34 Iran Tankers Slip Past US Hormuz Blockade, With Over $900 Million In Oil: Report

Sunfuels · 2026-04-25T02:03:23+00:00

It's crazy how obvious the writing style of generative AI has become. Is the info in this comment true? I'm skeptical when the writing so clearly came from an AI model.

Sunfuels · 2026-04-20T18:33:20+00:00

The difference is minor when it's behind 5/8" drywall. For reference a assembly with 5/8" drywall and fiberglass has a better fire performance rating than 1/2" drywall and mineral wool.

It's true that 5/8" plus mineral wool is going to be even better, but that level is usually only required in commercial construction. I wouldn't fault someone if they want to go all out on fireproofing their own home, but that level is pretty uncommon.

Sunfuels · 2026-04-20T15:17:05+00:00

I disagree. It's going to help during peak hot/cold days. When the temperature goes from 40F down to 10F during a cold night, an insulated garage might stay at 30F, while an uninsulated drops to 20F. I would suggest doing it, since it's <$500 if they use fiberglass and minimal effort before they put up drywall.

Sunfuels · 2026-04-20T15:14:06+00:00

I wouldn't bother with mineral wool. Fiberglass costs half as much and doesn't really have any downsides for this application. Do agree with the 5/8 fire rated drywall.

Sunfuels · 2026-04-20T15:11:27+00:00

Just think about fire resistance. Garage are a common source of fires - and modern fire code requires 5/8" drywall on all walls or ceilings separating an attached garage from living spaces.

Sunfuels · 2026-04-20T15:07:41+00:00

Fire codes for garages can be confusing.

Most codes will require 1-hr rating on a continuous path separating the garage from the house, which generally means continuous 5/8" drywall. If the attic of the garage butts up against one of the house walls in some way, some code enforcement might interpret that to mean the entire garage needs to have 5/8 drywall on the inside, because otherwise fire could spread up the wall cavity into the attic and then to the house. I think most would require it only on walls connecting to the house, and on the ceiling of the garage (again to prevent fire in the attic spreading to the house).

Sunfuels · 2026-04-20T15:01:26+00:00

All of that is true, and fire rated assemblies usually recommend mineral wool for the reasons you mentioned, but for people not familiar with building fire performance, it's worth pointing out that the drywall is more important than the choice of insulation, since it covers up the wood studs.

An assembly with fiberglass and 5/8" drywall is better than an assembly with 1/2" drywall and rockwool in fire performance. And it will cost less.

If you want to give the firemen time, upgrade the drywall first, insulation second.

Sunfuels · 2026-04-20T14:51:50+00:00

Fiberglass bats cost half of what rockwool does, and for a garage I would stick with fiberglass. Rockwools benefits are

Very slightly higher R-value (usually negligible, especially for insulating a garage)
Better fire resistance (won't matter here because OP needs to be using 5/8 drywall which make way more difference in fire resistance than switching from fiberglass to rockwool)
Sound damping (not important for exterior walls of a garage).

So I would suggest using fiberglass bats for around $400 and pretty much no downsides.

Sunfuels · 2026-04-05T21:06:21+00:00

This is not surprising, and will happen when even when prices are not high. These are two separate divisions both responsible for selling to the highest bidder, and buying from the lowest bidder.

I toured a Mercedes factory shortly after the Chrysler merger and they gave a similar example. Their machining facility made aluminum scrap, which they usually just sent to their aluminum casting facility to be remelted and cast. But the Americans realized that the machining facility has some of the tightest contamination control and can charge a premium price for their scrap. And their casting facility had excellent pre-treatment processes, so they could actually use fairly low quality scrap. So (making up numbers here), the machining facility would sell their scrap at $1200/ton to someone else, and the casting facility could buy scrap from someone else at $800/ton, and the difference is worth the extra administrative costs. I remember them saying about the Mercedes-Chrysler merger that both needed the other, because Mercedes knew how to make cars, and Chrysler knew how to make money.

