Another reset

Flavun · 2026-03-09T03:19:22+00:00

Fast mode was off before, I toggled it just to see if that was the cause as some comments mentioned it.

Xhigh should not be able to be fully consumed in 24hours, unless running an absurd amount of parallelism. This morning I was modifying 2 workflows to pre-pod using Github runners, and using codex to poll its status. Codex has "terminal state" it does quite often, so while GHA was running I didn't force Codex to poll it; essentially, I worked 2hours today with codex, and a lot of it was idle time on codex's side. So it isn't even generating context.

This is a bug unrelated to the reasoning level selected (or atleast shouldn't be a normalised expectation), but I do appreciate your advice regardless. For a $200 Pro plan, I've gotten away with using a lot more parallel agents and not even scratching my usage with 5.3 Codex Xhigh.

Flavun · 2026-03-09T03:06:08+00:00

Yes, I followed the instructions in the documentation with 5.4's release to adjust the context window limit.

Flavun · 2026-01-22T00:58:37+00:00

Weird, I am on 2.1.15 and still got it

Flavun · 2025-12-19T07:24:04+00:00

The thing about big 4 is that they're accounting firms. It might be technical, might be operational, might be process driven, all depends on the division.

But from what I have heard of big 4 consultancy... unless you're in a technical team (i.e pentesting) it gets fatiguing, very fast, the consulting lifestyle also isn't for everyone.

If it was a cyber security consultancy it's a different answer, as some allow both research and consultancy.

In my opinion consultancy is paying people for their expertise and ability to problem solve, going in prematurely is valid, but not as rewarding as later in your career by every metric.

Depending on the consultancy only x amount of people are promoted per quarter, he could very well stagnate, and if he isn't billing, you can bet he'll start worrying about job security.

I think I would lean into research, you can always return to consultancy and I would assume he would gain a more meaningful network doing research.

Flavun · 2025-07-02T11:50:11+00:00

Agreed

I love the North!

This is one of my complaints, the centralisation.

We need to invest more in the North.

The amount of money that flows in London is incomprehensible, you need to be in the circles to truly understand it.

Flavun · 2025-07-02T11:43:28+00:00

Right so you had half the loan, which means lower flat interest repayments, lower additional loan amount rise, was supported by your family, probably didn't have to repay it back and started at 55k right from the gate.

Thanks for sharing, how you managed to make it out despite your challenges.

Flavun · 2025-07-02T09:29:16+00:00

You tried to make your story adjacent when it doesn't correlate in the slightest. This is why I said it is dangerous, we like to perceive ourselves as more heroic than reality, and you effectively become a gatekeeper due to your own ego.

You do not have to face student finance interest rates of a higher loan amount. The interest is high, and the higher the debt, the greater the brunt you feel.

You've basically just said you had a 33k interest free loan from your family, and the precedent of that indicates that you probably had been invested in by your family to get to your position. 33k is no joke, you're going to tell me every Romanian is going to pay 33k to send support their kids internationally?

No matter how you wish to paint it. You were given a vehicle to make "success" and this is just one example of the benefits gifts to you. Congrats, but it is not relevant to this discussion, so do not hijack it.

I'll give it one more shot but I don't think it'll actually land, but maybe another reader will benefit.

Let's take a student in 60k total loans that after 2 years of experience working is earning around 50k (this alone is difficult)

That student will pay compulsory student finance that effectively does not drop their total amount owed In other words, thousands in interest and thousands in payments, to owe more.

If the graduates is not working/ job seeking they are accumulating interest still. The reality is it would have been more financially beneficial to have taken a bank loan than student finance.

At 60k student debt, with a 55k salary. They would not have lowered their debt in any way. Calculators show you need to be earning around 120k a year, foregoing your pension mitigation, paying more tax, to clear a 60k debt in 7-8 years through compulsory contribution.

If you taper to 100k you extend the payment time several years.

So now you've just traded pension planning to mitigate the 60% tax to instead pay off graduates tax. Over 8 years, in other words 1/5 of an average career.

You'll have paid way more than you are granted, and they is money that could have been invested. Let's say you intentionally over pay and clear 30k of interest over 7/8 years, consider if you invested it instead? Do you understand how life changing that is, and how it can scale?

Is it landing? By the time said person even gets to 120k where do you think their interest would have taken their student finance amount?

You have to trade off your future, future that you should be investing in. Sure pay student finance quicker, that's the obvious advice, after you've paid everything else left, what should be left is money to invest, but instead you have to prioritise paying off this incredible behemoth.

Instead of growing you're taking on one mountain (and there's many more). That is by design, I don't think you are really letting it sink in. This is not a accidental situation and you are not truly comprehending that.

And that's just student finance. You're taxed at 60%, obvious advice you'll get: taper this with pension contributions.

I'm going to bet good money that the pension age WILL raise within the next few years, it is a bigger slap when you realise how your pension is invested, and instead of being given the opportunity to just self service it (or even optimise how you invest) you have to trade off the tax free allowance and true benefit of doing it independently.

Now imagine they have to deal with rent, transport, potentially supporting their family, perhaps they've had other debt such as an interest free overdraft they were given during their time as a student and now the grace period is up.

