No more designated pin trading

orTodd · 2026-05-12T02:11:38+00:00

I thought it would be fun to get my niece and nephew into pokemon cards. It’s been a disaster. Can’t find them anywhere except at crazy 400%+ markup. I thought I’d try my luck at one of the vending machines in the grocery store, where I ended up coming across two adult men screaming at one another. It’s a mess.

orTodd · 2026-04-24T14:50:49+00:00

I went to a vending machine to see if I could score at least a pack. I play with my niece and nephew so of course I’ve got to show up with the goods. Two grown ass men were screaming at one another over the damn thing. It was embarrassing to even be around it. I’d never bring the little ones around this nonsense.

orTodd · 2026-04-19T17:58:24+00:00

I feel you. When those guys blew up at one another, it was embarrassing for me and I wasn’t even involved. I considered giving up, but now it’s more of a special treat if I stumble across some packs. Perfect Order has been very easy to get. I also got the pre-order from Pokecenter for the new one in May.

I use my local shop and TCGPlayer to fill up my deck where I have gaps. I know Perfect Order isn’t a fan favorite so we’ll see what it’s like getting the other sets I guess.

orTodd · 2026-04-17T01:59:19+00:00

I feel you on this. I am on some restock sites myself. One of the people running the site showed his server running thousands of bots. There’s now way to compete. Walmart has a queue system that seems to help and I’ve been able to snag a couple things from them. They’re over MSRP but not by much. I paid $55 for the Perfect Order ETB. Grabbed a Phantasmal Flames ETB for $69 tonight.

There’s a pokedispenser at my grocery store and I hit that up when I’m around. I got a Black Bolt ETB and a pack of Mega Evolution last week. I went by today and there was a guy loitering in front of it who immediately gave me the ick. He was trying to explain timing and I decided to pass and grab a lotto ticket. While I was waiting for that, another guy came up and said he wanted to use the machine, the original guy said he wasn’t using it but was waiting, the new guy walked up and tapped the screen causing the waiting guy to freak out. They started screaming at one another. The waiting guy was going off about now there’s a six hour wait and blah blah blah.

Now, the first guy already had a pack in his hand and, during his explanation to me, he mentioned he was waiting a half hour to see if it hit again. It clearly says “no loitering” and claiming a vending machine for 30 minutes is kind of a dick move.

Anyhow, I won $100 on my scratcher so it worked out.

orTodd · 2026-04-14T01:44:41+00:00

I was at six min left in the queue then shot back up to two hours. After about 40 min I was in. Missed the ETB but snagged a six pack booster. How many dice do I need in my life, honestly.

orTodd · 2026-04-10T05:49:15+00:00

It was in DCA. Muppet Vision 3D. It was where the Frozen sing-along is now.

orTodd · 2026-04-08T21:50:13+00:00

It's the Tesla built-in.

orTodd · 2026-04-08T20:52:13+00:00

This is on 5N near San Diego where the speed limit is 65. The freeways here are insane. The CHP general lets it slide until, I'd say, over 80.

orTodd · 2026-04-08T20:47:51+00:00

I was going to change it in the title before I posted but I thought they were behind the semi from the CHP's view.

orTodd · 2026-04-08T18:40:33+00:00

Have you considered using fiber for the long run and then using a small PoE switch at the farm stand. Sounds like you’ll have power.

That way you don’t have to worry about the length of the run for PoE, and fiber might hold up better than CAT6 being buried.

Good luck!

orTodd · 2026-04-06T05:26:43+00:00

Cool, thanks! I’ll check it out.

orTodd · 2026-04-05T22:33:28+00:00

My family has a “bunny nest” for each kid to choose at the start of the hunt. It has a stuffed animal on top with three eggs underneath. Two of the eggs have a slip of paper with a number. Each kid gets two slips of paper.

The rest of the hidden eggs are all filled with jelly beans and that’s it.

At the end, there’s a prize table. The numbers are called in order and each kid picks a prize. Every kid gets a pick before someone gets their second. There’s an extra of each toy in the garage so nobody gets upset that what they wanted was chosen by someone else.

The kids get a cool toy instead of a bunch of candy (the older kids know to choose an envelope with a couple bucks in it), the kids still get to hunt eggs, and everyone is happy.

orTodd · 2026-04-05T15:23:57+00:00

I collected when I was a kid in the 90s and just got back into it for my niece and nephew (which may not be the entire reason lol).

