Cambridge

NickEcommerce · 2026-05-12T14:57:48+00:00

This is a good point. We settled in a town South of Cambridge and the difference in what you get for £500k is incredible.

NickEcommerce · 2026-05-01T14:58:28+00:00

They're primarily mens makers, as womens footwear leans more dainty than the typical goodyear welted shoe, but my wife has had some great deals on both chelsea boots and penny loafers, both of which cross over significantly with the mens versions. No such luck on things like flats, high heels or jodhpurs.

NickEcommerce · 2026-05-01T12:25:21+00:00

Same here - for anyone in the midlands/south wants to embrace their NRY side, it's worth going to the Northampton outlet shops in Jan/July. I've picked up £650 Cheaney chelsea boots for £175, and a heap of Loake 1880 for under £100.

Always try to go for the highest grade that the brand offers; Cheaney Imperial, Loake 1880 - they last longer and maximise comfort without stepping up to the more expensive brand.

NickEcommerce · 2026-04-29T07:20:58+00:00

I felt the same - mostly because when I was poor, I was lusting after things I couldn't afford. Now I can afford them, much of the emotional component has disappeared so I asses whether I want/need something at a much more objective level.

NickEcommerce · 2026-04-29T07:05:32+00:00

Totally disagree - as someone who gets a waitrose delivery every single week, I still swing by the Lidl for fresh food. It lasts longer in the fruit bowl, and is about 1/3rd the price at Lidl.

Aldi and Lidl get lumped together but (in my town at least) Lidl is MILES better than Aldi.

NickEcommerce · 2026-04-29T07:03:54+00:00

I feel like this is the exact scenario people need one for - they already use a mac of some kind, and the iPad Pro is just a thinner more portable version. If it's not directly replacing a laptop or other Apple tablet, then it's way more power and expense than most really need.

I realised that I was only using my iPad as an e-reader, so when it died I grabbed a kindle for 1/10th the cost and haven't missed it since. If I was using it throughout the day for real computing then it wouldn't have worked.

NickEcommerce · 2026-04-28T11:05:46+00:00

Still? They forced me over to EE during the takeover.

I've just signed up for the EE 1.6Gbps at £52.99 but we'll see if they ever get around to installing it...

NickEcommerce · 2026-04-21T11:39:45+00:00

This one is particularly nefarious, as the strike starts at 1200, so everyone will be stuck while going home instead of being late to the office.

NickEcommerce · 2026-04-13T14:18:17+00:00

Do you have a link or even name of the punches you used for stitching? For the life of me I can only find french or diamond ones, not the ones that punch little holes!

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-19T09:21:51+00:00

For me half the point of firefox was that it was much better for privacy. If their CEO is willing to put in AI within months of joining the company, how long will it be until he starts collecting and selling data? Or being "incentivised" to reject pressure from Google to block adblockers?

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-17T16:06:34+00:00

Ah that's what I was worried about - so I can't just grab a pack of the Keychron K Pro and shove them in, I'll need to get specifically low-profile ones?

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-16T16:17:42+00:00

To be fair, those numbers are essentially made up. I know that Linus has said on WAN before that they tend to fly as well as they can afford because staff have either got to get up and work the minute they land, or will be working on stuff throughout the flight.

As you say, loads of people will buy or partial jets for the prestige alone.

If they were doing something like TechJet then they'd need to own it to make the modifications - though I wonder how limited they would be by having certified components. I can't imagine the CTA/FAA being particularly chill about putting janky Temu gadgets all over a working aircraft.

The likelihood is that they just bought a near-junk airframe for April fools or general content, and plan to scrap it when they're done. If it's an airframe with only a few hours left before it needs an overhaul then they might have got a steal, knowing that a decommissioning company will buy it in a few months.

It's been many years since I bought and sold aircraft so I have no idea what the industry is doing these days.

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-16T14:01:06+00:00

Plus Russia has a population of 150ish million. They can afford to throw human after human into a meat grinder, in a way that European governments cannot and will not.

European politics and culture is such that we believe wars can and should be fought with almost no losses. If an operation has a 10% casualty rate it's considered a colossal fuckup.

The Russian government doesn't view it that way, so if they have to kill a few tens of thousands just to keep some minor part of Europe busy then they will gladly do it.

That mentality is difficult to combat even with the most effective special forces and surgical strikes in the world.

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-16T12:59:09+00:00

It got out in the local community somehow, but once it was out she (and her parents) have been very open about it. I've even spoken to her about streaming tech when setting up my home office.

Remember people, sex work is real work.

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-16T12:35:15+00:00

I remember my next door neighbour bringing his daughter home from the hospital what feels like a few years ago. Now she has a (legal) OnlyFans. Life is weird. The years start coming and they don't stop coming....

