Posts by BenWilson
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Cracker: Another Capital Idea..., in reply to Lucy Stewart,
It's that worrying-about-regular-bills/not-worrying-about-regular-bills divide which makes all the difference.
Interestingly, it's been my wife's greatest worry despite making a lot more money the irregular way.
The side of my generalization I'm least sure of is the part about the money worries of the very rich. The theory is pretty simple - being so far from poverty, the very idea of it strikes genuine terror into the heart. Also, it could be quite hard to form happy relationships when you can't be sure the other person isn't solely into you for your money. That could even include your own children. So you'd probably aim to find a partner from a similar background. But there's no external forces keeping you together - walking away from the slightest difficulty could be very easy. Also, inheriting money could be especially likely to cause insecurity, because you'd very likely not have any of the talents held by whichever ancestor made the money in the first place. You could end up in the strange position of being wealthy and feeling worthless.
They can, however, indulge themselves like no-one else. That might balance the whole thing out. I don't know yet, will research it.
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Sigh I'm left with hoping the ABs lose the RWC because that is about the only thing I can see able to damage the National Party halo at the moment.
I actually think this move by Labour will be quite positive and powerful, and that National have either miscalculated or simply been outmaneuvered. I did not expect anywhere near the support the idea has received on this site. It's nice to see an issue the Left is not divided on. It gives me hope.
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The middle class is actually quite different in this dimension, I think.
Actually, I should be more careful. There surely are middle class people who budget hard, this is most likely the springboard from whence mobility to enormous wealth comes. And there are some who are so disinterested in money that they end up getting interested in it again, the hard way. But the basic training of the class is to hold position, and to seek happiness over greatness. I don't know that they find it, particularly. Anyone aware of any research? Seems to me that poor people are made unhappy by money worries, and the same goes for the rich. In sweeping generalizations.
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Isn't that a key sign of well-offness?
Yes, but I don't think it's a key sign of richness. This is the odd similarity about the poor and rich. The middle class is actually quite different in this dimension, I think.
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Speaker: The great New Zealand phone…, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Yup, and just as with hackers, the majority of cyber-espionage is also rather less than brilliant. Guess the password, break in and steal the password/install a keystroke logger, demand the password via legal means, beat the password out of the target. All of these are usually cheaper and quicker than trying to directly or indirectly crack the networks of anyone worth their attention. Also, avoiding them seems to be just as easy, and not particularly hi-tech. You wouldn't bother with wicked encryption and all that crap when you can just organize to meet in person if you ever want to pass complex information. The main protection against intelligence organizations is likely to be obscurity. I remember a particularly crooked acquaintance of mine telling me his awesome method for negotiating in secret with his crooked colleagues, when he was paranoid about being busted. He invited them over, and then did the dealing on his kid's Etch-E-Sketch. Two swipes and it's all gone.
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But I can't imagine that you struggle to get by day to day.
No, I have occasionally struggled, usually trying to work out how the hell to pay my next tax bill, since the payment on contracts can be very delayed. But on the whole, I seldom spend time worrying about paying the mortgage and feeding the family. I expect that would be deeply unpleasant, and that's probably a large part of the reason a lot of people like me feel bitter on the idea of more tax - a fear of being put in that position. I just doubt it would play out that way for me. More likely, there would be some tightening, and the overall quality of life would be identical, or even, paradoxically, better, due to tightening causing a highlighting of wherever the money is going, and a re-evaluation of what's important.
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Cracker: Another Capital Idea..., in reply to giovanni tiso,
These people can't be living in the same country in which I live. Either that, or feel free to send them to me for budgeting advice.
I expect I need some of that advice. I can't talk to anyone else's reasons for being in this position, but I've been in the top tax bracket for the longest time and don't have much of a fortune to show for it, other than whatever value my house has risen by in the last 8 years, and the deposit.
I guess the main thing is that, at least for me, I have never developed a habit of personal saving, and I just don't think too much about money (hence finding DexterX's "cognitive miser" phrase quite poignant) and how much I've got and what to spend it on. I just don't have a tight belt. Which possibly sounds like a wonderfully enviable position for many, but it has always seemed a bit odd to me to be lumped in with "rich" people.
But I still don't grudge paying more tax. It's not going to impoverish me, nor cause me to stop doing work I like. I remember making a whole lot less money than I do now and not living particularly differently.
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Speaker: The great New Zealand phone…, in reply to Lucy Stewart,
Most of it is down to people. Which is why nothing involving them will ever be 100% secure.
It's also why most hackers get caught. They're people too.
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Legal Beagle: Asking the next question, in reply to David Hood,
Unfortunately, the answer would be "that was not a proper free market" leading to one of the three inevitable answers
That was my thinking, and Graeme's question is still a good one (do you sometimes cross- examine, Graeme?) - you should never ask a question that gives the person a chance to wax lyrical whilst avoiding the question. It's got to be specific. If it leads to arguing with the interviewer, the interviewer has already lost. No one really wants to hear what they have to say.
So, basically, questions about facts.
"Which specific state assets are you most intent on selling, and how much do you want for them?"
ETA If the answer to that is "I don't know" or "We'll be looking at that" then the follow up HAS to be about "so, given that you haven't done the numbers on these sales, why are you really so keen on them?"
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Speaker: The great New Zealand phone…, in reply to Danyl Mclauchlan,
Writing the code that finds security exploits, is, I assume, fairly difficult, but a matter of expertise and time, not genius. I think most 'hackers' just torrent said files and run them.
Yup, if you could crack public key encryption, you'd be a genius, and worth billions. But if you like throwing common passwords at security systems for hours, or phishing for mail passwords, then sifting through it for foolish security weaknesses, then you're neither smart nor wise. But you will break a lot of systems.
Depends on the security, really. If the car's a late model BMW bristling with Thatcham Cat 1 alarms, then it would be pretty impressive to be able to twoc it.
Not really. All you have to do is nick the owner's bag and steal their keys. This is what people don't get about security. Most of it is down to simple shit.
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