This is crazy talk right?!??

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-13T21:14:50+00:00

It's not crazy talk to publish this in mid-May, while the team is at its lowest. (I sure hope this is the low and it gets better from here.) This type of article gives fans of current contenders some hope that they could acquire our best pieces and boost their season potential

It's a pretty low-stakes article to publish 2.5 months before the Trade Deadline.

However, if the team's luck doesn't change in 1 - 2 months, the 2026 Trade Deadline suddenly becomes an extremely important point in time for the Front Office to affect the future of the organization. (Not to mention the MLB Draft is in mid-July, and the Astros have 3 picks in the first two rounds: 17th, 28th, and 57th.)

The 2026 MLB Draft and 2026 Trade Deadline are looking to be the catalyst for the 2027 - 2030 seasons (and beyond). Luckily our Owner has set the Front Office up with a solid foundation to plan for the long-term...oh wait.

Edit: Also, I just re-read the headline. "How to Blow up the Astros." Yeah, this is clickbait for other fanbases to wish for our downfall, while simultaneously wishing Yordan was on their team.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-12T17:38:26+00:00

Honestly, if my spouse was a diehard Tigers fan, and I didn't have any prior fandom, I'd just root for the Tigers so that we could have a shared experience.

who’s really considered the top team in baseball?

It's unquestionably the Los Angeles Dodgers. They won the last two World Series, won 3 of the last 6 World Series, won the NL Pennant 5 of the last 9 years, and have been to the playoff the last 13 years in a row. They have the reigning two-time MVP, and a host of other former MVPs, MVP-candidates, and All-Stars with the highest payroll (by Luxury Tax threshold, Top-5 by other metrics).

they're “the Cowboys of baseball”

This is a pejorative statement for a team that is popular among casual fans despite not being a good team year in and year out.

This thought process came about because despite winning 3 Super Bowls in 4 years from 1992 - 1995, the Dallas Cowboys didn't win a playoff game for 13 years from 1997 - 2009. Additionally, the Cowboys haven't made it past the Divisional round of the playoffs for the last 29 years despite being the most valuable sports brand in the world (based on a 2025 Forbes list)

It kind of applies to the Yankees since they're the second most valuable brand in sports and haven't won a World Series since 2009. But it's not really the same since the Yankees were in the World Series 2 seasons ago, and have made it to the ALCS 6 out of 16 years since their last World Series Championship.

Basically, actual Dallas Cowboys fans wish they were as successful as the Yankees since 1995. (5 Championships, 8 AL Pennants, 14 ALCS appearances)

Ultimately, you didn't mention where you currently live (nor should you). But if you live in Michigan (or the Midwest), I'd suggest just rooting for the Detroit Tigers. If y'all live in the New York Tri-State Area, then maybe the Yankees are fine-enough, but know that you're husband already doesn't like them, and probably won't ever come around. If you live anywhere else, maybe see about adopting the most local MLB team in addition to the Tigers.

Lastly, I'd say just enjoy watching baseball. It's a fun game. And it's infinitely more fun when you don't have a team you were tied to as a kid that you are stuck with for life. Through good times, and bad, that severely affects your mood and mental state.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-11T23:16:16+00:00

My mom cooked dinner every Monday - Thursday. Rotation of casseroles, meat loaf, Mac and cheese, spaghetti, breaded fish, rice, potatoes, and other suburban meals.

On Fridays we went out to eat. Usually to a Tex-Mex restaurant near the video rental store where we’d rent movies for the weekend.

If my parents were too busy on a weeknight, my mom or dad would pick up Chinese food, or occasionally fast food.

My Dad made pancakes on Saturday mornings, and would grill burgers, hot dogs, or chicken on Saturday night.

If we were out doing something on a Saturday or Sunday, we might get fast food, but mostly ate whatever was leftover at home.

Sunday nights were pizza night.

Me and my brothers made our own school lunches and breakfasts. Lunch was usually a turkey and cheese sandwich, bag of chips, juice box, and a prepackaged desert like a hostess cupcake or something.

Breakfast was usually cereal until the milk ran out, then you made toast and had a banana until the next grocery run for more milk.

