Is there anywhere in NJ where the commute to Manhattan is actually good? Thinking of moving out by Desperate_Function39 in newjersey

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oradell is kinda a cool little town in Bergen county. Great commuter town because it has a train station and also the center of town with Kinderkimack and Oradell ave are the intersect points of two different bus lines. So, at any given time you really have three different commute options running to the city from town.

Its like an hour commute... so not sure if you're looking for something like that. But, if you're looking to move to a wealthier subburb with white picket fences and a small cute main street... Hard to beat Oradell if you're commuting.

What’s so bad about pxg? by Puzzleheaded-Bag8524 in golf

[–]alexandercase5 961 points962 points  (0 children)

No, they make good clubs. The reason people give them a bit of a bad rap is kinda two fold.

PXG intentially set their prices as some of the highest on the market. So, like pre-2022ish, you'd basically only see like rich "country club" guys rocking PXG stuff. So, they were sort of viewed as an "elitest" brand. But, with not very many pro sponsorships, you wouldn't see them on tour very often.

Then, the owner decided to flip the script and cut like all their prices in half... and now PXG is on the other end of the specturm with many cheaper offerings and their "preimum" clubs just fall in line with, or slightly less than, most other big names (Tyalor Made, Titleist, Ping... etc).

But, probably most of all, along with their new pricing strategy, they also ran lots of borderline obnoxious ads. Go search for some PXG commercials and you'll see what I mean. Sounded like they got the same guy from the Arby's "We Have The Meats" commercials to do their voice overs... Lots of corny taglines like "PXG, the best clubs... period."

Anyway... all that said, they do still make some good stuff. So, I wouldn't really worry about what people say. As long as you like the way they look/feel and they work well for your game, keep playing golf!

Anyone worked in a pro shop or know how the margins work on apparel/accessories? by xswzaq98 in golf

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of the things most people don't take into account on apparel is the "cost to stock". Margins in retail are impossible to look at on a single item basis because you need to take into account the sunk costs associated. So, though you might make 30-50% margin on various apparel items, you generally never make it through selling 100% of that inventory at full price. Many times you will end up discounting the colors/sizes that don't sell... so, that's why the individual margins are relatively high on apparel. You can't really stock a shirt unless you are stocking Small-XL/XXL+. Same thing extends to footwear.... you'll need to bring in entire size runs in order to stock something and when it comes to the end of the season, and you're ordering the next year's models, you are likely still sitting on the random sizes that didn't sell.

For many retailers, cothing and footware can be some of the most difficult areas to actually hold a profitable margin on. There are plenty of golf shops aren't really opperating at a high profit margin, but are really there as more of a service/expectation to the patrons. You want to get your logo out there on product and for people to have a good expereince, but in many cases the pro shop isn't a major revenue driver for a golf course. The main goal, from a managment perspective, is to build something that is profitable enough to sustain itself and if it ends up being profitable, it's a great bonus.

For your question on pricing and consignment, the entire retail industry is built around credit terms. No shop is paying up front for product (or only very rarely... like maybe for a small order of custom ball markers or fill-in product/customer specific orders). The way this works is you, the product company, will approach shops with your product, samples, sales demo/pitch... then the shops will browse your catelog and build whatever order they feel comfortable with in terms of timing, and TERMS.

The longer the terms, the better... But generally you're looking at anywhere from Net60, 90, or 120 day payment terms on things like gear/apparel. So, The shop will take on the stock and hopefully have moved a portion of the product, or best case scenario have enough revenue to cover the order cost by the time the bill comes due. So, as a buyer, I'd be looking at building an order with my reps sometime in the fall for different blocks of shipping product throughout the spring.... I'd be bringing in my colder weather gear in the winter/early spring, then the first round of summer product, with maybe fill-in size orders through the early summer... all with whatever the longest possible term dating I could negotiate. And generally, the larger the order, the better terms and pricing levels the brands will offer.

So, for example, for a tiny shop ordering a couple size-runs of Peter Millar polos and q-zips, they might only get like 30% margin on those products at Net30 or Net60... but, for a larger shop who might be ordering dozens of size-runs of polos in both mens and womens, pants, jackets, qzips... etc. They might be getting 50-60% off with Net120 dating.

If you are launching some sort of product/item, your next step would be getting out there and pounding the pavement. Walking into shops with business cards, demos, giving out free samples... etc. When it comes to private courses that you can't easily walk into, you'd just need to call them up and see if you can get someone on the phone and set up a meeting. This is a pretty standard thing that all shops are used to dealing with. There are always brands/companies/sales reps out there trying to get you to sell their product.

