Cold Everywhere!

The Venus-Mars opposition of January 19th and Mercury's parallel to Pluto were brought out in The Weather Alternative's long-range forecast posted in December as a storm-breeding influence over the Plains.

The forecast window was from January 18th through the 20th. Bitterly cold air and biting winds were reported over the Plains. The Accuweather map at right shows the cold invasion and low-pressure system that brought accumulating snow from Iowa through Michigan. Lighter accumulations were picked up from the Rockies to the Dakotas.

The next Weather Alternative forecast was based on Jupiter's trine to Saturn.

Forecast


January 20-22, 2007


Jupiter's trine to Saturn brings a lower range of temperatures and fair conditions. These conditions should be observed from the East Central States through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast as well as on the West Coast.


Today Accuweather reported the following:


An arctic cold front will pass off the Northeast coast today, drawing the very cold air that has been hovering over the northern Plains behind it. Blustery conditions behind the front will make it feel even colder than actual temperatures from the North Central states to the Northeast.

The West Coast will also been felling the chill. Here's yesterday's Accuweather report:

California Chilly

Updated: Saturday, January 19, 2008 8:36 AM

After blasting into the Northwest this weekend, a cold air mass will creep into California early next week. A storm accompanying the press of cold air will also trigger showers across the state, while some snow extends from the Sierras to the central Rockies. Enough cold air will dive south that snow levels will be extremely low.

Some Observations About January's Weather Patterns 2008

Introduction to the Weather Alternative

How Long-Range Forecasts Are Made

A New Worldview For The Chinese?

By the early 1990s, a new kind of Chinese had come into existence at Chinese universities and research institutions: "cultural Christians." Many reject the name, as we shall see later, and prefer to use the ponderous phrase "Chinese scholars interested in Christianity." But the phenomenon was real enough: highly educated Chinese who were not satisfied that either the Marxist interpretation of religion or the standard Western Darwinian understanding of life adequately explained the human condition in general and the Chinese condition in particular.

Nor was it among just Western-trained academics or Shanghai yuppies that these ideas began to be discussed. Early in 2002, China's then president and Communist Party leader, Jiang Zeming, attended a dinner party in the private home of another senior Chinese political figure in the heart of Beijing. The conversation turned to the party's upcoming sixteenth congress, a momentous, once-every-five-years gathering then scheduled for the late autumn of 2002 (the Congress eventually met November 7-15, 2002).

The company was relaxed, the mood ebullient. "Comrade Jiang," a guest asked, "if, before leaving office, you could make one decree that you knew would be obeyed in China, what would it be?" Jiang put on a broad smile and looked around the room. "I would make Christianity the official religion of China," he replied. Jiang, of course, formally relinquished the reins of power at the sixteenth party congress to his successor as party general secretary, Hu Jintao, and even if he wanted to implement that wish, is no longer in a position to do so. But even if he were being merely playful with his fellow guests, his whimsical comment was telling.

Jesus in Beijing by David Aikman