Ebay to the Rescue

I am no stranger to eBay.  My first feedback from a seller came on 2/12/04 and my first feedback as a seller (from the buyer) was on 3/7/04.  I have purchased over 100 items and sold almost 400.  And at one point, I even had an eBay store.

What, you may ask, am I selling?  Star Trek cards.  Sure, there were a few other items here and there that I have sold.  But by far, of those nearly 400 items I have sold, they are cards from the Star Trek: Customizable Card Gaming series.

As a Star Trek fan ...

... who is the better Captain?

I started collecting these cards a long time ago (1994) along with a good friend of mine.  We would buy packs, trade cards and play against each other.  After I met Mandy (who has her own blog) it faded to the background to be forgotten.  However, I rediscovered them in a box somewhere a few years after we were married.  I remembered enjoying the cards, and though my friend wasn't nearby anymore, I decided to start collecting them again.  Much to the chagrin of my wife and ridicule of my friends and family.

Over the course of time, I bought "lots" of Star Trek cards from eBay or would buy cases of unopened packs to glean what I needed and then resold what I didn't.  That would then fund the next purchase of needed cards. In late 2008 I had collected every single card (over 3500) and all foil versions of any cards that had them.  I even acquired the 25 tournament foil cards (given as prizes to winners of tournaments) even though I never won a tournament, let alone played in one.

Who's the Star Trek geek now?

Now, nearly 2 years after collecting all of those cards I came to a realization:  As a collector, it was the acquiring I enjoyed.  Now that I have them? meh.  They are cool to look at and read how they could be used in strategic game play, but I could never "play" with them all.

Coincidentally, Mandy and I have been looking for things we can sell to provide a financial buffer for those tighter months (every month).  I told Mandy I would start selling off my Star Trek collection to those other collectors that were looking for some of those ellusive cards or sets.

So in June, I started selling on eBay again.  To the right is a summary of how things are selling.  Every week I list a few items, usually a couple of sets and some individual cards.  I should have most of my collection sold by the end of summer.  You can click on the picture to see what is a currently available for sale.  Or, if you are interested in something specific, leave your email in the comments with what you are looking for.  I am ready to wheel and deal.

It Was My Mom's Fault ...

When I was a baby, my mom didn't cut my hair.  As I recall, when I asked about past photos, my mom "loved" my long curly blond hair and didn't cut it until I was well past 2 years old.

"Mr. and Mrs. Halverson, you must be so proud to have another baby girl."

Now, as a parent, I acknowledge a parent's right to "parent" their children.  If my mom was proud of her baby BOY's long flowing locks, who am I to criticize?  I don't necessarily feel "scarred" by the fact I had long hair.  However, in the years that came after, my attempts at long curly hair was never received with the same adoration.

It wasn't meant to be.

Somewhere in me, however, was a longing to once again make my mom proud.  But if I was no longer able to do it myself, then what were my options?

Sorry Micah ... It was my Mom's fault.

When Caleb was born, I emphatically told my wife (who has her own blog) we were not cutting his hair.  After a short time though, it became apparent his hair was too "coarse" to "flow".  Then we had two girls.  And though I emphatically told my wife we were not cutting their hair, it was never quite the same.  Then we had Micah.

And although my wife emphatically told me that 3 years old was quite long enough, I feel "complete" knowing that I made my mom proud.  (You were proud weren't you mom?)

Self Discipline

We have all had experience with Self Discipline.

Anyone who has set out to accomplish a particularly difficult goal has had to stare Self Discipline in the eye in a contest of wills where the first one to laugh loses. And when you start to squirm from the exertion and as Self Discipline begins to say things and make faces (that really are funny), you ask yourself, "Is there really any harm in laughing?"

SD:  Your determination won't help you.
SD:  I'm thinking about getting another hair-cut.
SD:  I'm going to kiss you now.
YOU:  haha. Dang it Self Discipline, you are funny. haha.

