Miscellany

The weather has slipped sharply fallward. The mornings and evenings are damp and chilly, but the midday is hot. Last night, I wore a long-sleeved shirt but no windbreaker, and fell between two stools. (I need to get a new windbreaker; the old one's getting pretty ratty.)

I'm just about done with my reread of the House of Niccolò; I've begun Caprice and Rondo. Two thoughts occur to me. The shocker at the end of To Lie with Lions loses none of its punch on a reread (I should comment that my family claims Scots descent, indeed from the Stuart clan itself). Also, it seems that, near the end of each book, someone close to Niccolò dies: Felix, Marian, Katelina, Umar, Godscalc, Zacco.... I remember that there are multiple deaths in Caprice and Rondo as well.

I finished Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms, and will review it on Wednesday. It was very interesting, but I have to say that when Fortey gets away from his area of expertise, he is prone to some of the most godawful mistakes. (No, Mr. Fortey, Delaware's claim to being the First State has nothing to do with the Declaration of Independence, but rather with the Constitution of 1787....)

The bit of progress I made on the prisms problem seems to have been a bit of a red herring, but the general line of attack still looks promising. There's a sticky bit of number theory I've got to get a handle on to make it work, though.

Lately, on our last-thing-before-bed excursions into the back yard, Buster has gotten into the habit of taking one of his toys out and dropping it in one particular spot in the yard, where there's a small depression. He romps for a while, then comes back and noses at the toy, seeming to try unsuccessfully to pick it up. Ultimately, I have to come out and fetch it for him.

:yawn: Very very sluggish lately....