More Jackson Color

The project is slowly creeping along. I added yet another refractor to the list, this time of the purple variety:

This guy is numbered 23 of 199. I have to admit - I really like the purple refractor. It's really sharp. The card itself is in amazing shape, so I hope it grades well down the road.

Only 15 more parallels to go....damn.

Those Two Cards That I Was Talking About.....

...Were waiting on me when I got home from my work trip. I was pretty excited! Now it's time to share.

First up:

The Luke Jackson auto black printing plate, a 1/1!!! Well, a 1/4 if you ask me, but I only need one for the rainbow! The best part about this card is that the seller had it listed in the "Autographs - Original" category rather than the "Cards" category. He had a fair starting point for the auction, so I bid and prayed that the bidding wouldn't go too high. Evidently, no one else was aware of it because I picked it up on my first bid with no competition! It cost me less than the purple auto refractors have been selling for, so I have to assume that's the reason why I got it as cheaply as I did!

The second card comes my way by chance, as well. While checking the Gint-A-Cuffs VI page, I happened to see a comment asking about the point value of a full-size auto card. To my knowledge, the only card of this variety belongs to one "Dougie Fresh" Doug McDermott, Creighton legend! I inquired about the availability of the card and a deal was struck!

Now, the way Tony tells the story, I screamed like a little fangirl when I found out about the card. That might be true, but when an auto pops up of one of your favorite athletes, you get a little excited! I couldn't help it!

Thanks Tony - I feel like I owe you more, so I'm still looking out for other stuff to send your way.

And I'm not a damn fangirl.

I'm a fanboy.

And that is the oddest thing I have ever said about myself.

My First Minor League Game

I take pride in being pretty familiar with the Rangers' minor league system. I love watching the prospects and trying to "guess" where they fit into the organization's future. In terms of collecting, Bowman is by far and away my favorite set, mostly because of the prospects.

But even with all that knowledge, I have never been to a minor league game.

Until tonight, that is.

I mentioned last night that I am in Midland, Texas, for work. It sucks. There is nothing cool about West Texas (visually). Just flat lands, cotton fields and tons of oil derricks (which funds my paycheck). However, my hotel just happens to be just a few yards from the home of the Midland Rock Hounds, the Double A affiliate of the Oakland A's.

Sidenote - why the hell do the A's have their Double A team in west Texas? Couldn't they find anything closer?

Anyway, last night I checked to see who the Rock Hounds were playing today and was delighted to see that they were taking on the Frisco Rough Riders, the Double A affiliate of my Texas Rangers. This meant one thing: Joey Gallo was in the house! I went online and bought my ticket.

What a deal - $10 got me this view:

First row behind the Riders' dugout. Combine that with free parking and you have one hell of a deal. I can't get free parking or a $10 ticket to my high school's varsity football games, so I'll take that deal every time.

I got to the park a few minutes early and was talking to a gentleman about where the best place for autographs were. He told me as the gates were opening, and then gave me a heads-up to grab a bag when I entered the park. Turns out that the club was giving away "goody bags" filled with all kinds of stuff in them. They said that no two bags were the same. I honestly didn't think anything of it at the time.

I followed the gentleman to the left field corner where the visiting team came onto the field. We grabbed a seat and waited. I brought a bat that I wanted to get signed by Gallo and a ball I was hoping to get signed by catcher Jorge Alfaro. The gentleman guiding me told me that Alfaro was elusive - he had tried the past couple of nights with no luck, so I tempered my expectations.

While waiting for Gallo, I decided to look and see what was in my bag.

Coupons for junk food

The bag itself

A seat cushion for what I assume is a local semi-pro soccer team

An ugly Midland High School hat

But then I noticed a ball in the bottom with pre-printed autographs. I just assumed it was a "souvenir" team ball. But then I looked closer...

It says "2010 California - Carolina All Star Game." And those aren't pre-printed autographs....

Those are real autos! A team signed ball from the 2010 California LEague All Stars! But there was one autograph that looked out of place, because I was pretty sure the person I initially thought it was didn't play in the California League:

Yeah, my stupid self got a little excited and thought the signature belonged to Bryce Harper. This is impossible for two reasons. First, as I mentioned, Harper didn't play in the Cali League. And second, Harper was drafted in 2010 and was ineligible for that game.

You can't fault me, however, for seeing the resemblance. The signature actually belongs to the skipper of the squad, Brian Harper. No relation to Bryce Harper.

Anyway, here was the lineup for the Cali League All Stars that year: Ethan Hollingsworth, Brad Brach, Tyler Chatwood, Craig Westcott, Eric Surkamp, Ken Kasparek, Justin Fitzgerald, Brian Woodall, Nathan Eovaldi, Jordan Pacheco, Jose Felix, Brandon Belt, Alexi Amarista, Cole Figueroa, Drew Cumberland, James, Cesario, Stephen Parker, Rich Poythress, Juan Perez, Blake Tekotte, Tyson Auer, Jay Austin and Dan Robertson.