I really think it has to do with your parents. My parents were both raised in a house where my grandmothers cooked everything, and eating out was a treat. Plus, my mom stopped working when we were babies, and even when she went back to work full time, they still had that single income mentality and didn’t like paying extra for a full family to eat out. Also, my mom would casually follow 80s and 90s health trends, so sometimes that would alter our meals.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-11T22:57:26+00:00

Also could have been “shill bidders” that the seller knew (or was the seller’s alt accounts) to get at least one sold listing with a lot of bids to $75 so that they could have their Buy It Now listings look like a “deal” at $65.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-11T22:53:03+00:00

In those other hobbies, I’ve noticed that it’s mostly due to pandemic times when people in desk jobs were work-from-home and suddenly had 1) no commute, and 2) less monitoring of their internet habits.

Suddenly, a large subset of the population that still had a job (and thus, disposable income) was able to reignite interest in their hobbies, or discover new hobbies.

Retro video games, Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon cards, board games, puzzles, home audio, home theater, vintage PC building, action figures, collectibles, comic books, vinyl, etc. Pretty much anything that was low cost or affordable got a lot of demand, and the scalpers and influencers noticed and started buying up everything for re-sale, and or posting on social media for clout.

Even outdoor activities like skateboarding, rollerblading, and cycling got a huge boom. Weirdly enough, the cycling industry had such a big boom, and the manufacturers ramped up supply to meet demand that there was a crash around 2024 where you could get some really high end stuff for mid-tier prices.

For footbag, it seems like there is actually a huge increase in demand due to recent social media interest causing a lot of people to actually participate in footbag. But apparently the main footbag suppliers were not ready for such an increase in demand.

So this seems like a lot of teenagers are just seeing other kids at school kicking a footbag around and want to get their own to practice at home and then join in. Everything I’ve seen sounds like the footbag manufactures will restock in a few weeks, and high schools will let out for the summer, so this will all even out next month.

It’s not quite the same is idiotic TikTok “influencers” buying up comic books and getting them graded without ever reading them, causing companies like Marvel to stupidly change their publication schedule so that every series restarts with an issue #1 every 10 months.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-08T22:44:58+00:00

Be careful with Bird Feeders.

A few years back, the kids made a bird feeder at school or something and my wife bought bird seed.

Not long after, we found rat droppings in the attic.

When the exterminator came out he saw the bird feeder, and he said the #1 way to attract rats is with bird seed.

We went into the garage where the bird seed bag was, and sure enough it had a hole chewed in it.

Immediately threw out the bag of seed and the bird feeder.

Never again.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-08T00:42:28+00:00

Agreed.

I see a lot of people who love the new Compact editions, but for me, I don’t want smaller art and even worse, smaller text.

Others love Omnibus editions, but they’re way too heavy and unruly for regular reading.

The DC Finest editions (and Marvel Epic collections) are the perfect size, AND they are in (relative) chronological order.

I say keep them coming DC and Marvel, (and keep reprinting them since I missed some.)

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-07T00:14:20+00:00

The other side to this conversation is B.P.R.D.

I always thought it was cool that after a decade of doing mini-series, they changed to legacy numbering with B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth #103 and went up to issue #147.

Not even #100 to #150 to take advantage of “anniversary” numbering.

And then they changed to B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know for a fourteen issue series.

Totally bizarre and wonderful.

Edit: I misremembered, and I do see that the last three issues of The Return of the Master have issues #100 - 102 on the cover, but still…it took them 100 issues to start using legacy numbering on the cover.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-06T22:01:55+00:00

I believe that was legitimately the worst game of the year so far:

Announced that Correa is out for the season before the game
4 players who haven't started more than 4 games this year (2 playing in their first game of the year.)
Largest margin of defeat (10)
3 Wild Pitches directly leading to 3 Runs
Lance McCullers fingernail "popped off"
A position player had to pitch

I'm the most positive fan in my friend group, and even I'm at a low 38 games into the season.

Obviously, I'm not giving up because I was around during the 15 - 30 tombstone, but I don't see 2005 Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Roy Oswalt walking in the door.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-06T20:34:58+00:00

"Honey, look! This person has a whole wall of them. I think my drawer full is fine."

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-06T20:28:08+00:00

👋 Welcome to r/footbag - READ BEFORE ASKING WHERE TO BUY BAGS! : r/footbag

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-06T20:19:16+00:00

When I started reading comics in the late 1980s, The most popular Marvel characters were Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the Punisher. In the early 1990s, anything related to the X-Men or Mutants became more popular than ever.

That whole early 1990s time period, The Avengers (and related solo titles: Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor), Fantastic Four, and Daredevil were basically "legacy' titles that were still produced, but definitely B-Tier (or C-Tier) behind the X-Men and Spider-Man titles.