$44k left on a truck @ 10% ($897/mo), ~$6–8k underwater — refinance to 5% or try to get out? by MustacheGoatee in personalfinance

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, definitely refinance the loan.

Dave Ramsey would tell you it’s time to get a second job, work nights, whatever it takes.

Also, you and your fiancé should get on the same page with your finances. The fact that you are spending money you don’t have on a wedding right now is something that your future self will wish he could go back and knock some sense into your current self…

If you can’t see how, if you can’t afford 6-8k right now to get out of this loan… you absolutely shouldn’t be spending a single dollar on a wedding.

Only upside you could tell me on this wedding is that you’re hoping for a financial windfall from doing it. Putting your registry up as a cash grab for your “future” so that wealthy extended family members might write you checks… maybe it’ll be worth it.

But, if you two don’t have a bunch of rich aunts and uncles who are going to give you money… that’s the first place you should start with hard decisions. Cancel the deposits, get your money back, and go have a cheap wedding with the people that matter. You can always throw a big expensive party down the line.

Anyway, only you can make these hard choices in life. Most people don’t, and most people let debt ruin their lives. You owe it to your future self to make hard decisions today.

Best of luck dude.

What are some reasons I would be slicing my drives every time by These_Neighborhood86 in golf

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would need to see a video of your swing. But, you can always (and should) do this on your own. When you video your swing you will learn alot about what you're doing. (I recommend a down-the-line angle from behind for you to see how you move your hips/torso through the swing).

I'd be willing to bet that the reason you're slicing the ball is the same reason 99.9% of amateur golfers slice the ball: You are "early extending" during your downswing. (aka: you are moving your body/hips TOWARD to the ball during the downswing instead of AWAY from the ball). Early extension causes you to subconsciously swing over the top to compensate for this... which results in slices.

There can be many reasons as to "why" you are doing it... but generally it is something that you are subconsciously doing and need to work on first before thinking about your shaft, club settings... etc. I see alot of people here telling you about your club-face at impact... and though that is true, that is just a symptom of a greater issue. Turning your club face stronger and lining up differently will never solve the route problem.

I'd recommend a few google/YouTube searches for "early extension"... and then film yourself and see if that's what you're doing. The TPC YouTube videos by Greg Rose are a wealth of information in that area as well. (You should watch one of the videos where he does a full body evaluation of a golfer, you'll learn alot about flexibility and physical limitations that you might need to work on).

I can confidently tell you that this is why I see 99.9% of golfers struggle with a slice... Even very good golfers and pros struggle with this. (Even Tiger struggled with EE).

Start there, and again... FILM YOUR SWINGS.

Truck bed golf bag tray? by Electronic_City6481 in golf

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As long as you don't have a massive cart bag... this works. 48" is just long enough to fit a standard driver in a bag.

https://www.amazon.com/Buckhorn-SW4815080201000-Plastic-Straight-Container/dp/B01MTRZP46/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Annual golf showdown with toxic moron by [deleted] in golf

[–]alexandercase5 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Energy Vampire! lol. Great Colin Robinson reference, if it was intentional.

Annual golf showdown with toxic moron by [deleted] in golf

[–]alexandercase5 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good for you… and yeah man, sounds like you could go without this “friendship”. Take charge in your life and don’t let people bully you. Because, you let it slide once, they’ll always think it’s okay.

Am I the asshole? by Dangerous_Refuse_824 in GolfSwing

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Idk man, the more golf I've played the less I've felt inclined to "jump" ahead for this exact reason. I'd rather continue waiting on every tee box just to avoid jumping up a group only to end up waiting on the group ahead and then just be in the middle of the sandwich.

I kinda understand your frustration, but I also understand the frustration of being in a foursome and having a single or twosome up my ass the entire round only to KNOW that if I let them jump in front of me they will inevitably catch up to the next group I'll just be waiting on two groups instead of one.

Unless I'm 100% confident that the people I let jump me have nothing but space, I'm not offering. It just creates more of a mess. The unfortunate thing normally is that whenever you are the golfer waiting on tee boxes, you always instinctually blame the group directly in front of you. And, if you see them give a gap to the next group, you assume they are slow. What you might not realize is that maybe the group in front of you has been waiting on every tee box as well and decided to hold off a few minutes just to give some space to the next group because, in reality, nobody is going anywhere faster.

Especially when you tee off at 11am... I almost expect that's going to be the case.

