I am about to start my new job, and the first one that pays well enough for me to start thinking about tax.

So, there is a tax free allowance of £7000 or there abouts right?

Which means I can earn that much before I start paying tax, and after that I pay 20% on everything above that figure. So if I earn £8000, I would only pay 20% of £1000.

Now my question is this. How is the tax free allowance allocated?

I have so far not had an income this year. So can I earn that £7000 first before the Inland Revenue starts taking my money?

So say I am on £24000, I would get £2000 for the first 3 months all tax free before I reach my allowance in my 4th month and they started taxing me on all the following months after my allowance runs out.

So I would earn £2000 for 3 months, then £1800, then £1600 from then on for the rest of the year.

Or do they split up the tax free allowance over the remaining months of the year? So I can earn £1000ish a month tax free, then they tax me on the rest. [Assuming 7 months left in the tax year] So I would end up with £1000 + £800 each month, every month.

This is ignoring Student Loans, NI, Pensions etc. because they are worked out differently, and I already know how much they will be roughly. I just don't know how they work out tax when you start your first job part way through the year.

I assume that when you start paying tax at the beginning of the tax year your allowance is evenly distributed over each month so you pay the same each month. However I am not sure if this applies if you start half way through the year having paid no tax so far.

Correct answers with appropriate sources or references will be rewarded with Smarties.

It talks about lots of things glancingly, and the moral of the story is that ET was probably more popular than Avatar. It certainly is a better film anyway.

But it made me think about something else. Have a look at this graph:

The big drop? Well I suspect that is mostly to do with TV more than anything else.

I have no idea where this data comes from by the way.

The graph also made me think about how often I go to the cinema and why. I don't go very often. Mostly because of the price.

I went to see inception a few weeks ago and it cost me £6 or there abouts for a ticket. That was just at a standard cinema in Peterborough, Imax is approx £10. So I only go to the cinema when there is something on that I really want to see.

So if it were cheaper would I go more? Yes. Almost every time in the past 3 years I have gone to the cinema on some sort of deal, Orange Wednesdays or Cineworld buy on get one free for students. Making it only £3-4 for a ticket.

I would like to think if tickets were cheaper I would go more often. I would regret spending £6-10 on something that turned out to be a mediocre film. However I would have no problem with wasting £2-4 on 2 hours of moderate entertainment, but at current prices I expect something special.

I think this has gone some way to the special effects and 3D culture. If I am paying a sizeable amount of money to go see a film, I want it to be shiney and to see things explode, even if it adds nothing. Why should I pay the same to see a cheaply made film as an expensive special effects filled film?

And this is quite sad. If I always did this, no only just when going to the cinema, I would never have seen some of my favourite films. The Usual Suspects, The Terminal, and so on.

No real point to this. Just a series of thoughts, and a vague wish that the cinema were a third of the price so I would be willing to go a lot more often.

On a closing note, Toy Story 3 is amazing. If you have not seen it go and see it now. Right now. If you have, go and see it again.

So, along with many other things, I have been thinking what to do with my now extra money.

These are things that I would like but are not strictly necessary and would have been the things I would have chosen not to buy to free up the money as required.

This has also made me think about some things that I want in life.  So I have separated things into the Short, Medium and Long term. Short term will be the next few months.  Medium the next year to 18 months.  Long term sometime in the next few years.

Short Term

• Clothes.

Almost all of my clothes are old, many from before university.  So one of the first things I will be doing when I have some cash built up is getting rid of loads of old tatty clothes and buying new ones.

• Socks.

I want to throw away all of my socks and buy 30 pairs of plain black M&S socks.  That way if I loose one all I have to do to restore order is loose another. No more odd socks, no more trying to match pairs.  Bliss.

• Murphy's Law.

I have seen the odd episode and want to see the rest, and it seems impossible to torrent.

• A Good Suitcase

I will be more or less living out of a suitcase for the next year, so I want a decent one.  Not sure what the difference between a decent and a naff suitcase is at the moment, but I would like to find out.  Plus my one is old and needs replacing.

Medium term

• Replace My Media Collection

I want to replace my media collection with legitimate copies.  The decent stuff.  I want the box sets of The West Wing, The Sopranos, The Wire and so on.  This is stuff which will be acquired over time, a box or two a month.  And will give me an excuse to rewatch many of the fantastic shows I have seen again.

• Holiday

I want to go away.  I would like to go back to Rome.  Also Canada.  But then again I would love to go somewhere new, visiting old places that I know are good is great but I love the adventure of going somewhere new and getting the chance to explore.  Perhaps somewhere in Eastern Europe....

• Car

I want a decent car.  I am going to buy one soon to just make do, something cheep to get me to work and back.  But at some point in a year or two I want something better than the usual £1000 cars I have always had.  Preferably with two seats and a soft top.  MG TF, S2000, Z3 something along those lines depending what I can afford.

• Books

I love books, but my collection is very scattered and incoherent.  I want to fill some of the gaps.  I want to learn more about some periods in history and I quite like doing this though biographies and the like.  Some philosophy too.  Along with some classic Science Fiction.  Recommendations on all fronts are appreciated.