MOst of these names I don't know. Some of them (Eovaldi, Pacheco, Belt) I do. However, there is one name that I am familiar with - Dan Robertson. Dan, a.k.a. Daniel, was traded to the Rangers earlier this season from the PAdres. He's been a solid player for us. He hustles, plays with a lot of heart and is hard not to love. I'm glad he's on this ball. Somewhere!

So I was pretty stoked to find that ball in my bag. I put it back in the bag and continued to wait. The starting lineups were announced and Gallo was *not* in the lineup. My heart sank. So I decided to chat with the usher for the section, who had a game used bat signed by all the Rough Riders except a few. He told me that he only needed Nomar Mazara and a couple other guys. Turns out, this guy used to be the visiting clubhouse manager and has a game signed bat from every team that visits, along with a handful of autographed balls of assorted players. He's been doing this for more than 15 years. Can you imagine what his memorabilia room must look like?!?!?!?!

While we were chatting, Gallo finally came out. I quickly stepped up and asked if he would sign the bat for me. With a smile, he obliged!

Okay, so that picture doesn't do it justice.

Effing sweet!

I quickly noticed that the Sharpie was a bit sketchy. I'm sure Beckett would happily grade the auto with a "1." I am glad that I don't care - I got Joey Gallo to sign a freakin' bat for me!!!! This is instantly my favorite piece of memorabilia in my collection!

I waited a bit longer - until first pitch actually - to try to get Alfaro's auto, but, like Gallo, he wasn't in the lineup for the game. He came out and went directly to the bullpen, bypassing fans, so no one had a chance to ask him.

I'll be honest - I don't even care. The Gallo auto made this entire work trip worthwhile!

Late Night Post From The Hotel

I'm stuck in a hotel for work. On a Sunday. Not the most ideal of places to be on a Sunday night, but it is what it is.

To kill time, I brought some cards to add to my collection on the MiraCard app. If you haven't already, you should download it and upload your collection, if for no other reason than to help get images of the cards for the database. The app is still in its infancy, so some grunt work needs to be done, but it is for a great cause.

Anyway, this has allowed me to think about some things, none of which deserve their own stand-alone post. So I'm just going to throw everything out here in a single update.
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Like I said, I'm stuck in hotel for the next few days for work. However, I noticed that the Rangers Double A affiliate, the Rough Riders, have a game here tomorrow night. That allows me an opportunity to attempt to get an auto from my favorite player, one Mr. Joey Gallo. I think I am also going to try to get a bat signed by the entire team. I'll update my progress tomorrow night.
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You know what I hate most about Blogger? It seems trivial, but I hate that the "Join This Site" button isn't on every blog. Some people use it; others use the "Add To Circles" button. I don't use Circles, so I almost always forget to go visit those blogs. That sucks for me, because all of those bloggers have amazing content that I almost always miss! Anyway, woe is me, boo hoo....
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I've acquired a couple cards that really excite me....but I haven't received them yet. It's killing me, because I want to share them sooo bad. I'm almost tempted to take generic images of them and post anyway, but I'm trying to hold out....
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I've acquired 29 different cards for my 2014 Bowman Luke Jackson Parallel Rainbow Project. You know what's really sad about this project? I still need 14 more unique cards to complete it. That means there are 43 unique parallels in the prospect parallel rainbow for the 2014 set (if the player has a Chrome auto in the set). It's been fun, but it is also becoming irritating. I have a severe case of OCD and feel like I need to have every card in order to call it good. Until then, I'm going to be chasing them down.
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Speaking of Bowman Chrome, the 2014 Bowman Chrome set drops next month. There is no checklist released yet, but I still plan on having my break for the product. There are a lot of teams still available, so visit the sign up page and pick a team! In case you forgot, the cost is $80 a team and that gets you a team of your choosing, a randomly assigned team and shipping. And I will ship ALL the cards, not just the hits!
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That's it for now, I think.....

More Vintage Fever

Sometimes, I read about the awesome cards y'all collect and the cards posted start to seep into my life. I start to think about them more often, I go on eBay and look around and start to ponder what kind of investment, money and time, the sets will require.

So, after reading the posts about 1880's Allen & Ginter sets from Raz and Nachos Grande, I began to look at some cards from these sets.

Damn you two.

Now, I have fallen in love with the 1888 N11 Allen & Ginter Flags of the States & Territories.

Naturally, I had to show off the Texas card. I don't have this card...yet. But I will. Soon.

So there it is, my next cardboard addiction. I really have to stop reading your posts. I'll be broke if I don't.

A Wave Of Luke Jackson Color

If you follow me on Twitter, then you saw this tweet about a week ago:

Is there any better feeling than finding a card you've wanted for a while? I've been fortunate enough to feel that twice today.

— My Cardboard Habit (@cardboardhabit) August 15, 2014

One of the cards I was talking about is a card that I've been trying to get my hands on since the time Bowman dropped earlier this year:

The Green Wave Refractor. This is the third one I saw on eBay. Unfortunately, I missed out on the other two (one I forgot about, the other was too expensive).

