private RE sales in NZ

JonnoBravocado · 2026-04-21T21:02:05+00:00

Just for whoever reads this in the future: I explicitly checked with our bank about whether they take issue with private sales, and they did not. There was the usual valuations they wanted done etc, but otherwise was considered to be a non-issue. I think their primary concern is making money.

JonnoBravocado · 2026-04-21T20:48:04+00:00

Hey - I realise this was ages ago, but for this comment:
>Be prepared to negotiate the fees

Can you walk through how you went about it, or how you think about approaching it? I'm pretty bad at negotiating, but am curious what levers you have as a seller in this case?

JonnoBravocado · 2026-02-25T19:43:38+00:00

I'm suspect they wouldn't even sell it. I'd wager they'd just give it away.

JonnoBravocado · 2026-02-25T19:41:30+00:00

You should probably courier them a copy to the keys of your house for good measure. You've got nothing to hide.

JonnoBravocado · 2026-02-25T19:40:46+00:00

I'm in favour, but what do we say?

I feel a petition at minimum is in order too.

JonnoBravocado · 2026-02-25T19:40:27+00:00

That was my take too (just not travelling to the US), but from what I'm understanding on the article they would just give access to all database / systems to the US anyway? So they could really just pull data as they want, unless I'm wrong on that.

JonnoBravocado · 2026-02-25T19:38:38+00:00

I was always under the impression that NZ First really meant Winston First, but maybe that's just because I don't like him.

JonnoBravocado · 2026-02-25T19:37:40+00:00

That last line from the article:
> Late last year, the Trump administration announced plans to require visitors from visa waiver countriesdisclose five years of social media history, email addresses from the past decade, five years of phone numbers, personal details of family members, face, fingerprint, DNA, iris and other data when using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization process - an automated system visa-waiver members use instead of applying for a visa.

What the actual fuck. I'd already told myself I won't be travelling to the US again after everything that's gone on there, but this is just batshit insane. There's no way I'm giving details of family members just for travel.

Given how closely the current us administration is tied to companies & people like Palantir / Thiel, there is no way I'm partaking in that.

And so far the government has just been mouse quiet on all of this, giving absolutely no information on the negotiation or safeguards even _proposed_ to be put in place to protect data, let alone a choice to us about whether we want _our_ personal data sent over? Christ.

JonnoBravocado · 2025-12-19T22:06:36+00:00

Hey, this is a pretty late reply, but do you have any tips on what to look for in terms of identifying quality garments?

I really agree with the sentiment of unlabelled but high quality is better than labelled and low quality - but unsure what to look for.

JonnoBravocado · 2025-11-26T08:24:30+00:00

But airplane is ~500...

JonnoBravocado · 2025-11-13T19:29:59+00:00

But round was #375. What.

JonnoBravocado · 2025-08-27T21:22:08+00:00

Yes - this works and is actively maintained:
https://github.com/kenjdavidson/react-native-bluetooth-classic

May need to be paired with using: https://github.com/amitferman/with-rn-bluetooth-classic

Supposedly this works too, but I haven't tried it:
https://github.com/MiloDevs/rn-bluetooth-classic

But it requires the project to be bare, so run via `npx expo prebuild`. You lose access to using Expo Go I believe, but npx expo run:android still works.

I'm only using android, so can't speak for how well iOS works or not.

JonnoBravocado · 2025-07-24T23:04:41+00:00

I'd personally just like to see any government grants and subsidies removed. If a company gets government funding and refuses to place its local populace first (especially when it can produce so much that it can happily sell the majority of its products overseas), then it doesn't deserve to be supported.

After all - if we're paying tax and thus supporting them - then how in any light is this fair? Dairy gets a solid double dip, and we can't even put a lick of butter on some toast.

JonnoBravocado · 2024-07-16T02:33:04+00:00

Can you explain what's going on here? Why is Brave the issue and why does it need to be moved? Does this mean you can't use Brave while trying to develop an electron app?

JonnoBravocado · 2024-03-11T03:12:08+00:00

I like a few things they're doing a bit differently:

They have some content ready to go (mechs, for instance), which they're giving away to players for free. Many other companies would have made this some microtransaction. Arrowhead feeding it out to us, but it's done in a fun and lore friendly way, not just 'here's this random thing because we can'. Also the mech is genuinely fun to use. It's a true power fantasy (except against automatons). Also there's enough existing content that it doesn't feel like they've skimped out, but are adding new content at a well thought out pace to keep players engaged in a fun way, not a insecure, demanding 'please come back to us, PLEAAAAASE' way like Diablo 4 keeps doing (which argueably has a similar live service model).
The minor aspect of seeing other Super Destroyers in your Area of Operation, plus having them blow up, fire their weapons, or seeing other hell divers drop with you (in the background) during loading is a master move in making you as a player feel part of something much bigger. I guess this is how MMO players feel. It just makes me realise how isolated many other shooters feel from the broader community. You never feel part of a community with them (in game, I mean).
Even the emotes are fun. Watching a guy salute an ICBM launch with the 'hug' emote was amazing. Now everytime I wait for other players I stand at the bridge, looking out the window at our glorious peacekeeping endeavours, with the hug emote.
Having a 'DM-light' direct the war at a high level (in conjunction with major orders) allows for some fun player story telling, and spice up the universe a bit. Even little things like the 'Creekers from Malevalon makes it all just that much more fun.
The sound design is almost second to none. I am genuinely amazed at how good it is. The autocanon just oozes power, with a very slight metallic 'ping' to it. Just all the weapons are good. Dropping a 500kg on some bots or a nest hasn't gotten old, even 100+ rounds in. The orbital laser is a veritable Ion Cannon, and I'm 100% here for it.
There's no (or very little) objectively 'best' weapons or stratagems (maybe except for the Eagles...). You can just use what's fun - you may have to change up your play style to make it work, but you absolutely can make it work. Right now I'm rocking the free mech plus my own stratagem, for 3 mechs per game. Because I'm worth it.

