Cephus' Corner

A Place for my Geeky Side

New Issue of American Philatelist

November 3rd, 2023

The new one arrived, not long after my replacement copy of the last one, since my puppy decided to shred it and the APS was nice enough to send me a replacement for free. Thanks to Scott English for getting it done. Great guy.

However, in the new issue, like in the last, I’ve got some issues, this time with the issue itself. It’s not as bad as that, but they’re really pushing to get stamp collectors to collect coins, and, presumably, vice versa. I’m not opposed to anyone who wants to, but here’s why I’m just not interested.

Letter in The American Philatelist

October 11th, 2023

Just got the new issue and there were two letters that I wanted to comment on, one more than the other. The first, that I’m mostly going to mention in passing, was by Scott Zimmer, who said that “Many collectors view stamp investing as taboo”, which is true and, IMO, should be. It’s not taboo to invest in anything that you want, but you leave the realm of collecting and enter the realm of investing if you do that.

The second is from Robert Dragone, which i want to address in some more detail below the fold. Apparently, he doesn’t believe that people are in the hobby for reasons other than making money. Sorry pal, but most aren’t. That’s the whole point of having a hobby.

I’m Not a Philatelist

August 9th, 2023

There was an article in the latest issue of American Philatelist, called “The Faux Philatelist” which I agree with almost entirely. In it, Barry White says that he is a stamp collector, not a philatelist.

I am also a stamp collector, not a philatelist. It’s nice to see people out there pointing out the differences. Therefore, here’s why I do what I do.

I Don’t Want to Play Warhammer 40k!

July 22nd, 2023

Before I get started, I want to say that if you enjoy Warhammer, more power to you, I’m not saying that it’s terrible, I’m not saying that I hate people who play it, I don’t care. You do you and I’ll do me.

What I am saying is that there are a lot of obnoxious apologists out there who can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to throw hundreds of dollars at their hobby, mostly, I think, because they’re desperate to have someone to play with.

That’s not me. So let’s get started.

Rewriting a Book Series

July 19th, 2023

I’m rewriting a series of books that I originally put out in 2020. It’s been on my list of things to do for a long time now. Someone in my mailing list pointed out, sometime back in 2022, that a minor point didn’t make sense in the third book. They are seemingly the only ones that ever noticed it. The reviews are good, sales are good, but once it was pointed out to me, I couldn’t see anything else.

So now I’m redoing it for a series-wide second edition. Here’s why.

Where Most Stamp Channels Go Wrong!

July 8th, 2023

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I really try to like some of the stamp-related channels on YouTube, but most of them are just… pointless, at least from my perspective. They aren’t doing what I want to see. Therefore, I figured I’d explain it in a short post and point out the two examples that actually are doing it right, at least in my opinion.

Being Accurate to the Book Doesn’t Matter!

July 1st, 2023

This is one of those things that kind of drives me crazy. Whenever a movie or TV adaptation comes on, based on a book or a video game or whatever, and people scream that “it isn’t accurate!”

Who cares? If you want accuracy, go read the book or play the video game. I want entertaining. I want something close enough that I can see the source, but that is it’s own thing and has value on its own.

Sadly, I seem to be largely alone in this.

Diary of a Complete Writing Failure

June 28th, 2023

I know someone very well who has tried, and failed, repeatedly, to make money writing on KDP. Why? Because he doesn’t actually want to earn any success, he expects instant and unlimited wealth and if he doesn’t get it, he turns to something else entirely.

It doesn’t work that way. He’s been told that it doesn’t work that way. His entire life, I have been telling him, my wife has been telling him, why he fails, yet he’s too lazy to do anything else.

Let’s consider this a cautionary tale.

I Only Collect Mint Stamps

June 24th, 2023

I have no idea why, I just find it very hard to bring myself to collect anything used. I started off that way, after all. I soaked tons of stamps off of envelopes when I was a kid and hinged them into albums. Today, I just can’t do it. I know, I’ve tried. I just don’t understand what the problem is, although I might have some ideas.

So let’s discuss it.

Here’s an Unpopular Woodworking Opinion

June 16th, 2023

A recent post on Reddit brought this to the fore once again. It isn’t remotely uncommon if you just keep your eyes out, but it is something that really needs to be said.

Maybe you’re just not at a point in your life where woodworking is something you ought to be doing. That’s something guaranteed to make a lot of people mad.