Long Term

• A Place Of My Own

I have become fed up of living as a student, and I suspect I will be even more fed up of not having a solid place to live in a years time.  So I want a place to live.  Somewhere nice, probably on my own, where I can live longish term.  Long term enough so I can buy decent furniture instead of whatever I can get my hands on, a place that I care enough about to look after and improve.  Somewhere that is not cheap, that is not just a place to stay for a year or two but a home.  I am sure you all get the idea.

There are obviously more things, but those are the ones that come to mind at the moment.  I would probably have got some of them anyway, and neglected other unmentioned things.  However now I will probably be able to get them all, or at least most of them.

And while I would much rather things have not changed on Tuesday morning, there is a silver lining I suppose.

I am watching an episode of Question Time with him in at the moment and he has just been asked a question about banning the Burka and has come out with the most fantastic point of view.

Paraphrased:  I can't walk into a bank wearing a balaclava how is it right someone should be allowed to wear a burka in a bank.

This is then later expanded to motorcycle helmets in Tescos and petrol stations been needed to be removed and then photo ID been needed to enter the QT recording.

If a woman in a burka walked into a bank and was asked to show her face and refused, and so in return was refused service and removed from the building, would this be acceptable?  Now replace the woman with a man in a balaclava. [Or maybe a man in a burka?]

I remember a case being reported a few years ago about a woman teacher being fired for covering her face and the students not being able to understand her.  I also remember an unfair dismissal trial, unfortunately I do not remember the result.

I also remember Jack Straw getting into a lot of hassle a few years back about asking a woman in a public meeting to remove the veil covering her face.  Was this a fair thing to ask.  She came to his meeting, no one would bat an eye at someone being asked to remove a motorbike helmet at an MPs advice surgery, but a woman asked to uncover her face......

Now I feel like I should say two things here.

1, I don't like the idea of banning things and legislating about what a woman can and cannot wear is as daft as this.

2, I do not count religion as a valid argument.  People are (or should be) free to do whatever they damn please.  I hold the two cases of a woman wearing a burka and a man wearing a balaclava in the same light and with the same weight.  If a person is not free to do whatever they please, if they fear for their safety or lives because of some action they may take, then that should be a matter for the police.

So this kind of stopped being about Nigel Farage, but he is the inspiration behind this line of thought.  It is by no means conclusive, but it is something to consider.  One particular argument to take into consideration with all the other arguments and points of view others and I have.

I have started writing a post about Nick Griffin, but I really don't know if I can be bothered to finish it.  It is basically about him starting to appear to become a decent guy, constantly hassled and harassed by everyone else.  Party invites revoked, eggs thrown at him, plenty of abuse from and on the BBC.  Nothing judgemental on my part, just a few observations.

I am currently temporarily unemployed and have no money in a small town where there is not much to do anyway, so I have a lot of time on my hands to watch and listen and read and think about things.

Replace

http://www.beehivecity.com/newspapers/times-paywall-more-analysis-of-the-data191807/

I have always thought that it would fail, but if it could succeed for anyone it would be The Times.  They are a pretty decent paper, usually the one I pick up if I feel like reading one.  And I used to read their website every now and again.

I still come across links to The Times with articles that I want to read, but of course I cannot read them any more, and while previously I would find myself on their site 2 or 3 times a week I do not value this at £2 a week worth of material.  However there is also the argument that if I paid £2 a week then I would not need to buy the paper at £1 a day.   This is not entirely accurate as I still place some value in being able to hold and rifle through the paper instead of clicking on links.

If I had an iPad and made a daily commute I would probably give the app a go, at £10 a month it could easily occupy me on an hour long train journey every morning.  But then again so can BBC News, The Guardian or The Telegraph.

I think the main problem is that there is nothing special about The Times, there is nothing really on the times site that I cannot get from any other.  And if there were something I really wanted that I could only get from The Times, such as Lord Mandelson's book being serialised last week, I would simply buy the paper and put aside an hour to read it.

No point to this post, just a bit of a ramble.  I don't think the paywall will work, but I don't think it will 'fail' either.  so it is probably here to stay, but I hope other publishers find better methods to make money than paywalls, they are rather annoying.

I also wanted to add my two cents on the new proposed Graduate Tax.  I am not a fan of the idea to begin with.  I think that university should be considered a service, and that everyone receives this service equally and should pay equally for it.  I have no real objection to fees going up, although them being too high would cause some concern, with the proviso that more help was offered.

I think that the basic loan should be higher.  Much higher.

Give students the option of a loan up to, say, £8000 a year.  Then tuition fees on top of that.    It is a loan that almost all will pay back anyway, and it will allow students (adults) to live more comfortably without parental assistance.

I despise that for four years as an adult my income was still based on that of my parents.  Why?  I am an adult trying to provide for myself.

The counter argument is that students are expected to work in the summer and weekends.  If so, then why could I not claim jobseekers when I could not find a job?   And adults in full time work (I consider full time university to be the equivalent to full time work) who earn little are not told to go get another job at the weekend.

