Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Meteorology is the New Astrology

I'm not sure when it happened, or if it's always been this way, but meteorology is now resorting to cold reading techniques like those used in astrology, palm reading and lie detector tests. After issuing dire warnings about the 2006 hurricane season (and scaring the crap out of everyone within 200 miles of a coast) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has quietly "revised" their prediction.

This of course, calls into question the value of a prediction that is constantly 'revised' to reflect the current reality. Now NOAA is saying that the hurricane season won't be that bad after all, however they made sure to throw a "but hey, watch your back!" comment just to cover them in case there's a Katrina Part II ("...we are not off the hook by any means").

So here's my "horoscope" reading of the 2006 hurricane season:

It will be a mild year for Hurricanes, but watch for the full moon! It can cause unpredictable results. September's rain will bring about a tempest in a teacup, and New Orleans will breathe a sigh of relief when the sun shines on Bourbon Street.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree but think there is a better choice. The new astrology is the nonsense known as "profiling" - and the master huckster John Douglas. Heard a recent interview where he bragged he nailed the alleged Ramsey killer Karr 10 years ago. Get this, a male between the ages of 20 and 40; maybe married - maybe not - with an unhealthy interest in children. Wow, that's eerily accurate. Even John Edwards' shameless cold readings are more detailed than that. John, how about next time limiting the suspects to only 1/4 of the US population as a stretch goal?

Subleum said...

I agree. The profiling thing is no better than tealeaf reading. John Douglas has made a career out of it with the books, etc. His most famous 'catch', Wayne Williams of the Atlanta Child Murders, might even be the wrong guy...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Bertram_Williams

Bonnie B said...

raindrops are falling on my head-- or is it hail-- could be snow-- could be? What is that bird doing over there