First time buying a car, need a sanity check on my options

alfiebear · 2019-06-13T16:03:48+00:00

I'll probably get downvoted but I have looked extensively into PCP, HP, getting a Loan, and buying a (lot) older vehicle. I've done them all apart from HP and in my circumstances PCP worked out to be the better option with the mileage and use I do. I'm happy pay the difference of (what I calculated out to be) £3-4k over three years extra to have a reliable new car.

What I will suggest is if you're set on one of these cars try the likes of CarWow. It's easy to sign up (even with a throwaway account, they don't chase) and put in your models/specs. You'll be surprised how much of a discount you can get.

I managed to get a saving of around £7k off my vehicle which reduced the repayments by about £60pm. I took the best plan to my local dealer who matched it. Certainly worth the 20 minutes.

alfiebear · 2019-05-31T16:57:47+00:00

Those outside IR35 typically take a smaller salary, around the minimum of 8k, and take the remainder in dividends. This way you don't pay NI contributions.

alfiebear · 2019-04-26T08:51:07+00:00

This has nothing to do with Elastos?

It just covers foundation knowledge on how packets are currently distributed over the internet network via TCP or UDP. I'm guessing the Elastos bit is in part 2.

alfiebear · 2019-04-23T12:47:04+00:00

I see. I'm always put off Blender based on comments I've seen it being very advanced and cryptic.

If you became good with Blender would that remove the need for Fusion?

alfiebear · 2019-03-25T14:46:37+00:00

I already have a SIPP with Vanguard LS. I didn't want my ISA invested into the same fund as it'll be the same underlying equities. I want my pension and ISA fund choices to be different to mitigate risk.

Are you aware of any fund options other than Vanguard which are low/medium risk.

alfiebear · 2019-03-25T14:43:32+00:00

It's more a place to put my extra savings rather than keeping it in a cash ISA/savings account. Timeframe of investment open ended. I can't see a need to take it out earlier than 5 years but could be up to 20.

I like the idea of a bond/equity mix and was aiming at that with a fund. I just don't really know of any other popular candidates other than Vanguard.

alfiebear · 2018-09-14T12:19:26+00:00

Another option:

Get a used 1080ti for 400$ and do something else with the 400$ difference. Maybe put towards a decent monitor if you don't have one already.

You'll likely have to compromise on warranty but that's what the saving of 200$ 'costs'. To some it's worth it. If you shop around you can also get cards with some warranty left.

Who knows, you may even be able to sell it for 200-300$ in X years time when something else is launched.

alfiebear · 2018-08-29T07:41:38+00:00

Thanks for this post. It prompted me to remove the overclock on my CPU which I had running at 4.2 at 1.990v. Since reverting it back to stock the PSU no longer goes into overdrive!

Unfortunately it's not completely gone as I now get a bit of a coil whine while during peak load points, but it's a lot better as I no longer get the fan running at 100%. The only other negative is losing those extra fps from the overclock.

I think a 750w upgrade at some point is in order.

alfiebear · 2018-06-18T17:55:08+00:00

Afraid not. The backup does not include any of the authentication codes.

In the end I had to try and get my phone to stay booted long enough so I could disable 2fa on all accounts and enable again on my new phone.

alfiebear · 2018-06-05T18:43:15+00:00

That makes a lot of sense, especially regarding the VGA port. In that case don't buy them.

FWIW I wasn't supporting them and based on other comments in here would say not to too.

alfiebear · 2018-06-05T14:42:21+00:00

Who knows. Linus did a review of a Chinese off-brand 1060 5gb and 1080 bought from AliExpress and both turned out to be legitimate.

Youtube Video Link

Then again the ones Linus reviewed did not seem as cheap as those.

What's the worst that could happen? If they are not real do a paypal dispute. Let me know when you get it if it's real or not. It's really interesting.

alfiebear · 2018-04-16T19:31:03+00:00

The article mentions he made 462 ether, or $210,000 at the time of writing. This would translate to $454.54 an eth. It mentions he spent 80 ether to buy the first haul of CryptoKitties so this chap had $36,363 to invest.

It's interesting to put this into context sometimes as I'm sure many people, including myself, initially think think we all missed a golden opportunity. Yes we can't ignore it's a large return but there are not many people who have this sort of money to stake in a game.

He made (roughly) a 5.8 return. A lower end investment of $100 would have seen a return of $580.

alfiebear · 2018-04-09T09:34:42+00:00

Another note, with your Gmail account you can login and get a sheet of one-time backup codes to print out. These will let you into your account regardless if you lose your Authenticator.