Whether it is a diet or exercise, getting up on time, spending less time on the computer, calling loved ones, talking to your neighbors, praying regularly or reading your Bible, or whatever else those things are that may come as a challenge to us, Self Discipline must be there. 

Dictionary.com defines self-discipline:  –noun, discipline and training of oneself, usually for improvement.

The greek word (from the Bible) translated as "self-discipline" is:  Sophronismos ( ) meaning,  an admonishing or calling to soundness of mind, to moderation and self-control, OR, self-control, moderation.

In my life, however, it often means a literal disciplining of myself.

A few years ago, while praying, I had a vision of myself walking through my life depicted as a house with rooms.  I was asking Jesus to show me which rooms needed to be "cleaned up".  At that time in my life, I was confused at the dead ends I came to and pleaded with God to show me what I was "doing wrong."  In the process of touring my house, the rooms were clean and Jesus was pleased. 

We came into the bedroom and Jesus had this look of appraisal, as if he was really taking in the surroundings.  He came to my bed and leaned over and said, "Hmm, what's this?" and waved my bed aside.  Underneath the bed was a trap door.  I sat down surprised and replied, "I didn't know that was there."  He said to me, "When you're ready, let's take a look."

Even though that was just a vision while I was praying, the ramifications were powerful.  It took me awhile to "take a look".  I don't remember exactly how long, but it was a significant time later.  I asked my wife (who has her own blog) to sit and pray with me as I opened the trap door.

Since then, God has shown me things that were affecting me that I was completely oblivious to.  Things that hinder me from experiencing God more fully.  Things that prevent me from seeing myself as God sees me.

One of those things is Self Discipline.  Not the "discipline of oneself for improvement", but the "punish or penalize oneself in order to rebuke or chastise".  I act as if I deserve what I get.  The results are the consequences of my actions, whether recent or in the past.  If there is tension between my wife and I, I withhold myself from her, because I don't deserve her.  If I am overlooked for a responsibility it is because I wasn't worthy anyway.  If I get a ticket for running a stop sign, I had it coming.

God has been teaching me and showing me this inclination.  I am only beginning to understand the depth of how this tendancy affects me.  If I am engaging in a "sin", I don't deserve God's forgiveness.  If I'm not reading the Bible, I don't deserve to know God's will.  If I'm not praying, I don't deserve to hear God's voice.  It can really be debilitating.

I am currently baffled by it.  I don't know where it stems from.  I suppose that is part of the process though.  God shows me the "thing" and my awareness brings about teachability.  The in-process part is hard though.

::prayer:: Lord, help me understand myself and continue to show me why I am the way I am and how I can be who you want me to be. ::endprayer::

Next Blog. It's OK, You Can Click It.

I don't mind.  You can click it.  Google created a really fun experience with the "Next Blog" option.  And it is different everytime.  I don't know how Google determines it, but it seems content related ... kind of.

I, personally, like to make a game out of the "Next Blog" button.

Game #1)  Next Blog Click.  Obviously, I like to start from my own blog, but you can start from any blogspot blog of your choosing.  Simply goto your starting point and click "Next Blog". When you are finished checking out your find, click the back button, refresh button and then "Next Blog" again and see what different blog comes up.  You may even find a new blog to follow.

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  Example when I clicked just now (well technically it was in the past for you, but present for me.  (Time Travelled)):  "More Adventerous", last updated 2/18/10 and 29 followers.
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  Another example:  "Mustard Seeds", last updated 3/28/10 from Australia.

Game #2) Next Blog x3.  From a blogspot blog of your choosing, click "Next Blog" three times.  You shouldn't even have to move your mouse cursor.  Just click away (but not too fast, you have to wait for the blog to load).  Now in this game, don't get distracted by blog 1 or blog 2, your goal is blog 3.  Blog 1 and Blog 2 don't count, and if you are being honest with yourself, you should be penalized if you succumb to a prolonged pause.

