier note, I got an unexpected package from Fastenal Racing this month, with a hero card and a sticker for the Fastenal Fan Club. I remember signing up during a contest to win some race used sheet metal. I apparently didn't win, but I'm very pleased to get the hero card. I have not gotten any in years now, then I got a new to me card from 1986 a few months ago, the Derrike Cope card I got at the NYIAC, and this one now. I think the last one I got before these was 2012. It's been a while. My intention was to plug my scanner in and scan it, but again, lacking motivation, so I took a picture instead.

I hit an NBA milestone earlier this month, 93,000 different cards, if my count is correct, via trade on the Trading Card Database. So far, I've made 36 trades this year, adding 790 new cards to my collection. I've never tracked it before but I'm keeping a running total via a list on the Database this year. I'm not including Random Acts of Kindness either, just actual trades where I send something and get something. You can see the list HERE. I linked to page 4 which shows the most recent trades. if you hit the link, you'll see I also made my first ever Twitter trade earlier this month. Actually, I made it last month, the cards arrived to me on August 1st. I know I'm several trades down on recapping them- remember when I used to do that?- but I've misplaced a box of cards including some absolutely needed to make the post, entire trades worth. It's not unusual for me to lose things, it IS unusual for me to lose cards before I write them into my paper listings. This is only the second time I am aware of, the first time I discovered it when I found some cards in a box that were not registered as part of my collection. There may be more, mixed into my storage unit somewhere, probably never to be seen again, that I just don't remember.

I have been toying with the idea of moving away from my paper listings. It's at the point now where updating them causes my pain, but these are the backbone of my collection. There was a time (a little more lax now), where I didn't even consider a card a part of my collection until it was entered in my paper listing. But I can't bring myself to do it. When I was away from the NBA from 2006-12, I actually missed working on the paper listing more than I missed the cards themselves sometimes, if you can believe it. I can tell my handwriting is getting worse- I'm losing some of my fine motor control. And if you've ever seen my handwriting, you know it's never been good. I realized that I don't need it to be perfectly legible- as long as I can tell what is supposed to be written there, it's good enough. If I spell something wrong, it's not that big a deal. There are a few pages that I've rewritten due to too many mistakes in the past. Not going to do that anymore.
I just don't trust the computer enough to transition to using it instead. I've had files corrupt, I've had storage devices corrupt, and with my computer not having a battery backup of any sort, if we lose power, I lost any unsaved work. That's too many variables I have no control over. Paper doesn't corrupt. I'm up to 4 binders each for the NBA and NHL, 2 for NASCAR, one for Non-Sports and other sports and one for Misc. which currently has WNBA, multi-Sport and NCAA basketball.