What most people forget about radiant energy is that it is infra-red light that radiates from any object to another object without warming the air it travels through and when it strikes ordinary construction materials it is mostly absorbed and then is transmitted by conduction. Polished aluminum will not absorb or transmit infra-red energy very well so it is considered a "barrier". It is efficient in terms of material since it can be a thin layer of aluminum foil in front of a 3/4" or larger air space, thus it is something that can be carried as an emergency blanket although when something warm touches it, it has no insulation qualities at all. In a building, the foil isn't free and it requires space that could have been insulated and the heat involved is eventually transferred across the air space by convection (unless there is a vacuum). All insulation and radiant barriers only slow the transfer of heat down rather than stopping it.

There's no bedroom downstairs, so the only way I could sleep in the same room as the dogs is if I slept on the couch. I'm reluctant to do that--although sleeping on the couch might not be much worse than the way things have been going lately. As I write this, it's 11:00 p.m. and both dogs are panting. Wolfy is clingy, nosing my arm and attempting to get under my desk. (He doesn't fit.) It's possible that these behaviors of his have something to do with the fact that I'm out of the house seven hours a day (minimum) now. Before I started this job in December, I was home with the dogs a lot more. Wolfy is quiet and seemingly content in the morning and early afternoon before I go to work, but when I come home at night his restlessness starts. Jodi, I've wondered about the sundowning phenomenon, too. Uxorial, I just noticed your message--sorry! I did remove the bone meal. Actually, I threw it out because Wolfy had bent up the box so badly. Sarah, it's nice to know someone else is putting up with very difficult behaviors from a much-loved dog. I caught some flak on the Pet Forum last year (just from one or two people, not everyone) because I tolerate a higher degree of ....well, mess from my two elderly dogs than was deemed civilized. I'm the first to admit that gracious living flew out the window when my dogs got old and often incontinent. But I refuse to destroy these loving and loyal animals to restore my standard of living. If the time comes for that decision to be made, it will be for their comfort, not mine. Thanks, all.

Finally tried to really figure out this problem of the ghosting lights which we've had since we installed the fans w/lights and the remote controls over ten years ago. I've read about it on multiple websites over the years. I even brought in an electrician to figure it out. He couldn't either. The fan w/light is on a line with a can light so I actually have to receivers in each room: one for the fan/light and one for the can. Prior to this I had bought another remote as a back up which we needed to use as the can receiver was bad. Turns out, however, that is the solution. The original Hunter universal remote receivers work on 350 MHz. We live in a neighborhood of 2.5 to 5 acre homes so we should not be getting stray signals at all and certainly not in the wee hours of the morning when these lights magically go on. There must be a signal coming from somewhere although we don't know where or from what. The newer remote receiver is set at 400 MHz. I'm testing it in two rooms so that is four receivers. After three weeks there has been no magic lights coming on at any time during the day. I'm going to replace the receivers in the other rooms now. Hope this helps others with a similar situation.

That tri-color one is beautiful. I'd love to be able to have some of those. But I'll take what I can get. When you get your bumper crop, let me know if you want to give or trade any.