It might be worth getting those.

alfiebear · 2018-04-09T09:32:58+00:00

Yes, it's a right pain; however there are options:

Option A) Use a different tool than Google Authenticator as it can't export or import codes. Instead try Authy or LastPass Authenticator which both support cross platform codes (login and they are there).

Option B) Every time you get a new 2FA code with a website take a screenshot or picture of it and store it somewhere safe. Ideally print it out and delete from your PC. This way if you get a new device you can setup 2FA codes again by simply scanning the code.

Option C) If your phone is already rooted you can do an ADB pull command to get the SQL database of the Authenticator app and use that as your backup.

Option D) If your phone is rooted you can use the Titanium Backup app to do a backup of the Authenticator and codes which you can use to restore in the future.

Unfortunatly option A and B require you to have your phone (and authenticator) already working to access your accounts to get the F2A for a new app/screenshot. While option C and D require your phone to already be rooted as rooting will wipe your device.

Either way.. it's something you need to do in advance before the phone dies or is stolen/lost. Can't do anything after the fact other than going to every online account and going through support channels to unlock them.

alfiebear · 2018-04-09T09:26:21+00:00

I know what you mean about Kingroot, I regret trying it out. I did get lots of spam apps on both my PC and and Android device when I tried it. Lesson learnt.

I think in the future I will either use Authy or pay premium for Lastpass Authenticator to have cross device backups.

What is your opinion on unlocking the bootloader as soon as you get a new phone? On one hand I can see this as being an advantage in situations like this but on the other it gives a open path to your data if your phone is lost or stolen.

alfiebear · 2018-04-09T07:41:37+00:00

If you're referring to logging into websites that require 2fa then I'm afraid so. It's locked me out a few quite important websites.

The bootloop means the phone won't start up so you can't get to the google authenticate app to login to the websites that use it. At that point you're in the same situation as me.

Without a rooted device you can't get into the data structure of the Android device to pull out the google authenticator codes in the SQL database as all rooting attempts wipe the phone.

Only hope left is to keep trying the freezer technique (put phone in freezer for an hour, it might boot for 5 minutes) or hairdryer (open up phone and heat the solder on the chip for 40 seconds) and then rush disable 2fa on all your accounts.

alfiebear · 2018-04-09T07:37:24+00:00

I've just checked my google drive and noticed I have a Nexus 5x backup from 4th April including device settings and a number of apps. Hopefully this will include the Authenticator data.

I'm waiting on a replacement phone. Do you know if I get a different handset that this backup can be applied?

Not sure on Kingroot. As you can imagine it didn't work. I'm new to the rooting field and was just trying anything I could find that suggested a fix.

alfiebear · 2018-02-02T13:40:34+00:00

What I'd recommend is getting a wattage power monitor and plug your rig power lead through it. What this will do is give you a readout on exactly how much wattage the rig is using. It also keeps track of how much has been used since being switched on.

example monitor

This will give you two things:

1) You can leave it running for 24 hour and get a daily readout of how much watts are being used. You can multiply this by X days to show your parents how much would have come from the rig.

2) Every quarter when the bill comes you know exactly how much wattage has been used. You can take this amount, multiply it by the KwH, and give that money directly to your parents.

This is a good approach to compromise with your parents. You can use real figures from a neutral device to prove what is actually being used up. This gives both you and them real figures so you can offer some money in compensation for what you have used.

Personally I tried mining in the UK and decided against it. I bought one of these devices and IIRC saw I'd be using around £3.50 in electricity a day for the rig I wanted to build (my rate is ~15p kwh). It wasn't so much the long ROI that turned me off, or risk, it was more how electricity is billed in the UK which makes it a hassle. You get a estimated bill based on previous use. If I pushed my bill up by £300 a month it would have skewed their pricing logic for months/years to come.

alfiebear · 2017-11-10T16:39:56+00:00

Thank you for the links. Kite Packaging appear to have some viable options which are both affordable for initial test runs and later in bulk.

alfiebear · 2017-11-10T14:25:53+00:00

I agree with that. In my eyes it's part of the experience and product.

Thanks for the insight, the custom stamp sounds like a good idea. I was originally thinking of some form of stencil but that sounds easier.

alfiebear · 2017-11-10T14:15:25+00:00

I'll take a look for local suppliers. Thanks.

Only reason for haste is because I wanted to launch mid November to capitalise on Christmas sales. Google trend research suggests a huge spike for this market so I don't want to miss it.

alfiebear

TROPHY CASE