June 2005
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Solid Food.
Today, Brian is eating solid food and his body is getting used to digesting again. Previously, he was being fed intrevenously, and in recent days, he’s been eating Jello and Chicken Broth.
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≡ 30 Jun 2005
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Successful Surgery: Left Leg.
Brian’s surgery lasted 4 1/2 hours today. His left leg is now all stitched up and has two rods (in his femur and tibia) and a metal plate on his tibia as well. Evidently, the doctors were also contemplating putting a plate on his left femur, but when they were in the surgery, they found that the fracture wasn’t as bad as they thought and they didn’t need it.
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<a title="Google Maps API" href="http://www.google.com/apis/maps/">Google Maps API</a>.
The Google Maps API lets developers embed Google Maps in their own web pages with JavaScript. You can add overlays to the map (including markers and polylines) and display shadowed “info windows” just like Google Maps.
≡ 29 Jun 2005 -
Google Earth Launching For Free.
Google launches Keyhole 3 today, rebranded Google Earth, and are dumping the subscription rate (except for a $20/year “plus” versions with prettier pictures). […] The program lets you fly around a 3D globe, with overhead satellite photos, tilted 45-degree photos, 3D rendered buildings, and overlays that display everything from roads to hotels to bike routes.
≡ 28 Jun 2005 -
Successful Surgery: Right Leg.
Brian’s surgery yesterday went as planned. Besides doing the I & D, they also put rods in his right leg, and sewed it all up. That leg is now bandaged and healing, but still very sensitive. It’s possible that someday down the road, they will need to open his leg back up and do some bone grafting.
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<a title="del.icio.us direc.tor: Delivering A High-Performance AJAX Web Service Broker :: Johnvey" href="http://johnvey.com/features/deliciousdirector/">del.icio.us direc.tor: Delivering A High-Performance AJAX Web Service Broker.
del.icio.us direc.tor is a prototype for an alternative web-based rich UI for del.icio.us. It leverages the XML and XSL services of modern browsers to deliver a responsive interface for managing user accounts with a large number of records.
≡ 27 Jun 2005 -
<a title="Art of Science Competition / Gallery" href="http://www.princeton.edu/~artofsci/gallery/index.html">Princeton Art of Science Competition</a>.
[This is] imagery produced in the course of research or incorporating tools and concepts from science.
≡ 27 Jun 2005 -
Answers to Prayer.
Brian’s new pain medication (Dilaudid) is working better. He was able to rest a little last night but he’s starting to get pretty stiff from being in the same place so long.
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<a title="National Weather Service weather radar images from Minneapolis, MN" href="http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge/mpx.html">National Weather Service weather radar images from Minneapolis, MN</a>. My friend Matt, pointed me to this useful radar display for Central Minnesota.
It will overlay the base reflectivity with geographic data, rivers, highways, and severe weather warnings. It can also be used to provide rainfall, relative motion, GPS/distance information, and other data.
≡ 27 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/002342.html">Design Cliches</a>.
This post is about those symbols we use … or rather, those other people use … to indicate common themes, concepts or ideas. Those symbols which have been used so often that they’ve become clichés.
≡ 27 Jun 2005 -
New Room.
Brian got moved to his own room yesterday. It’s the next step from ICU where he no longer needs his vitals checked constantly. For this, and the fact that there isn’t so much noise and beeping around him, we’re thankful. It’s a more restful place.
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Obesity costs soar tenfold to $36.5 billion in US. Well, we’ve finally reached it America. 30 percent of us are now obese.≡ 25 Jun 2005
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First Conversations.
Brian had his breathing tube removed last night and he is now breathing on his own. None of his injuries require him to be on a ventilator, but being heavily sedated, it was important to have the ventilator hooked up to make sure that he was getting good oxygen saturation while he was in such a deep sleep. Having his breathing tube out doesn’t imply a drastic change in his condition, but it’s nice for all of us to finally be able to talk with him—and for him to have that thing out of his throat!
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<a title="CNN.com - Rader pleads guilty to BTK murders - Jun 27, 2005" href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/27/btk.killings.ap/index.html">Rader pleads guilty to BTK murders</a>.
Referring to his victims as “projects,” Rader laid out for the court how he would “troll” for victims on his off-time, then stalk them and kill them.
≡ 24 Jun 2005 -
Pink Feet.
Brian’s had his sedation medication changed to a new kind where they can wake him up in 3 minutes if needed as oppposed to an entire day. This will give the doctors and nurses more control over how deep a sleep he is in at a given time.
