Random

• Flag Day -- June 14th

• The problem of water in the Southwest -- dwindling supply, growing demand, and long-term drought. For example, Las Vegas gets 90% of its electricity from the Hoover Dam -- but the Colorado River is so low that by 2010 the switch may go off. ~ Link

• Kent's answer to Bluetooth --preparing for California's new "hands free" law.

• NY Times column: Online degrees can be a boon to your career and your life, as long you choose the right program and understand the commitment that will be involved. ~ Link

• Forty Australian researchers are trying to prevent hybrid "supercats" from being imported into Australia. The Savannah cats, which were originally bred by crossing domestic cats with the African serval cat, are twice the size of the domestic species. ~ Link

• More from the NY Times: The agents of destruction are many. State governments have played a role. They aggressively hawk their lottery products, which some people call a tax on stupidity. Twenty percent of Americans are frequent players, spending about $60 billion a year. The spending is starkly regressive. A household with income under $13,000 spends, on average, $645 a year on lottery tickets, about 9 percent of all income. Aside from the financial toll, the moral toll is comprehensive. Here is the government, the guardian of order, telling people that they don’t have to work to build for the future. They can strike it rich for nothing. ~ Link (via)

• Radical rhetoric in Japan! Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers in the nation known for homogeneity are proposing that Japan be opened up so that about 10% of the population is eventually made up of immigrants. They are concerned about the financial implications of the aging population. ~ Link

• The off and on haze over Guam these past few weeks is probably volcanic smog carried the 4,000 miles from Hawaii by tradewinds. ~ Link