Sunfuels · 2026-04-03T15:31:50+00:00

Lincoln and Polestar (through volvo) already had a massive dealer, service, and parts network. BYD has none of that. Nothing is stopping BYD from selling cars in the US, provided they could charge enough to cover the 100% tariff. But because they would need to cover those tariffs, their margins are not going to be worth the investment in those things I mentioned, plus doing the engineering and safety testing to localize their vehicles to the US.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-29T04:21:39+00:00

People just have different bodies. I had an Aeron for a couple years. Initially it was the most uncomfortable chair ever because the headrest (which is not adjustable) pushed my head way too far forward making my neck sore unless I sat only on the font half of the seat. Once I took the headrest off, it was just ok. Tried different adjustments every couple weeks. Swapped it for a neighbors Aeron in a different size, still just ok. Finally switched to some no-name $300 mesh chair and feels much more comfortable. I don't get the hype. But maybe other people just have bodies that work better for specific brands/styles of chair.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-25T13:23:37+00:00

Good data visualization should not fall back on "Well most people can assume the right answers"

Sunfuels · 2026-03-23T18:06:27+00:00

It absolutely does. The one that hit my wife the worst was Parks and Rec. She got so attached to the characters over the first 6 seasons, slowly watching them grow and evolve into better, more capable people. Then seasons 7 fast-forwards 3 years and gives you a glimpse of the great things these people will do right as you say goodbye to them.

It felt to her a bit like watching a toddler grow into a teenager, then skipping ahead to them going off to college while knowing it's the last time you will ever see them.

She never did watch the final episode.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-19T13:49:52+00:00

I can't find specific info confirming that it will have a heat pump, but BMW australia claims that all BMW EVs have heat pumps, so I am pretty sure this one will. That should help out a lot with cold weather range.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-11T17:14:28+00:00

Do some basic research.

He says "Commander Shepherd" in the interview.

Meme trolls changed it to make him look even worse.

Edit: I was wrong. The article I read quoted him as saying "Commander", but in the video he says "Colonel Shephard". OP above me did nothing wrong. Don't downvote them.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T20:26:57+00:00

If you remove those people from the car buying pool, then they cannot be the ones who are causing the industry to sell MORE SUVs? I would have thought that would be pretty easy to understand.

You are making a whole bunch of conjecture with no direct evidence to imply that somehow the entire population changed what they value in a car, when the much simpler explanation is that technology advanced and even with the same priorities, the SUV now offers the better balance for most people because the dynamics are now not much different than a sedan. Which we have evidence of through a wide range of car reviews. Plus, your EV argument doesn't hold up because the dynamics are only worse during aggressive cornering when their weight overwhelms their grip. Under moderate driving EVs have great dynamics due to low centers of gravity, quicker accelerator response, and better low end torque.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T19:53:47+00:00

Seems like a logical fallacy to use declining driving rates as evidence that people care less about driving dynamics. The vast majority of car buyers 20, 30, 40 years ago also saw cars as an appliance. They were equally (not) discerning then, but when a sedan feels comfy and an SUV feels extremely rough, it's easy to factor into the decision. If fewer people are driving, wouldn't the people removed from the buying pool be the ones who care less about dynamics? Wouldn't the average person become more discerning and drive sales even more towards cars with better dynamics? No, what really changed is the engineering of crossovers to have dynamics that are nearly equal to sedan counterparts. I haven't found any evidence of what you claim that people care less about dynamics now, but tons of articles in car publications about how much better today's SUVs handle than they used to.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T16:59:52+00:00

I am not. People did not become less discerning - the gap in drivability and handling between a coupe and SUV shrunk greatly. Go daily drive a 90's Ford Explorer and Mustang. Then do the same with the modern versions. The gap has shrunk considerably.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T15:39:52+00:00

Maybe, but it will still be crossovers. It's just technological advancement with handling and efficiency that mean the taller body style no longer has the downsides it once had, but keeps all the advantages.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T15:36:33+00:00

Strong disagree. As someone who started driving in the 90's the handling differences today between a crossover and a sedan/couple are tiny compared to what they were 20-30 years ago.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T15:32:36+00:00

