Bynow, the din from the corporate celebrants had reached sufficientdecibels to muffle our shrieks at a butternut squash and parmesanvelouté with the viscous tang of curdled milk.

So is the surrounding tissue of her brain, a three-pound (1.4-kilogram), helmet-shaped bolus of fat and protein, wrinkled like a cleaning sponge and with a consistency of curdled milk.

The milk has curdled.