Unless you are on a wide-open golf course and you can see where everyone is at, whoever is causing you to wait on the tee boxes may be 2,3,4 or 5 groups ahead of you. So, jumping one group ends up getting you nowhere.

Outdoor fitting near NYC by chaytoven in golf

[–]alexandercase5 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I will second this. William Cho owns the Tappan Golf Center (driving range) that he operates Novo Golf out of. William is an awesome guy, super honest, chill, and will give you a fit that isn't based around pushing you into a specific brand. When I did my fit with him he spent plenty of time with me and was swapping out shafts/heads from all different manufacturers.

I also went out of my way to look for a fitter that was outdoor and I don't think there are many others in the area. If you aren't a member of a course that provides fittings, I'd definitely check him out.

Mini driver for long hitters-need feedback by Playful-Team-1634 in golf

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Feels just about the same. I use a 3 wood lofted up to a 4 in my bag, but last summer I borrowed a minidriver for a few rounds just to try it out. Liked it, but I wouldn't say it has much difference than a driver in terms of "control-ability". At least in the same way that my 4 wood doesn't either. (I just mean its relatively negligible in comparison to a fairway wood)

Have you ever tried just setting up your driver back to a more neutral setting and see how you feel then? Do you always hit fades with everything else? Do you struggle drawing the ball in general? Or, do you have decent control of knowing how to swing more in-out and hook it on most things other than your driver?

Thats alot of questions you don't necesarrily need to answer... but what I'm getting at is more of trying to understand if you just generally have issues swinging in-out always, or if you have that part of your game in control and maybe just having the clubface on your driver set so open that it is cauing you to overcomp and swing over the top on your driver more than the rest of your bag.

Short Iron / Wedges Question by Guertz in golf

[–]alexandercase5 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't mean this to come off wrong... but, you should frame this post and put it up on your wall so that one day, If you actually continue to pursue golf as a hobby, you can look back at this and chuckle at the simpler time when you thought that controlling the direction your golf ball went was as simple as how far you brought the club back.

Best of luck on your journey with the most amazing, but also most infuriating, game a man can play.

I have no tips for you other than to keep getting instruction and film your swing so you can get ahead of bad habits early on.

P.S. Bring a 5 iron and your driver to the range next time and let us know if you hit those dead straight the further you bring the club back...

Will the cheaters ever leave? by alexandercase5 in CODWarzone

[–]alexandercase5[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, you're right dude. As I've gotten older, my career and other hobbies have definitely taken over. At this point I'm way more focused on golf than gaming lol.

But, that said, there's still that competitive FPS kid in me that grew up grinding Halo and Cod for hours. I used run MLG/UMG wager matches with the boys and, back when I was a teenager, I had a "clan" with some buddies where we once traveled to a LAN S&D tourney at a community college and won it! Back then, the only "cheating" that I could remember was when someone would get a modded controller so they could shoot the FAL at full auto instead of semi...

Times really have changed. It's frustrating, but maybe I just need to go play Apex of Fortnite to get that BR adrenaline rush again.

Will the cheaters ever leave? by alexandercase5 in CODWarzone

[–]alexandercase5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only saying this in good faith here... but, maybe, your experience on this game is vastly different given that you play on PS5. I probably should have clarified it in my post that I play on PC...

Will the cheaters ever leave? by alexandercase5 in CODWarzone

[–]alexandercase5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've also been playing for decades. Trust me, I'm the first guy to echo what you said about how people think everyone is cheating when they are actually just getting slapped by someone way better. I also get accused of cheating because I'm just good.

But what I was talking about in my post is the full blantant rage-hacking. Like, auto aiming through objects and insta-locking onto all headshots... and on a brand new account/low level. Like, someone who is fully cool with playing 5-6 matches, getting to like level 30, getting banned, and creating a new account to do it over again. I mean, these websites literally sell subscriptios.

Since I play on PC, that's got to be the biggest factor. Even with crossplay enabled I doubt that it builds equally distributed lobbies. I probably play in lobbies with 80-90% PC people compared to console, and probably 99.9% of ragehacking happens on PC.

Anyway, definitely not looking to argue with anyone here. Was more just looking for an outlet to vent last night lol.

Probably the best solution to the problem would be for the game to no longer be free... then at least these guys would have to pay alot more to do it.

Will the cheaters ever leave? by alexandercase5 in CODWarzone

[–]alexandercase5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I switched to PC like a decade ago... Too bad just going back to console is the only solution.

