by Matt | Jul 20, 2012 | Baseball
Another month, another awesome break from my good buddy Sam over at the DailyDimwit. This time he was busting Goudy, Unique and SPX. Just before he started opening boxes we worked out a trade for something extra special. You might have seen his half of the trade here, but here’s my loot.
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by Matt | Jul 13, 2012 | Personal, Tech
I think I’ve failed to mention this over the past week or two, but after seeing positive results I felt the need to share. We’ve completely cut our TV service. We’re going 100% streaming, and it’s awesome.
Our average cable bill was $250. That’s insane. We were using AT&T Uverse in a combo package with TV, Internet and Home Phone. The introductory price (as seen on the commercials) was $99. Over the past two years they’ve raised the TV price by $20, and for some crazy reason, the phone price as well. Also, after the introductory period ended, they started charging for the DVR, the 2 receivers, call notes (on the phone), and a half dozen other things. I had enough. In the grand scheme of things $250 doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was my 2nd highest monthly bill. Only my car payment was higher.
I got fed up and decided to make a change. I kept only the Internet portion of the Uverse service, and actually increased it from 18mbps to 24mpbs. My entire bill is now $60. Since we already pay for Amazon Prime (well worth the $79/year) we have access to all of that video library via the PS3 (which is free compared to XBL). I’m also considering reinstating my Netflix account, streaming only, for $7.99. $68 total is quite a bit better than $250. Both Netflix and Amazon have huge libraries, including a lot of Sesame Street and other children’s programming that our kiddo enjoys, and more than enough of a backlog of good shows we never watched to keep us busy if we get the urge to watch something. Tudors, Breaking Bad, 24, it’s all there if we want it.
I also picked up, for under $20, an over-the-air HD receiver. I set it up above the entertainment center and we now get the 4 local stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) for free. I did that in case of emergencies. I didn’t want to be completely information-less in the event a hurricane was headed our way. $20 for a little redundancy, well worth it.
Honestly, we were watching less and less TV anyway. Kids take up 99.9% of your free time. After getting her to bed at 8:00 every night, there’s only about 2-3 hours left in the tank before I pass out. I’d rather spend that time with the wife, or playing a game, or blogging, or sorting cards. TV was so low on the list that it was easy to cut it out entirely.
Growing up, my parents always told us that, after finishing our homework, we had 1 hour we could use the TV. Not watch, use. That meant that you had to decide if you wanted to play Atari, or watch cartoons. Usually I opted for 30mins of Mighty Mouse and 30mins of gaming. Other than that, we were told to play outside. Looking back, it’s one of the things I think my parents did absolutely right. I wanted to pass on those good habits to my little one. So, we let her watch Sesame Street or Shaun the Sheep for about 30mins in the morning while we’re getting ready for work. That’s it. No TV in the afternoons and evenings. That’s family time.
The cost savings alone were worth it, but the added family time was equally important to us.
If the cable companies ever switch to an à la carte system, I’d consider signing up for a station or two, but that would be the only way I’d come back. Paying for 250 channels I don’t watch was simply a waste. I’ve been happily streaming shows for 2 weeks now, haven’t had a problem finding and/or missing any content I wanted to see, and have no plans to go back. I’m feeling good about this one.
by Matt | Jul 12, 2012 | Games
A quick heads up to any of you that play video games, or at least, and more accurately, computer games. Steam just launched their annual “Summer Sale” today. This is an awesome annual/seasonal event (Summer Sale and Winter Sale) where Valve and the other publishers on Steam discount games to way below retail price, for a limited time. On top of that, there are daily deals at even lower prices and “Flash Sales” at even lower prices than that! Looking for an entire collection? Those are there too. Entire publishers catalogs for the price of a single game.
Need some examples?
The entire 2K Games Collection, which includes hits like Civilization, Mafia and Borderlands, retail price $220. This week, $49.
Portal 2, $4.99!
Deus Ex, one of last years “Games of the Year”, $7.49
I know most of you aren’t gamers, but it’s worth mentioning that casual games and cross-platform games are on sale too. I’m sure most of you have played a PopCap game like Bejeweled or Zuma. All 33 games that PopCap has ever made, one collection, $49. That’s about $1.50 a game.
Anyway, just wanted to share that the sale is now live. This is how I stocked up on games last year (that I’m still playing this year). It’s well worth it to pick up some “bargain bin” entertainment, even if you save it for later down the road. Friendly word of advice: Check out the sale on it’s final day, the 22nd, game bundles are the same price all week but in case you miss a “daily deal” everything is at it’s lowest price right at the end as well. Anyway, happy gaming!
Steam Summer Sale
by Matt | Jul 11, 2012 | Baseball
Ginter, ginter, ginter. There, you happy now? I said it. It’s like you can’t not say it this time of year.
In 2010, I decided to start collecting baseball cards again. The very first thing I bought was 2010 Allen & Ginter. I blame Sam. Well, not completely. I asked him what was fun to collect, and he was right. 2010 Ginter was a lot of fun. I got my team set, a couple relics, had some fun. Then 2011 happened. I did not have fun. The distribution was terrible, beyond the normal terrible we all routinely complain about, it was just plain ugly. I opened, in back to back blasters, the same (even down to the mini) identical pack. In 3 blasters I got a total of TWO pieces of Carlos Pena’s pants. That’s way more Pena pants than anyone outside of the man himself should actually own. I said to myself, “well, this sucks, forget Ginter”, and promptly moved on to last years Gypsy Queens and Topps Chrome. I disliked just about everything about 2011 compared to 2010. I told myself I wasn’t even going to look at 2012. Then I saw the design. Damnit, they actually improved it. I really like Art Deco. It sucked me back in. Then I looked at the checklist. Half the number of crappy non-sports cards, also a plus. Better auto/relic selections, a plus. Damnit, I was going to buy Ginter again, I could feel it.
Then I did. Just one blaster, just to be sure… and I got this.

Ok Ginter, you’ve won. Just… let me down easy this time ok. No more pants.
by Matt | Jul 11, 2012 | Baseball
So, remember the other day when I said seeing little yellow envelopes in my mailbox made my day? Yeah, this does too!

A couple weeks ago Derek over at Tomahawk Chopping announced he was giving away some free cards. I made a comment, made a trade or two, and forgot all about it. Low and behold, I find this beauty in my mailbox the other day. 250+ very nice cards! Everything from regular Topps flagship to (my favorite) Chrome, to some great UD Signature Stars and Gypsy Queen. Awesome stuff Derek! Thanks, as always, for being more than generous!!
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