2005.05.12
Small news item: Birth Month Could Determine When Menopause Hits. It reminds me that lately I've been thinking there might be a little something to astrology, though not for the reasons generally given. It doesn't seem completely unlikely that seasonal differences during pregnancy -- nutrition, light, temperature, etc -- could have an effect on people's discernable traits later on. (Which means potentially you might be able to virtually change your baby's sign with careful application of diet and sunlamps!)
I've been trying to curb my rampant skepticism lately, though without believing every fool idea to come down the pike. And things that seem to work empirically carry a lot of weight, though there's always the risk of being fooled by a placebo effect...