tuesday

When I came inside from the back yard and looked ahead at the stove, I thought the digital read-out said 105-degrees, but I shook it off, realizing that it is a clock read-out saying it is 10:58. I took care of the kitty-litter box. I really should do that first thing in the morning when I get out of bed, at least during these warmer months. That is a precious hour to lose as the sun and the temperature rises. ... ... A little wake-up news this morning: Greta Van Susteren is leaving Fox. She said, "Fox has not felt like home to me for a few years and I took advantage of the clause in my contract which allows me to leave now." It's not that I am fan of hers or ever took to watching her show. I was surprised when she showed up at Fox some fifteen years ago. I thought she was a liberal, but maybe that was a mistake based on her start at CNN, before Fox News was even a thing. She just rings a bell with me because one associates her with the big O. J. Simpson trial, which is how she came to the limelight in the first place. She never left the big stage since then. That must say something about her smarts and personality, because she is a rather homely woman, albeit fit rather than fat. [Politico]. ... ... Speaking of Fox News, blonde hottie Gretchen Carlson gets her big payout, as her suit against Ailes for sexual harassment is settled at $20 million. Wow, that's a lot of money for just some comments and suggestive stares. In that same report, we learned more about Susteren's departure. She had a "key man" clause in her contract, such that if Ailes left, she would be able to quit. That is the first time I heard of that one. [Snopes] ... ... This is hte second time in a row that this old mailman has had to double-back to drop off my book. If Amazon didn't have them on a contractual clock, I imagine I'd be still waiting for my package. In any case, I will begin my Schopenhauer experience this afternoon. It's good timing at least, coming right after my nap. The only downside is that I was going to get in some chess after neglecting my game for a couple of days. It looks like it is going to be neglected for at least one more day. ... ... After that extended rainy period, today feels like a full return to summer. Since we are into September, I was actually wondering if we might have been going into autumn with its modest cooling, but not yet. ... ... I don't believe it! It's actually raining. And here I was thinking that I was being silly for wanting to mow the front tonight rather than waiting until tomorrow because I didn't want to take any chances on the weather, since it has been so crazy lately, so that I wanted to take the matter out of Fate's hands. Well, it just got crazier, and Fate, along with moody Mother Nature, took the matter out of my hands. ... ... I am still reading only through the second preface, and I am wondering how could I have lived so long without Schopenhauer. Of course, I still don't know what the main text reads like, but I am already thinking that this should be my third reading of the book, at least. To think that I might be struggling through 600 pages of Kant just in order to get to this book! ... ... Coco is scaring me a little. She wouldn't come in all afternoon and evening, and it's 11:00 now. I ascribed it to her fear of not being let out again because of the brief rain. However, I just went out to carry her in, and she seems rather faint and weak. Yet, even when I put her in front of the plate of food, she won't eat. I let her go back out. Did something happen?? Naturally, I am just hoping that she will be back to normal tomorrow.