Google and Psychological Reality: "Google does not find the most authoritative source. It finds what people believe to be the most authoritative source. It is a good meter of what people believe something to mean. This is the psychological definition of reality: someone can have an intense belief that seems to them as real as anything else, but only they see. For some things, the only physical manifestation the rest of us can see is chemical level in the person afflicted."

I just made my 1000th post with Radio. Congrats to Userland for building a great product! Unfortunately, you can't read it (or post 1001) because it doesn't belong to this weblog. This may be a good time to explain how I control six weblogs and four static websites with Radio.

At 10am tomorrow, Friday June 7th, a cake will be available in the kitchen in celebration of Vongsone's birthday on the 18th and Evan's birthday on the 26th.

Every Monday at Noon Melissa will be ordering office supplies. If there is something special that you need, please write it on the form in the supply closet. Emergency orders will be done on Wednesday or Thursday as circumstances warrant. She is also going to list the order number for each item on labels near the item in the closet. Please include the correct order number to insure the right product is being ordered. If any one has any questions, Melissa is looking forward to handling them.

Bugs may control weather: "Scientists believe certain bug species may have evolved the ability to manipulate the weather in order to secure their own survival."

Signs of Thaw in a Desert of Snow: "There is increasing evidence that the Arctic, this desert of snow, ice and killing cold wind, one of the most hostile and fragile places on Earth, is thawing. Glaciers are receding. Coastlines are eroding. Lakes are disappearing. Fall freezes are coming later. The winters are not as cold. Mosquitoes and beetles never seen before are appearing. The sky seems to be clapping as thunderstorms roll where it was once too cold for them."

Kangaroos don't pass gas: "Scientists in Australia are investigating whether kangaroos could help combat global warming. Australia's sheep and cattle produce huge amounts of methane, an important greenhouse gas - but kangaroos do not. Researchers believe it might be possible to use bacteria found in the stomachs of kangaroos to reduce methane output from cows and sheep."

Kangaroos offer clue to global warming: "Scientists in Australia are investigating whether kangaroos could help combat global warming. Australia's sheep and cattle produce huge amounts of methane, an important greenhouse gas - but kangaroos do not. Researchers believe it might be possible to use bacteria found in the stomachs of kangaroos to reduce methane output from cows and sheep."

Bush to Address Nation at 5pm PDT: "President Bush on Thursday night will propose another sweeping overhaul of homeland security efforts in what aides call the most dramatic government restructuring since 1947. Bush requested prime-time television time to outline the changes, which will include a new Cabinet post and under it an intelligence clearinghouse to gather and analyze information from an array of sources with the goal of heading off terrorist attacks and activities. The Cabinet post would be the secretary of the new Department of Homeland Security. Bush initially resisted making that a Cabinet post when he created the Office of Homeland Security within the White House immediately after the September 11 attacks. "

National Drought Summary -- June 4, 2002: "Hot, dry weather maintained severe to exceptional drought across the Southwest. Arizona, Colorado, California, New Mexico, and Utah reported very high to extreme fire indices as of June 4. Temperatures soaring into the 90s and 100s broke numerous records during the last two days of May. One to 2-inch rainfall amounts in northwestern North Dakota erased D0 dryness from the northwest corner of the state, but D0 dryness continued across most of the rest of the state and northwestern Minnesota as well. Heavy rains along the Gulf Coast eased drought, with thunderstorms causing a slight pullback of D2/D3 drought in South Texas and the removal of drought from the Houston area. The strong thunderstorms that hit the Northeast on May 31 caused D1 drought to retreat in Maine, Connecticut, southern New York and northwestern New Jersey, but D2 (severe drought) persisted from western Long Island through southern New Jersey into Maryland. The storms missed most of this region, where rainfall deficits since last September still exceed 10 inches. Monitoring wells in central Maryland are near record lows for this time of year. Rains in southeast Alaska resulted in the removal of D1 drought in the Panhandle, but lack of rain has contributed to high fire danger in central Alaska. D0 expanded northward into central Alaska. D0 dryness continued in western Molokai, Hawaii. Weather features to watch in the next 2 weeks that may affect areas experiencing dryness include: 1) rains likely to exceed 1 inch across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast states during June 5-9, with near normal temperatures; 2) above normal rainfall during June 11-15 across the East Coast; 3) abundant rains over the northern Plains during June 5-9, including Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montana; 4) above-normal temperatures and little rainfall over the central Rockies and Southwest during the next 2 weeks."