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  Example:  "Liberal Catholic Sports Music", last updated 3/15/10 and currently in a feud with another blog, "Of Course, I Could be Wrong ... " (aka the Mad Priest).
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  Another example:  "Unknown" because I am not invited to read it.  But that is just part of the game ... mark one in the loss column.
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  Do over:  "Scarface Periodical", last updated 2/10/10 and follows 21 other blogs (I wonder how he found them?)

Game #3) Next Blog 3XTR3M3.  ::WARNING:: This game is not for the faint hearted.  If you enjoy the "Next Blog" button, or have been intrigued by these "Next Blog" games, you could find this challenge enjoyable.  However, if you lack in observation and perseverence skills you may want to stick with the simpler games noted above.  The rules are simple, the task is not.  Using only the "Next Blog", Back and Refresh buttons ... find how many "Next Blog" clicks it takes to find any blog a second time*.

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  My example: "Sassy Granny", 27 "Next Blog" clicks to see "Sassy Granny" a second time.  The first time was on click 20 or so.

When you have time, explore the blogspot world of blogs by clicking the "Next Blog" button.  You can just check them out, or make a game out of it.  Try one of my game suggestions, but perhaps you would like to make up your own.

Tell me in the comments, if you find an interesting blog.  Or, if you make up your own "Next Blog" game, let me know how to play.

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*Though you can use the Back and Refresh buttons, they are null clicks and don't apply towards the overall click count.  Only "Next Blog" clicks should be counted.

*'s or ()'s? That is the question.

There are many odd things about the English language.  Some even consider it one of the most complicated and difficult languages to learn.  In addition to confusing rules and homophones, there is the consideration of punctuation.

Without googling it ... can you name all of the punctuation marks?  (See below for the answers* and tell me how many you guessed correctly in the comments).

This post, however, is going to address asterisks (versus parentheses).  My sister (Laura) recently requested I refrain from the usage of asterisks.  My understanding (correct me if I am wrong) is that they were causing her fingers to get tired (silly Mac).  But it occured to me if anyone else were to read this blog, would they also tire of scrolling?  So please, before you scroll or tire of scrolling and thereby tire of my posts ... consider the following.



Asterisks are voluntary.  You don't have to scroll.  Parentheses further or qualify my thoughts, but asterisks take them somewhere else, sometimes completely unrelated**.  I once said, "asterisks do for the writer what can seldom be done for the speaker."  There are many of us who think tangently, and can easily get side tracked from our thought process, and, when speaking, may never get back to the main point at hand.  With asterisks, I can save you the trouble of following those additional thoughts (unless you want to).

Asterisks are enhancing.  They add to the quality of what you are reading.  If you are even reading a post in my blog, I assume you've come here of your own volition.  Which, I also assume, means you are interested in the content.  So it is my responsibilty to enhance your experience as much as possible.  My parenthitical remarks, I feel, are necessary to expound within context, whereas asterisks are indepentant (though sometimes related) thoughts and can take an article to places that ultimately enhance your reading***.

Asterisks are expressive.  I can share so much more within the confines of this post.  When I say, "asterisks are enhancing," I refer to your benefit.  However, when I say, "asterisks are expressive," I refer to my benefit.  I can have a lot to say.  One could argue, that is the very reason one blogs.  To get their thoughts out their head****.  When I can successfully express portions of a thought (no matter how tangent), I feel satisified I got some of it out.



So please, consider the above when encountering my asterisks.  They are voluntary, you don't have to scroll down, or even read them when you reach the bottom of a post. But you may miss an enhanced experience of an article that you are choosing to read. But ultimately, I use asterisks to express myself and further my thoughts. You could say my entire blog is an asterisk.




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*did you scroll down here without even trying? When you are ready for the answer, highlight the rest of this sentence: This site offers 14: the period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, hyphen, parentheses, brackets, braces, apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipses (an asterisk is not a punctuation mark). Some sites also include slash and backslash, and distinguish between single and double quotation marks as well as suggest an underline and underscore as punctuation.

**like this.

***please refer to "asterisks are voluntary".

****writing about asterisks is a personal expression, not necessarily beneficial to society at large.