I am so very fortunate! I can't believe I actually got my hands on an eBay 1/1!!!! All kidding aside, it is pretty cool to be able to pick up #1.

The other thing that makes this card so special is that it completes the wave refractor portion of my Luke Jackson project. Let's take a look at the completed picture:

The silver is by far and away my favorite of the group. The top three are all numbered to 25, while the bottom three aren't numbered at all. Seems to me that Topps could have numbered some of these, but I guess that would prevent them from printing a million of them. Oh well.

So there you have it, my wave of Jackson color!

An App That FINALLY Works For My Collection

First, let me begin by saying that this is not a paid endorsement. It may sound like it as you read the article, but I promise thse are my thoughts and opinions without the influence of cash. Though if someone wanted to pay me, I would certainly accept the cash!

One of the biggest hassles of my collecting life is knowing what cards I do and don't have. I carry around a binder in my truck that has all my needs lists in it, but sometimes I don't update it when I add cards to my sets or PCs. I tried to solve this problem with a few other apps available via the iTunes App Store, but none of them were even close to being what I wanted.

Last night, I stumbled across an app called MiraCard. In short, this is the app I've been looking for.

The premise of MiraCard is simple: find a card, snap a photo of it and see if it is already in your collection. If it is, you will have a photo of it. If it isn't, buy it, snap another photo of the card and add it to your collection. Furthermore, the app acts like a social network, too. It allows you to find "friends" and add them, just like the other social networks. Once you are a friend of someone, they can browse your collection and see all of your cardboard. It's an easy way to share collections with people without actually having to pull out albums or boxes and thumb through everything. Simple as that!

Okay, so maybe it isn't that simple. And maybe there are a few flaws that need to be addressed. But the app is young and is clearly trying to provide what collectors have been longing for. There will be growing pains, but it appears as if this app will be awesome! Let's take a look at how it works.

When you open the app, you are greeted with your home screen:

Here you will see recent additions to the collections of your friends. You can comment on, favorite or love cards from your friends' collections.

As it stands now, you can search for other users by tapping the magnifying lens. You can check out your recent social activity by tapping the speech balloon with a star, and you can look at your collection by tapping the person icon.

Most important, however, is the add card function in the middle of the bottom task bar (the camera). Tap on it, and you are prompted to take a photo of the card. The app will search its database and identify the card, if it exists in the database already:

If the card is in the database, you have two options. You can add the card to your collection, or you can add the card to your wishlist. This allows you to separate cards into haves and wants. The wishlist will seriously come in handy at a card show, reminding you what cards you want to pick up!

If the card you pictured isn't in the database, you will receive this message:

It will let you know the card isn't in the database, but it allows you to add it if you would like. Once you hit okay, you snap another photo of the card and then add the card vitals:

From there, you crop the photo to fit. I screen-grabbed a couple images of the cropping process, both of which I was cropping the back of the card:

Once you are finished cropping, you are asked to review your changes:

If you are satisfied with your work, you simply hit done and the card is added to your collection.

Boom, your collection goes digital and everyone can check it out.

Like I said, however, there are some growing pains. My first two suggestions were to 1) add a function that allows a user to add an entire set and its images to their collection with one button (i.e. Add all of 2014 Topps Series 1 at once); and 2) create a manual search for cards. As it stands now, the user must take a photo and go from there. As the app is still in its relative infancy, the algorithm used to search photos is still a bit shaky. For instance, I tried to add the base 2014 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw card and got three different results on three different tries. If there was a manual search, I could just enter "2014 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw" and the card would appear and could be added.

Whenever offered the opportunity to provide feedback, I almost always comply. Thus, I sent the two above-mentioned suggestions off to the app creators and thought I wouldn't hear back. Well, about an hour later I received a reply:

Judson - Thanks for the feedback!

- The app is still relatively young. At this phase we are receiving most card images from users (like your Luke Jackson's). Once we get enough images to complete sets, then we could add functions like you mentioned.
- Totally agree with the search for cards function. We are working on that.
- That's also the reason your Clayton Kershaw is bringing different results. Because we have some 2014 Gypsy Queens, but not all. If you add your Kershaw we can process the card into our system and then it will be recognized moving forward.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks for using the app and feel free to email me our Guy (copied) if you have any other thoughts.
Brian
Creator of MiraCard

Another positive! The creators actively solicit and read suggestions and take the time to respond back with information regarding your suggestions! To me, this shows that these guys want the app to work for users, not just to make a buck on it.

Speaking of which, the app is currently free if you download it now!

Unfortunately, its only available to iPhone users at this time. They are planning to go to Android phones soon, though no timetable is given for this.

Even with the growing pains, the app is going to be awesome. I strongly encourage you to download the app if you have an iPhone and begin uploading your collection now! At this point, you will probably find yourself uploading quite a few cards, but by doing so, you are helping to build the image database and make the app even better for future users. So come join me now! look me up - jmeeks1331 is my username - and I look forward to seeing your collection soon!