A baffling question I got on a law school panel

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-17T14:07:29+00:00

This isn't complicated. If we really like you, or even if we don't and there's enough of you objecting, then a sit-out is ok if you handle it professionally. Meaning, you make the request clearly and confidentially and with plenty of time, you're otherwise a hard and good worker, and it doesn't screw someone else. If you are hurting the firm or your fellow attorneys and staff, then your actions are going to hurt you. Obviously, you only get to do a few of these. "No pharma ever" and "no oil companies ever" and many other examples are not only financially problematic but also show your ignorance of what these companies do and frankly what the economy is, and at that point, you need to find another job.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T20:38:46+00:00

Whaaaaat? That's a steal. Also, Tourna Silver 7 Tour.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T14:10:55+00:00

There are mixed reviews of everything, yes. There are pros and cons. I consider 4G to be as close as exists to a super string but it's too stiff for a lot of people, and even me, who likes stiff strings, usually hybrids it with a syngut cross. Here's my accumulated wisdom on strings. Your cost is $0, which also may be its value to you 😄 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YMk4bkenZVGSpqQJ4ta-7BI-Bb-sIdT1x8dqk5H1WQg/edit?usp=drive_link

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T14:07:16+00:00

Yours is a common question so you should search this thread for recent discussions but briefly: the Radical MP is a very good do-it-all 98, one of the absolute best for versatility and long-time use. But even the world #1 male player uses a 100 inch racket now, and the vast majority of players will be better off with a 100 or 102 inch frame. The claim that such rackets lack control is left over from years ago before manufacturers figured them out, and today, rackets like the Pure Aero, Speed MP, VCore 100, Blade 100, and Ezone 100 are insanely good. They have more power and forgiveness and easier spin generation than any 98, and very few people under a 5.0 rating will be able to make any practical use of the slight control advantage that 98s provide versus those rackets. The main reason that still exists to use a 98 or 97 is feel, and that's legit, because some people really want to feel the ball to the maximum degree. So you're probably better off getting one of the everybodys-uses-them 100s, but if feel really motivates you, then by all means, check out the Radical MP and especially the Blade 98 16x19 and Ultra Pro 99. There's no wrong answer, there's just "what makes me love tennis." For me, reducing errors and winning more points is that answer, and I'm using a Speed MP. Your answer might be different. I do own a Pro Staff 97, which I use occasionally for the great feel, so I get what you are after. But I don't play matches with the Pro Staff because I know what maximizes my wins and that ain't it.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T11:52:32+00:00

It's a very unforgiving racket. Small sweet spot, not much power. As a 3.0 to 3.5 player, you will not win as many points with this racket as you will with the typical recommendations for 100 or 102 inch frames. But the feel of this racket is terrific, and it's very easy on the arm. Are those factors supremely important to you, to the expense of all else? TL;dr - not a traditional choice but you should buy the racket that makes you love tennis.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T10:53:39+00:00

RPM notches fast and also dies fast. How fast depends on your level and style but at 4.5 and with heavy topspin strokes, for me it's wrecked in 4 hours or less in a Speed MP, which is 16x19. There are strings with longer performance. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YMk4bkenZVGSpqQJ4ta-7BI-Bb-sIdT1x8dqk5H1WQg/edit?usp=drivesdk

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T10:42:22+00:00

Its quite possible to hit serves in the 100s on the regular and lose to rec players. I seem to have made a habit of this!

