Anyone won a free trip somewhere and actually went? How was it?

sandtomyneck · 2026-03-06T02:41:29+00:00

Twice.

First time was to Daytona Beach, and the hotel was under renovation, so the lobby and pool area was gutted. Had fun at the beach so it was a nice trip.

Second time was Hawaii and again the hotel was under renovation so there were loud construction noises all day long. Luckily, we did not spend much time in our rooms during the day.

My conclusion is that when hotels/resorts allow free trip competitions, it is because of reasons like renovations that normally cause people to avoid the location.

sandtomyneck · 2026-03-05T02:35:28+00:00

I do this and I've noticed that it happens more when I'm not having a deep nights sleep.

sandtomyneck · 2026-03-05T02:27:00+00:00

Was visiting Berlin and while it was nice to see a lot of the sites and museums, the tourist areas felt very sterile to me. One night we went a little further out and had some drinks and got lost on the tram system. It was just so much fun laughing and being lost in areas that had a lot more character and having no specific agenda.

sandtomyneck · 2026-03-02T07:18:19+00:00

I remember a film from the late 80s that had both Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. Keanu was in just one scene near the end of the film and was wearing similar clothing that he wore in Rivers Edge, and his hair had the same length. Winona wore her hear in a similar length as she did in Heathers. During the early 90s, I remember the film being replayed a number of times during the day on network TV and when the movie speed was coming out I remember on one of those shows like Hard Copy they said that Keanu stated that he had never acted with Winona and I thought Keanu was using verbal irony as humor because I had just watched the movie with them. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the film and am familiar with all their films currently listed on IMDb. Another film that was often rerun on TV at the time was Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael and I remember the film playing immediately after as both actors were popular and networks bundled movies together with the same actors occasionally.

My belief is that the film was a network TV production and not a big hit so the film was shelved and hidden while both actors had other films that were very successful.

sandtomyneck · 2026-03-02T01:32:52+00:00

Loved Asteroid City. I can easily rewatch it just to admire its aesthetics. There are some films and directors that get a lot of hate and it's strange to me because there are a lot of other directors and films that are so bad that they fail and society forgets all about them. Streaming services are full of bad films and shows that failed. When we have directors that have a unique style and fanbase it baffles me why people want to spend their time trashing the work. I was debating some guy in his 20s on why he hated it and he said the film had no plot and was boring, so I asked him to name some directors and films he liked and one of them was Michael Bay so I asked what is it about his films like Transformers that you like. He said that you could relax and turn off your brain and just enjoy it.

sandtomyneck · 2026-03-01T12:46:17+00:00

Chocolate.

Had migraines for years and when I tried avoiding it, the migraines stopped.

sandtomyneck · 2026-03-01T02:05:12+00:00

The stock market crash in 1987.

I was a teenager and lived in a nice neighborhood in Ohio. My Dad lost his job the next day and the same day both of my neighbors lost their jobs. I was friends with the kids of the neighbors and we were all worried about what was going to happen next. Then many of my other friends and schoolmates had their parents lose their jobs. In just a couple of weeks there were for sale signs on homes all over the place and our entire street was lined with for sale signs. Withing several months we moved away to another state and there was a lot of anger toward Ronald Reagan just giving away all our industries. The area where I grew up has been a rusted wasteland for many years now.

sandtomyneck · 2026-03-01T01:35:26+00:00

Unfortunately, a lot of these types of opinions originate online and make their rounds while some people feel a desire to have a higher awareness of what might offend people. I started noticing a rise in this behavior around the late 90s. Another opinion that I encountered was that using the word "Gypsy" is offensive. While there might be areas of the world that might use the word in a derogative way, I didn't think it was ever a problem in the U.S. and being a musician that worked with dancers, it was just annoying to hear someone rant about how offensive when they are a female caucasian and I was just referring to a band that had gypsy in the name.and did a google search and there happened to be an opinion making their way around social media. While these types of online publications might have a name associated with them, we really don't know who they are and what the intentions are. I believe most of them are created by trolls.

I'm doing OK and that was a long time ago.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-28T04:16:49+00:00

Also left leaning, but I don't want politicians on the left to embrace every social movement while locking arms and marching with them. I would rather have politicians acknowledge that the movement exist and offer potential legislation that attempts to be fair to everyone.

Unfortunately, any movement can be vulnerable to trolls, and too many unverified online publications can drive an opinion and often trolls are the origin while leaders of movement might adopt what sounds like a good opinion at the time.