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<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/27/scotus.dramaticend.ap/index.html">Supreme Court to end term amid high anticipation</a>. Including a possible retirement.≡ 23 Jun 2005
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Motorcycle Accident.
On Tuesday night, June 21st, at about 8:00 PM, my brother Brian got in a motorcycle accident. He’s currently in the Intensive Care Unit at the Hennepin County Medical Center and the main concern is his legs. He had compound fractures in his femurs, fibulas and tibias and went through 11 hours in the operating room where orthopedic and vascular surgeons worked to save his legs.
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<a href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/story/0,6000,1510857,00.html?gusrc=rss">Could bagels hold the key to human behaviour?</a>. I’m moving Steven Levitt’s book, Freakonomics up a few rungs on my reading list. Kottke had a decent interview with him as well a while back.≡ 21 Jun 2005
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Mississippi Jury Convicts Ex-Klansman. as he was wheeled away, emotionless, and breathing through an oxygen tube.≡ 21 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.cnn.com/rssclick/2005/US/06/21/missing.scout/index.html?section=cnn_topstories">Volunteers find missing scout in Utah mountains</a>.
The 11-year-old boy missing for four days in rugged terrain of northeast Utah was today found cold and thirsty, but alive by two volunteer searchers on horseback. “A little dehydrated, a little weak, but other than that, he’s currently in very good health,” Summit County Sheriff David Edmunds told reporters.
≡ 21 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/06/write_down_your.html">Bruce Schneier says, write down your password.</a>. I don’t have this problem. I use non-dictionary words based on muscle-memory and patterns. What’s the matter with you people?≡ 21 Jun 2005
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Grandma’s Marathon.
Last weekend, Brian, Mandy and myself went to Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth to offer cheer and felicity to Jill as she gracefully endured a torturesome 26 miles.
≡ 21 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://www.gcensus.com">Combining US census data and Google Maps</a>. Hey, cool! There’s 56 people and 23 houses on my block. Census data is from the year 2000.≡ 21 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazine/investing/smartest/">Money Magazine: 50 smartest things to do with your money</a>. Also includes 15 dumb things to not do.≡ 20 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://gorillamask.net/flashndsoundboard.shtml">Napoleon Dynamite Soundboards</a>. A collection.≡ 17 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/musical-instruments/roland-midi-accordian-108325.php">Sexy Accordian</a>. from Roland.≡ 17 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/arstechnica/BAaf?m=604">Dell interested in Mac OS X</a>.
Michael Dell has gone on record as saying that his company would be “happy” to sell Mac OS X. Of course, Apple’s stated disinterest in letting other companies sell OS X is another matter entirely.
≡ 17 Jun 2005 -
New Focus.
Some history and a new philosophy. I started this site almost a year ago, and until now, it’s served three primary purposes:
- Afforded me a sandbox to faddle with my shotty graphical designs.
- Provided a locus to post photos and stories re: family sentiments.
- Gave me a way to post recently-viewed and semi-interesting links.
≡ 17 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://www.virtuoffice.com/node/view/241">How to get Slashdotted</a>. and other experiments in slashdottery.≡ 15 Jun 2005
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≡ 15 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/06/14.html#a3448">The Michael Jackson Verdict</a>. on The Daily Show.≡ 15 Jun 2005
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The Helvetica Meditations.
The Helvetica Meditations. A little textual healing.
≡ 15 Jun 2005 -
Finland's Classical Musicians. Here’s some great photos of Finland and its music scene set to Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5.≡ 14 Jun 2005
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The Economist has a report out on the field of Biomimetics. and a new term: “Biological Patents”:
These are not patents in the conventional sense, of course, since the information will be available for use by anyone. By calling biomimetic tricks “biological patents”, the researchers are just emphasising that nature is, in effect, the patent holder.
≡ 14 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://www.shauninman.com/plete/">Shaun Inman Redesign</a>. My favorite part is the navigate / search at the top and bottom of the page.≡ 14 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.cnn.com/rssclick/2005/LAW/06/13/jackson.trial/index.html?section=cnn_topstories">Jackson cleared</a>. on all 10 counts≡ 13 Jun 2005
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Microsoft joins hands with Yahoo!. Microsoft joins hands with Yahoo!, Google to censor China’s web Some of the banned words are, “democracy”, “freedom” and “human rights”.≡ 13 Jun 2005
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Police arrest killer cow. Police arrest killer cow Reuters - Nigerian police have arrested a cow that killed a bus driver who was urinating on a highway, a police spokesman said Thursday.
