Quickly, eBay, Some Explanations

I've been quiet, lately.

Spring is usually a busy time for me, so I'm used to mailing in on my hobbies this time of year. In high school all I knew in spring time was pitching (I sure as hell couldn't hit until summer). I didn't care about my academics then, and until I got my lovely dogger, I didn't have much else to care about then.

In college, well, the first four years, anyway; I spent all of my time doing geology (as the field season kicks off, it is rather impossible to find a geologist indoors), as well as playing (both) indoor and outdoor soccer at to different schools for three different teams, along with pickup wiffle, softball and hockey games.

Now that I am out of college I thought I'd be more prone to outdoor activities such as fishing and running and rock hounding. But with fishing season not open until May, running without the fear of having to remove a four-banger Ford from my rectal cavity, and rock hounding impossible to schedule while trying to get everyone involved, I have pretty much succumbed to substitute teaching and watching Frazier on Lifetime from 10-11 every morning.

I meant for this to be a quick post, but it wasn't. Sorry. Here's what (I guess?) I was leading up to.

New Dustins!

2004 Topps Chrome Traded
Dustin McGowan X-Fractor Box Topper
SN: #16/20

This is my new lowest numbered card. That's right, I have no 1/1s, nor do I intend to chase any gimmicks such as printing plates, unless they're Dustin McGowan.

Another first as of late is this one:

2009 Topps
Silk Collection
SN: #19/50

Another first. A guy at work in AUGUST told me about pulling a silk from '09 Topps. I played along like I gave a shit/knew what they were. Now I have one, and, to an extent, appreciate them. I have no interest in them other than getting any McGowan, Marcum or Romero, really. They're a nice idea, but they should stick to The Flagship, and stay the hell out of my Ginter. By the way, 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter's and 2009-2010 UD Champs are the only sets I plan on collecting this year. And since almost everyone wants to collect A&G this year, I believe it should be easy for everyone to do so with box breaks, trades, and genuine blogger generosity.

Aaaand that's it, I guess. More McGowans later this week. I have found a great ebay seller who sent me a nice email saying he's got a bunch of him and a bunch of Jays and he'll list 'em for me if I want 'em. Refreshing to find an ebay seller who would rather have your business repeatedly than just rail you in the ass with shipping.

XFractor Question

So I've been wearing the invisibility cloak of late - have you noticed?

Been busy working with the small streams and riparian zones/wetlands that make springtime so great. Also spent some time in Baltimore drinking green beer and in Oneonta (NY) playing some vicious footy games.

Long boring stories short and concise, I haven't been around much lately. I still have to post trades from Jason and the Baseball Dad, and need to send two thank you packages out. I'm also in the middle of about 3 offline fantasy baseball drafts and multiple payoff pushes for fantasy hockerinz.

Anyways, last night I did my typical load-ebay-and-type-in-Dustin-McGowan thing, and found the mother lode. Well, not really. But I did find a seller with two much needed Dusty autos for cheap with combined shipping. Score (hopefully, I'll find out later tonight).

And then I found the card at the top of this post. I did not know this card existed. I'm not a fan of 2004 Topps. I figured they had ignored McGowan in this set, until this one popped up. There's still 5-6 days left in the auction, so I am not getting excited about winning just yet, but still have a question.

Are these really numbered to /20? I did some searching for other in the set, and apparently they are ox toppers. It just strikes me as odd, as the colorless XFractors are #ed/20 and the red XFractors are not serialed.

Has anyone else seen these?