Friday, December 14, 2012

How much savings do I need if I want to retire at 50?

My qualifying retire age is 67. Since I am embracing the minimalism lifestyle, I assume that I can live on the minimal income that UK government deems for retired people, which is £142.70 a week at the moment. If I wish to retire at 50, I need to have savings for 17 years of living before I reach the qualifying age of 67.

Taking inflation into consideration, I will require about £10,000 a year for 17 years. If I receive £4,164 from rent annually, that leaves £5,836 a year x 17 = £99,212

In conclusion, I will need £100k of savings if I wish to retire at 50.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Loose fruits and veg are cheaper

Asda charges 68p a kilo for loose bananas and £1.40 for a pack of ten. Although many customers believed the pack would be cheaper, buying ten loose bananas cost £1.20 – a saving of 20p.

At Sainsbury's, there are eight fruit in a £1.15 pack of 'Fairtrade Basics' bananas. Buying the same number loose would cost 96p – a saving of 19p.

Tesco sells an 'Eat Me' pack of five bananas for £1, while buying loose fruit would be 40p cheaper at 60p.

In Waitrose a pack of six 'Essential Fairtrade' bananas was £1.38, while buying six loose would cost 72p.

A Which? spokesman said: Supermarkets make it impossible to work out whether it's cheaper to buy bagged or loose fruit. We want them to show clear unit pricing – price per weight or item – so you can compare.

"Big four" supermarkets in UK

Asda is generally the cheapest (an average of about 3%), followed by Tesco, then Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

How to pronounce mathematical exponentiation


The expression b2 = b·b is called the square of b because the area of a square with side-length b is b2.
The expression b3 = b·b·b is called the cube of b, because the volume of a cube with side-length b is b3.
So 32 is pronounced "three squared", and 23 is "two cubed".
The exponent says how many copies of the base are multiplied together. For example, 35 = 3·3·3·3·3 = 243. The base 3 appears 5 times in the repeated multiplication, because the exponent is 5. Here, 3 is the base, 5 is the exponent, and 243 is the power or, more specifically, the fifth power of 33 raised to the fifth power, or 3 to the power of 5.
The word "raised" is usually omitted, and very often "power" as well, so 35 is typically pronounced "three to the fifth" or "three to the five".

Thursday, October 04, 2012

How to determine Windows 7 is 32bit or 64bit?

View the System Information window
  1. Click Start
     Start button
    type system in the Start Search box, and then click System Information in the Programs list
  2. When System Summary is selected in the navigation pane, the operating system is displayed as follows:
  • For a 64-bit version operating system, x64-based PC appears for the System type under Item.
  • For a 32-bit version operating system, x86-based PC appears for the System type under Item

Friday, September 07, 2012

IELTS and TOEFL conversion chart

TOEFL Paper   TOEFL Computer   TOEFL iBT   IELTS Equivalent
625 - 680          263 - 300               113 - 120       7.5 - 9.0
600                   250                         100               7.0
575                   232                         90 - 91           6.5
550                   213                         79 - 80           6.0

