The world of trading and collectible cards

The world of trading cards has certainly come along quite a ways since 1887. For many years the only trading cards were the baseball cards that would come with a stick of gum. Fans of one particular team or another would amass huge collections of cards, and mothers across the nation would throw them away every spring cleaning. But a few managed to keep their cards, and grew to value other cards that would complete a collection or detail the career path of a favorite player. From this simple beginning grew the sports trading cards industry in earnest.

And then in the 1990’s a new idea came out that really shook up the industry. Collectible tradable cards. The first in this line of ideas was Magic: The Gathering. The game system featured easy play, in depth strategy, and numerous cards with original artwork that could be combined in numerous ways under dozens of strategies. The game was a hit with kids and adults, outselling many other games of skill and chance.

Adding to the playability and trading of the game is the fact that expansions were designed for the game and individual cards were made with different degrees of rarity. As an example cards such as the extremely rare Black Lotus were printed in scant quantities, while land cards were common and in massive quantities. Thus several dozen cards became quite valuable in the secondary markets, and as expansions were made and some cards discontinued trading became very active.

While other cards systems have come and gone since Magic: The Gathering (MTG) – this one system remains the leader in the market. Other game systems with popularity include games based on cartoon programs – Naruto, Pokemon, Digimon, movies and television shows – Highlander, and various sci fi themes – Net Runner, Doom Trooper, Jyhad, Vampire: The Masquerade and so on.

How popular are some of these cards? Well I can say from my own personal experience of selling some of my own MTG cards on eBay that most cards sell for about $1 each. But I do have cards that have been around almost from the beginning (started my collection back when I broke my leg in a motorcycle accident and had nothing else to do). Several of these individual cards are worth between $5 - $130.

So the next time spring cleaning comes around, and you run into a trading card or two, I suggest you check eBay first. [And if you really are interested you can always check out what I am offering under Mvass68 on eBay.]

What's better a laptop or food? 12.27.2007.1

Sometimes there are good intentions, sometimes there are good intentions that serve no purpose other than to makes people feel good about themselves. I think it’s important to know the difference between the 2.

You might have noticed a television commercial recently for Laptopgiving.org. It features one of the entertainers from the television show Heroes. In that commercial the theme of the organization is mentioned, they want to give a laptop computer to every child. The goal is to ensure a proper education to every child in the developing nations of the world. I feel its time and intentions wasted on a stupid idea.

Now I am not saying that the people behind this are out to make money, or deceptive. I do not question the conviction of anyone who is involved or making donations. I just think it’s stupid.

According to the official website nearly 2 billion children in the developing world receive little or no education, or are poorly educated. It states that 1 in 3 does not complete 5th grade. They state that in some countries less than $20 per year per pupil is spent on education. I don’t dispute any of these claims.

Intel, Norton, Wikipedia, eBay, Peru, Libya, Uruguay, Nigeria and many other countries and companies are all involved in this organization. This is a huge accomplishment and is well worth noting. Again I do not dispute the intentions.

My problem is that of the estimated 850 million people in the world that are hungry, 146 million are children that are under the age of 5 and underweight. That roughly 5 million children under the age of 5 die from hunger every year. That there is enough food in the world to feed every person a meal every day, and probably much more if much of that food was focus solely on children.

I have a problem when I realize that children are being made to be soldiers in many parts of the world. I have a problem with the U.N. and the United States in their progress on the Child Soldiers Act (and related Acts). I have a problem with the U.S. on the speed and attention given to the genocide of the Darfur Accountibility Act (HR 180 I.H.).

I have a problem when I realize that virtually all the developing nations have rudimentary (at best) landline capabilities. That the cost of wireless connectivity services is still far beyond the means of perhaps 40% of the world, and the lack of terrestrial repeaters make wireless options infeasible at best for most of the world.

Would I sleep well knowing that children are being educated properly around the world? Of course. But I am not naïve enough to believe that the lack of income, or religious persecution, or lack of technology is surmountable simply by buying a laptop for a child. I am perceptive enough to realize that hunger is a far more important basic human need and without it innate brilliance or learned knowledge is useless. That the dangers of war and lack of safe drinking water supersede an electronic box.

Is an education important? Absolutely. But if there is something that you want to do to help children, education far lower on the totem pole than improving life expectancy and quality.

Perhaps buying a kid in a poverty stricken nation a box of electronics is going to help some sleep at night. But when I think about the kids living in shanty towns in Brazil, or selling their bodies in Southeast Asia, or being killed for being born to the wrong tribe/religion/place/parents, or other parts of the world I just can’t see the internet as the answer. Maybe it’s just me.

Trying to improve the lives of children is important, and I’m glad there are many trying to do so. I just think all that effort and money can be better used than providing a product with limited uses that does not address the essential basic needs of children.

What do you think? What if it was your child?