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Recent content by Paracelsus
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Please be kind to the machine ..
What algorithm are you referring to?- Paracelsus
- Post #12
- Forum: General
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Please be kind to the machine ..
We don't even understand how human consciousness works (and indeed one can't prove that anyone other than oneself is conscious), so ruling out a neural network ever being conscious simply by virtue of running on silicon instead of biological substrate doesn't make much sense. The virtuous thing...- Paracelsus
- Post #4
- Forum: General
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Tools Recommendation
DIY is great*, if you have the space for the (ever expanding) tool selection. I had basically zero DIY knowledge when I bought my house last year, but have since gone as far as fitting new radiators, soldering new pipework in, adding electric sockets, shaving doors down, putting a garage...- Paracelsus
- Post #32
- Forum: Technical
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Amazon Prime Video Performance Problem
No specific help, but I notice the Amazon video app is amazingly shoddy by big tech standards. For me, it recently went through a phase of just hanging at the start of video playback for minutes. Have had the odd other issue over the years, like subtitles not working etc. Netflix on the other...- Paracelsus
- Post #6
- Forum: Technical
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Modest Alphabet Shares for Son
No specific prep beyond already keeping records in Freeagent/a spreadsheet. Was just a case of (paraphrased for brevity, but not much) "calculate my tax return based on the following - salary X, dividends Y, interest Z, no student loan etc" and the same for corporation tax and giving it the...- Paracelsus
- Post #13
- Forum: Accounting / Legal
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Modest Alphabet Shares for Son
It certainly can. It one-shotted mine with ease late last year when provided all the relevant data, and there have been multiple model upgrades since then. My accounts are obviously simple as a contractor, but I've seen recent models handle much more complicated US tax returns, even for people...- Paracelsus
- Post #11
- Forum: Accounting / Legal
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Learning to Drive
I hope you kept that, wait a few years (and take the mods off) and you can retire! Unless you're talking about a R35...- Paracelsus
- Post #32
- Forum: General
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Car hire
Unfortunately the only safe way to use these companies these days is buy damage waiver insurance (much cheaper 3rd party than from the hire places - few quid a day) and also take loads of photos of the car when you pick it up and when you drop it off. Sixt in particular has a bad rep, but it's...- Paracelsus
- Post #14
- Forum: General
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Email offer but no contract - would you resign?
I'd normally insist on the contract before notice given, I've done this before and the agency understood. That said, if it's outside IR35 especially, having a contract isn't neccessarily secure work, they could ditch you on the first day if they wanted. So depending on the circumstances I may...- Paracelsus
- Post #6
- Forum: Business / Contracts
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Borrow a small amount extra on my mortgage as a contractor
Agree with Martin, the figure doesn't make sense to add to a mortgage on the face of it. Bank loan or 0% credit card if you can. I've had upto 10k on a 0% credit card deal not too long ago (stoozing in my case) and I don't even have the best credit score.- Paracelsus
- Post #23
- Forum: General
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Clarity is back as an FCSA member
What about Amazon, Meta etc? Seems to be quite normal for large companies to squirrel profits away offshore if they can get away with it. Is there a specific issue with the Cypriot aspect as opposed to the usual ROI/Guernsey etc ?- Paracelsus
- Post #32
- Forum: Umbrella Companies
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Data Centres Are Causing Droughts
IIRC data centre water usage is a drop in the ocean (no pun intended) vs agriculture and civilian use, and a single chatGPT query uses next to nothing proportionally..it's a distraction from much bigger issues when it comes to AI prompting DC builds (like how none of the big tech cos trying to...- Paracelsus
- Post #21
- Forum: General
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Car buying - age vs mileage
How about a 4 series GC for something sporty with the practicality of 4 doors and a big hatchback? More of a tourer given the weight, but by all accounts having one of the spicier engines in it makes up for that, and it's seated fairly low. Age v mileage - I wouldn't put too much weight on age...- Paracelsus
- Post #20
- Forum: Technical
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Business Bank account for NewCo
Starling has been fine for me. Straightforward setup (aside from the usual LTD stuff that makes it more complicated than a personal account), mobile app is nice and clean, no fee. No interest but I move excess cash into a seperate savings account. The best rates seem to be from old-school banks...- Paracelsus
- Post #2
- Forum: General
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New business savings account from MoneyBox
The 4% is a good deal (for now) - you need notice accounts at the bigger banks for that kind of return IIRC.- Paracelsus
- Post #3
- Forum: Business / Contracts
