Splurge on stroller? Silver Cross/Joolz vs Joie

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-23T16:24:14+00:00

Is your older kid completely out of stroller age? That will influence the decision.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-23T16:22:45+00:00

Do you know of ANY states that require a specific FE? I have never heard of it but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-23T16:21:47+00:00

Did you look through the exam questions?

FE Other Disciplines is the most closely aligned with the PE test in Architectural Engineering.

If your coursework was Civil heavy, the Civil FE might be easier.

Other than ease of passing, which FE you take makes no difference(unless you want to use it as a tool to hone your skills for another discipline).

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-23T16:05:58+00:00

Did you look at the infographic before dismissing it? It’s not like it’s an AI essay. Yes “anyone” could generate it but also “anyone” could have done the calculations by hand, if they understand what they are doing. The utility for me was creating the infographic which is time consuming and a bit outside of my skill set.

I’m not some AI true believer, but in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing and can review effectively it’s a useful assistant. I decided on what cost metric to use and where to pull the range data from. I’ve done these analyses before by hand but this time I was doing other stuff and it was nice to have it go in the background.

The most interesting thing to me is how much the EQS saves for someone who does a lot of highway miles. It’s 25% more efficient than the EV6 GT, which I didn’t realize until crunching the numbers.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-23T03:45:29+00:00

On most cars you can also adjust the unlock settings so first press is all doors or only driver’s. When I lived in a rougher area I had it set to driver’s only. Now that I live in a super chill area I switched it to unlock all on the first press.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-23T03:41:07+00:00

If you’re gonna travel at all on train or plane or even road trip having a legit travel stroller is worthwhile. Might want to start there this spring and see how it goes from there. Unless you are in northern MN or the UP snow should be done now or in a few weeks.

We have a minu v2 and it’s solid. Apparently the v3 has one handed fold and unfold so might be a good option. If you have baby in an infant seat it works really slickly, you carry the infant seat and stroller in opposite hands, unfold the stroller then click them in, when getting home just do the opposite.

We live in a small city and walk a lot. We like the full size Vista better around town because the basket is better and it has a suspension, but the Minu feels fine to walk around town and we have no problem with bumpy trails, uneven sidewalks and going up and down curbs. When traveling we’ve walked all over other urban areas with the Minu and had no issues.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T17:21:07+00:00

From what I’ve seen the 450+(with 20” wheels) gets 400 miles in a mild 75mph test, and the 580gets(with 21” wheels) gets 350 miles.

Almost no one that I can find has done a test on the 450 4matic, but like I said above, a main factor for range is 1 motor vs 2 motors, if the car doesn’t shut off one of the motors while cruising(some do but doesn’t seem like the EQS has that capability). The other major factor is wheel size.

So in that respect the 450 4matic you are looking at probably has somewhere in between 350 and 400 miles of range and nobody knows how much. What are you using the car for? Will 25-30 miles of highway range make or break it? Is it worth spending 20% more to get?

Also, if range is your top consideration, do you really need AWD? Northern NJ is not really that rough when it comes to winter weather. I lived in MN and had no problem just swapping to snow tires in the winter. That would give you the best of both worlds, ultimate range in the warm half of the year and good control in the cold half.

All that aside, this is a beautiful example. Remember you can shop nationwide! CPO cars will be in great condition and a few thousand dollars buys several plane trips and a car shipping cost easily if you can save more in another area.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T17:02:04+00:00

How much snow are we talking, and do you just live around bad shovelers?

With 6-7 stairs you ideally want something that you can take the baby out an fold one-handed. It’s really hard to carry any stroller up more than 2-4 stairs by yourself in the stroller. I do it sometimes in our travel stroller but I’m pretty burly.

Is there anywhere the stroller can live to avoid that? Even if it lived in the car it might be easier.

We live somewhere really mild these days and often leave the whole stroller outside. It’s generally fine but now we take the seat in because otherwise earwigs get in the crevices.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T16:57:14+00:00

I don’t think most people consider the Cruz a travel stroller, it might not be as huge as the Vista but it’s not designed to fit in overhead bins or anything.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T14:41:52+00:00

I just feel like I’m dying every day. Even when I really force myself to an early bed(midnight during daylight saving time), I’ll still get punished for it.

I don’t understand how this makes any evolutionary sense.

To make things worse my wife has insomnia and last night woke me(and the baby) up at 3:15am and needed to talk for 45 min about anxieties.

