[dleiber] My Collection

[dleiber]

Hello, fellow card enthusiasts. Here's a little about me and the road up to my card collection:

I've always loved watching magic and years ago learned to juggle. While in graduate school (before the Internet) looking for more juggling props, I discovered a magic store and bought my first few tricks (cups and balls, hot rod, sponge balls). I was hooked. So after many more trips there and $$$ in purchases, I decided to do something with it. Fubsy the Clown (there are stories behind the name, so ask if you're interested) was born and as that alter ego, I did magic, balloon animals, and juggling. Adults liked the card magic, but kids seemed to like more of the comedy and colorful magic. Fubsy performed off and on for about 30 years and then took a break. During that time, though, I met many wonderful magicians, was a member of the International Jugglers Association, Washington Wizards, and the International Brotherhood of Magicians Ring 50.

Fast forward to February 2015. I was looking on the internet to replace some of my old magic packet tricks, thinking I'd get back into it just for fun, and I discovered the world of YouTube, online magic stores, etc. That led to deck reviews of amazing and beautiful cards, the whole cardistry scene, and forums like this one. I was hooked again.

So, with a milestone birthday last month, it seemed only fitting that I treat myself to a bunch of card decks and see what's out there. I also spread the word to friends and family and they showered me with cards for my celebration. So, my collection isn't as grand as most of yours, but it's growing and it's been fun for the short while I've been doing it. At first I was torn about opening the decks or not, but I want to enjoy the nuances of each of the cards, so I decided that would be more fun for me. I'm not sure where it will take me, but for now, I've spent way more than enough so I should calm down and enjoy what I have.

I'll post a few pics I've recently done for my own OCD-like record-keeping. Cheers!

[dleiber]

Here's a collage of most of the jokers from my decks:

[dleiber]

And here's a collage of most of the non-boring aces from my decks:

[dleiber]

I may have posted this picture in another thread a month ago, so sorry for the duplication, but it belongs with My Collection.

It's a "red" scene I did of some magic tricks, props, and cards that pertained to the theme. (I did it for a contest entry for a Red Gatorback deck, but unfortunately did not win.) It's kind of fun. All you magicians out there, can you recognize all the magic?

[ecNate]

Very cool, thanks for sharing! Did you scan every Joker and AoS to computer image? What are you using for your OCD record keeping besides PCDB?

[Eoghann]

it was fun looking at the joker collage trying to spot all the familiar ones. The ones I don't recognize are the HA HA joker and green joker next to Lotrek's Butterfly joker.

[dleiber]

Very cool, thanks for sharing! Did you scan every Joker and AoS to computer image? What are you using for your OCD record keeping besides PCDB?

Yes, I did.

I started using PCDB, but found a lot of my decks were missing and for many that were there, there were only pictures of the tuckbox front and back. I wanted a larger assortment, so I decided to scan my own tuckboxes front and back, cardback, ace of spades, joker, king of diamonds, ten of hearts, and one other one if one stood out. That gave me a nice assortment of courts, number cards, suits, etc. and since I'd be consistent across decks, I could compare like cards to like cards.

But since some had very cool aces in all suits and two different jokers, I scanned those extras just for fun and threw them onto some web pages.

My database is a mySQL database and my display pages and entry/edit pages are done in PHP. I wanted also to keep track of cost, extra cards, tuckbox features, etc., so with my own DB, I can have whatever fields I want. I'm sure I have a lot that no one else would want, like a rating from 1 to 5 for Overall Handling, Coolness, and Fanning, etc., but it seems to work for me so far.

BTW, I am still using the awesome PCDB and learn something from it every time I use it.

[dleiber]

it was fun looking at the joker collage trying to spot all the familiar ones. The ones I don't recognize are the HA HA joker and green joker next to Lotrek's Butterfly joker.

That's impressive!

The "HA HA" joker is from Debbie Millman's Deckstarter deck (typography theme).

The green jester next to the Butterfly joker is from a deck called Belgique/Belgie that I bought in Brussels, Belgium, in 1989 when I worked there for a couple of months. It has no tuckbox, so there isn't a lot of info about it. At the bottom of the joker, though, it says "P.A.G.S.A. - Barcelona - Made in Spain".

[dleiber]

My decks:

[dleiber]

Here are my cardbacks. (Anyone, feel free to let me know the actual, technical name for the back design of a card, if there is one. "Cardback" is probably not correct.)

[dleiber]

They look less artistic this way, but they are easier to see as a grid:

[ecNate]

My database is a mySQL database and my display pages and entry/edit pages are done in PHP. I wanted also to keep track of cost, extra cards, tuckbox features, etc., so with my own DB, I can have whatever fields I want. I'm sure I have a lot that no one else would want, like a rating from 1 to 5 for Overall Handling, Coolness, and Fanning, etc., but it seems to work for me so far.

