I have been in Vegas now for eight days. I could try to convince myself that the scale here is wrong, but... it isn't. So that's depressing. But I am still hitting the treadmill every day, and today was a particularly difficult day to squeeze that in. I am exhausted and ready to fall into bed but I know that you, my dear Imaginary Readers, would be sorely disappointed if I didn't tell you all about the end of The Time Monster.

So let's talk about that.

I love Vegas, I love coming here every summer for Virtuoso Travel Week, but the huge downside is food. It's just so good, and there are so many dinners with so many friends and co-workers it is nearly impossible to eat light. Which is awesome, but even with all of the walking I do it is almost impossible not to put on some weight while I am here. This past month has been a struggle anyway, and this really isn't helping on that front. But hey, I will surely get back on track when I get home, right? Right?!? I also watched two more episodes of Doctor Who today.

Let's talk about that.

I almost missed using the treadmill today, because although I thought I set my alarm it was only programmed for weekdays. I woke up with barely enough time to get to work down in the hotel conference center and then was beset by unexpected issues right away. I didn't even manage to get any breakfast at all until nearly 10am, and it was a struggle to be pleasant when I was both hungry and missing my morning workout. Fortunately I was able to draw upon my prodigious acting skills and behave like a decent human being until I was later able to both get some food and to work in two episodes of Doctor Who on a treadmill in the hotel's fitness center. So I guess it all worked out okay, and the new story was even pretty good.

In the last day I have discovered the beauty and wonder of knee braces. Remember last week when I had my knees x-rayed? (I'm sure you do, because I know that all of my Imaginary Readers are nothing if not faithful.) Well, it turns out I have bone spurs which are compressing the nerves in my knees and causing the burning sensation. Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen help, but adding some moderately firm knee braces when I am walking has made a huge difference. My wife tells me they also make me look hardcore, so that's cool too. So this morning I took my first spin on the Time Treadmill with braces on, and finished up watching The Mutants.

Let's talk about that.

The big revelation in today's viewing of the middle third of The Mutants? The planet Solos has no tilt to its axis, meaning the seasons are uniform throughout the planet, and it has an orbit of 2,000 years, which somehow translates to four seasons of 500 years apiece. Don't think too hard about that, the astronomical physics don't really work, but that's all good. So for the entire duration of the human occupation of Solos it has been the same season. But now much, like the anti-Westeros, Summer is coming.

Let's talk about that.

Today's new story, The Mutants, has the unique distinction of being the Doctor Who story that gets called out in Salman Rushdie's controversial novel The Satanic Verses. How's that for a weird bit of trivia? Where the previous story was about The Folly of the Military Mind, this new story is all about one of the show's most favorite tropes: The Brutality of Colonialism.

Let's talk about that.

If there is one thing that the Third Doctor is most associated with, it is the phrase "I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow." It is an unfair association, he only ever actually says that twice in five years (plus a handful of other, shorter, "I reversed the polarity" statements), but today's viewing had the first actual speaking of that phrase. I kid you not, I squealed like a little kid when I heard it. Such is the life of a Doctor Who geek, especially when on the edge of exhaustion on a hotel treadmill in Las Vegas.

Let's talk about that.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I love my job. And on of my favorite things about it is that I spend all year writing software, and then every August I get to come to Las Vegas and see my software in action. For the next twelve days I am living at Aria and spending all of my time cycling between Aria, Vdara, and Bellagio playing my small part in helping to produce the single greatest luxury travel conference in the world, Virtuoso Travel Week. I flew out early this morning, and today for the very first time the Time Treadmill operated in an exotic location away from home. I spent an hour at the fitness center here watching the next two episodes of The Sea Devils, and had a great time.

Let's talk about that.

This is going to be mightily brief, because I have a very early flight to catch in the morning. The good news today is that, after nearly a month of wobbling around I have finally come back within two-tenths of a pound of my record low weight. Especially knowing what my next two weeks are going to be like (essentially walking non-stop all day circulating between three different hotel properties in Las Vegas for a major travel event), I feel like I am back on track. My sincere hope is that two weeks from now when I write my six month checkin, I will have finally broken through the 260 barrier. Time will tell. 

(That's not a typo in the title, by the way. Look it up.)

What a satisfying day. I started out by finishing The Curse of Peladon while putting in three and a half miles on the treadmill. I spent a good chunk of the day hanging out at the Magic Kingdom with my son, which is always awesome. I got the final confirmation on the date and time of my first cabaret performance, coming up on October 1st -- the title of the show is The Gospel According to My Old Man, and it features a dozen songs plus lots of stories about my dad and my son. And now, as I wrap up the day, I have begun packing for my annual two-week working trip to Las Vegas where I help to put on Virtuoso Travel Week -- easily the finest luxury travel event in the world. But I can't finish my day without talking a little bit about Doctor Who.

So let's talk about that.