Gary Farber posts a link to an NYT criticism of the new animated film Ratatouille.

We saw a trailer for it last night, and Lyman wants to go see it. In a theater.

We haven't gone to a theater for a movie together yet in nearly 14 years.

I been in "the hole" today. But I don't think I'll finish today.

There's some trick I'll need to learn about slithering out of that slot when I cover up my crossbeam.

For height, I'm using a 12-inch diameter, 16-inch tall turkey pot. It's sturdy, and it fits.

Let me tell you, kids, it's hot.

The truck brought the materials for "the project" today.

I went by the city office and picked up a printout of our energy usage from January 2006 to date.

The reads come at midmonth. Last year's electric use was 1989 Kw hours for the period from 5/14-6/13. This year's is 1833. The windows were installed on the 30th of May, so we're only seeing half a month's worth of savings this cycle. The next read should be more revealing.

I heard this song on the radio in the car today.

Silly boy.

Charlie sings "We've got the bonk", instead.

Sing what you know, yes?

He's out of the cage and running for a few weeks now.

So Butch, the really nice air conditioner guy, came by today to look at the "project" while I was napping.

Lyman said that as Butch looked up the chute he could see the wheels turning. Backwards.

Lyman said, "We could do it ourselves."

Butch said, "I'll have the materials delivered for you tomorrow."

UPDATE: Surely they're all kidding.

So, Mr. Wade Byrd, the energy auditor, returned yesterday to see what we have done, and we haven't done enough.

His instructions weren't clear (he agrees) on sealing the return chase on our HVAC system.

That means taking this panel off.

Then one enters this space which is 18" x 34" x 8' raw.

He wants that lined with duct board and sealed with non-toxic duct mastic to force the system to use only properly cooled or heated return air to reduce the load on the system and protect the evaporator coils from filth. It will be a cool 12" x 24" (give or take an inch) sealed. Now these things are usually finished with sheetrock during construction.

Lyman can get in there, but I think he'd have a fit trying to do the work. I am going to go ahead and vacuum the thing with the shop vac, and decide if I can stand it. Whoever does it needs to be pretty darn slender. And I'd have to buy and learn to operate a nail gun.

And we just might hire someone else. Someone skinny and flexible. Gumby might be able.

UPDATE: No. No nail gun. 1.5 inch roofing nails and a hammer at broad intervals.

I've vacuumed the space out, made a call to Mr. Byrd for some direction, and set on doing this myself.

Now I need some materials -- 2 4x10 sheets of duct board, a gallon of mastic, and about a pound of roofing nails. And a small ladder that I can fit into the space.

Lyman cooked alligator scalloppine again last night, and yes it was good, again.

You might not remember, but I did write one time about being a "lacto-ovo" vegetarian for a couple of years when I was about 22. I gave it up because it was not healthy for me, as demonstrated by a stress fracture in my foot that refused to knit after four weeks in a cast.

Anyway, I do have the occasional qualm when I eat a piece of meat. I refuse to eat quail anymore. Lucy and Charlie would pluck to about the size of one.

However, I can't gather a lot of sympathy for this face.

I thought he would finally say.

Tonight Lyman said, "I think Giada de Laurentiis is an attractive woman."

I said, "What took you so long to say so? Is it because I get the house?"

Mathematicians and modellers in conflict at Climate Audit.

UPDATE: I hope you didn't imagine that I could understand all the math. But you don't have to be a scholar to read the tone of the debate.

I'll object to the notion that women are more prone to verbal or sonic pornography.

What about that back?

Why not encourage her to learn both?

One of my teachers at UT taught both. The two languages were so similar that she would sometimes stumble in our French class.

And boy, do I wish I had taken Spanish.

Tony Woodlief on Father's Day.

Here, again, is my father.

And a good one to you, fellas.

Oh, for crying out loud. Will you look at that?

We received a cool 0.05 inch of rain from that front. And yes, it was moving eastward.

My brother informs me that the doctors in Jackson have settled on histoplasmosis as their diagnosis.

