A Viking, A Viking (SKOL!) and a Window to the Stars.

 Random.org chose the following as my random card of the day. This 2020 Panini Select #37 featuring C.J. Ham of the Minnesota Vikings.

Ham actually made his NFL debut in 2016, but got 'rookie' cards in 2020. Who says fullbacks get no love ? Apparently he's a 2 time pro-bowler. I had no clue fullbacks still got selected to the Pro Bowl. Maybe I need to watch it closer. On second thought, maybe not.

He's a career Viking too. Went to Augustana College in South Dakota who play at the Division 2 level. And their teams are named the Vikings, then signed as a free agent with the NFL Vikings.

I have catalogued in  my collection 2 Ham cards and 176 Minnesota Vikings cards

My favourite new card I added to my catalogue recently is this 2021 O-Pee-Chee Platinum - Sunset parallel #186 featuring Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets.

Having previously lived in Denmark, I collect cards of Danish players as a mini-PC project, so this was a nice addition.

New additions to my all-time roster project catalogued yesterday were:

• Atlanta Braves player #149 - Andruw Jones
• Florida Marlins player #36 - A.J. Burnett
• Kansas City Royals player #128 - David Lough
• Los Angeles Dodgers player #166 - Manny Mota
• Montreal Expos player #69 - Stan Bahnsen
• San Diego Padres player #154 - Paul Dade
• Canada (hockey) player #155 - Manon Rheaume
• Detroit Red Wings player #175 - Terry Sawchuk
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #17 - Steven Alzate
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #23 - Carlos Baleba
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #15 - Yves Bissouma
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #24 - Facundo Buonanotte
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #22 - Moises Caicedo
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #11 - Aaron Connolly
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #16 - Marc Cucurella
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #4 - Lewis Dunk
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #19 - Julio Enciso
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #9 - Pascal Gross
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #6 - Adam Lallana
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #7 - Tariq Lamptey
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #10 - Alexis Mac Allister
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #21 - Kaoru Mitoma
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #13 - Jakub Moder
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #25 - Enock Mwepu
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #8 - Davy Propper
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #3 - Mathew Ryan
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #14 - Robert Sanchez
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #20 - Jeremy Sarmiento
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #12 - Leandro Trossard
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #5 - Adam Webster
• Brighton & Hove Albion player #18 - Danny Welbeck

My All-time roster project now stands at 15,114 combinations.

My random postcard of the day is this card from Los Angeles, California, USA showing the Griffith, but  Park Observatory.

The idea of putting a telescope and observatory where you want to get away from light pollution seems absurd in Los Angeles, but not so strange back in the 1930's. Apparently it is the most viewed telescope (ie number of people who have looked through it) in history. It's more tourist attraction and educational facility than working observatory these days, but still does science.

This card is written and was received through an exchange on an online postcard forum. I currently have 353 cards from the USA catalogued in my collection.

A Tiger, a Punching Bag and a Pokey Tree

 Random.org chose the following as my random card of the day. This 2009 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects #BDP19 featuring Ryan Perry of the Detroit Tigers.

I don't remember Perry at all, maybe I need to brush up on my early 2010's middle relievers, but hey unlike a good chunk of the guys in these Bowman sets, he got to the Big Leagues. Appeared in 156 games over 4 years. No starts, 2 saves, 43 games finished which suggests he was the 'this game is a blowout, so put him in' guy for those teams.

I currently own 1 Perry card and 324 Detroit Tigers cards.

My favourite new card I added to my catalogue recently is this 1996 Pinnacle Summit - Premium Stock parallel #100 featuring Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Why, not because I'm a Hextall fan, but because whenever I'm feeling down, I just call up the YouTube video of Felix Potvin beating him so bad his ears didn't stop ringing for a month and suddenly I have a smile on my face.

New additions to my all-time roster project catalogued yesterday were none.

My All-time roster project now stands at 15,030 combinations.

My random postcard of the day is this card from Arizona, USA 

Fun fact, there are 9 rattlesnakes in this photo. This card is written and was received in an exchange on an online postcard exchange forum. Currently I have 340 postcards from the United States catalogued.

A Devil, an Angel and a Boat

 Random.org chose the following as my random card of the day. This 2019 Parkhurst #121 featuring Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils

I enjoyed Parkhurst as a set. Not quite as much as O-Pee-Chee, but the more simple approach is a reminder of what to me the hobby is about. Why Upper Deck needed to kill off an affordable set and turn it into a e-Pack only when they still release what seems like 25 high end sets I don't know. Well, I think I do know, but it sucks nonetheless.

