Marshall wrote:With gratitude to Dan and to Paradise Roasters, and for a variety of professional reasons, I will take a pass on this. Good luck, entrants!

I also must withdraw. Best of luck to all.

No problem Rob. For those who I contacted about this a few days ago, there's no longer a need to respond with an "I accept" or "No, thanks."

Humbug!

Ian...I hope the "humbug" wasn't directed at me
Best of luck to all.

No, Rob, not directed at anyone.

As I didn't enter the original contest, I'd have prefered a simple draw.

Forcing me to enter is a punishment, not a reward and I won't enter

What can I say, you can't please everyone. If someone can't take one minute to post on a thread, I don't think they're a good candidate for a project requiring more fortitude.

It's not the first time I've heard this comment. With the holidays quickly approaching, a few people contacted me offline for purchasing advice. When I pointed out that several grinders were being given away that were much better than the ones they were considering, some said "I don't have the time." OK, you have the time to write me, expect a personalized response, ask for further clarification of my initial thoughtful reply, complain my recommendations are too expensive, and then say you can't be bothered with entering a contest? More and more my answer to such e-mails is simple: Post in the forum if you need advice, you'll get a more rounded response than asking me. Guess what? Some reply in a huff they don't want to spend the time to register and post. Oh bother!

This year the odds of winning a prize worth several hundred dollars was 43 to 1 (i.e., there were nine Gifts and a total of 383 entrants). In prior years, the odds were closer to 30 to 1. And yet thousands of visitors didn't bother entering. Maybe they don't like the selection of prizes? Or are so wealthy that it doesn't matter to them? Last year 13% responded that they were not interested. Go figure.

Humbug indeed! Here we have proof positive of the axiom "no good deed goes unpunished."

cafeIKE wrote:No, Rob, not directed at anyone.

As I didn't enter the original contest, I'd have prefered a simple draw.

Forcing me to enter is a punishment, not a reward and I won't enter

Gotcha!
I'm already a semi-slave to my 'puter, as making/mixing music these days is computer driven.
Sometimes I long for the old days (sigh)
Cheers

I am not sure why many are withdrawing or not participating at all. Ed, you have a good number with your original entry and are still in the lead. This is a prize that would be an honor to win and fun to work on.

If I were to somehow win I would certainly ask for blending help from the other members.

So, get back into this contest!

IMAWriter wrote:Gotcha!
I'm already a semi-slave to my 'puter, as making/mixing music these days is computer driven.
Sometimes I long for the old days (sigh)
Cheers

I quit the music and film biz when I had more computers than musicians in the studio. c. 1988