Peregrine chicks in Wisconsin, courtesy of Diane.

Tough crowd.

UPDATE: And another "NAME THAT JUVENILE PEREGRINE BAND" contest!

My local brother is in Jackson, MS, this week undergoing a second battery of tests, this time under the supervision of an infectious disease specialist.

He has been feeling poorly since March, when he suffered what he thought was a bout of flu. For nearly three months now, he's suffered from headaches and intermittent fevers, along with a debilitating lack of energy.

Doctors have been successful at ruling things out, but they can't get a grip on what ails him.

Michael is taking Lyman's parents to Baton Rouge tomorrow.

You might be amused by Lyman's list for Tony's Seafood:

2 rabbits
2 pounds of turtle
2 packs of boudin balls

We're stocked on shrimp and alligator.

UPDATE: Oops, include 2 pounds of alligator.

Scraping ivy off the house and weeding the front flowerbeds this morning, I couldn't get this song out of my head.

Nice couple, too.

We managed our improvements in the nick of time. Average high around here at this date is 88F. Yesterday, Lyman's weather station registered 97F, which is flirting with the high of 98F recorded in 1963.

We are a fairly lackadaisical bunch in these warm days, except for Kate.

I've ridden pillion on a motorcycle before, but nothing like that.

Looks like Mr. Gore has just about completed the conversions on his home in Nashville to make it more energy efficient.

And I say good for him. I've never thought him the hypocrite on the global warming issue that he might have appeared to be.

I'd still like for them to talk about the process somewhere -- their decision-making, the products they used, their negotiations with the zoning board. Did they have to overcome restrictions in a historical neighborhood?

Eyebrow threading?

Ladies, here is a video of "eyebrow threading," a technique long used in India and the Middle East for shaping eyebrows.

There are other videos, too, listed to the right of that site.

Would that ever take some practice. I think I'm going back to tweezers. Nancy waxed too much from the inner edges of mine last time.

Lyman fries the catfish around here. He does a good job -- nice and crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

His mother doesn't like it that way.

Lyman's dad loves fried catfish more than any food around, so that's what Lyman cooked for his birthday dinner, along with some Alabama red potato fries. I assembled the coleslaw and took another stab at blackberry cobbler.

Lyman starts his mother's fish before anything else. After about 20 minutes yesterday, he asked her to test her pieces.

"No, it can cook a little longer."

"We can do that. We can let it burn slap-dab up if that's the way you want it."

I simply cain't put up with John Edwards no longer. The boy don't click fast.

A question was put to him that elicited something along the line of this response: "I don't know that I can define a rich man."

He did lose a child, and there's a good chance that he'll lose his wife to cancer. But the boy do have money. About $30 mil, I've read.

Of course, that doesn't come near Theresa Heinz's fortune. Maybe there are two Americas -- the rich and the filthy rich.

I watched the tail-end of the debate between the Democratic candidates for president on CNN.

I have a question. What are all you men doing in what appears to be white or pale blue eyeshadow?

Chris Dodd was one, and the commentator afterwards is sporting the same thing.

UPDATE: And Ms. Huffington is too old to be appearing showing cleavage.

M. has built the furniture for the guest room. I am finishing it with Minwax Tung Oil Finish which, according to research, proves to have no tung oil in it. It just looks like a tung oil finish, which is fine by me. Woodworkers call it a "wipe-on varnish." It's supposedly stronger than tung oil alone.

M. can do more detailed work than this, but I was aiming toward the 30's or 40's furniture that I remember from the room I rented in college.

I am developing an affection for the little table that is top-side down. Look at those two back legs. Their "feet" point in the same direction. On it's legs it looks like it might like to take a walk.

"Look at this, Janis. I made a mistake."

"Let's call it a conversation piece."

These pieces will live with two of these lamps, this hanging, this lamp (thanks again, Sarah), and this chest.

The side tables have one drawer apiece. Knobs or pulls?

Pop on over to Ann Althouse and watch the lovely video of women's faces in art.