I see Schneider is from Massachusetts, I'd have sworn he was Canadian, but I'm likely confusing him with Corey Hirsch.

I currently own 18 Schneider cards and 698 New Jersey Devils cards.

My favourite new card I added to my catalogue recently is this 2022 Topps x Bobby Witt Jr. Crown Collection - Green Rainbow #2 featuring Jo Adell of the Los Angeles Angels.

It feels like Adell has been a prospect for about a decade. It also feels like he's never going to establish himself. Why this card as a favourite, well, it's one of those cards that when you see it in the box, you think, what the heck is that from. And then you look it up on TCDB and wonder how in the world a card from a set like that ended up in a dollar box in southern Ontario. Plus, what better pairing for today with a Devil?

New additions to my all-time roster project catalogued yesterday were none. I continue to spend time working on other things, in particular enhancements to  my collection backup database.

My All-time roster project now stands at 15,176 combinations.

My random postcard of the day is this card from the United States showing a boat which seems a little past its best years.

There is no information on this card about the boat, if it is significant, the location of the photograph or anything. Perhaps it's just done as a postcard for the melancholy of the photo. This card is written and was received via a trade on an online postcard exchange forum. Currently I have 340 postcards from the United States catalogued.

A Flame, a Sabre and some Spacecraft

 Random.org chose the following as my random card of the day. This 2017 O-Pee-Chee - Playing Cards 8 of hearts featuring Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames.

I've never really made it a point to chase the playing card inserts, not sure why, maybe just a bit too gimmicky for me. I hope Johnny Hockey is enjoying life in Columbus. Kind of feels like he left a sinking ship in Calgary for one that never floated to begin with.

I currently own 43 Gaudreau cards and 773 Calgary Flames cards.

My favourite new card I added to my catalogue recently is this 2021 Upper Deck SPx - UD Black Obsidian Rookies #OR-28 featuring Arttu Ruotsalainen of the Buffalo Sabres. Why thisone, just think it's a cool looking card which caught my eye at the last show I attended as I had never seen this particular design before

New additions to my all-time roster project catalogued yesterday were none, those pesky things called work and chores got in the way.

My All-time roster project now stands at 15,176 combinations (which is a change from yesterday despite cataloguing no cards due to some database cleanup work)

My random postcard of the day is this card from the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, USA featuring 2 Gemini space capsules.

This postcard is unwritten and was received via a trade on an online postcard exchange group. Space themed cards, either related to the manned space program or astronomy as a science are always going to be a big hit with me. I currently own, or at least have catalogued 340 postcards from the USA.

A Blue, a Star and a Galaxy Far Far Away

Random.org chose the following as my random card of the day. This 2019 SP Authentic #25 featuring Brayden Schenn of the St. Louis Blues. 

I know SP Authentic is more about the Future Watch than the base, so to me their designs are either really nice or miss the boat. This falls into the second group for me. At least Schenn was coming off a season where he was a key contributor to a Cup Winner. That Blues team is one of the odder Cup winners recently, probably don't even have a single Hall of Famer on it. Who was their best player ? Ryan O'Reilly maybe.

Full disclosure, this was actually spin #2 of the Random.org wheel for the day, but the first result was of a player too icky to feature and who deserves no recognition at all.

I currently own 35 Schenn cards and 816 St. Louis Blues cards.

My favourite new card I added to my catalogue yesterday is this 2006 Upper Deck McDonald's - Hot gloves insert #HG8 featuring Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars.

Honestly, I have zero recollection at all of this insert set so didn't recognize it when it came out of a 'goalie mix' I bought. Apparently it is the only one of the ten in the set I own. Turco put up some really good numbers in his career, but never really comes to mind as an elite keeper. Likely down to his doing it during an ultra defensive era.

New additions to my all-time roster project catalogued yesterday were none. Yesterday was a day for my postcard collection.

My All-time roster project now stands at 15,137 combinations.

My random postcard of the day is this card from the USA featuring the ARP 273 galaxies as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. The blog post title is what they call clickbait ;-)

While an American made postcard, this card was actually sent to me from Ukraine via an online postcard exchange group. It is written and stamped. Depending on your perspective, I currently own 88 postcards from Ukraine and 340 from the USA.