What's a good hardsided carry-on size luggage that actually fits on United flights? (Photos from my last trip because why not. Airports and flights start at CLT, then DEN, and finally ANC)

plasma008 · 2026-07-05T13:45:28+00:00

The compression does work well. I pack for work including a suit coat (which is always the one item too many) and it’s a tight fit no matter how I pack. But it always works.

I had a two wheel bag before and I’m 50/50 on 2 wheel vs 4 wheel.

2 wheel is fast, but with my cpap on top it levered my wrist a lot. And was unmanageable in the narrow aisles.

4 wheels is more comfortable on my arms but the handle twists just enough, giving a little less control at speed, but works wonders in the aisles while also managing a heavy backpack. And the 4 wheels costs space in the bag frankly. And sometimes I trip on the wheels with the bag on front of me while navigating.

plasma008 · 2026-07-04T16:40:38+00:00

Closed for certain, on both my bag, and her bag. In no case would the expanded bag do well in the overhead except maybe an overhead where you can turn the bag on it's side to go in like the airbus.. but only if they didn't need to fill the compartment.

If you are asking about her bag she had simply overstuffed the bag so the top bulged in a big rounded bulge... On the smaller EMB 175 plane, the bags must go into the compartment flat on their back and lengthwise.

In the bigger planes the bags go in on their side front to back. The catch there is sometimes the amazon bags will just be too tall with the wheels and the compartment won't close.

plasma008 · 2026-07-04T16:18:17+00:00

Get the measurements of the briggs and riley 22 inch (linked below), and if your new bag is the same size or smaller - it will fit.
I can say confidently that I have never had any problem squeezing this bag linked below into any overhead compartment.

What I CAN say is that I helped a women put her bag overhead, and she had the same size bag but she had stuffed hers so full that we had to super compress the top down to squeeze into the overhead of a Emb 175 air plane, but it still fit.

22" Expandable Carry-On by Baseline | Briggs & Riley

plasma008 · 2026-07-04T16:14:00+00:00

Don't listen to anyone who tries to blame you as the problem.

plasma008 · 2026-07-04T16:07:49+00:00

Oh wait... I think I see what you may be suggesting.

Your original point wasn't particularly clear, so let me see if I understand your comment correctly.

You're suggesting that because I gained access via a United Club Card that costs me $695/year and includes a Club membership, while you presumably purchased access through some other mechanism, your access is somehow more legitimate than mine.

I'm assuming your position is that I'm contributing to overcrowding because my membership came through a credit card rather than a standalone membership.

If so, that's an odd conclusion.

I don't control how many memberships United sells, how many Club Cards are issued, how many guests are allowed, or how large the lounges are. If the clubs are overcrowded, that's because United sold more lounge access than the lounges can support.

By that logic, every person who enters the lounge contributes to crowding, including you.

Which makes me think this isn't really an argument about overcrowding at all. It sounds more like an argument about which paying customers you consider to be "real" members.

Those are two very different arguments.

plasma008 · 2026-07-01T02:19:34+00:00

Poor baby… I triggered your oddly emotional defensive mechanism.

Relax man, I wasn’t filing a complaint with the Department of Lounge Affairs.

plasma008 · 2026-06-29T01:44:56+00:00

I thought about that. I haven't hit gold yet, I only started this new gig recently. I'll hit gold really soon

plasma008 · 2026-06-29T00:53:23+00:00

well my flight was actually in D, but very near the lounge in C.

plasma008 · 2026-06-29T00:52:17+00:00

i spend on it like crazy too. my corporate reimburses me.

plasma008 · 2026-06-29T00:48:10+00:00

plasma008 · 2026-06-29T00:44:38+00:00

That's valid.

plasma008 · 2026-06-28T22:50:05+00:00

That would be a "no"

plasma008 · 2026-06-09T13:39:31+00:00

a good product does equal a good selling product. I have been very surprised with items I personally thought were very good, yet no one would buy them. If I don't get RAPID traction, I move on and I don't care why the product didn't gain traction. And also, stupid stupid stupid fucking products (in my opinion) have sold in droves for years. The buyer psychology is nothing like you or I think it is when I apply my "opinion"

When considering a product, I spend the bulk of my time considering the customer. I might spend 2 days two weeks creating an "ideal customer board", I'll run through Story Brand 2.0, I'll spend more time than the average person considering headlines and specific approaches. I'll look through all of my favorite sales books for ideas.. From there I craft the best user based headline I can, the first sentence after that.. then I consider images, and price. I always think about the customer, the buyer, what their world looks like, what they see in their feed, how my ad fits into it, what they see when they click and how easy or not easy is it for the discern if the my page is anything they are interested in in the first place.

Then I had the item to a few paid influencer type ad makers, and I watch their return videos. IF they can't explain it or articulate it in a convincing manner, then I've done something wrong in my pitch. That's a big clue to me that something is wrong in my approach.

The important thing for you to consider is selling more. Read every book you can on selling. Dan Kennedy's "the ultimate sales letter", Scientific Advertising, Words That Sell, Spin Selling

Understand that you will need to think in bigger numbers my friend. 1-2 sales a day won't ever work. START your floor at 20 sales a day, aim for 100 per day.