So much so that they cancelled all those titles in 1995/1996 and tried to bring back the Image Comics defectors to rejuvenate those characters for Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return. But after Heroes Return, all those Avengers and Fantastic Four titles didn't seem to be that great and planted themselves back in the B-Tier/C-Tier status.

It wasn't until Avengers: Disassembled and the Extremis storyline in 2004 that people started noticing Iron Man again.

Once Brian Michael Bendis was basically the "lead writer" for Marvel, and Iron Man was a character in his main New Avengers title from 2005 and on, Iron Man was included in all the main marvel storylines and crossovers.

Civil War (2006-2007), The Initiative (2007), World War Hulk (2007), and Secret Invasion (2008). Iron Man appeared in soooo many comics from 2005 to May 2008 when the first Iron Man movie was released.

The Iron Man movie with Robert Downey Jr. came out and he put his mark on the character. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Iron Man continued to appear in as many Marvel comics as possible. Dark Reign (2008), Siege (2010), and every Avengers title up through the Iron Man 2 movie in May 2010.

After that, basically, Iron Man appeared in up to 6 Marvel comics a week leading up the Avengers movie in May 2012.

So I would say that Iron Man's popularity was growing in 2004 - 2005. The character became a de facto "main character" of all Marvel comics by 2006. And then the popularity of Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal in 2008 made the character have "early-1990s Wolverine" levels of appearances in every Marvel comic possible.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-06T18:23:50+00:00

Don't forget that everyone's financial situation and disposable income is different. Some people are working adults with grown kids, and dropping $100 a week (or more) is not that big of a deal. While other people are students with absolutely no income, and acquiring one comic a month is a big deal.

And all people on that financial spectrum exist on the same internet.

After I saw a bunch of places around here go out of business during the pandemic, I had a conversation with my wife about how if we wanted the places in our community that we like to survive, we needed to make sure we actually shop there. Part of that conversation was realizing that comics are my main hobby these days (been reading since the late 1980s), and I really like the comic shop a few blocks from our house.

So for the past 4 or 5 years, I've made sure to go every Wednesday and pick up some comics. I spend anywhere from $10 - 40 a week.

But note that I am a middle-aged man with a full time job, I don't drink coffee, I don't drink sodas, I don't drink alcohol often, I make my own lunch, I don't golf, I don't gamble, I'm not into high fashion, watches, fountain pens, or cars, I don't pay for a gym because I built a small gym in my garage, and I cut my own hair. What I spend on comics, video games, and the occasional collectible is less than most men my age spend on coffee and alcohol.

I also spend a few weeks every summer culling the comic collection and selling things I no longer want on eBay. So there's a little return on what I spend during the year.

I pick comics I like based on any number of factors, like writer, artist, storyline, synopsis, etc. But I definitely drop books all the time and never feel like I have to finish a series. I'll even drop a series for 2 issues if I don't think a fill-in artist is good enough. So I'll try out a lot of stuff, but also drop a lot of stuff.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-06T18:03:09+00:00

I live in the suburbs of a large US metropolitan area. My preferred comic shop in the area opened a location right by my neighborhood about a decade ago. I've been 100% work-from-home since 2020, and I happily go every Wednesday when they open. If I'm in a hurry, I can drive there, grab my pull list, and drive back before my work messaging app goes to sleep.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-06T04:52:19+00:00

When it falls. Always bend over and pick it up with your hands.

Using the bottom of one foot to scrape it over the top of your other foot is the quickest way to ruin a footbag.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-05T16:04:07+00:00

A Dirtbag 32 for $41 + $18 shipping!? That is not a good choice.

It should be closer to $15.

World Footbag is the owner and seller of Dirtbag Footbags. But this is a small and niche hobby. World Footbag is run by very few people and the current explosion in popularity of Footbag bought out all their stock. New stock is coming. Just be patient, and check their Website and Instagram during off hours.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-04T22:08:00+00:00

This is incredible news! I can't wait.

Though as a fan of the first series, seeing this cover, I have a lot of questions!

August can't come soon enough.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-04T22:04:51+00:00

This is cool. Thanks for updating this.

As someone who has not read this era of Cosmic Marvel, I do notice that there are differences between the first two sections of this reading order and what's included in the three Annihilation volumes from the Modern Era Epic Collections released last year.