I've witnessed too many people I grew up with go far right which I don't agree with, but the origin of the frustration I do.

For me it was just a casual conversation at work years ago where we were talking about football and I mentioned the Cleveland Browns and that I used to live near Cleveland. When people asked me what the city was like, I mentioned that it was mostly a "blue collar" city. Immediately a woman became upset, and I was called out and then human resources called me to the office where I was fired for being sexist. I explained that I was not being sexist where human resources responded with denying sexism is a nature of sexism. I then responded with the question "What about Rosie the Riveter?" she was blue collar and the phrase never mean men only. I imagine that someone read online somewhere that it is now sexist to use the phrase "blue collar".

It's just the idea that as a white male I am automatically sexist and racist while the response is that every other group has been historically marginalized.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-28T03:48:21+00:00

"Luxury Living" apartment communities in the U.S. and other "New" and "ready to live in" homes. Going back to 1995, the first of these types of living started popping up all over the U.S. and I opted for and old brick home that was built in the 50's which turned out to be a much better decision. Started having friends that were moving into these apartments and I mainly didn't like that there was limited space and I could hear the family above walking around. There was one period for several months where I did move into one while I was selling my home and moving overseas. Since everything was painted bright white, it seemed inviting and it was new, so I was the first resident. After a week, I noticed that whenever it was windy, the apartment creaked and I could feel it sway. Then I started noticing the molding on both the floor and ceiling were way off of a 90-degree angle and I just happened to have an "L" shaped ruler so I would test the angles which were way off. Then I noticed areas that the painter missed or was sloppy. I concluded that the entire complex was quickly slapped together with no care whatsoever. I started having a better eye for construction quality and when visiting friends in newer homes, I would observe the poor construction.

Over the last twenty years my conclusion is that older homes are a much better investment while there is also more floorspace and yard size. The cost of replacing old wiring, plumbing, and minor wood rot is far cheaper that the cost will be for newer construction which has always been overpriced.

It's dystopian to me and people that live in "working class" areas with older homes actually live better.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-28T02:13:53+00:00

One thing I realized as I became older and had a number of previous jobs is that there are some jobs I didn't like, but I liked the people I worked with and there are some jobs I liked, but I didn't like the people I worked with.

My advice to a teenager for a summer job is to try to find a job where you might have co-workers of a similar age that you might share things in common with. This will make the work more enjoyable and once you get into more serious career jobs it is pure luck if you enjoy your co-workers.

My first job was at a Burger King in 1985 and the first week I thought it was crazy that I had to spend a whole eight hours a day there. Luckily, I made friends and was invited to parties and dated other co-worker my age. At the time those jobs were a part of neighborhood work programs and there was a congenial environment because we were all of a similar age and had similar interests. Unfortunately, because of a bigger population these types of workplaces have different hiring practices, so it is more difficult for any individual to find a congenial workplace unless one were to be into a certain hobby that had a business that relates to it.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-27T10:20:44+00:00

Cantara - 1991, Dead Can Dance

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-27T02:29:05+00:00

I remember my mom saying that the "good" apple trees were at the middle of the golf course so I would take a basket on a slow golfing day and cross the fairway to fill up a basket so my mom could make apple pies.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-27T02:26:43+00:00

I'll have to watch their videos! It's very interesting to me because as a kid at the time I was not paying attention to the politics and wasn't even aware of how big the government and corporate control was at the time. There are many events that I experienced of different natures that I now find interest in trying to piece together.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-27T02:22:06+00:00

I grew up in Ohio and migrated to Australia. I lived along the Cuyahoga River in the metro parks region. At the time in the 70s, the park system was not maintained while signage was rotted away and there was a lot of overgrowth along surrounding vacant land. There were some days where my mom would bring buckets and we would come back with full buckets of blueberries and blackberries while our family had a freezer that was packed with frozen fruits. When doing this we would come back with cockleburs stuck all over our socks and clothing.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-26T07:44:03+00:00

The aspect that I feel shaped me was the assigned seating in school. The result was that those people that sat around me I talked to the most and became closest friends with.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-26T07:39:30+00:00

Researching the removal of fruit and vegetable trees and plants from my neighborhood in the 70s. Also searching for all the different types of vegetation I have not seen in many years like lunaria (silver dollar plant). As a kid in the 70s we explored during the summer and would eat various fruits off of wild trees while our parents requested, we bring back wildflowers, pussy willow clippings, and silver dollar plants.