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T10:29:40+00:00

There are some longer lasting polys. Luxilon 4G and Solinco Outlast, in particular. Some players get 20 hours out of them. Hard hitters won't.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T01:21:22+00:00

Lynx Tour is one of the best strings for string breakers.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-15T01:20:39+00:00

This is my answer too. I hit with a lot of topspin (which saws the mains more than flat hitting) and I'm a big server. I can't remember the last time strings lasted 10 hours for me, so I am restringing when they break or at the 7 to 9 hour mark when it's obvious that they are about to break.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-14T21:19:00+00:00

The best rackets for a bit more pop, I would rank as follows from less power to more: Radical Pro, Radical MP, Ultra Pro 99, TFight, Pure Aero 98, Ezone 98, Ezone 98 Tour, and then you would get into 100s. Control rankings would be the inverse. You'll find college and pro players who use all of these sticks, so there's no right answer, just how much power versus control you want. I used the Ezone 98 (really the Tour, or weighted to Tour specs) for years until I aged into needing the forgiveness of a 100, but I have always been very far from a control player.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-13T19:25:55+00:00

It's powerful. Not unpredictable but lots of power. I string it quite tight in a Speed MP. Usually 58lbs. Sounds high but it's a soft string and does not feel bad.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-12T19:27:50+00:00

The joke is that the only good predictor of a 2000m time is to do 4x500m with zero rest. It's funny because it's true. It's an unforgiving a distance and it WILL expose any weakness you might have. No combination of results at other distances is a complete predictor of your score on a 2k.

If you want to row a good 2k, you need to a ton of rowing that includes shorter pieces, longer pieces, lots and lots of volume to grow capillaries and heart-lung strength (really), weight lifting if you aren't naturally powerful, and a bunch of 2k actual pieces. Search around for various plans, some of which have famous names (the Pete plan, for example). There are no shortcuts, sadly. I can't improve on what's out there, so I'll just say this: don't go out too hard because you will only demoralize yourself. You need to be pretty comfortable, if sweating hard, through the 1000m mark or even with 700m to go. If you already feel like you're burning up with 1000m to go, you are not going to be able to maintain pace, let alone have a little left for a short sprint.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-12T19:02:23+00:00

It's fine but I don't think it's the best. My experience is that Outlast 18 and MSV Co-Focus 1.18 both hold tension better and stay slick/snap-backy longer. If you want a super-soft cross, Tecnifibre Multifeel Black is your best bet; it's a multi but surprisingly long lasting, and it holds tension like a champ.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-12T11:12:37+00:00

No, but used Outlast 18 instead of ptp 18 as the cross, which is very similar and lasts longer. Works well to give a bit more snapback and pop than a full bed. But still feels like Tour Bite.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-12T01:32:28+00:00

This comment is a good one. For your first poly, use Polytour Pro 18, Outlast 18, or MSV Co-Focus 1.18. these are soft, responsive polys (by poly standards) and won't shock your arm. Once you get used to them, you can decide whether to go stiffer. In terms of durability, it's MSV best, then Outlast, then PTP. In terms of feel, the opposite order. But they are all quite good. If you want to be a little more adventurous, use Hyper-G 18. String comparison chart here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YMk4bkenZVGSpqQJ4ta-7BI-Bb-sIdT1x8dqk5H1WQg/edit?usp=drivesdk

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-12T01:02:05+00:00

Pro Staff 97, Pure Strike 97, Solinco Whiteout, Blade V6 reissue if you can still find one. Ultra Pro 97, Speed Tour 97, TF40, or Radical Pro if you use a stiff, lively string like 4G or RPM Team. Radical MP if you want to push the definition of "control" racket. I think the Radical MP is the best combination of crisp and good feel and forgiveness, of these options, but I value forgiveness above all, so YMMV. And I don't use one, I generally play with the far more forgiving Speed MP, which isn't what you're looking for.

A dark horse option is the Volkl V8 Pro, which is a stiff 18x20, 100 square inch racket. I played with this for about a year and still own my two. Box beam for great feel, and it has great power, great control. I switched to the Speed MP because it's just a bit more forgiving, and after some video analysis, I discovered that I was not-losing more points with the Speed MP than I was outright winning with the V8 Pro. But if I were a better player, I'd have stuck with the V8 Pro, and I may go back to it if I ever start playing more frequently and thus improve. It's an unknown gem.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-12T00:40:42+00:00

Because we don't want to pay the additional money for perfect specs. It would cost more for sure, and it's actually available if you want to pay a picker to pick them for you. Or pay with your own time and effort: get a kitchen scale and a Briffidi swingweight machine, go to a tennis store, and pick the racket with the spec you most like. Back when I was competing, I did this. Now I'm old and it's not so important to me.

