Gone Fishin'

Stale Gum is taking a well deserved vacation and will not be back until the New Year. Don't worry, we'll be back in 2011.

Stale Gum Places Lap Top on DL.

BARRINGTON N.J. -- Stale Gum has placed Lap Top on the 15-day Disabled List with a broken left hinge, an injury that has been bothering it the last few days. The injury is not blog-threatening, and Top hopes to be back in action in about two to three weeks.

Stale Gum manager Chris Harris noticed last Saturday a small protusion coming from the lower-left corner of Top's LCD screen, but kept him in the game. It wasn't until he attempted to shut Lap Top down for the evening did he notice something.

"I was posting to YouTube the first part of my 2009 Topps Magic Football video break, when I tried to shut down for the evening. But the screen was stuck," said Harris. "I knew it was bad, and that's when I called the Geek Squad."

To replace Top, Harris said he will continue to update his blog by driving to his parent's house and using their computer; but warns his fans on to expect too much original content for the next few days.

Catching up.

Vacation's over, and nothing in The Hobby has changed in my absence. The big story is (I suppose) Topps and Upper Deck suing each other (again), over something-a-ruther.

And Topps' website still lists card #645 as Kosuke Fukudome. (And yes, the boycott continues.)

So I'm back now. Not quite tanned, not quite rested, and not quite ready.



And just for the hell of it, here's an old Public Image Limited video from the 80s. Enjoy.



Always Be Collecting,
Chris Harris

Vacation advice.

#1) Whatever you do, never, ever, go on a bus trip. Especially a 10-day long bus trip. A 10-day bus trip with a bunch of retirees from Texas who won't shut up. (Kill me now!)

#2) Whatever you do, never, ever, go on vacation with your parents. I don't care if they're paying for it. I don't care if it's a "gift" for your graduation from college. Trust me, it's just not worth it.

#3) Never, ever, find yourself in Killarney during bike week. Unless, of course, you ride a Harley. In that case, you'll fit right in with this crowd.

#4) Never, ever, stay at a hotel that charges for wi-fi.

#5) Never, ever, drink five pints of Guinness, get into a fight with your brother, and then go back to your hotel and blog.

Summer Vacation.

By the time Blogger (hopefully) gets around to posting this, I'll be on a jet plane. Vacation, baby! Ten days of drunkenness and debauchery with my two little brothers in Ireland!

Come to think of it, this is the first real vacation I've had since that 120-day tour of Saudi Arabia back in '97.

Needless to say, the output of this blog will be noticeably reduced for the next few weeks. I'm bringing my laptop, so I should be able to keep up with what's going on in The Hobby. And if Topps of Upper Deck do anything stupid, rest assured, I'll chip in my two euros from the other side of The Pond.

In the meantime, I leave you with this...