Ten Things I Like but You (probably) Don't.

A few days ago, I posted my list of 10 Things You (probably) Like that I Don't.  Today, we turn the tables and I discuss things that I like that (probably) don't!



Ten Things I Like but You (probably) Don't:

1.  The oddities in Allen & Ginter

I mentioned in my other 10 Things post that I don't care for the abundance of historic baseball greats in the Allen & Ginter set.  Instead of even more cards of Carlton Fisk or Joe DiMaggio, I'd much rather have more cards of "oddities."  Give me more jugglers, mountain climbers, and magicians.  Give me cards of historic landmarks or random kitchen appliances.  I don't really care, but keep it varied and make me laugh (or learn something) with each pack of Ginter that I open.

2.  The Reds
Sure, this is sort of a cop-out answer but let's be honest.  Reds fans are kind of hard to come by these days (for good reason, the team certainly hasn't been worth watching for most of the past two decades).  That said, if baseball ever gets played in 2020 maybe the Reds won't be awful for once (though if they end up in the same Cactus league division with the Dodgers then it'll almost assuredly be another year without a division title.

3.  LEGO
I mean, I have an entire blog dedicated to LEGO which seems like a pretty big deal.  I'm also always willing to trade my baseball cards for assorted LEGO - either full sets or just big boxes of loose pieces.  I have a rather large custom LEGO city set up in my man cave...and it's rapidly encroaching on my baseball card area in the man cave!  Of course, it helps that my (almost) two-year-old son enjoys the LEGO, especially the train so that's been more of my focus lately.

4.  Calling friends on the phone and/or headset via Steam/PS4
I'm at an age now where I haven't called a friend just to chat in a long time.  However, I do like to play video games still and playing with a friend is the way to do that.  It's even better if I can be on voice chat (either via phone or headset).  I get the reasons people text but you can't text and play video games simultaneously (at least not well)!

5.  Collecting sets and storing them in binders
I already talked about how I don't like sets in boxes which leads to what I do like:  my sets in binder pages.  Yes, storage space is an issue - but I'm starting to find that limitations are what make my collection better.  Over the past several years, I've been (very slowly) eliminating cards from my collection that either I no longer like or perhaps simply don't fit in with what I collect.  The rest of my cards will (eventually) end up in binders.  I've got all my sets I'm working on in binders, my Larkin cards in binders, and even my Frankensets will eventually be in binders (my Reds Frankenset is, my non-Reds set isn't yet in a binder but it's getting closer)!

6.  Video games:  Fortnite plus indie Steam games
I mean, video games are super duper popular but I'm not sure that they are all that popular with people around my age.  Anyone out there play Fortnite on PS4 that also collects baseball cards, for example?  If so, feel free to leave your PS4 user name in the comments (or email me if you want).  I'm also starting to really get into some of the indie offerings on Steam, right now I'm playing Vagante and For the King - both really good in their own right.

7.  Board games
I've had a lot of talk about video games in these posts but my true favorite type of game to play is board games.  I've even blogged about a number of them on this blog - but based on the limited feedback I get, I kind of think there's isn't a ton of crossover between card collectors and board game players.  Back in September of last year, I created a Top 10 list of board games that I like and while the games on that list are still very good I can tell you without a doubt that my list would look quite a bit different if I were to create it today!

8.  Cooking

Ever since I went to graduate school, I've loved to cook.  Nowadays, I cook so much (and enjoy it) that I've even started my own Instagram just for cooking (and following other people who offer up interesting meal ideas).  I especially love grilling and if this Pennsylvania weather would ever get warm (and stay warm) I could be by the grill for two (or even three) meals a day!

9.  Framed relic cards
Relic cards get a bad rap these days and for the most part it's warranted.  They are over-produced and generally speaking underwhelming to look at (how many bits of wood or white/gray cloth do we need in our baseball cards anyhow)?  That said, there are still a few relic sets out there that I find visually pleasing and interesting, perhaps none more so than Allen & Ginter framed relics (see the image at the top of the post for what I'm referring to).  Now, it's not all Ginter relics that I like - the full-sized ones that Topps has switched to over the past few years are stupid and I don't collect them.  But the framed ones?  Gorgeous!

10.  Woodworking
Let's end this with a bit of a curve ball:  woodworking!  I'm a novice woodworker but I've slowly been gaining more and more skills (and tools).  I've built a number of bookshelves over the years (including this hybrid bookshelf/toy box for my son last year) and a couple of birdhouses.  Now that my son is getting a bit older, I'm also starting to dabble in making wooden toys for him (first toy making attempt here).

Other things that I considered writing about that I like but you probably don't included eating cereal without milk, unsweetened ice tea, base cards, vegetable gardening, origami, math, and pruning bushes.  I mean, I probably could have just put "math" as numbers 1-10 and very few people would have disagreed with me...it's almost a universal answer of a groan when someone asks me what I do for a living and I tell them I'm a math professor.  Math really isn't that bad people!

This was a fun list to put together and hopefully it gives you a bit more insight into me.  Now it's your turn - let me know what you think (or maybe even create your own lists for me to read)!