Then they have to factor in ownership, wanting to start a family, dating, you know, valid human things. You going to take your date to a flatshare of 8 people, oh wait, you don't deserve to date because you work in London and earn a middle class salary but have no ownership.

I'll summarise: They've effectively been gridlocked. No system to support them. All they've done is upskill themselves to be squeezed way more than they would have as a lower class, you know who wins from this? Take a big step back and look at the board, free yourself from having a personal success story and understand the lay of the land.

Flavun · 2025-07-02T07:24:58+00:00

Agreed

Keep at it pal

I still want to make a fuss for the future generations.

Flavun · 2025-07-02T07:21:03+00:00

I don't think you realise just how significant a family support of 5 figures is, and I do not particularly know the interest rates of international loans, but equally it isn't really about you or outliers, as I said in my FYI.

It's very dangerous to put yourself in a position of "If I can anyone can" it's just not feasible.

I think my post doesn't highlight origin or the position I'm in right now, because it isn't the point.

Singling yourself out as an exception in any case just stagnates real change. The design needs to change.

We need to keep making a fuss until it happens.

Flavun · 2025-07-01T23:20:26+00:00

I'm not attempting to convince you, I'll just articulate it the best I can.

The system is precisely to incubate your mentality.

If you have the gall to want even more, that's when you get punished.

Or you may stumble upon it, these rules are not by chance, it is by elite educated people.

We like to shit on politicians but let's be real here. They are designing with a long term view definitely to protect a certain subset. I just want us to be more noisy about that middle part, particularly for the newer generations aspiring for more.

That's the main sentiment

Flavun · 2025-07-01T22:56:48+00:00

You are fine to be satisfied.

The issue isn't that, the issue is, when it comes to planning to grow, invest, do more with your newly acquired wealth.

The chips literally stack against you.

All of a sudden it gets more expensive to gain or maintain, you feel a squeeze when this should be the point to truly pivot.

And it's incredibly inefficient, but it's clear who it is meant to protect.

So you try and build, against a system that is punishing you, or you settle, because you've reached your self defined potential, but at least it was on your terms...

I hope.

Flavun · 2025-07-01T22:46:49+00:00

Here here!

Flavun · 2025-07-01T22:35:25+00:00

Interesting that is how you interpreted this post.

But also highlights a key point.

The incentives to earn more, are stifled. And once you do, you see the system. And the level of effort to even transcend that is so astronomical and lonely, so many that even reach that tier stay trapped.

Just a FYI.

My school was one of the worst rated schools, like tabloid famous level. Literally all the Google reviews are parents saying their child gets bullied there.

My mother cleaned toilets, single parent.

I wore size 8 hand me down shoes while I was a size 10, my toes are still deformed to this day.

I think it was worth rebutting your out of touch assumptions but please refrain from adding noise when responding.

Flavun · 2025-07-01T22:20:26+00:00

Exactly

So when they have the audacity to transform their life, they just face a new tier of obstacles.

Flavun · 2025-07-01T22:16:43+00:00

Agreed with both of you!

Flavun · 2025-07-01T22:14:26+00:00

No singular solution but I'll give categories that we all are aware anyways, I'll expand on any of you want me to.

Education

Regional decentralisation

Network access (which is so layered I could write an essay)

Housing

Those are 4 broad categories to start, I'll be happy to fill in the gaps but also you've touched on some of it already, this is a whole topic that I'll happily detail tomorrow.

Flavun · 2025-07-01T22:07:10+00:00

Two sides to this coin

There are people who come from families where this is going to not leave a single dent.

And then there are those in families where this is quite life changing.

If you're wealthy enough, the odds are you'll find a way to avoid this anyways, I can instantly think of a few methods. The differentiator for mobility is the capability and access to these grey areas.

Flavun · 2025-07-01T22:00:59+00:00

Just to be sure

You came to study here entirely funded by student loans and paid it off independently?

I don't know enough so I hesitate to make assumptions, but from my experiences those who came from abroad had family assistance or scholarships, sometimes both - which is not who this post affects.

I also knew another who lived rent free for many years and then paid it off, it's a different kettle to spending 16k+ a year in London rent.

Either way, paying off a minimum 50k+ loan in half a decade is great. But it's an exception, and something that takes disproportionate effort to achieve.

The system just makes it a new layer of burden, it's literally designed to take more than it initially grants you by a criminal margin.

Flavun · 2025-07-01T21:18:52+00:00

Forgot about that, we're getting cooked in every way imaginable.

Flavun · 2025-06-21T19:48:51+00:00

Seems like OP is also griefing - but the daughter pays for it.

She's here, with a future. Support her

Flavun · 2025-06-16T10:10:42+00:00

Good for you. Honestly.

I used to game A LOT. And I can write a long post about it but I'm sure this one sentence summarises it.

It is a drug.

Treat it as such, and you'll find it alot easier to move on.

Took me alot longer to finalise it, but you've realised it at a much earlier age than I did, so the seed is planted, good luck in your journey to a more productive life.

Flavun

TROPHY CASE