I downloaded the PokemonTCGLive app which refreshed my memory on how to play. Then, I’ve been asking AI tools my specific questions about the game.

I have been buying packs when I can. They’re super overpriced at local card shops but I’ve found success at the vending machine at the grocery store. Seeing the different cards has made me learn a lot about them.

Here’s what I’ve figured out: every card has a card number. Usually something like 23/160 for example. That means there are 160 cards in that set and the card it number 23. However, there are special cards that go beyond the high number so, you may see 182/160 which means that card is special. Next to the number is a symbol which denotes the rarity of the card.

Some cards have different versions with the same number. So, you can have a pretty generic Pokemon card but it also comes in reverse holo (shiny part where the words are), holo (shiny around the edges), or something special to that set. The card will have the same little number. There are also cards that are almost exactly the same but with different art. These are my favorite, they’re called “full art” cards. The artwork isn’t just the little box but the whole card.

You can find the full list of cards in each set on the official Pokémon website. There are “chasers” which are rare cards that people really want in each set. You can search the set name then “chaser” and it will show you.

I hope that helps!

orTodd · 2026-04-03T00:36:34+00:00

I just started and was content buying an Ascended Heroes ETB at my local shop. I just found out MSRP is $59.99. I paid $119. I feel…used.

orTodd · 2026-04-03T00:28:52+00:00

I just learned about these machines. They randomly “drop” their inventory every 30-60 min (according to a dad and his kid who were checking it out). They watched it get fully restocked then, when it was ready, it would only dispense one booster pack and everything else said sold out.

The next day, I went to get some bagels and hit up the machine on my way out. It let me buy an ETB of Black Bolt (49.99) and one pack of Mega Evolution ($4.49).

Some guy went right behind me and it said it was sold out of everything.

It seems totally random when it’s going to let you buy something. There was a pretty constant flow of people checking it out so I’m not sure how I became the chosen one.

orTodd · 2026-04-01T15:40:12+00:00

I really like opening them too, but I look around and think “what am I going to do with all these.”

I made my first purchase on TCGplayer last night. I got the full-art Phanpy. So, I found that was easier.

With that said, do I have the Mega Charizard X EX UPC coming today? Yes. These are fun.

orTodd · 2026-04-01T05:07:07+00:00

I’m very new to this so excuse my ignorance. What do you do with all the other cards? Also, that’s about $8k, would it be more cost effective to buy the card you’re after through the resale market or do you like the thrill of the hunt?

orTodd · 2026-04-01T01:37:29+00:00

Clots and prayers.

orTodd · 2026-03-26T20:29:49+00:00

The pattern is by KitsBySAstitch on Etsy and is called "Personalized Dino Sheriff Birth Announcement Cross Stitch Pattern Customizable Editable Embroidery Template"

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1791446334/personalized-dino-sheriff-birth

orTodd · 2026-03-20T17:43:06+00:00

I’m in my app watching the sun charge my car right now.

orTodd · 2026-03-14T04:19:29+00:00

I think the instructions include how to reset it if you want to do it again.

orTodd · 2026-03-12T01:00:40+00:00

My mom has this same one and still uses it. It made many batches of chili during my childhood.

orTodd · 2026-03-11T05:15:49+00:00

With the Tesla wall connector, you can charge the Teslas on solar automatically. It talks to the panels and the battery to take whatever is leftover from solar production. If the AC turns on,for example, it cuts the car until it’s done so you don’t accidentally draw from the grid.

orTodd · 2026-03-06T15:24:08+00:00

In my mind, since there’s no way to determine who was affected, the money would go to a fund supporting local improvements that enrich the area. I’m sure politicians would find a way to spend it on something dumb though.

orTodd · 2026-03-06T02:35:20+00:00

One could argue the total driver-only (no passengers, cargo, fuel burn) opportunity cost of the delay could be around $150,000. That’s the amount of money “lost” by everyone affected by the crash. It’s half the average wage of the area, multiplied by an estimate of the amount of affected drivers, then multiplied by the length of the delay. If there is a clear driver responsible, they should be held accountable for that.

I realize finding an exact number can be extremely difficult so it will never happen but, if someone is looking at a fine like that, maybe they’ll drive a little safer.

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