"Mac v. PC" in Japan

Expect Early Cherry Blossoms in Japan

January, 2007, was our planet's warmest January in recorded weather history, smashing the old record set in 2002. Global warming is upon us, and how. For what it's worth, the average American is responsible for about 2.5 times the greenhouse gas emissions as his counterpart in Japan.

One side effect is that Japan's famous cherry blossoms will open much earlier than usual. The plum blossoms are already way ahead of schedule.

Update: The official forecast is that Tokyo's cherry blossoms will open on March 23, 2007.

Later Update: Officially the first blossoms opened in Tokyo on March 20, 2007. Forecasters apologize profusely for the imprecise estimate.

Shake, Rattle & Roll

About nine minutes ago there was a small earthquake here in the greater Tokyo area. There's a terrific Web site (http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake) which immediately provided extremely accurate data: earthquake at 20:59 JST 04 Feb 2007, location 35.6N 140.1E, depth 80 Km, magnitude 4.2....

....Ah, now the Web site has more sensors reporting. In my part of the city it was magnitude 1+ or 2+, depending on the exact location. This technology is amazing.

Update: The numerical magnitude numbers used in Japan are based on the JMA Seismic Intensity Scale, which ranges from 0 to 7.