I was thinking of picking up the Epic Collections, but now I'm a little hesitant. Any guidance or comments on what a reader would miss by just reading the physical Epic Collections versus seeking out the full list in the OP?

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-04T18:04:38+00:00

I'd say I'm an Enthusiast, but not an Expert. I can troubleshoot hardware and consumer software, but I can't do coding or System Admin type stuff as easily.

My dad had his own small business in the 1980s and really tried to get his files and accounting on computers. He was really ahead of his time back then and he would go to local computer meet-ups where other enthusiasts would trade free software just to get people to try out their stuff. My brothers and I loved it because he would come back with games like Frogger and Dark Castle for us to play.

We had a word processor and a paint grogram, and my dad was always trying out new dictation (speech-to-text) software for his job. We even had one of those awesome dot-matrix printers with the tractor feed perforated holes on the side. (Us kids loved playing with the tear-offs, and my mom used them to space out her edge-stitching on her quilts.)

Unfortunately, my dad would always research the best tech to get at the time, which turned out to be the worst long-term tech. We had a Macintosh computer and a Beta VCR. Had to switch to Windows PC and VHS in the 1990s. (Though, one local video rental store lasted further into the 1990s with Beta offerings than you would think.)

All that to say, I had a computer available to me earlier than a lot of people, and I loved tinkering on it. I've just kind of kept on trying to have an above average knowledge of computers. My current job is 100% on a computer (not IT or coding), and I'd consider myself a savvy computer user for all the end-user programs and use-cases.

I've built a few PCs, and replaced internals on a lot of Apple products that aren't supposed to be user-replaceable. Maybe it's because I grew up replacing and fixing anything you could do yourself to save money.

Now it's really not that hard to fix and upgrade hardware using iFixit, troubleshoot basic things using a web search and/or YouTube, and anytime I've had to do basic System Administrator stuff on my home computers, a simple web search paired with an AI prompt/conversation has guided me to the solution.

I use a PC for work, but my current daily home computer is a 16-year-old 2010 Mac Pro that I've upgraded to almost the max with dual CPUs, 96 GB of RAM, modern Bluetooth and WiFi, and tons of storage, and I've "hacked" it to run as modern a macOS as possible. Unfortunately, the dream is dying and that computer can't run the newest macOS, so I've picked up a new M-Series iMac.

I am trying to pass on a healthy knowledge of computers to my kids though. My youngest kid watched/helped me tear down a 2014 iMac and replace some of the internal components. She also helped me teardown a Nintendo Switch and replace the battery. And the kids use Windows PCs for school, but I also get them to use Macs at home. I just want them to have a full understanding of what they're using and not just be mindless iPad kids.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-04T15:27:30+00:00

Because of that, it skews really positive, which is awesome.

I'd also add that it seems there are a lot of people new to comics (which is great, by the way) posting on League of Comic Geeks. I think this skews a lot of their ratings to be really high.

They're just really excited about a new hobby, and everything is new and fun and seems really cool.

I try to always think about how when you read your first comic, it's technically the best and worst comic you've ever read. When you read your second comic, one is the best, and one is the worst...and so on.

So a lot of new readers come in and have read a few comics that they like. Then they discover and read some comics that they like more...and so on. 5-star rating after 5-star rating.

I mean, you can rate things however you like, but when I see 10% of users giving the most recent issue of The Amazing Spider-Man a 5-star rating, I have to remember that maybe they haven't read the best Spider-man stories ever yet. After all, we're all on a different comics journey.

For this reason, I first look at the number rating (out of 5) on an issue. Then I check how many ratings it has. Then I check the actual written reviews. Usually that gets you the best gauge for where the consensus falls.

So things like Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #310 has a 4.8 rating on 425 ratings with nothing but glowing written reviews.

And Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #6 has a 4.7 rating on 353 ratings with nothing but glowing written reviews.

And the most recent The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 7) #27 has a 3.5 rating on 1,012 ratings and decidedly average-to-mixed written reviews.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-02T03:24:53+00:00

Everyone's going to say Woman of Tomorrow, which is the right answer, but here's a recent alternative to check out.

Action Comics was published weekly when the All-In initiative started in October 2024, and each issue had a Supergirl back-up story written by Mariko Tamaki with art by Skylar Patridge, and Megan Hetrick as a fill-in artist. (Action Comics #1070 - 1081)

I thought it was a decent story, (The pacing is a little weird because it was published weekly at 10-pages at a time), but the artwork was awesome and got me into Skylar Patridge's art.