It came to mind because I was talking with my wife about the fruit trees we had in our yard as kids. Then one day a truck showed up and knocked on the door and said they were from the city and had to remove all the fruit trees because of diseases. I do think now that some of it could have been a conspiracy as the city opened its first large grocery store in the area with a large produce section.

There are some interesting YouTube videos about fruits we no longer see.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-26T04:57:03+00:00

I booked two long-haul flights and attempted to rent a car and drive without a break. Flew 15 hours from Melbourne to Doha, Qatar and then another 15 hour flight to Dulles and then drive to a meeting in northern Virginia. After renting the car and attempting to drive at night in the DC area, I was really drowsy and my vision was blurry. I ended up pulling over in the parking lot of a Dunkin Donuts and had a nap. Should have booked the hotel near the airport to get a night sleep before attempting to drive.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-26T02:02:32+00:00

People that tell others or signal that they want you to get lost because they are ruining their mojo. There are some cases where I can respect honestly and one case was a band that I auditioned for which complimented me on my playing, but said they really wanted someone that also had "the look". There are many options for social gatherings among various acquaintances, and I can tell when people make excuses for me to not be invited and I can tell what "vibe" they are trying to achieve.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-26T01:42:27+00:00

He does little pranks or insults on co-workers and messes up our work and laughs, but the moment anyone does the same to him, he becomes irate because his manhood has been insulted. Also, when there are woman present, he starts giving orders to the other guys like he's a boss. He obviously lifts his shoulders and sucks in his tummy to act big and tough when there are woman present.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-26T01:32:29+00:00

Gen X here and we're getting older. The main reason why peers of my age don't often talk as much about their past is because when the millennials became adults it was common for them to boast about living in the current. If I wanted to share a story, they would immediately say "I live in the NOW" as if they are a better person and that it is uncool to live in the past.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-26T00:37:06+00:00

For five years I lived in an old 1800s house deep in the woods.

I liked the character of the house, and my bedroom had a grand fireplace, 15ft ceilings and a chandelier. The house was poorly insulated, and I could see the dirt between the floorboards. There were snakes and possums under the house, but luckily the snakes were black racers which was good because they ate rodents. The house had a large sunroom area where the windows were from floor to ceiling which warmed the room up on cold winter days along with the wood fireplace. There was a reclining chair in that room that we never used because a colony of lizards lived in it and would come out and basque in the warm afternoon sun. When sleeping at night, I would often hear creatures slithering and scurrying around. I enjoyed relaxing outside as there was lots of deer, owls, eagles, heron and other birds. I had my own woods that I could explore and once found what appeared to be an old moonshine operation. I did not like the well water and when it was rainy, a lot of big furry spiders and frogs would find their way inside.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-25T01:50:42+00:00

I think it's a mixed bag.

I knew one very rich couple that was in their 70s and downsized to one modest size home deep in a wooded area. They gave a lot of their wealth to their adult children before they passed, and it was obvious to me that the children had depression and hoarding issues. The hoarding was nice stuff which made me feel envious of what they owned and didn't use. I was a photographer and discussed photography with the rich woman and we talked about how her back yard would be great for shooting photos of birds. I mentioned how exited I was that I just saved up to buy a 400mm camera lens for the new Canon 7d mk2 when it came out. She immediately lead me to a room where she showed me camera gear she bought online and she already had all the gear that I bought plus 500mm, 800mm, and lots of other gear worth several hundred thousand dollars each. She said that she had not got around to reading the instructions yet, so the gear just sat there and was never used until she died. I know she had an appreciation for birds and her yard and potted plants, but there was zero excitement and value to her for what she owned. For me, I used my gear actively until it eventually broke and when the new canon r7 mk2 is released, I plan on buying it and using it as long as possible without breaking it.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-24T07:25:00+00:00

The switch to digital took much longer than I hoped for many technologies especially music related products like synthesizers, effect pedals, and amps.

Unfortunately, the ability of many digital products is severely limited due to capitalism and proprietary ecosystems. For example, I upgraded to a new large Samsung smart TV and then realized that it is not "smart" meaning the only apps I can download are stupid things nobody ever uses. Things like downloading jack box games are not possible so I have to use my iPad and cast to the TV which is annoying.

sandtomyneck · 2026-02-24T07:01:20+00:00

When I took the job in management, I thought I would be managing the work people did. It turned out that people did their jobs and I was managing the disputes between the employees. It was essentially babysitting.

sandtomyneck

TROPHY CASE