And to sum it up, I do not like the idea of subsidising lazy or stupid people doing degrees that they should not at institutions that probably should not exist.  Why should I pay higher taxes (graduate tax would almost certainly be linked to income)so that someone can spend 3 years going out and putting in 4 hours a week in tourism studies, or whatever other daft degrees there are out there.

nb. Most students work hard, this is not aimed at anyone I personally know.  It is just an example and an argument.

If I get 80% in the report I am sorted. I can average 40% in my exams and I get my degree.

However if I get 60% in the report I need to average 50% in my exams to get my degree.

I expect to get 60% in my Bio-Physics exam, and I expect that I will get 60% in Hydrodynamics.  However Space and Atmo are completely different things.  I could cock them up immensely.  Then I have 5 days off then my final exam.  And if Icannot aquire 2:1 level knowledge to pass an exam in 5 days I would never have gotten this far at Imperial.

But what if I cocked up Bio and just don't realise it.  And what if the others don't go my way.  Requiring only 40% in the exams would make me feel a lot better.  So I would quite like my report marks back.

It has been marked, and handed over to the guy in charge of Projects, but I have no idea what it is yet.  Or when I will get the marks.

And that too could really swing either way.

I don't think I have done as well as this:

80 – 90 %

Very high quality work that clearly demonstrates independent contributions andoriginality at research level in addition to an authoritative account of the work under taken with almost no gaps in the understanding of the topic. A comprehensivediscussion of background material and discussion of relevant literature is included. Thework is of a quality that, with some effort, is publishable as part of an article in a peer-reviewed journal.

40 – 50 %

Adequate with relevant material in some places. Uncertain large gaps and large deficiencies in

the discussion and understanding in various parts of the project. Adequate discussion of

background material and relevant literature is included.

70 – 80 %

Very good work demonstrating an authoritative account with relevant material throughout

and with independent contributions by the student. There are only minor gaps in the

understanding of the project work. A very good discussion of background material and relevant

literature is included. Some of the work is of a quality that it could contribute to aspects of a

publishable article in a peer-reviewed journal.

60 – 70 %

Good work with relevant material and authoritative in most places, including some independent

contributions by the student . Only few gaps and few deficiencies in the discussion and

understanding in minor parts of the project. A good discussion of background material and

relevant literature is included.

50 – 60 %

Satisfactory with relevant material in most places and possibly authoritative in some places.

Some gaps and some deficiencies in the discussion and understanding in some parts of the

project. Some background material and discussion of relevant literature is included.

So, really I do not know.  I just want my mark damn it, so I can know if I can relax during the exams.

In September 2006 I paid £190 for a 500GB external drive.  So 38p per GB

Then in November 2007 I paid £75 for another 500GB external.  So 15p per GB

Last week I ordered a 1.5TB external drive for £88.

That's only 6p per GB.  That's insane.

But then so is being able to fit 1.5TB of stuff into a tiny little metal box.

I have also narrowed down my choices for laptops a little bit.  Basically I want a 2-3 year old laptop but that is brand new.  I really only need it for watching media and browsing the net, and for it to last for the 12-18 months before I get my own place.  I would prefer a netbook of sorts but none of them come with optical drives.

I want an optical drive so that I can sign up to Love Film or something similar and while an external optical drive would manage that, it would make watching films in bed a bit more difficult.

So, I am asking for the opinion of the internet.  After having a glance around ebay and the like I have come across these two.  One and Two.

I am leaning towards Two, but it it a bit bigger than I had hoped for.  Was hoping more for the 12-14 inch range.  But then again it is wide-screen.

Opinions?

I want to travel light so I don't have much to move, much to unpack and then repack.  So I want to replace my desktop.

So, I am after recommendations for a laptop.  I only want to pay £300, hopefully less.  I don't care if it is second hand or refurbished, as long as it is in decent condition.  Because in 18 months time I will probably be back to living in one place again.

I plan to sign up to Love Film or something similar during the year, so it needs to be able to play DVDs and so on, which rules out netbooks.  I would also like it to be slightly larger than a netbook.

So, 13 inch screen or there abouts, optical drive, reasonable HDD storage, reasonable battery life.  To be honest I just want it to be semi decent, so that it works.  I am not going to be doing anything stressful to it, 95% of my computing time is spent browsing or watching media.  So 1Gb - 2Gb RAM probably, 1.2Ghz processor.  I am not that fussy.

Windows 7 compatibility would be a plus, but I will put up with XP for a year if I have to.

So, any suggestions?

Fair play for HTC hitting back at apple over their ridiculous lawsuit a while back trying to get the import of all HTC phones banned in the US due to patent infringement.

But this just goes even further to show how ridiculous patents have become, at least in the US.

This is just a Flow Chart! How can you patent a flow chart?

This is just how a phone works! Come on.

You can't blame HTC, they didn't start this whole thing.  Apple has way more ridiculous patents, but seriously something is wrong here.