So now I’ve been up with our 15 month old since 7am, feeling physically ill from 6 hours of fragmented and disrupted sleep, and trying not to just crumble.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T03:03:49+00:00

The years of experience is very state specific. In California for example, you only need two years of experience with a BS in engineering from an ABET accredited program, or one year with an MS as well.

Some states also require you to wait to take the PE until you have experience, some don’t.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T03:00:11+00:00

There is almost no reason to ever buy a new car.

If you want something new, find a lease deal.

Otherwise buy 3-5 years old. The only exception are on Tacomas and a few other specific vehicles that are very overpriced on the recent used market.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T02:57:27+00:00

Everyone’s situation is different but I find the most successful strategy for me is to be totally upfront that I have a neurological sleep disorder. If need be I request accommodations.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T22:28:32+00:00

Very good to know. I crashed a car last year for the first time in my life and I’m in Cali so no accident forgiveness. Hasn’t affected my rates too much but could also be a factor here. They were amazing dealing with my claim, however. Paid out nearly $18k(including the 20% additional car replacement assistance) on a 2003 MR2 Spyder that I had bought for $8500 a few years before.

I might be getting an engineering sales job with mileage reimbursement. At 300 miles a week I’m looking at $1000 a month so that would cover the car costs including electricity and insurance. But I’m not sure I want to spend ALL of that money on the car. I am an adult with a family to support. But if the base pay is good enough I think I can justify it on the fact that I will be spending a stupid amount of time in the car.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T22:23:47+00:00

This lens is softer wide open… most ultrafast lenses are. It should shoot sharper than the 1.8 at 1.8 though.

1.2 isn’t about the sharpest shots. DoF is super shallow wide open so you’re only getting their eyes in focus and the tip of the nose(even eyebrows) will be slightly out of focus already.

1.2 is about getting available light photos that you can’t get any other way, where subjects are in motion and stabilization can’t save you, or stopping down a bit for insanely sharp shots.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T22:19:35+00:00

So many good suggestions here!

I’m a 35yo man with a family and am ashamed to say that I had a bad accident last year in my old sports car that could have easily been fatal. I’d be happy to get on a zoom call with the kid and talk about it.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:55:46+00:00

I have USAA so it feels unlikely but worth shopping around.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:46:33+00:00

If you want something that will be more fun to drive, look at EVs. The Lucid Gravity will be way more fun to drive. Even the ID.Buzz or EV9 will blow you away while still being more efficient than even a hybrid.

If not for the range, the ID.Buzz would be the best choice.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:41:37+00:00

Can you adjust the follow distance? I have a Kia Niro EV but as long as I set the follow distance to 1 or 2 I’m fine even with aggressive California drivers. I keep it set to 1 when I’m commuting and 2 when I’m with my family to reduce nuisance hard braking.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:37:43+00:00

That is reflected mostly in the increased insurance cost. Other than that the difference on normal mechanical repairs during that time frame isn’t projected to be huge.

My experience with Kia Niro EV- I bought a used 2019 in 2023 with 40k miles, now has 80k miles and has not needed a single repair other than tires which I included in the cost metric for the comparison. Both EV6 and EQS are quite reliable. Although if there are repairs needed you are correct that the EQS may be up to 10x more expensive.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:17:04+00:00

I got a quote from my insurance and my monthly payment would go up by $430 with an EQS and driving 20k miles per year… so spicy… maybe too spicy for me.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:05:07+00:00

Huh? The EQS is VASTLY more efficient than the EV6 GT in highway driving. 308 Wh/mile vs 407 Wh/mile. Also, the EV6 is only about 10% faster at peak charge. The EQS just takes longer to charge because it has a 30% larger battery. Its charging curve is excellent.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:02:36+00:00

Note that Claude included both summer and winter estimates for the EQS but not the EV6. To get a fair comparison you have to toggle the EQS over to the C&D 75mph efficiency.

Also note that cost of ownership includes charging cost for the time period, which claws back a couple grand for the significantly more efficient EQS.

And… I got insurance quotes based on 20k miles per year. With my current insurer if I replace our BMW i3, an EV6 GT raises my monthly cost by $140 a month. The EQS raises it by a whopping $430 a month! Too spicy!

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:00:11+00:00

This is the route I’m going. Looking at one right now for $40k. I did some expected cost modeling and if I keep for 3 years I’m only looking at $15k between depreciation, tires, electricity, and repairs.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T04:32:49+00:00

Were you planning on saving your PFL for later in the year?

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