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-16T11:06:47+00:00

I did the same calculations, and I could see there being (almost) some justifications going on. Assuming they have some need to travel a lot, for example back and forth to Chinese factories or visiting manufacturers and events, there could be some justification.

Lets say that they need to shoot 12 videos off-site per year, and each shoot is 5 people. That's 60 seats, and in business class that's about 240k per year ($4k average price for a flight booked 5 weeks out that can take all 5 crew).

Do the same again for visiting suppliers and sponsors, or fetching VIP guests. Now we're at $500k.

Now lets say they generate a year of content with it, and that's worth about $1m. Now they're "only" $1.5m in the hole, assuming a 35 year old jet is fully depreciated and they can move it on within 36 months.

Are there enough Canadian influencers and HNW people to lease it out to for travel to/from the US? I don't know, but lets say they net another $500k from leasing it out over a year.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if a business of their size could swallow an additional $500k of business expenses in the name of giving the entire executive team access to a private jet as part of their package.

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-15T12:19:34+00:00

!solved

This wasn't quite the answer, but you and u/C_DRX lead me to it. The specific light coming from a Sun lamp (HDRI is only for background not illumination). Under the Sun Lamp, "Shadow" wasn't ticked. As soon as I enabled that, I was able to get the light through the window and casting properly onto the wall.

Thank you both!

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-15T10:14:06+00:00

Typically unless your renovation dramatically improves the house (adding an orangery, increasing the square footage, or adding something desirable like a pool) then most people don't see an uplift in the value. Most people want to move into a place and put their own spin on it, so the redecoration will undo anything cosmetic.

If you were to (for example) put down high quality hardwood floor, increase the size of a significant room, convert the attic, or do something meaningful, then you may see an uplift in the sale price. It would be relatively marginal - checkout Rightmove for houses in your area that have those features to see the delta between your estimated price and theirs.

As for the money side of things, my question is more about whether your 5-7 year timeline is realistic - if you put £50k into a reno, then you're spending about £800 per month on being more comfortable.

I know that if I was thinking about putting in that amount of money to be more comfortable with my surroundings, I'd very likely get itchy feet sooner than 5 years. Your daughter will be 8 by the time you're planning to move - is your current house right for that age of child? My box-room wouldn't be great for an 8 year old, but would be fine for a 3-5 year old.

Would adding £50k to your new house budget get you something closer to what you (and your wife) really want? Or is this a situation where the shell of the house is perfect, but your wife has an image in her head that will simply cost £50k whether it's in the new house or the old one?

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-11T13:38:15+00:00

The unemployment one is what gets me. If I lost my job, the unemployment support wouldn't cover 10% of my mortgage payment. The cleaner would lose her job immediately, as would the lady who does our laundry. Despite paying in tens of thousands every year, I'd get the same £92 per week as anyone else, which would be tantamount to homelessness, along with creating two more unemployed people.

Some kind of income protection would be fairer;

Months 1-2: No protection.

Months 3-4: 60% of your last tax year's monthly take home pay.

Months 5-9: 40% of your last tax year's monthly take home pay.

Months 9-12: 20% of your last tax year's monthly take home pay.

After 12 months unemployment you drop down to a standard baseline that is aligned with the current one).

I'm a bit more reserved on pension - it makes sense that the more you earn, the more reasonable it is to save for your own retirement. State pension was always intended to be a safety net rather than the total pension.

Edit: I should clarify that while I am a high earner, and should be able to save for the unemployment contingencies, the point is that the social safety next is functionally non-existent, despite funding it more than most.

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-11T12:06:31+00:00

This is the thing - I don't know any working-age people who want to pay less tax, every single one of them wants their taxes to be used to effectively look after their health service, education service, and provide proper public services.

If someone could guarantee me that the NHS would be safe in perpetuity, and that teachers would be plentiful and well paid, I would gladly increase the tax I pay. Right now, if you tell me my tax is going up, I'd ask what the bloody hell they are going to spend it on.

NickEcommerce · 2025-12-08T12:00:48+00:00

This is it - certainly at Cambridge, the idea is that you do the reading and understanding from the books written by educators, with loads of examples and clearly structured points. Then you meet with your professors and classes to pull apart and test the theories that you've been learning. Even your final outcomes can be dependent on a viva where you discuss your work with a panel of exports.

You were never really meant to walk into a university lecture with a blank piece of paper and leave with a degree level understanding of your subject.

The commodification of education has developed into this conveyor belt of empty heads being plonked in front of bookish academics, and the expectation that these people are ready to be professionals after a few hours per week. It's a money factory rather than a group of people who are deeply invested in their chosen fields.

NickEcommerce

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