Card Trader Illuminerdy

Rhett forgot we were supposed to record. Tommy didn't know Michael was recording the conversation about Rhett forgetting. But even though only one of us was intentionally podcasting, we still had more actual Star Wars Card Trader discussion than there's been in who knows how long. The rest of the conversation centers around the Star Wars Celebration in Orlando this weekend. If you'll be there Friday, look out for a familiar aquatic mammal on a t-shirt. Enjoy, and we'll see you on the other side of the con!

We discuss in-depth the nature of the Force; does it have a will of its own, and use beings to achieve it? Or is it purely something passive to be tapped into to bend to one's own will? Did Shmi really conceive through the Force itself or someone manipulating it, or was there just not good sex education for slaves on Tatooine? Rhett floats his theory on Rey's parentage and how they will reveal it...no fear of spoilers on this one.Michael announces a contest of sorts for those who will be attending Star Wars Celebration in Orlando.Rhett discusses how changing his iTunes funding source from a credit card to a debit card has made him less interested in geting back into the app...after having spent freely enough to pull whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it, how could a smaller budget of credits feel as much fun to pull with? Especially if trading is not enjoyable to you?Is Slingblade a comedy? Is deer hunting a sport? What's the collective noun for a group of deer? For a group of Ewoks? We discuss t

Michael's back in the Star Wars Card Trader app, adding a thin veneer of legitimacy back to our podcast. Tommy spends hundreds of thousands and 30 packs to pull a Fans Choice (with a 0.12% chance of that happening, it's his luckiest pull in the app). Rhett is in awe of the amazing things people can do from watching "People are awesome" compilations on YouTube. We discuss Chuck Yeager and Harrison Ford's current flight careers. Rhett discusses his experience with the flight sim software Falcon 4.0 (37 minutes), and how it led him to dominating an Aviation Challenge camp, part of the Space Camp at Huntsville, AL, even heads-up against an experienced fighter pilot. Rhett did, however, lost to this 70-year-old veteran in a foot race. He also shares how another campers narcolepsy factored into his experience (45 minutes).

Nominations are up for Star Wars Podcast Awards! Nominate here!Michael still can't get logged back into Star Wars Card Trader, so he shares his experience with a game that he's tried in the mean time: Survive - Wilderness Survival. Who knew "Wilderness Simulation" was a genre? Also, we discuss what we'd do if we had unlimited money at our disposal. And as bonus, we dig into collective nouns, starting with Jedi: what should a group of them be called? A gullible? A blind?

We come out of the gate strong in 2017! We don't have the theme music working, and thanks to Michael's micro resolution, he can't actually log into SWCT. His goal, though, is to stay with SWCT, and stay free-to-play, leaving behind the other apps. He's still the Poggle guy. Rhett still hasn't opened the app, and Tommy is not chasing much, but there's a new Star Wars movie to discuss, and other things, including Nashville Hot Chicken. Enjoy!

At one time, Rhett out-pulled and out-spent almost all of us, and he knew all the cards like the back of his hand. Now, it's been so long since he's even opened the app that he hasn't even seen Base 4, so we spend time describing to him what the Base 4 cards look like: the parallels, and the variety of characters and ships that the cards feature. In a similar fashion, we also spend some time describing to Michael what an eclair is. We compare and contrast our excitement for Rogue One vs. The Force Awakens. Michael reminisces about Happy Panda's schezwan beef in Portland, Oregon. Rhett rails against open seating floor plans at an office. And we hash out a spec script for a caper film involving a fake Menudo tour bus used try to drive safely through Mexico.

We break tradition and discuss heretofore verboten Topps apps as Rhett poses a hypothetical question: which would you be more likely to download first: Kick or Skate? Bunt, too, gets some air time, as the World Series is underway. And SWCT is not forgotten; we discuss the handling of the introduction of Base 4. In the post-show Michael and Rhett talk about their experience hosting a few panels at a local con.

Rhett has a man-cold, but takes his meds and powers through the episode. We discuss if it was worth giving up on Series 3 so soon. And the Highlander movies. We then discuss what amounts to using the cards as emoji, communicating in an encoded form based on the cards you offer and counter for; useful, for example, to discover if the person at the other end of the trade is in adverse conditions but the comments would be monitored. Also, Meditation Chamber update. A movie gets a mention: Turkish film that liberally steals from Episode IV and inter-cuts its own footage: The Man Who Saves the Word (can be found on YouTube).

Legal settlements and contractual hiatus obligations have finally been met so it's time for an episode! Michael shares how Google surveys have provided away to stay F2P but buy the occasional bundle as needed. We say good-bye to base series 2 and TFA series 1, and mention a few of the sets that have come and gone since..."Awaken Your Memory."