Well that's quite impressive, especially since you previously mentioned you are along in the years so I wasn't expecting you to be quite so technical (stereotypes, I know, sorry). It would be interesting to hear more about your personal background, I assume you were in IT or web development at one point? Your collecting and magic/clown history also might be interesting as a PCDB featured collection as well...I still need somebody for June and will be forced to do myself if somebody doesn't step up. That would be awkward.

[dleiber]

My database is a mySQL database and my display pages and entry/edit pages are done in PHP. I wanted also to keep track of cost, extra cards, tuckbox features, etc., so with my own DB, I can have whatever fields I want. I'm sure I have a lot that no one else would want, like a rating from 1 to 5 for Overall Handling, Coolness, and Fanning, etc., but it seems to work for me so far.

Well that's quite impressive, especially since you previously mentioned you are along in the years so I wasn't expecting you to be quite so technical (stereotypes, I know, sorry). It would be interesting to hear more about your personal background, I assume you were in IT or web development at one point? Your collecting and magic/clown history also might be interesting as a PCDB featured collection as well...I still need somebody for June and will be forced to do myself if somebody doesn't step up. That would be awkward.

So much for stereotypes, eh?!!! For what it's worth, I don't fit any stereotypes. I figure there's always something new to learn, so being "old" just means I've had more years under my proverbial belt to pick up more hobbies. Yes, I was in the IT field for 30 years, so that means I was programming in the days of mainframes, COBOL, and punched paper cards, but most recently I've been programming (RobotC) and building little robots, playing with Arduino and circuit boards and physical computing, and building/flying/fixing radio-controlled quadcopters, planes, and helicopters. But I'm also an accomplished watercolor painter, designer, photographer, and sculptor, and that doesn't always go with nerdy engineering types. I could go on, but I'll PM you.

I don't think I'd be a great candidate for June, but thanks anyway. I've only been collecting cards for a couple of months and I only have 100 or so unique decks and they're all modern/common. I think it would be fine to interview yourself and we can celebrate YOU and your collection for June. (Some of my favorite interviews have been with myself. )

[ecNate]

Very cool, good stuff! I'm also in IT and even had to take COBOL in college (this was late 90s mind you, not sure why!). I also fly quads and am looking to build my own FPV quad soon. I have an arduino kit, but haven't found much time to play with it between all my other projects (including finishing a basement right now).

I'll take a look at the PM next, but even if you don't want to be our featured collection/collector for June you should still share your PCDB URL and especially your self made collection, assuming it's available online (if not, screenshots would be cool).

[dleiber]

Very cool, good stuff! I'm also in IT and even had to take COBOL in college (this was late 90s mind you, not sure why!). I also fly quads and am looking to build my own FPV quad soon. I have an arduino kit, but haven't found much time to play with it between all my other projects (including finishing a basement right now).

I'll take a look at the PM next, but even if you don't want to be our featured collection/collector for June you should still share your PCDB URL and especially your self made collection, assuming it's available online (if not, screenshots would be cool).

Cool! Though I was one of the first at the flying fields I frequent to use a quad with video camera, there are lots of them now and several home-built FPV versions. Pretty awesome, but I freak out a little when I see some of the careless ways they're being flown, especially when they get so far away they'd be lost without FPV. You should have fun with that, though, and things are getting better and cheaper all the time, as with most electronics.

COBOL in college in the 90s?! Wow, that surprised me at first, but then remembering the freaking out everyone was doing for Y2K and all the legacy COBOL code that would break at the turn of the century, it makes sense. Still, it seems you're too young to know that language!

Arduino's a blast, plus offshoots from it like all the wearable electronics, robots, etc. For Valentine's Day I made a silly little message with flashing hearts on a Rainbowduino, basically an Arduino-like RGB LED 8x8 matrix.

I'll share by PCDB URL later when V2 is more stable. My self-made collection is available online and I could share it, too, but right now it has cost data, seller info, etc. and I'm not sure I want all of that public. I could tweak it to show only what I don't mind sharing, but I'll have to think about that. I'll think about screenshots, too, but it might just be easier to change some of the PHP/HTML. Let me figure out what I want to do if anything.

Thanks. Good luck with finishing your basement. That's always a huge project, but I'm sure will be very cool when done.

[Collector]

I hope all those Jokers and aces aren't glued to a wall

[dleiber]

I hope all those Jokers and aces aren't glued to a wall

Ha. Fortunately digital technology made it possible without my having to do that!!