Harry Potter prediction (couldn't resist)

Oh well, I got that one wrong! (Prediction removed).

Viva survivor

I had my viva (thesis defence) for my PhD on Thursday. I came out smiling. (Though officially I won't get told the result for a few days.)

No more 50p bus fares

For about a year, Cambridge has run a trial scheme where university members could catch busses around the city for 50p.  But the bus company has just announced this is ending on June 30th.  This is a big shame, because for a brief while it meant that it actually made financial sense to catch the bus.  The usual bus fare for a return ticket is £2.70, using the discounted "day rider".  For the journeys my wife and I make, that's more than twice the cost of driving (Cambridge is a small city).  And that's assuming only one person in the car.  Put two people in the car, and catching the bus would be utterly profligate...  (not to mention slow and unreliable).

On the up-side, I tend to cycle to work in town.  And with bus fares at £2.70 per day, it's now that much harder for me to justify being lazy and catching the bus.

One Week to Viva...

Next Thursday, the 21st, I have my viva voce examination for my PhD -- where two examiners who've read my dissertation come and ask me all sorts of tricky questions about it.  (Or as one person put it "where two lucky people who already have their PhDs tell you whether or not they'll let you join the club").