It's a new episode! We talk about cards, the lack thereof in SWCT (the app has made a good faith effort actually since we recorded this), and expand/improvise on some of our favorite topics, not surprisingly food related. Rhett shares his experience in a Dolly Parton-shaped vacation destination (in the sense that she shaped it, not that it's shaped like her).

The Contour set gave us 9 cards covering the Three Most Iconic Star Wars Villains. The Ultra-Limited version of this set sees it grow exponentially. As Rhett says, he can't quite put his finger on it, but even though all of those dozens of cards are low count, something about that translation loses his interest. We also discuss the TapJoy-for-Inserts program, a brief history of Jelly Belly, touch on the sports apps, and a little pro (and not so pro-) wrestling discussion. Enjoy!

It's seemed like a relatively quiet week in the app, but we find plenty to talk about. Rhett feels disengaged from the app, but after enumerating what he does chase, it turns out to be pretty much everything that doesn't require a pay bundle. Still, it's interesting that he feels that way, even while passively chasing so many cards. The drop in Kick daily credits is discussed, with the theory mistakenly floated that it's due to off-season; we understand now that it's due to something new Topps is trying to get people to "earn" all their 10K daily credits.

We're back from a week off; life and scheduling conflicts happen, but card trading goes on. We talk about how close Rhett came to Olympic greatness, and the Olympics in general. The mediocrity of Ruby Tuesday inspires a surprising amount of passion. And the cards, of course; we discuss how both open sets and ultra limited sets may as a net effect make the original sets less valuable. And we discuss the gift credits and packs that Topps gave out, but without official apologies, the gesture may not have gone as far as it could have in restoring good will.

We talk about post-SDCC things, including the card-count-white-out. My example of using card counts to aid in judging value in a trade fails, though, when Rhett informs me that the 2500 count Santa Cruz I traded away was actually worth more than the 750 count Rebels Watercolor that I was offered. And there are plenty of random topics to go around. Hot dog eating contests, casket advertising. The post-show is heavy on Preacher, comic movies/shows, the dislike for walls in movies that stretch out, and unboxing videos on YouTube.

Michael talks about his enjoyment of Star Wars Celebration Europe, doing what it takes to enjoy it during a work day across the Atlantic. Rhett tries to pin down what's got him concerned about the state of affairs in the quality control and/or customer service arena at Topps. Meanwhile, though, cards keep coming, which is a good thing. Dave Filoni's set, announced by him at an SWCE panel, is a highlight. We discuss the quad sig card and where the sig count may go from here. Post-show is mostly about acute brain freeze pain, frozen yogurt, and imagining the use of Push-To-Talk in digital card trading.

As the nation, yea, planet, is gripped in the throes of Pokemon Go, a new app emerges to vie for our attention...and succeeds, even as we record. We talk WWE Slam, and what we look forward to seeing in it action. We also talk some of the new SWCT goings-ons, like the digital badges, the new way to correct an error-ed card, optionally, via Smugglers Den. Good luck to everyone logging into Slam!

Rhett begins the long slog that will be the chase of the Chuchi rainbow. Michael talks about his experience so far with the UFC app...and even mentions considering downloading Kick (so now is as good a time as any to shore up your doomsday supplies/fallout shelters). We discuss the Medallion Marathon bundle, and while we don't have a problem with a bundle-only Marathon in principle, asking $25 for a bundle that may only contain a leftover card from another marathon is just bad for all involved.

We have a lot to say about the changes to the way the new marathons are being released. In addition to the cost and end of stacking marathons, we touch on separating tiny Lego pieces, inserting contacts, current Star Wars comics, and how bad Independence Day: Resurgence is. You wouldn't know it from that list, but we felt a lot more on-topic than usual. Whether that's a good thing or not is of course debatable. And we were apparently hungry, because the post-show is all food, from Fruitista to donuts. Enjoy!

We find a lot to talk about, some of it about cards, some of it not. Michael in particular is getting tired of being on the outside looking in at the Star Trek sets in Quidd, and is hoping the Android version drops soon. He "drones on", as Rhett says, a little about Bunt. Rhett speaks out in defense of people that advertise "1 insert for two", and the kinds of bargains that can be found trading with them. We conclude with typical randomness: the subtleties of recording on a VHS, Benson, Soap with Billy Crystal, Bob Ross, and Picture Pages.

Michael's back on top of the world and tells how he was able to get the missing 1-count to fill the void in his life. We discuss roulage and the top three Most Iconic Star Wars villains. There is disagreement over whether AT-AT Driver should be among them. Warning: the post-show somehow ends up being all business. We start by joking about which walker to hoard in TWD, but then wonder how anyone hoards a specific since there's no distinguishing text on the cards. Then we talk a little Bunt contests and Huddle.