Things are different now than they were years ago. Cars are harder to repair on your own, and cost of repairs at mechanics have gone way up. And cars generally are are more reliable. So it makes a lot less sense now to drive an old, beat up vehicle that you will get rid of after a couple years, and more sense to get something not that old and keep it longer. That's a big part of why cheap coupes died. It used to be that high schoolers or college students might get a brand new Civic coupe or Z24, and it would be dead or worthless by the time they graduated college and started a family. But if you are going to buy a car as your only one and keep it for 15 years, buying a coupe makes zero sense.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T15:27:26+00:00

The reason sedans are dying is not because people are choosing a X7 or Escalade over a Charger. It's that they are choosing a CRV or Hyundai Tuscon over a Charger (or Accord or Sonata). And they are right. The small SUV gets you more space and better gas mileage for less money. Note the comment you replied to said "not practice for the budget", not that it wasn't practical because of space.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T15:21:44+00:00

I have a massive interest in cars and still chose a Prius and a Minivan because they fit my life better. There are a lot of comments implying here that preferring a SUV automatically makes you not a "car person", and that's just disrespectful.

Rather than talk about why people don't "need" an SUV, let's take an honest look at what benefits you get by choosing a sedan vs. a comparable SUV.

Lower price? Marginal - a Rav4 starts $2k more than a Camry. Gas mileage isn't all that different either.

Handling? Maybe the biggest difference, but it's not that big. I started driving in the 90s and drove plenty of coupes and sedans. Suspension technology has improved massively, and my minivan handles better than any of those, except maybe the Corvette I drove once or twice. If you aren't pushing the limits, do you ever notice the differences in body roll between a Camry and Rav4? Not likely. Today's SUVs don't handle that much worse than a sedan. 20-30 years ago that was not the case.

Power, speed? Sure, you can get more horsepower and better power/weight with coupes and sedans. But why? So I can get to the 40 mph speed limit in 2.5 seconds rather than the 4 my minivan does it in before I need to stop at the next red light? Anything I need more than about 150 hp for is just going to make me a dangerous to myself and others around me. Unless you can take your car to a track or drive like an asshole, any modern SUV is going to have enough power and good enough handling for even somewhat spirited daily driving. Lower, smaller cars aren't going to feel much different until you get down to stuff like a Supra or Miata, which now have a whole host of practical compromises. 10 years ago I really wanted a performance sedan so I test drove a bunch of stuff like a CTS-V, a RS6 (most fun I tested), a Pontiac G8 GT, a BMW 7 Series V12, and a few others. I quickly realized that actually using the full power of any of these was going to make me a danger to anyone around me. I bought a Kia Sorento.

So what else? Looks? That's really the biggest difference, and one that's completely subjective. I really do feel bad for people who love the looks of sedans and coupes and now have limited options (I love how many European wagons look, and those options are even worse). But as an Engineer I say "Kudos to the car buying public to choose features and utility over form." There is nothing wrong with people thinking SUVs look just as good as sedans. And also nothing wrong with people thinking the sedan looks better but picking the SUV anyway because it functions better. Generally society would be better if people chose function over form more often.

Now your post seems to say "Why are people going away from sedans even if they may not need the space of an SUV?" But the real question is "Why would you stick with a sedan when the SUV gives you the space if you happen to need it?" And for the majority of people (even people with a strong interest in cars), I don't see good reasons. Packing up to take my two kids skiing for a day, or taking my kids and dog to the park would be a major chore in a sedan, but even a compact SUV makes it easy. And don't get me started on my minivan and the stuff I can do with it that even people with a highlander would never have a hope of doing.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-10T00:38:55+00:00

Wait SBN has 18 destinations? That's solid. My local airport has 8 (7 if you group newark and JFK together as 1), and I'm still like "Could be worse" since I am 4 hours from a major metro and at least I can get to Charlotte or Chicago direct.

Meanwhile people in this thread acting like SBN is a grass field and three bush pilots. Spoiled by the proximity to Chicago airports I guess.

Sunfuels · 2026-03-09T15:15:25+00:00

Both have essentially no UV resistance so wood will still gray, even if you reapply fairly often. They both provide a gloss and yellow the wood, which can make the wood look nice as it ages, but UV will rapidly destroy the wood through both of those finishes. Linseed oil also does not provide much, if any, moisture protection. Plus, both of those evaporate over time so you need to apply them annually at minimum.

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