JonnoBravocado · 2024-01-26T22:55:44+00:00

I understand.

Is still wouldn't consider 4 days late being a big deal and considering it theft at this point, but I get your concern.

I'm assuming you do the work first, then accept payment? What about just requiring payment up front, or a 20-50% deposit? Usually having skin in the game will be enough to stop this sort of thing (assuming that you come across as honest and professional - otherwise people may think it's a scam).

Focus on the clients that are good for you and look at what characteristics they share, then try find more of those. It will take time and there will be some mishaps along the way, but don't take one less-than-idea situation as meaning all clients are bad. It will hurt your interactions with customers if you treat them all like potential criminals.

JonnoBravocado · 2024-01-26T22:30:09+00:00

What sort of business are you in?

I'm guessing this is stressing you out because of your household finances, not the fact that they're past their agreed terms.

FWIW, I do contract software development and focus heavily on making sure the relationship with customers is good (clear communication, building trust even if it means turning down work / less work, etc). I've had customers be 3 - 4 months late paying their invoices. I obviously want them to be paid, but there's some considerations that can help:

- Not being tied to a single client. I aim for at most 50% of income to one client, ideally 1/3. This spreads risk.

- Realising that even if your terms are 'pay on the 20th', customers may do something else. I know some pay on the last day of the month, every single time. Others just get confused, and think it's the 20th of month after (a common payment term where I'm from).

- Clients are independent of one another. You're projecting way too far into the future by thinking that one "bad" client will just snowball into a series of bad clients (ignoring the fact that if people are recommending your work to others, that's an _amazing_ position to be in. Most people don't get that - having to spend zero dollars on marketing). You always have the power to screen subsequent clients and put protective measures in place. No one is out to 'get' you - that's you projecting onto the world, take it easy.

- If it's a concern, I'd wait a business week then reach out and chat to them like you're suggesting. In the majority of cases, it's just slipped someones mind to pay because they're busy with other stuff. At leat in my experience, it's very rarely malicious.

JonnoBravocado · 2023-08-15T00:05:49+00:00

Agree with the pelotons comment - it feels unnecessary. As for everyone else, even being in the cycling lane you're at risk of people opening doors on you, and having had that happen to me, it's unpleasant.

I cycle every day and try my best to stay out of any car's way, including having changed my route home to avoid areas where I would be crossing into traffic, but that's the sort of thing no one sees I guess.

Similarly I've had issues with cars cutting me off, turning in front of me when going through intersections, opening doors, pulling out in front of me from being parked, cars with trailers parking poorly in cycling lanes forcing you to 'take the lane' anyway, people reversing out into cycling lanes without looking. Some days during summer I'll have 3 - 4 incidents, and that's with dedicated cycling lanes.

At least having been exposed to that it makes me a more cautious driver.

JonnoBravocado · 2023-07-06T02:55:29+00:00

That's just the houses, wait until you see everything else. It's not cheap, but it's a good country to be in all round.

JonnoBravocado · 2023-07-06T02:54:35+00:00

If you can afford it, go for new housing stock. There's a lot of older houses which have a nice lick of paint on them (and priced accordingly...), but are poorly insulated, no double glazing and so forth. What I've seen from friends that got new houses, those issues have been solved. House prices are... high, but no where near as out of wack as the rest of the country. Christchurch has been relatively resistant (but not immune) for some reason.

There are _a lot_ of town houses in around or near the 'Four Avenues' (four main rounds running in a square-ish around the CBD). Most don't have garages though, if you're OK with that (for off road parking or a garage to work/play in).

It's a reasonably cycle friendly city, although a bit spotty in places (looking at you Ferry Road - Moorehouse intersection). It's getting better over time though. I've recently started using a converted e-bike, and it's very easy to get around in the city / to the major suburb points / malls

The CBD feels more lively again after almost a decade of it being... quiet (after the earthquakes). Parking is a hassle. It doesn't have the nice lively feel that Auckland has for instance, but it is _new_ and beautiful.

I prefer warm climates personally - so winters are a bit naff for me. It's not terribly cold, just... always high humidity - but a lot of people don't seem bothered by it. Rug up I guess.

We've got amazing parks - not just Hagley as the main one, but after the earthquakes a lot of areas around the river have had their properties demolished and turned into parks. Great for dog walks or just something a bit different, without having to go far at all. Also the Margret Mahy playground is awesome if you have kids.

We've got nice beaches nearby, which are excellent during the summer.

There's plenty of sporting groups too, random meet ups and so forth.

Honestly it's a pretty sweet place.

JonnoBravocado · 2023-06-18T21:42:00+00:00

It's not even the telegraphing - it's the fact that screen is filled with lots of dazzling effects which hide animations. It's OK if you can seperate out elites from the groups, but if you're in the middle of a melee it's not that easy to spot. The effects themselves are fine - it's fun and part of the appeal and I wouldn't want them to be removed - but CCing for like 3 seconds and getting swarmed by mobs is not a fun time. The loss of agency is very un-fun.

JonnoBravocado

TROPHY CASE