No Fate But What You Make

A wise person once told me those words years ago.  It took me a long time to realize how right she was. There is no fate but what you make.

All Good Things...................

This is my ode to Star Trek The Next Generation. It has been more than 25 years since Star Trek the Next Generation premiered in the fall of 1987. I did not really get into the show until its 2nd season when it really caught its footing. It is my favorite TV show of all time. Here are (in my opinion) the best episodes ever. Also listed is the date they approximately were shown in syndication.

 18. The Defector (12/30/89) A good yarn starring the Romulans. A submarine tale. 

17. Future Imperfect (11/10/90) The Romulans are at it again causing what the title suggests.

 16. The Neutral Zone (5/14/88) This would be the prelude episode to the Borg.

 15. The Measure of a Man (2/11/89) A Court Room Drama that is really about Slavery. 

14. Where Silence has no lease (11/26/88) – The episode that turned me on to the series. You feel like you are on the ship with the crew. A somewhat spooky show.

 13. The Game (10/26/91) Wesley Crusher returns and he is finally useful.

 12. Unification (11/2/91) Picard, Spock, a tie in to the Undiscover Country Movie which would come out in a few weeks. 

11. Where No One has Gone Before (10/24/87) The Enterprise goes to the farthest reaches of space with surprising consequences.

 10. A Matter of Honor (2/4/89) An exchange program with the Klingons – Unbelievable original television – this episode in the second season solidified the series as must watch TV.

 9. The Most Toys (5/5/90) Data has the lead role, the most surprising ending and A 1962 Topps Roger Maris star in this episode.

 8. In Theory (6/1/91) Data has a girl friend, nuff said.

 7. Clues (2/9/91) The best written and conceived episode of the series. 

6. Cause and Effect (3/21/92) A very well written episode involving a Time Loop. The last great stand alone thought provoking episode of the series.

 5. The Best of Both Worlds (6/16/90, 9//22/90 ) The Borg Returns, I waited all summer for the conclusion of the  greatest season ending cliff hanger ever.

 4. Inner Light (5/30/92) A very emotional episode giving Picard a chance to live out a future that he will never have.

 3. Yesterdays Enterprise (2/17/90) – An Alternative Universe with the return of Tasha Yar. It feels like watching a Movie 

2. All Good Things (5/23/94) A 2 hour series finale episode, one of the best ever on TV. Ties into the first episode and completes the series. The 4 movies that would come after pales in comparison to this show. 

1. Q Who (5/6/89) Intro to the Borg. The best show of the Series. This one was intense.

The Greatest Logo Centric Card of All Time - 2012 Ben Revere Bowman

There are more logos on this card than any other card that I have ever seen: Count Them

1. Twins Logo as part of the Bowman Card

2. The Twins  logo near Ben's right leg.

3 and 4 - The Twins logo on Ben's cap and left sleeve

5. They A's logo on the dugout wall.

6 and 7 - 2 Netsuite logo on the dugout walls

8. Oakland A's dot com. (maybe not a logo but an advertisement)

9. The Pepsi logo on the cup in the dugout.

I count nine different logos on this card. I don't think there is another card like this in existence.

1979-80 Topps Darryl Dawkins - The first sports card that shows a player wearing an Ear Ring

Well I think it is at least it is.  I know Dave Parker wore an Ear Ring in the late 1970s but I don't think any card showed it before 1979.  Darryl was known as Chocolate Thunder. He was an interesting player but over rated. The 1979-80 Basketball Set was one of the greatest Basketball Sets of all time.

What in the Hell of Absolute, Brilliance, Contenders, Crusade, Donruss Elite, Elite, Gold Standard, Innovation, Intrigue, Limited, Marquee, Momentum, National Treasures, NBA Hoops, Panini, Past Present, Preferred, Prestige, Prizm, Select, Threads, Signatures, Timeless Treasures, Totally Certified,

IS GOING ON HERE!! (As Vince Lombardi used to say).  Panini has put out 25 indistinguishable basketball sets. OK, Maybe NBA Hoops stands out a little but you can't tell one set from the other. All that it appears that they are doing is selling mem and auto cards. It is like they have to make a set for every letter in the alphabet. Half of these sets came out (or will come out) after the Basketball season is over. The regular cards in these sets are Absolutely worthless. I bought a 100 card  Absolute set for 6.99 shipped.  I think this set was supposed to sell for $80 a box and it would take 4 boxes to put together a 100 card set. What is going on here. Someone is getting ripped off. You can't put out all this crap and try to sell it because you got a chance to win Kobe Bryant's Auto.  They should just sell people Kobe Bryants Auto instead of giving them a chance to win it. Panini should only put out a few sets a year and build off that. It appears Prizm is a winner especially for Baseball. However, one hit out of 25 is only 4 percent. Which isn't good and kill the hobby.