We applied ingenuity and arrested the cow, which is now being detained at the station
≡ 13 Jun 2005 -
Hindu mob attacks U.S. missionaries in Bombay. Hindu mob attacks U.S. missionaries in Bombay (Reuters) - Angry Hindu youths beat three American missionaries and tried to kidnap one as they held a bible studies class in Bombay, police said on Monday.≡ 13 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2083271">Tyson goes down, permanently.</a>. Well; so much for “The Baddest Man on the Planet”.≡ 13 Jun 2005
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Green Lake.
After our weekend at the Spicer Castle and on the way back home, we stopped at a park off Green Lake. We sat here for a few hours, reading and watching the water and wind. Very peaceful.
≡ 13 Jun 2005 -
≡ 12 Jun 2005
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Ajax On Rails.
Ajax On Rails. “Ajax and Rails - probably two of the biggest buzzwords in web development at the moment. In this article over at ONLamp, Curt Hibbs introduces the incredibly powerful Ajax support that is part of the Ruby on Rails web application framework. It’s a great read, and serves as a gentle introduction to the cool stuff you can accomplish with ease using the Ajax features of Rails.”
≡ 11 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://feedlounge.com/">Feed Lounge</a>. This online feedreader looks pretty badass. I’d like to try it out when it gets to the beta stage.≡ 11 Jun 2005
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≡ 11 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/digital-cameras/casio/casio-exilim-exs500-107116.php">Casio Exilim EX-S500</a>. “Cute” is the only word I can think of to describe this burnt-umber gem.≡ 9 Jun 2005
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New Words.
New Words. “‘back, sack and crack’, ‘heteroflexible’, and ‘going commando’, are amongst the fledglings.”
≡ 9 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mostemailed/*http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/rwanda_tribunal_dc">Trial of top Rwanda genocide suspect starts (Reuters)</a>. Trial of top Rwanda genocide suspect starts (Reuters) The trial of a former Rwandan minister suspected of playing a key role in the 1994 genocide of some 800,000 people started at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) today (Thursday, June 9th).≡ 9 Jun 2005
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Israeli court rejects bid to overturn Gaza pullout.
Israeli court rejects bid to overturn Gaza pullout. “Israel’s highest court on Thursday rejected a bid by Jewish settlers to overturn legislation underpinning Israel’s planned withdrawal from Gaza, clearing the last major legal hurdle to a pullout in August.”
≡ 9 Jun 2005 -
≡ 9 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/03/AR2005060301532.html">Unknown painting by Edvard Munch</a>. found behind another canvas.≡ 9 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.phantomplate.com/">Phantom Plates</a>. To combat “Stop on Red” sillyness.≡ 9 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/stoponred/">Minneapolis has started its "Stop on Red" program.</a>. We’re at the beginning of the 30-day testing period, before the official police-state is established.≡ 9 Jun 2005
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Nicole’s Birthday.
We celebrated Nicole’s Birthday on Monday night with Beef Stroganoff and Dary Queen cake. Nicole and steve have been living with us for the last two (2) months and it’s been so fun to have them around and get to know them better.
≡ 9 Jun 2005 -
Teenager gives birth at 85 MPH.
Teenager gives birth at 85 MPH. “An 18-year-old Thai gave birth in the passenger seat of a Mercedes Benz which was doing 85 miles per hour to try to get her to hospital in time.”
≡ 9 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://www.cbcradio3.com/podcast.cfm">CBC Radio 3 is podcasting</a>. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio 3 is releasing podcasts of 100% Canadian music from new and emerging artists.≡ 9 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/ndsound.php">Napoleon Dynamite Audio</a>. Do the chickens have large talons?≡ 8 Jun 2005
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≡ 8 Jun 2005
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<a title="The Blog of Henry David Thoreau" href="http://blogthoreau.blogspot.com/">The Blog of Henry David Thoreau</a>.
methinks I should hear with indifference if a trustworthy messenger were to inform me that the sun drowned himself last night
≡ 8 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://www.start.com/myw3b/">MS News Aggregator</a>. My prediction: some incarnation of this aggregator will be in IE7.≡ 8 Jun 2005
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Tyson Enters the Fight of His Life. Tyson Enters the Fight of His Life I don’t know why I even care, but I’m strangely interested to see how Saturday goes.≡ 8 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.airbagindustries.com/archives/007553.php">A letter from Mr. Leo.</a>. Let’s hear it for mutual cooperation!≡ 7 Jun 2005
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≡ 7 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1145689,00.html">First use of the word Podcasting</a>.. From the Guardian.≡ 7 Jun 2005
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An Australian woman was found to be carrying 51 live tropical fish. An Australian woman was found to be carrying 51 live tropical fish after custom officials were alerted by “flipping” noises coming from beneath her skirt as she arrived at Melbourne airport.≡ 7 Jun 2005
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Top 10 cars for men; top 10 cars for women.