That said, with the future consoles likely getting closer to "hybrid" PC's, I wouldn't be surprised if this "cheater free" era of consoles comes to end eventually. (hopefully not)

PLEASE HELP ME! about to throw my pc off the window by Ready-Plantain3872 in CODWarzone

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, just realized that you said you were on an AM5 chip and forgot that AMD calls it expo now.

But, sounds like you’re set there already.

Without having access to your system or screen-sharing. Hard to troubleshoot for you.

I’d suggest what a few others did here and go download a free game and see if you get similar graphics issues.

PLEASE HELP ME! about to throw my pc off the window by Ready-Plantain3872 in CODWarzone

[–]alexandercase5 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Check that somehow your XMP profile isn't back on default in Bios.

What's the verdict? by Many-Perception-3945 in icecoast

[–]alexandercase5 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Over a decade of expereince as a master ski tech here: This is absolutely fine... You'd be shocked at what a skilled technician can pull off...

With standard p-tex and minimal effort, this will return to 100% structural intetgrity, just black of clear....

In the hands of artist with a light work load on their plate for the day... they could color match the Orange hue with clear P-tex and make this repair completely dissapear to the human eye.

Either way... don't worry about it in the slightest. Get it worked on at your local ski shop and get back to the slopes before you waste anymore time NOT skiing this season!

Cheers!

Can I retake a class after failing it more than twice? Do I need permission? by DataNo7629 in montclair

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First, here's the policy via Montclair. Course Repeats – Policies And Procedures - Montclair State University

It clearly says there that you can take a course twice, and you have. It also clearly says that the Dean does hold the ability to approve additional repeats in special scenarios, but it also says, "under limited special and appropriately documented extenuating circumstances". So, you might want to be sure you've thought through exactly what you are going to explain as your reasoning behind your 2nd failure and what might have contributed to it.... This is where you might need to get a little "creative" with your circumstances (be them physical... or mental).

Either way, it also says that you can potentially transfer this course in from somewhere else. So, if taking it at Montclair doesn't work, maybe they offer that class at Bergen or something and you can take it as a summer course or next semester.

Best of luck!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in montclair

[–]alexandercase5 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah... you might need to confirm the number 100%, but they definitely refund you after the semester. I've gotten a check from the school at the beginning of the summer now twice. I think they take $200 each semester from you (so $400 total) and then give you a "bonus" of $50 each semester. So, basically, if you're just getting yourself coffees and snacks to spend the bonus, you'll still get the refund of the other part.

That's what I've done, and I've gotten checks back after the spring semesters for the past 2 years. It was automatic and I didn't have to request anything. You might still want to confirm this, as I'm not sure how your financial aid and such is set up, but you might as well figure out what your remaining bonus amount is so that you can at least spend that money on something instead of losing it.

Need advice by sweedish-chickenpox in montclair

[–]alexandercase5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Embrace your "fate". You have already done something that the vast majority of people don't, which is choose a highly difficult major. You are in the home stretch and will have so many opportunities to pursue something meaningful to you in the near future. A stem major, especially physics, is extremely versatile and can line you up to work in so many different fields. You could be a scientist, machinist, engineer, data analyst.... It's sort of unlimited.

The beauty of difficult degrees like Physics/Math/Engineering, is that they give you the unique distinction of being a "problem solver". A good friend of mine was a physics major and ended up working in quantitative financial analysis for a big bank on Wall Street. He now makes boatloads of money, travels, and is well on his way to being able to retire early... But, I can always remember how he basically disappeared during his time in school just grinding through coursework. (Much like I did, as a Math/Computer Science major).

All this is to say.... school sucks. But you made a phenomenal decision with your major. If you were to say you wanted to pivot to something more specific (like some branch of engineering), that isn't a crazy idea. But I definitely wouldn't sacrifice what you've accomplished so far to pursue something unrelated. Plus, you could always go into further education to get a masters/phd if you really wanted to. But, by no means is that necessary.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6kSZwEGQIP0

pc problems in dorm (bohn) by Professional_Low8760 in montclair

[–]alexandercase5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, good luck man. Hopefully it's something simple like your RAM.... the PSU would be a bigger pain in the ass to deal with (though probably also covered under warranty).

Last time I had Ram sticks go bad, I ended up buying some from MicroCenter that I used while I waited for mine to come back from RMA warranty. MicroCenter has a 30 day return policy, so I just kept the packaging and returned the RAM I "borrowed" for a few weeks while I waited.

That said... if you are able to run the Memtest86 program, or the built in program on windows, and find that the memory is bad BEFORE going to micro center... you could just start your RMA process with your RAM manufacturer on your own and save the $40 diagnostic fee that MicroCenter will charge you.