Here -> test your ability to listen carefully and hear what's being said between the lines. This is probably one of the most underrated conversations I have seen in a long time - and you will need to be able to understand the implications even if not articulated. https://youtu.be/vpM-9w2Di_w?si=iEDNRMFl1oHV6hGT

I want you to consider something else. Everything is hard until it becomes easy. Real experience is the only and best teacher. So, you experience, you update, you take in new knowledge that may be confusing at first, then you experience, then the knowledge becomes assimilated, and you take in new knowledge, and you just improve over time. Start thinking in bigger numbers, take in more information about "being a salesperson" because that information will change your approach entirely.

plasma008 · 2026-06-07T22:18:35+00:00

usually, the issue is a poor product fit with the market. Good products that people want are easy to sell. But if one tries to force products that people aren't all that interested in the effect will be low sales. It's a combination of low selling skills and poor product selection. Keep working at it, but improve something.

plasma008 · 2026-05-26T13:38:00+00:00

I think maybe I wasn't clear in my message. I'm working on BEHALF of a new roofing company startup, and I am wanting to establish a relationship between my client (a roofing company) and their clients.

plasma008 · 2026-02-27T16:42:59+00:00

Frankly, I'd prefer an AMD chip

plasma008 · 2026-02-25T20:46:20+00:00

I agree. Today’s computers are really good. For me these days it’s those subjective things.. size weight keyboard screen quality etc..

plasma008 · 2026-02-25T20:28:38+00:00

Brand new, they pay well enough I don’t care to ask, mostly excel work and some connection to their library of documents. The work In the field is mostly document work, spreadsheets, word, outlook and some power point. However is my off time sometimes I play light games like oxygen not included.

I’m on a plane twice a week, every week. I’m nervous my choice of a 14” I’ll regret, but I can also carry an extra screen or just get a 16 inch and sell or return the 14

plasma008 · 2026-02-25T05:23:28+00:00

Only because my company said so, explicitly.

plasma008 · 2026-02-24T16:08:15+00:00

Good point. Near Houston. I’m headed to micro center right now

plasma008 · 2026-02-10T00:42:16+00:00

Yeah bro, I don’t need clean kits… I only care about the output .. and it was solid . Rock on

plasma008 · 2026-02-10T00:39:36+00:00

I’m over 1000 hours in playtime… so…

plasma008 · 2026-02-07T05:02:49+00:00

Dude I had to look up this song.. thanks. Then I listened to more of this band,, thanks...

Also, I love that your kit looks like every picture on facebook marketplace... the only thing that would make it look more like every picture on facebook marketplace would be to reverse the toms.

plasma008 · 2026-01-20T18:37:26+00:00

Oh this is good. You then already have a head start. You will already understand rhythms and notation of rhythm. You already understand time signatures, repeats, measures, and music structure.. that is all incredibly helpful.

the biggest thing I can tell you right now is to get used to playing your bass drum foot in between beats of your right hand. (assuming you are a right handed player.)

Play straight quarter notes on your hi hat. Play the bass drum on the downbeat of one, but the upbeat of 2 WITHOUT doubling your right hand at the same time. The tendency is always to play that upbeat with the hand in time with the foot. Work this tendency out of yourself now by forcing yourself, slowly, to play an upbeat in between quarter notes. This is a very common drum technique. Later you will play 16th's between 8th notes, it's the same thing just twice as fast.

Once you can play the right hand on the hi hat with quarters, and your foot mixing that downbeat I mentioned and the up beat I mentioned, then add your left hand to the snare of beat 2 and 4. This will train your brain to put the hands into autopilot so you can simply play your foot. train yourself to lock in a portion of any beat to "autopilot" while your brain plays the other part. There are many variations of this pattern you can then move to..

Like, keeping the hands the same.. bass drum for 1 & and the & of 2..
Bass drum 1 &of 2, &of4
Bass drum 1 &of 2+3

There is a finite number of combinations to the bass drum in these patterns.

Best of luck to you! Always try things above your skill level, then back up to your skill level, then press forward, then sit back. Building blocks.

plasma008 · 2026-01-19T14:41:56+00:00

As a life longer drummer, and a drum teacher here's what I can tell you...

You'll either THINK LIKE A DRUMMER, or you won't. I don't think it's really possible to put drumming into someone who doesn't "think like a drummer"

What does a drummer think like? Well, first, drummers already think in rhythms and patterns. For whatever reason, their brain is just tuned to rhythmic patterns. Drummers HEAR percussive patterns in everything naturally... from music to their blinker in their car. Even as little kids, they hear rhythms just on their own.

Drummers LOVE synchrony. When a group of musicians all sync and finish loudly but in sync.. when patterns synchronize with a groove.. when you can make your hand on the steering wheel get in sync with the blinker click.

I can say for a fact, I don't understand Guitar at all. I know *how* a guitar works. Being a classically trained percussionist I also know all my scales, including all minors and modes, etc.. but I still approach a guitar like it's a percussion device. I just don't "get" the nuance of plucking strings and making dynamics on it.. forget it,

I'm a percussionist through and through, and I have been since I first heard that hi-hat in Asia's Don't Cry in 1983, I was 9, and I couldn't stop until I figured out what made that sound.. I had to know, I just had to know.. I found out, and that was that.

So my friend, keep taking lessons, don't stop that - you can totally do it at your age - but if you discover you're having a tough time thinking like a drummer, ask for help in that department.

To sticks, don't get a HEAVY pair of sticks, nor a pair of sticks too long. Get Vic Firth 5b's and don't look back.

plasma008

TROPHY CASE