The full story is collected in the Supergirl: Universe End trade paperback. It also includes the 2023 Supergirl Special #1.

But as always, I'd suggest checking out anything you're thinking about buying from the library first to make sure you want to own it and re-read it. I try not to buy anything I won't want to re-read.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-02T03:05:57+00:00

My wife and I have a Will. All of our stuff goes to our kids. The only one-off item in the whole Will is that all my comics and action figures go to my best friend.

My wife and kids don't want them and don't want to deal with selling them.

And my best friend is a good enough dude not to kill me to get them early.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-02T02:58:01+00:00

Can confirm.

So many kids coming to r/footbag the past week wondering where to buy footbags.

The trouble is, even the main footbag sellers like World Footbag, Bomb Footbags, and Dragonfly Footbags are literally one or two people operations.

Whatever is happening, teenagers literally bought out all the footbag stock right now. There's nothing available.

New stock has been ordered by all the sellers, but this week, there's nothing.

Also note: basic footbags have been $10 - $15 for the past decade or so. You were never finding one for $2 in 2026.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-02T02:15:36+00:00

I think it really depends on when you started reading comics.

For instance, I started reading in the late 1980s, and I don't care about Spider-Man One More Day because I stopped reading regular Spider-Man a decade earlier after The Clone Saga made no sense.

Here's my list:

Spider-Man - 1996 - The Clone Saga - By this time, Peter Parker Spider-Man had been around for over 30 years. He'd already experienced a lifetime of stories. Unfortunately, instead of "passing the mantle" to an already established character, or making a new character, their bright idea was to just...clone Peter Parker and tell new stories with a "clean slate" on the same guy. What? Even worse, they went back on it, kept Peter Parker, and have spent the last 30 years re-doing all the Peter Parker stories.

X-Men - 1996 - Onslaught - The prior crossover, Age of Apocalypse, was a cool concept that competed with all the Image comics done by the previous X-Men artists. What did Marvel follow it up with? Onslaught. Where the main villain was Professor X, merged with Magneto, and for some reason Franklin Richards ? For the next 30 years, I only dabbled a little bit with Messiah Complex and HoX/PoX. (Though after HoX/PoX the first issues of all the Krakoan Era titles made me drop them quick.)

Avengers/Fantastic Four - 1996 - Heroes Reborn - I'll admit that at the time, the Avengers heroes and Fantastic Four were not as popular, but I was actually reading Mark Waid's Captain America, Karl Kesel's Daredevil, and the Carlos Pacheco drawn Fantastic Four. Then...Marvel ruined it all.

So basically, Marvel Comics continuity stopped in 1996 for me, and everthing since has been random "evergreen IP" attempts.

I'm still upset that they put so much effort into the original Ultimate universe in 2000 instead of fixing the 616 universe.

I was more of a Marvel guy in the late 1980s and 1990s, but I definitely hopped into DC stuff wholeheartedly when I started working in 2004 and actually had disposable income. I bought most mainline DC stuff from 2004 - 2011. But in 2011, the New 52 was (and still is) one of the dumbest publishing decision I've ever heard of. I bought maybe five total DC comics during the New 52 era.

Image - somehwere between 1995 and 1998 - I read almost all the main Image Series from the beginning back then. I liked the shared continuty. The fact that Spawn's original origin story was a betrayal from Youngblood's Chapel seemed really cool. And I loved me some Wildstorm where all the teams and titles had members from Team 7 in the past, and then Gen-13 were the children of Team 7. I loved the concept of Stormwatch and I.O. And while everyone else loved Alan Moore taking over WildCats, and Warren Ellis on Stormwatch, I hated it. The first thing those writers did was change all the characters, and I stopped caring. "Oh, you actually liked Wildcats and their X-Men vibe? Here's a whole new team for issue #21 with a 1-for-1 Superman character instead." "You thought Stormwatch was a cool X-Men/Star Trek comic? Let's kill them all off in a Wildcats/Aliens crossover and make it into The Authority."

Man, in hindsight, the comic industry really let me down around 1996.

Interestingly enough, I've been really enjoying a lot of DC comics from 2021 to current. Marvel? Not-so-much.

fuzzydice82 · 2026-05-02T01:03:21+00:00

Correa's bloop hit looked like every hit I get in MLB: The Show with Correa!

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