One fat geek's SUCCESSFUL attempt to regenerate into a not-so-fat geek by watching the entirety of Doctor Who while walking on a treadmill

All Posts Term: 3rd Doctor
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Fifty Years in Four Hundred and Ninety Four Days

Fifty Years in Four Hundred and Ninety Four Days

When I started this ridiculous project on February 20th of last year, I deliberately didn't calculate how long it would take. I guessed a little over a year, and it turns out to be more like a year and a half. Today, though, I hit a huge milestone. Today I watched the 50th Anniversary special, meaning that as of this morning I have watched a full fifty years of Doctor Who in four hundred and ninety four days. Wow. With only one Eleventh Doctor story left, I only have the Twelfth Doctor era left to go through. I just double-checked my count, and I must have missed something the last time I worked it out. I need to finish by Monday, August 6th because I have a work trip that begins on the 7th and I want to have a clean break. But I just counted it out,and if I miss no days and watch one episode per day I won't finish until August 8th. That means I have to double up on at least two days. It looks like Under the Lake / Before the Flood would be a good double fallin ...

The Five (But Really Only Four) Doctors

The Five (But Really Only Four) Doctors

Good lord, what a long day. For the past eleven months I have been watching two 25-minute episodes per day, but this morning's viewing was the twentieth anniversary special that is effectively a movie with no breaking point. That meant that I spent a full 102 minutes on the treadmill, walking further than I ever have in a single day. Then I had a full day of work, and then a big birthday party. Aside from being Alexander Hamilton's birthday, today is my wife's birthday (and also my boss' birthday, and also a friend's birthday), plus my own birthday is on Monday. So we had a whole big thing planned for tonight. Unfortunately my wife has the flu and couldn't go out, but we filmed everyone singing to her. After that I had to go back to work to do a software release, and so now here I am at nearly midnight just finally writing this post.

So let's talk about the big twentieth anniversary special.

Ain't No Hurricane Gonna Stop the Time Treadmill!

Ain't No Hurricane Gonna Stop the Time Treadmill!

No joke, last night was straight-up terrifying. Hurricane Irma took a late turn to the east, and the eye of the storm wound up passing right over us. Even with the storm losing strength from traveling across the land to get here, it packed a real wallop. Hurricanes are freaking loud, and it is crazy to hear your own house creaking in the wind as debris flies by an bangs into things. That being said, we were very fortunate. We lost power for a grand total of sixteen hours. We lost a bunch of shingles from our roof, but maintained structural integrity. A portion of our fence came down, but I was able to repair it during the day today. We had some water intrusion through our front door (not from flooding, but from driving rain), but we have that all mopped up. There are trees down all over the area, there are homes and businesses destroyed, but we got away with nothing more than a scary night and some cosmetic damage. It could have been so much worse and I am grateful that it wasn't.

It seems somehow poetic that I started off the Third Doctor with the fireworks of the Fourth of July, and now I have finished him with a cataclysmic storm. The primary theme of the story's climax was all about facing your fears, and boy howdy did we do that. So let's talk about that.

Looks Like We Got Some of Them Algernon Flowers

Looks Like We Got Some of Them Algernon Flowers

As I write this, Hurricane Irma has made landfall in the Florida Keys about two hours ago. We are about seven hours away from the leading edge of the storm starting to reach us, and will be experiencing significant sustained winds for most of the night. I may or may not have power tomorrow. So, you know, I've got that going on. On the upside, I watched more of Planet of the Spiders this morning while on the treadmill and it was terrific.

Let's talk about that.

The Most JamesBondian Chase Ever!

The Most JamesBondian Chase Ever!

It is not lost on me that somehow coincidentally I am racing to the cataclysmic end of the Third Doctor era perfectly in tandem with Hurricane Irma bearing down on me. I watched the first third today, I'll watch the middle third tomorrow, and then the storm hits tomorrow evening. Will I witness the Third Doctor's regeneration on Monday as scheduled? Or will my world be destroyed just as the entire Universe is about to be destroyed onscreen? Time will tell. (Don't worry, I am as safe as I can be. I will probably lose power, the only question is for how long.)

The Death of Aggedor

The Death of Aggedor

I'll be honest, I'm a wee bit distracted at the moment because there is a giant Category 4 hurricane headed remorselessly towards my house right now.  The storm proper will reach my location on Sunday evening. If you don't see any entries from me on Sunday or Monday, don't be too concerned. It is virtually certain that we will lose power for some length of time. The good news is that we are far enough inland, and in a sturdy enough location, that I am not fearful for our physical safety. I am genuinely fearful for everyone remaining in South Florida, and along either of the coasts. This is a monster storm that will engulf the entire state both side-to-side and top-to-bottom before it is done. I hope everyone out there stays safe and stays smart.

But anyway, yeah, I did spent my hour on the treadmill today watching Doctor Who. Let's talk about that.

There's No ONLY About Being a Girl!

There's No ONLY About Being a Girl!

I had my annual physical today, and guess what? In every measurable way I am the healthiest I have been in decades. My cholesterol levels, both LDL and HDL, are fantastic and have significantly improved since my last physical. All my other numbers are excellent as well. My stated goal at the start of this project was "...to feel good about myself physically and mentally", and I have fully achieved that goal already. Which only makes me that much more energized about how I might feel after another six months of this journey. I am not even halfway through the episodes yet, and just barely a quarter of the way through the stories, so I know I will be at this until at least next spring.

Two Days Late for Labor Day

Two Days Late for Labor Day

Today's new story The Monster of Peladon thus far boils down to a treatise about the inequities between Capitol and Labor. The Doctor returns to Peladon to visit his friend the King, but arrives fifty years later than planned (and also a few hundred meters deeper than planned, down inside the caverns instead of up in the citadel). The King is long dead, his daughter is queen, the Galactic Federation is still mucking about, and as usual it's the common folk who are getting screwed. Let's talk about that.

Progress

Currently Watching:

( Story )


 of episodes viewed
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of stories viewed
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Total Steps Taken:

Total Distance Walked:
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Weight Progress:
 
Blue Line: 5-Day Moving Avg
Yellow Line: Daily Weight

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Latest Posts

Sweaty Thoughts about Spearhead from Space - Episodes 3 & 4
5/14/2020 4:48 PM
Sweaty Thoughts about Spearhead from Space - Episodes 1 & 2
5/13/2020 4:46 PM
Fifty Years in Four Hundred and Ninety Four Days
6/28/2018 7:29 PM
The Five (But Really Only Four) Doctors
1/11/2018 8:08 PM
Ain't No Hurricane Gonna Stop the Time Treadmill!
9/11/2017 6:02 PM
Looks Like We Got Some of Them Algernon Flowers
9/10/2017 8:50 AM
The Most JamesBondian Chase Ever!
9/9/2017 12:49 PM
The Death of Aggedor
9/8/2017 6:12 PM
There's No ONLY About Being a Girl!
9/7/2017 3:04 PM
Two Days Late for Labor Day
9/6/2017 8:31 PM

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