The View From Wisconsin

It wasn't until someone mentioned on Facebook (that bastion of social small talk) about bad experiences with GPS systems that I realized I'd never written about my little "incident" with a GPS from December of 2007 of last year.

Let us flash back to that time: we'd gotten dumped on by a ton of snow, but suddenly in the weeks before Christmas it had warmed up a bit. That led to a decision one Tuesday when I didn't have to work to head to the old alma mater, UW-Whitewater, to pick up a 2007 NCAA Division III National Champions sweatshirt. Or three.

Now, there is no direct route to get to Whitewater from Waukesha, except for Highway 59. It was a rather strange day - very foggy in spots, with the snow basically causing visibility to be nil in some spots. This wasn't a huge problem, until I got outside of Palmyra on 59. Apparently, a trailer truck had jackknifed or otherwise had an accident to block the highway, and there was a long line of cars looming ahead in the mist. I decided to take a U-turn and head back to the previous side road, and try to cut across to one of the other roads that led into Whitewater.

After spending some time wandering through the countryside, I remembered that I had signed up for EasyEdge with US Cellular, their Internet-like application that would allow me to download and use all sorts of apps - like, for example, a mini-GPS app known as "Your Navigator". I fired it up, set my phone to send GPS signals, and entered the address of the UW-W Bookstore on Starin Road.

Only one problem: it kept telling me to head down roads where there were these signs saying, "ROAD CLOSED AHEAD." Then, I finally get to a point where it tells me to "Turn left", and I can't - because there's this long "ROAD CLOSED" barrier and, beyond that, a bridge that is completely out.

I gave up on the GPS after yelling at it a bit, then ended up swinging north and onto Highway 106. Somehow, I got turned around, ended up over on the far west side of Whitewater, and came into the campus from Tratt Street. This wasn't all that bad, but I was NOT looking forward to the drive back home.

I was reminded of this earlier this month when Sarah and I decided to drive to Whitewater in her convertible on the 12th. This time, we had to take a complete detour of Highway 59, which is under construction between Whitewater and Palmyra. I'm pretty sure I drove over the bridge that was out back then.

I'm going into my fourth decade of collecting baseball cards and other sports card memorabilia. Over the years, I've collected a LOT of cards. Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, movies, television, comics, military (Operation Desert Storm), and even music cards.

I've collected many different types of cards, too. Along side the regular cards out of a wax pack or "cello" pack, I've collected:

• the Hostess premium "cut out" cards;
  
• the Kellogg's and SportFlics "motion" cards;
  
• a couple of hologram cards (yes, most of them from Upper Deck);
  
• oversize cards;
  
• 3-D "relief" cards (Topps made a set of plastic with a photo on top that looked like those relief maps with the bumps for mountains that you used to see in elementary school);
  
• cloth cards, sticker cards, and cloisonne "pin" cards;
• miniature baseball, football and hockey jerseys (that weren't "cards", per se); and
  
• even playing cards with baseball players on them.

And then, of course, there came the "special inserts". First it was autographed cards - not the "facsimile" ones, but real ones signed with Sharpies or with pen. Then it got complicated:

• The authentic jersey card - cut-up patches of a historic or game-worn jersey;
• the autograph card, both of the sharpie type and of the "tape-on" type;
• the "double jersey" card (two pieces of jersey from the same player, or two teammates);
  
• the rookie redemption card;
• the "short prints" or "variation" cards (thanks to Topps' Cracker Jack series);
  
• the "patch" card, with either the piece of a patch or letter from a jersey;
• the "leather" or "bat" or "slat" card, with either a piece of a glove, a slice of a baseball bat, or a sliver of the seat from a departed ballpark;
  
• the infamous "biological insert" card (Washington's hair, for example - something I never got, thankfully);
  
• the "faux" letter card, with a cloth letter "embossed" into a card (a recent Topps innovation); and
  
• the sketch card.
  

It is this last one which gave me the so-called "holy grail" of cards - the "One of One" card. A card so unique that it is the only one out there. And, this past April, I got an insert in my Topps Baseball Series One pack with a redemption code for a special "one of one" Artist's Sketch card.

After waiting for months and months to receive the card (and a phone call or two to Topps HQ), I finally got my card via Certified Mail. It is a sketch of David Wright by artist Brian Kong. Initially, I wasnt' very impressed with the card (no, it's not the one that is seen on his page, by the way). However, after looking at some of his body of work, my opinion has changed a bit. I guess I'd be more gung-ho about it if it was a player I cared about - say, Prince Fielder, of course - but the card is a nice piece of art and, of course, it's unique.

I'm still in a bit of a non-plussed stage over the card, but I think I'm going to drop Brian a line telling him that I got the card. It's a bit hard, though, to think that I got something "unique" without it being more connected to the sport than just a drawing of the Mets' 3B.

Seems like as good a time as any. Besides, 140 characters at a time was getting so confining...

• This is NOT how we wanted to go into the All-Star Break. Three wins in our last 10, and two and a half games behind the Redbirds. Someone tell Doug Melvin that Ryan Braun was right.
  
• Safety tip for the month: if you own a convertible, and you plan on putting the top down during the summer - WEAR SUNSCREEN.
  
• When you are going to any sort of sporting event where you have no rooting interest in either team, it is much, MUCH more enjoyable when the home team is not getting their butts kicked. West Michigan whipped up on the Beloit Snappers today, 11-3, thanks to an awful-beyond-words 10-run third inning. That inning sapped any joy I might have gotten from watching a baseball game live for the first time this year right out of me. And the Paul Molitor bobblehead wasn't all that, either.
  

And now, for some comic commentary:

• Candi - Heh, gotta love Menjou's new girlfriend, Coconut. When the Squirrel Mafia is out to get you, it's always good to have a girlfriend who has lasers for eyes.
  
• The Dreamland Chronicles - This is getting good. Daniel, the only one who's never dreamt in his life, is going to be the one to suddenly show up in Dreamland, perhaps?
• Girls With Slingshots - A Groom with cold feet (and a bandanna hiding a bald head)? This could be real interesting.
  
• Girl Genius - I said it in the Yahoo Group, and I'll say it here without fear of spoilering: I think we now know how Klaus Barry Heterodyne was killed: SOMEbody was holding the new Seneschal hostage.
  
• Times Like This - After that long little storyline about Cassie's "Hook-up" (pun intentional), a couple of music-themed one-shots aren't too bad. My only question about the strip today (7/13) is, why teach Peter, Paul and Mary a song by Jon Anderson of Yes?
• xkcd - That's funny, that's exactly what happens when I click his "random comic" link... And I completely agree that Cracked.com is way too funny at times, too. (Then again, I preferred Cracked over Mad magazine when I was kid.)
  
• Wapsi Square - Monica's getting tossed around by Doubt (literally). There are times when I want this whole Calendar Machine storyline to end, but part of me can't wait to find out what Pablo (aka Paul Taylor) throws into the works next.