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Canada university ranking


Universities
Locations
 University of Toronto
Toronto
 The University of British Columbia
Vancouver ...
 McGill University
Montreal ...
 University of Waterloo
Waterloo
 University of Alberta
Edmonton ...
 Simon Fraser University
Burnaby ...
 York University
Toronto
 University of Calgary
Calgary
 University of Victoria
Victoria
10  Queen's University
Kingston
11  Université de Montréal
Montreal
12  The University of Western Ontario
London
13  Université Laval
Quebec City
14  University of Ottawa
Ottawa
15  University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon
16  University of Guelph
Guelph ...
17  Université du Québec à Montréal
Montréal ...
18  McMaster University
Hamilton
19  Université de Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke ...
20  Carleton University
Ottawa
21  Dalhousie University
Halifax
22  Concordia University
Montreal
23  University of Manitoba
Winnipeg
24  Ryerson University
Toronto
25  Memorial University of Newfoundland
St John’s ...
26  University of New Brunswick
Fredericton ...
27  University of Regina
Regina
28  University of Winnipeg
Winnipeg
29  Brock University
St. Catharines ...
30  British Columbia Institute of Technology
Burnaby
31  University of Windsor
Windsor
32  HEC Montréal
Montreal
33  Université du Québec
Quebec City ...
34  University of Lethbridge
Lethbridge ...
35  Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo ...
36  Acadia University
Wolfville
37  École Polytechnique de Montréal
Montreal
38  Laurentian University
Sudbury ...
39  Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Chicoutimi ...
40  Trent University
Peterborough
41  Lakehead University
Thunder Bay
42  University of Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown
43  University of Northern British Columbia
Prince George ...
44  Vancouver Island University
Nanaimo ...
45  Bishop's University
Sherbrooke
46  Trinity Western University
Langley
47  Royal Roads University
Victoria
48  École de Technologie Supérieure
Montreal
49  Thompson Rivers University
Kamloops
50  Université de Moncton
Moncton ...
51  University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Oshawa
52  Saint Mary's University
Halifax
53  University of the Fraser Valley
Abbotsford ...
54  Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières
55  Collège militaire royal du Canada
Kingston ...
56  Emily Carr University of Art and Design
Vancouver
57  Capilano University
North Vancouver ...
58  Université du Québec en Outaouais
Gatineau
59  Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Rouyn-Noranda ...
60  St.Francis Xavier University
Antigonish
61  Mount Allison University
Sackville ...
62  Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Edmonton ...
63  Mount Royal University
Calgary
64  Nipissing University
North Bay ...
65  Brandon University
Brandon
66  Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Surrey ...
67  Mount Saint Vincent University
Halifax
68  SAIT Polytechnic
Calgary
69  Grant MacEwan University
Edmonton
70  Cape Breton University
Sydney
71  OCAD University
Toronto
72  Canadian Mennonite University
Winnipeg
73  St. Thomas University
Fredericton
74  NSCAD University
Halifax
75  College of the North Atlantic
Stephenville ...
76  Université du Québec à Rimouski
Rimouski ...
77  Nova Scotia Agricultural College
Truro
78  Université Sainte-Anne
Pointe de l'Église ...
79  Collège Universitaire de Saint-Boniface
Saint Boniface
80  Redeemer University College
Ancaster
81  University of King's College
Halifax
82  Luther College
Regina
83  The King's University College
Edmonton
84  École Nationale d'Administration Publique
Quebec City ...
85  St. Thomas More College
Saskatoon
86  Nicola Valley Institute of Technology
Merritt ...
87  Canadian University College
Lacombe
88  Ambrose University College
Calgary
89  Yorkville University
Fredericton
90  Aurora College
Forth Smith ...
91  St. Stephen's University
St. Stephen
92  Collège Universitaire Dominicain
Ottawa ...
93  Crandall University
Moncton
94  St. Mary's University College
Calgary
95  First Nations University of Canada
Regina
96  Campion College at the University of Regina
Regina
97  Kingswood University
Sussex
98  Concordia University College of Alberta
Edmonton

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Glasgow bridges on Clyde

I explored all Glasgow bridges on Clyde yesterday. What a long walk! It took me two and half hours. There are 19 bridges altogether. Some of them are not accessible for pedestrians.

1 Millennium Bridge

2 Bell’s Bridge

3 Clyde Arc

4 Kingston Bridge (motorway, not accessible for pedestrians)

5 IFSD Tradeston Footbridge

6 George the Fifth Bridge

7 Caledonian Railway Bridge (not accessible for pedestrians)

8 Glasgow Bridge, known locally as the Jamaica bridge owing to it being at the foot of Jamaica Street.

9 South Portland Street Suspension Bridge (1853), the oldest surviving bridge in Glasgow.

10 Victoria Bridge (1854)

11 City Union Railway Bridge (not accessible for pedestrians)

12 Albert Bridge (Crown St)

13 Tidal Weir and Pipe Bridge (not accessible for pedestrians)

14 St Andrew’s Suspension Bridge (1856)

15 King’s Bridge

16 Polmadie Bridge

17 Rutherglen Bridge (B763)

18 Dalmarnock Railway Bridge (not accessible for pedestrians)

19 Dalmarnock Bridge (Dalmarnock Rd)

It is recommended to walk along the river at Northside, because at Southside the path along the river was blocked at many places. The Clyde walkway is at the north side of the river.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

The top 6 oldest universities in the UK

1) University of Oxford was the first university to be established in the UK and also the oldest university in the English-speaking world. The University's oldest colleges were established by the 13th century.

2) University of Cambridge - It is one of the world's oldest universities and leading academic centres.

3) University of St Andrews - It is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world, founded in 1413. 

4) University of Glasgow - Founded in 1451, it is the fourth oldest university in the UK.

5) University of Aberdeen - Founded in 1495. Aberdeen physicists and clinicians were first in the world to scan a patient's body using MRI.

6) University of Edinburgh - Founded in 1583, it is the sixth oldest university in Britain.

Comparing smartwatches for adults (UK)

As I embark on my journey to choose my first standalone smartwatch to reduce my phone screen time, I've decided to invest in a standalon...