Word of the day: ephebiphobia – the fear of teenagers. Believed to be treatable by (spot the oxymoron) liberal use of ASBOs. (Via.)

I’ve been getting a few hits for people apparently wanting to print out the SoDooku. Always happy to oblige, I’ve made a printable version available at here.

On March 26th, I watched the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who on a big screen in London. Shortly before it began, we saw on the news that former PM Lord Callaghan had died.

Last night, BBC3 began repeating the series. Shortly afterwards, the news was reporting the death of former PM Sir Edward Heath.

No further comment in necessary, although I’m still very much looking forward to the Christmas special.

(Shamelessly cribbed from some smart non-bloggers who pick up on this sort of thing.)

Lothian Buses – or, rather, their drivers – are on strike next Monday as part of ongoing industrial action. There is no service on strike days and a Saturday service the rest of the week. Given that I use these buses to get to work, this is Bad News.

As I have a bus pass, I thought I’d email and ask how I would be compensated. Good News: they got back to me very quickly and told me they would be making amends:

Option 1
After the strike is over and normal service has been resumed, holders of
Adult and Junior Advance Purchase Ridacards can opt to have two days
additional travel added to their GoSmart card for every day when Lothian
drivers are on strike.

Option 2
As an alternative, and again after the strike is over and normal service has
been resumed, a monetary refund in respect of each day lost through strike
will be paid at the following rates

Adult £1.55 per day
Student £1.30 per day
Junior £1.05 per day
[…]
For those customers who pay for their Ridacard by Direct Debit, a single
reduced payment will be taken in accordance with the above scale of
compensation in the first or second month following the end of the strike,
after which the monthly payment will revert to the normal amount.

I think I’ll catch a train next Monday (an hourly service for a train journey lasting less than five minutes) and walk the rest of the way. The Saturday service may actually suit me better: fewer buses but at more convenient times.