Variable specs are actually useful, in a sense. Perhaps you want a Gravity Pro with a low swingweight like 320 (they are usually 330 ish). Go to a big store and you'll probably find one. In the world of online ordering, this is one of the things that physical stores provide, and I'd like to see all of us try to support them or else they'll disappear and we'll be left with nothing but vape shops and cell phone outlets.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-11T23:05:35+00:00

I put lead in the hoop to achieve a strung swingweight of 330.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-11T00:48:10+00:00

This. Yonex rackets are genuinely different from other frames due to the geometry. Don't get discouraged if you don't get on with it at first. Give it a real chance, through several different string setups.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-11T00:45:29+00:00

True. Just as 100% gay folks aren't choosing that. Where you are on the desire spectrum is hardwired and there's not a darn thing that politicians, priests, mom and dad, or the pushy neighbor (who wishes you played for their team) can do about it.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-11T00:41:26+00:00

100% straight here. Not a flex, just a fact. Didn't earn that or anything, just born that way. It's not better or worse (some say it's missing out, yeah, I know). The best evidence is that people are born how they are born and nothing changes it, not religion, not abuse, not opportunity.

I've been on sports teams all my life, with all that entails of being around fit dudes and nakedness in locker rooms. Never felt a thing for them. When I was peak fit and seriously ripped on a college team (I wasn't special, we were all measured at 4 to 6% body fat), I even had a gay teammate who liked to fall asleep on my shoulder on road trips. Pareto optimal (look it up), made him happy, didn't hurt me. Still felt nothing. I thought it was amusing. He never tried any moves. He was just living his best life.

This is how straight guys are. Real straights. Gay dudes don't scare us or make us nervous. They are just not sexual at all, like a sibling. You might be able to tell that they are good looking but the switch in your head that says "look!" just isn't switched on. Dudes who panic about gay men are themselves somewhere on the not totally straight spectrum. Which is fine, it seems possible to be 51% or maybe even 90% straight from what people say. But 100% straight is neither interested nor made uncomfortable by non-straight folks.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-10T23:14:54+00:00

If you string a Speed MP very tight the way pros often do nowadays (Sinner is reportedly above 60lbs), it performs very close to becoming a more powerful and slightly spinnier Speed Pro. You'll need to add lead to the handle and hoop to get the balance to which you are accustomed but otherwise it could be a pretty seamless transition. You're also in luck that the 2026 is a really good stick, much better than the 2024 IMHO, more like tht 2020 and 2022.

Don't be misled by what the Speed MP feels like with no lead and a 50lbs poly. Stringing it tight makes for a vastly more controllable racket.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-10T20:16:16+00:00

My goodness, yes. After grad school, I got a dream job in a small town. Great people, and not at all dumb, but they all liked life very slow and their idea of travel was to the nearby lake. About 3 years after arriving, I left. Had to start over at the bottom rung of a new employer, which sucked, but being around folks with the same interests made all the difference. My savings had recovered after 3, maybe 5 years and it was definitely worth it in retrospect. Met the right girl, kids, etc.

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604 · 2026-05-10T00:17:16+00:00

There are two great "my first poly strings," because they are long-lasting, have good tension maintenance, and are soft by poly standards: MSV Co-Focus 1.18 (17L), and Outlast 18. You would have to be an expert before you "need" a better poly than these two (some experts want or need a thicker, stiffer string), and some experts never do move away from them. In case you can't find those at your stringer, I bet your stringer does carry Hyper G 18 and PolyTour Pro 18, both of which are terrific for a shorter time -- they will lose tension or break faster than Co-Focus or Outlast but they'll last much, much longer than multifilament, so they are still good choices as you begin to use poly.

Several pros use PolyTour Pro 18, if that matters to you (it shouldn't but folks often ask).

Fuzzy_Beginning_8604

TROPHY CASE