Top 10 cars for men; top 10 cars for women.. Is there anything really new here? I mean come on. One interesting thing, however:
Dodge has stated outright that it designs and markets cars for men. So it has given us the Dodge Magnum, a muscle-car station wagon. It has also given us the new Dodge Charger, a muscle-car family sedan with four doors, roomy back seats and a nice trunk.
Clever, those Dodge boys. Clearly, they understand that, even though they are marketing cars to men, most men don’t just go out and buy cars on their own. They still have to get the thumbs-up from someone else.
≡ 7 Jun 2005 -
3.9 Million Citigroup Customers' Data Lost. 3.9 Million Citigroup Customers’ Data Lost I’m glad I don’t have any account with Citigroup. Wait a minute… I do! Dang it.≡ 7 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://businesslogs.com/technology/appleintel_roundup_and_commentary.php">Decent round-up of the Apple news today</a>.. This is bad news for IBM, good news for Intel, and great news for me. I can’t wait to get my hands on an x86-based Mac.≡ 6 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://fbcfrance.blogspot.com/2005/06/france-team-was-commissioned-today.html">FBC France Team</a>. Is getting ready to leave this Friday.≡ 6 Jun 2005
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The Last Light.
Every Saturday night for the last 3 1/2 years, we’ve had a service at church called The Light. Mandy has been the key person organizing this service each week and the service has played a big part in our life. This weekend marked the end.
≡ 6 Jun 2005 -
Google Launches Google Sitemaps.
Google Launches Google Sitemaps. “[A] service that allows webmasters to define how often their sites’ content is going to change, to give Google a better idea of what to index.”
≡ 3 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://grant.robinson.name/projects/montage-a-google/">Montage-a-google</a>. A web-based app that uses Google’s image search to generate a gridded montage based on keywords.≡ 3 Jun 2005
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≡ 2 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.browsershots.org/">Coolio. Browsershots.</a>. On May 21st, there were 10000 jobs in the queue. Funny, there weren’t any when I tried. I got results right away. Is this some sort of web-enabled ghost town?≡ 2 Jun 2005
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Microsoft Ends Era Of Closed File Formats.
Microsoft Ends Era Of Closed File Formats. “According to an MSDN Channel 9 interview with an Office file-format developer, the next version of Microsoft Office (Office 12) will default to newly-developed XML file formats in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.”
≡ 2 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://mindset.research.yahoo.com/">Mindset</a>. Intent-driven search from Yahoo research. I especially like the DHTML slider on the results page.≡ 2 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/05/06/01/2043242.shtml?tid=201">Longhorn drops "My" prefixes</a>. Yeesh. Finally.≡ 1 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/bts/production/f20050526/index.html">Star Wars Episode III: Easter Eggs</a>. If I go again, I’m going to look for these.≡ 1 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://www.poets.org/">Poets.org</a>. From the Academy of American Poets. Site newly re-designed.≡ 1 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://typographi.com/">Typographica</a>.
Typographica is a journal of typography featuring news, observations, and open commentary on fonts and typographic design.
≡ 1 Jun 2005 -
≡ 1 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/01/080456.php">Church Trivia Competition in Stillwater, MN</a>.
The contest is under way, with the first question posted on the sign at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church: “Church Sign Trivia: List the 10 Commandments, in no particular order. Answer in one mile.”
A mile southwest is the answer on Bethany’s sign: “Trivia Answer: 3 6 5 9 10 4 2 7 8 1.”
≡ 1 Jun 2005 -
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/finder/103-8618946-0587020?productGroupID=loose%5fdiamonds">Amazon Diamond Search</a>. Cool use of Ajax.≡ 1 Jun 2005
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<a href="http://jszen.blogspot.com/2005/05/why-google-maps-wins.html">Why Google Maps Wins</a>. By, The Strange Zen Of JavaScript≡ 1 Jun 2005
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≡ 1 Jun 2005