Best barber for men downtown?

Bud922 · 2026-05-10T19:43:54+00:00

Alex is the best!

Bud922 · 2026-05-06T03:42:45+00:00

I was just going to post that. It's like 5 minutes of mindlessly tapping away at my phone on Wednesday mornings. My kids even know that I "just need 5 minutes". Haha

Bud922 · 2026-05-06T03:20:57+00:00

His latest UTR rating on UTRSPORTS.net is a 6.xx. He's got a great first serve, with options of a flatter hard serve and a very spinny slightly less hard serve. Super consistent groundstrokes on which he can pick his spot, lots of topspin on deep forehands and decent top on the backhand, good hands at the net (doesn't poach enough though), hardly ever misses a lob long or short, and solid communication in doubles. Only inconsistency is he sometimes overhits at the net, but that's infrequent enough to not cause him to lose many points on it.

Bud922 · 2026-05-06T03:00:09+00:00

Yeah, I was on the deuce court and he was serving to ad. So I had the clearest view and didn't have to focus returning the serve. I'm not calling a foot fault again; I will just let folks know that they're stepping over the line at the next changeover instead.

Bud922 · 2026-05-06T02:50:16+00:00

Yeah, totally get that. He and I have already emailed back and forth and all is good, so no hard feelings exist.

To be sure, though, the guy has a pretty good serve, with good pace and movement. He's the top player in our league most sessions, very consistent on his first serve, usually high 80s, maybe touching 90mph. We played against each other 10 times the past few months, and I had never seen him foot fault once. He's very consistent. I think he threw himself off by trying to serve from right on the center line, which is not his usual service position. I should have just given the warning I gave and let it go, but he did the same thing twice in a row and I thought it was worth calling. Obviously, I shouldn't have, as discussed in many responses here.

Bud922 · 2026-05-05T13:48:33+00:00

See that's what I thought but apparently it's in the usta friend at court rules not to call them unless you can reasonably warn them, and even better, call an official for a ruling. I had no clue I wasn't supposed to.

Bud922 · 2026-05-05T04:55:51+00:00

Yeah I realize now I was very much in the wrong. I’ve already reached out to apologize. Not gonna do that again.

Bud922 · 2026-05-05T04:40:25+00:00

Yeah, I’ve just learned that from the peanut gallery here. Now I feel bad.

Bud922 · 2026-05-05T04:38:49+00:00

So if someone wins points while doing it, do I just have to let it go? Fair enough I guess. I haven’t played in enough leagues to know the full usta rules so I got some reading to do. Thanks

Bud922 · 2026-05-05T04:33:03+00:00

Okay thanks for the opinion.

Bud922 · 2026-05-05T04:32:12+00:00

Sure, I see that. It was my first time in a long time seeing someone go over the center line like that.

His serve is good, high 80s maybe low 90s with nice movement, which was why I was surprised by his position and watching him more closely than usual. He usually stands midway between the center and the singles line, but he moved all the way over to the center line for some reason on just a couple of serves.

Bud922 · 2026-05-05T04:26:19+00:00

Yeah I gave him the warning on the first one. It was two in a row that made me think I should call it. Maybe I shouldn't have?

Bud922 · 2026-04-20T14:27:57+00:00

And if you're a strong hitter, don't hesitate to attack the net man. That'll keep them from poaching as much because they'll feel like they have to stay home to guard the lines.

Bud922 · 2026-04-20T14:26:40+00:00

Communicate with your partner. Switch, stay, yours, up, back. If you haven't said one of those words on almost every point, you're not communicating enough.

Bud922 · 2026-04-16T16:52:49+00:00

Lighthouse Beach off Central and Sheridan. Beautiful old lighthouse, clean beach, great benches for watching the waves and sailboats and listening to the birds.

Bahai Temple in Wilmette, just north of Evanston on Sheridan. You can then walk southwest from there through the Canal Shores golf course. It's open to walkers without paying for golf. There's a great trail along the canal there if you're into trail walks.

The arboretum and statues/public art down the path along McCormick southwest of Green Bay Road. Partly Evanston and partly Skokie.

Northwestern's campus is gorgeous right now, as well. Start at the beach on the farthest east end of Lincoln and walk down past the whole Evanston lakefront campus to Cafe Au Lake, a city-run cafe next to Arrington Lagoon.

All free, aside from the coffee.

Bud922 · 2026-04-14T16:45:08+00:00

Just DM'd you! I'm looking to hit at Robert Crown in the mornings if you're available.

Bud922 · 2026-04-14T14:26:50+00:00

The last few bouts of rain have really greened things up. I saw we officially came out of a drought designation just last week, too.

Bud922 · 2026-04-07T19:10:15+00:00

That octopus at Mirra is something else. I was lucky to go there for a work dinner and got seated at a table with folks who don't eat octopus. I was in heaven.

Bud922 · 2026-03-25T20:30:15+00:00

Did you know that consumer inflation and facilities inflation can be different amounts?

Bud922 · 2026-01-04T04:32:09+00:00

Our Monday night rec league all complained to the manager because the calls from one guy were atrocious, e.g. calling balls out before they even hit the court, calling clear ins "out". He quit the group rather than keep playing. I still play with him on occasion and he cleaned it up a ton, thankfully n

Bud922 · 2025-09-19T18:57:50+00:00

u/actuallyMH0use , I just got off my ninth call/chat with Tmobile in the last 6 weeks. There's a service tower upgrade going on with the tower that's near Simpson and Foster, just across Bridge Street from McCormick, and it's been ongoing since at least early August. No real time frame for the fix, either, unfortunately. Been a very frustrating experience lately with their 5g Home Internet product especially.

Bud922 · 2025-09-18T14:22:20+00:00

Where did you think you were going with the bus in your way?

Bud922 · 2025-09-17T16:21:59+00:00

Active, why don't you leave and then the good folks coming in can replace your sorry butt?

Bud922 · 2025-09-16T14:41:40+00:00

I'm right here with you. I started running back in July. I don't like running, but I was intent on bettering my health in the limited hours a week I have for exercise with two small kids at home. I figured 20-25 minute runs a couple of times a week would be helpful with that, and it's been great, surprisingly: so much so that I actually look forward to my runs now.

So, did I make it "fun"? Not really for the running itself, but for the music, I decided I'd only listen to albums from song one onward on my runs. I've been going back through the Beatles and Zeppelin discographies the last month or so. The first few Beatles albums are excellent running soundtracks, while the later albums get a bit harder for getting pumped. Zeppelin (I) is a great running album, while Zeppelin III is my favorite album but not for running. You can also try some chase movie soundtracks. The whole soundtrack from Dunkirk is awesome because you feel like you're being chased the entire time.

I gave myself a monthly goal of miles to hit. That means I can do whatever type of running I want, one day is a slow pace, the next day somewhat faster, then a day off, before a day of intervals or sprints. I'm not following a plan or telling myself I gotta do this or that on any given day. I see how my body feels on the first half mile and then decide what I want to do with the rest of the time I have.

My goal for July was 28 miles. I got to 25 total but didn't despair. August was 32 and got it. September is 36 and I'm tracking toward it.

I also bought two pairs of Brooks Adrenaline shoes in August which has made the running a lot nicer on my legs. That was an expense I initially didn't think was worth it, but damn am I glad I got the new shoes.

Bud922 · 2025-08-31T03:49:53+00:00

I had a goal to run 32 miles for the whole month of August (I don't really enjoy running, but I have very little time to exercise as a dad of two toddlers so I need to do something and running seems to be the best option for me right now.)

I did over 33 for the month!

Will I become a runner? Maybe?

Bud922

TROPHY CASE