Technical Difficulties

If any of you are waiting for e-mails from me, I am having major computer troubles and will get with you soon.  In the meantime, here is a couple of gratuitous pictures for your pleasure:

 Magic air-kneeling Papelbon!

And magic uniform-expanding beast!  I wonder how heavy that bat is?

Two for trade, 8 for keeps

I just got an ebay purchase in the mail.  It was from one of those sellers that offered free shipping after the first card, so I grabbed a few!

The top 2 here are for trade, so let me know if you want em!  The Berkman is #'d /50.

And the rest are keepers for me, but you gotta see them!!

The Ripken Gold Medallion is kind of cool.  I love me the 72 set and if Billy Martin doesn't look pissed at something, then the photo that shouldn't be on one of his cards!  The Guerrero isn't overly wonderful, but it is a serial #'d Diamond King and I need most of that 'Rookie DK' set.  The coolest, in my opinion, is the Jim Thome!  It's from the Christie Brinkley Collection inserts from 96 Pinnacle.  Boxing gloves?  Christie Brinkley?  Are we still talking about baseball cards here???  Great card!

This was the card that got me started on this purchase.  Edgar is revered here in the northwest, and I had no relic of his.  It's an interesting card.  I think I like it.

The Thome was sweet, but this has to be my favorite card of the bunch.  Psycho-George and Cheerful-Al!  Words fail.  Whoever took this picture was not surprised when George went loco at the pine tar game.

And finally, the basketball!  Cheap Ewing RC!  Insanely die-cut Pippen!  These are the kind of hoops cards I'll go for all day long.  At least at the cheap-o prices I got them for!

July Refractor Report

If you read this blog at all the last 7 months, you know I'm collecting refractors this year.  Any refractors!!  The goal is 1000 for the year.  This is my monthly report.

Here is the monthly progress report for July!

As of July 31st, I have the following:
545 - Baseball Refractors
25 - Football Refractors
52 - Basketball Refractors

622 total Refractors!  That's 61 added over the last month.  Assessment:  Much better that the last few months, but I still need to pick it up!

This month I have verified that the refractors from the following sets are not marked with a 'refractor' label anywhere on the card:

1993 Finest 
1994 Finest
2007 Topps Heritage Chrome
2011 Topps Chrome

I'm looking for any other sets with no label on the refractors.  If you know any, let me know!  Fact-check?!?!

More math...

I have 62.2% of my goal of 1000 Refractors.
I have been accumulating refractors at a pace of  2.92/day (down from 3.08/day for the 1st 6 months of the year).
I am on pace for 1068 refractors.

On pace still!  But barely.

Big thanks this month to Mark from Stats on the Back who sent me 13 fractors this month and Kirk from Eutaw Street Cardboard from whom I purchased 26 fractors in his 'Selling for the National' project.  Thanks guys!!

As always, let me know if you have refractors to trade!